How To : De-Burr/Polish a Spydy Hole

[jimnolimit]

the other day someone commented that they wish there centofante 3's spydy hole was de-burred and polished , so last night at work i devised a simple cheap way to achieve this .

i used a 2.5"-3.0" long piece of 2" sanding belt (sand paper should work just as well) , it's aluminum oxide - 80 grit .

i covered the blades edge and tip with masking tape (safety first) .
i rolled the sandpaper into a cylinder shape , you can also wrap the sandpaper around a pencil for more stability .
i inserted this sanding cylinder into the spydy hole
holding both ends of the cylinder , i began spinning the knife like a propeller for 45-60 seconds .
after 45-60 seconds the hole was burr free and polished .

 

[powernoodle]

I did one like that with a fine rat tail file. Just barely, barely rounded over the edge of the Spydie hole on a Sage II, and smoothed out that line that bisects the hole.

 

[jimnolimit]

I did one like that with a fine rat tail file. Just barely, barely rounded over the edge of the Spydie hole on a Sage II, and smoothed out that line that bisects the hole.

did you spin the knife or just file it in a circular motion ?

the way i showed above makes the hole perfectly polished and round in 60 seconds or less .

 

[powernoodle]

I prefer to waste time and engage in more labor-intensive activities, so I went with the file.

:thumbup:

 

[Allex]

:thumbup: Smart

 

[oregon]

Good idea.

I've noticed a tiny nub of metal inside the Spyderco thumb hole on some folders but it never drove me to take corrective action.

Funny, to me, when I show my mechanical engineer #1 son a Spyderco folder the other day he examines it for two seconds, finds the burr and immediately returns it to me commenting that the thumb hole has a defect...

oregon

 

[Josh K]

Good idea.

I've noticed a tiny nub of metal inside the Spyderco thumb hole on some folders but it never drove me to take corrective action.

Funny, to me, when I show my mechanical engineer #1 son a Spyderco folder the other day he examines it for two seconds, finds the burr and immediately returns it to me commenting that the thumb hole has a defect...

oregon

That's where they start the laser cut. Not really a defect.

 

[cgmblade]

I actually like the thumb hole being a little rough. It gives added grip for opening.

 

[ctk123]

I just did this on my E4 wave- hole was super rough.

I wrapped some 600 grit(what I had within arms reach) around a pencil, and twirled the knife around it for a few seconds.

It worked well, the hole is much smoother now. thanks, jimnolimit

 

[dsmegst]

Don't round off the edges too much or you're going to lose traction for your thumb. I thought I'd polish the hole on a Native III and I rounded off the edges of the spydie hole. It looked nice, but then when I tried to flick it open, no dice. I had to expand the hole to recreate the sharper edge again. I actually like the bigger hole but it was a "D'oh!" moment.

 

[Fishstalker]

So why doesn't the factory just do this? It makes the knife so much nicer.

 

[Josh K]

So why doesn't the factory just do this? It makes the knife so much nicer.

I don't like it. I prefer the crisp edges.

Time perhaps?

 

[65535]

A laser cutter has more or less no consumables, so leaving the hole laser cut without any additional finishing saves money on finishing materials that would likely have to be used by hand.

 

[jimnolimit]

Don't round off the edges too much or you're going to lose traction for your thumb. I thought I'd polish the hole on a Native III and I rounded off the edges of the spydie hole. It looked nice, but then when I tried to flick it open, no dice. I had to expand the hole to recreate the sharper edge again. I actually like the bigger hole but it was a "D'oh!" moment.

rounding/beveling the edge is not a good thing , when you spin the knife around the sand paper it just finishes the inside and keeps the edge at a 90 degree angle .

 

[jimnolimit]

I just did this on my E4 wave- hole was super rough.

I wrapped some 600 grit(what I had within arms reach) around a pencil, and twirled the knife around it for a few seconds.

It worked well, the hole is much smoother now. thanks, jimnolimit

your welcome

p.s. i added to my original post , the use of a pencil for more stability :thumbup:

 

[chipped]

Another bonus of having the knife leave the factory sharp is that it is easier for someone to sand it down than it is to make it sharper.

 

[fnzeee]

Thank you for posting this method...it worked great on my JB Rescue. Would add that a standard-sized Sharpie is the absolute perfect diameter for this.

 

[Officer's Match]

Sounds like the perfect solution for my Gayle Bradley's razor sharp hole.

 

[jlomein]

I've always been a bit confused by the differences in Spydie hole sharpness and polish/finish. My Para2, Manix 2 LTWT, and Nishijin Dragonfly all have very polished thumb holes with rounded edges and open fine. My new orange Dragonfly has a really sharp hole and the inside looks as rough as a nail file.

 

[agile_1]

I actually like the thumb hole being a little rough. It gives added grip for opening.

Heh heh he. "I like it rough"

But to the OP - 80 grit? Really? That didn't leave scratches?