First let me concur that Schmalhaus's review was an outstanding production and a great review of the ergonomics and elegance of LionSteel's new knife. I recently acquired the TiSpine in polished anodized bronze and after a week of edc, I offer the following observations (not opinions) on its functionality. Note that I also have a SR1, CRK Sebenza and Hinderer XMs which are referenced.
When I received my TiSpine the blade was centered, the action a bit stiff, lockup was at 35% with no blade play and the locking bar was sticky. The detent was so strong that attempting to flick open the blade employing the blade hole (elongated rounded rectangle) with my thumb (or Spyderco finger flick) was extremely difficult. Yes I am aware this is not a tactical knife but rather a gentlemans folder where the blade hole is used like a nail nick to open the knife (remember these are merely my observations not opinions).
When carried in the front pocket of my blue jeans (Levi 501), the pocket clip did not secure the knife well from being pulled out of the pocket until the last 3/4" where the clip meets the locking bar unlike the pocket clips on the SR1, Sebenza and XMs, which in the same pocket, require an effort to extract. I removed the pocket clip, bent it a bit and reinstalled it resulting in a more secure retention but still not equivalent to that of the aforementioned knives.
Only 25% of the blade gimping, forward of the handle is exposed, and the remaining 75% of the blade gimping is below the handle scales.
As with all anodized Titanium, oil will change its reflectivity and with a polished Titanium like on my TiSpine, it dulls the shine. Since ones hands and fingers secret oils, the knife's handles change hue when used.
I disassembled, cleaned (with Ballistol) and relubricated (with Lubriplate SFL-0) the knife then reassembled it. The resulting detent strength was reduced a bit (~ 20%), the action was noticeably smoother and the locking bar was less sticky (no oil was present on the locking bar face or blade in this observation). Graphite was applied to the lock bar face and the stickiness was significantly reduced (for a while).
The blade pivot pin/screw mechanism is more complex than on the SR1, Sebenza and XMs: the pivot post (on the locking bar side) has a small screw section near its head with two small flats 180 deg apart which after pushing the pivot post thru the blade hole and into the pivot screw hole on the opposite scale must then be screwed into the frame scale (locking bar side) the rest of the way and then aligned just so (the flats on the pivot post screw section must be aligned with the corresponding openings in the scale's pivot hole) in order to be pushed in the remainder of the way.
I hope this information is useful.
