Lockback Wiggle

beeftips said:
I have the wiggle you are talking about in my paramilitary and it bugs me. It is like the compression lock has some movement when the blade is moved toward the front of the handle. I don't think the lock would fail but it does bother me.
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I think the compression lock is supposed to be without "wiggle".
 
stoffi said:
Hi,

I like all of my Spydercos, but all of them are lockbacks and the wiggle back and forth (not sideways) drives me nuts. Liner locks don't wiggle as much. Some of my Spydies wiggle more than others, but they all wiggle more and more over time. The more I carve wood or otherwise subject them to moderate resistance, the worse it gets.

Question: is there a way to fix the wiggle or "give" which these lockbacks inherently have? What do you guys do?
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I have noticed this more with the FRN lockbacks. For one, the liners on the lockbacks are thinner. I don't have them in front of me to measure right now, but I think they are.

If you compared an FRN of any knife with a G-10, the G-10 models have less blade play, due to both the liner thickness, AND the fact that ounce for ounce, G-10 is a stiffer material.

Other than tightening the pivot screw, there's no way to eliminate the blade play altogether.

Just my 2cents.
 
Problem with the Caly Jr. is that there is nothing to tighten and regardless, it wouldn't help this particular issue. I'm going to experiment with spacers.
 
Solution is to pick a different lock type for your carving needs. BBL, CBBL, Walker liner lock, CR Integral lock, compression lock are some locks that will never exhibit that kind of blade play. Try a Manix 2 or a Military...
 
I use fixed blades for carving, but if folders can't handle some simple woodcarving, like whittling a stick into a spear, then what good is that folder? I mean, if all it can do is to open letters, then I might as well have gotten a cheap ol' thing. Really, so many of the high-end folders out there sport fantastic steels and cost serious cash, but then they can't handle some basic knife chores like cutting rope or carving?! I wanna be able to whip out a nice folder and carve up some fuzz sticks when making a fire. I wanna be able to USE my knife. Not abuse it, but simply USE it. I take care of all my blades, but if they can't handle regular tasks then they are pure garbage. A chain is only as good as it's weakest link and if these locking mechanisms can't handle the street, then maybe they should stay at home. The only reason I collect knives is to find the ones that actually work.
 
stoffi said:
I use fixed blades for carving, but if folders can't handle some simple woodcarving, like whittling a stick into a spear, then what good is that folder? I mean, if all it can do is to open letters, then I might as well have gotten a cheap ol' thing. Really, so many of the high-end folders out there sport fantastic steels and cost serious cash, but then they can't handle some basic knife chores like cutting rope or carving?! I wanna be able to whip out a nice folder and carve up some fuzz sticks when making a fire. I wanna be able to USE my knife. Not abuse it, but simply USE it. I take care of all my blades, but if they can't handle regular tasks then they are pure garbage. A chain is only as good as it's weakest link and if these locking mechanisms can't handle the street, then maybe they should stay at home. The only reason I collect knives is to find the ones that actually work.
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Lockbacks, though not my cup of tea, are plenty robust for most activities. Look at the history of the design - decades of daily use.

Give the Gayle Bradley a try. You'll like the steel.
 
Amaranth said:
If you compared an FRN of any knife with a G-10, the G-10 models have less blade play, due to both the liner thickness, AND the fact that ounce for ounce, G-10 is a stiffer material.
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I've noticed something similar. All of my FRN lock back knives have that bit of up/down play. My friend's SS E4 was completely solid.

I'm going to guess that it has something to do with the nested liners of the FRN. Maybe when you tug on the blade when it's open, the liners can move a little bit in the FRN mold.
 
orthogonal1 said:
Lockbacks, though not my cup of tea, are plenty robust for most activities. Look at the history of the design - decades of daily use.

Give the Gayle Bradley a try. You'll like the steel.
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First of all, if you want me to look at something, why don't you supply me with a link?
Secondly, I don't have any issues with the steel that Spyderco uses, merely the lockback mechanism when it "gives" or wiggles.
 
The lockback is fine for hard use. But if the wiggle bothers you, try a different lock style. The Gayle Bradley M4 is a liner lock and will not have any of that blade play.
 
The only knives I own that have absoutly no blade play in any direction are my sebenzas and my xm18. All others eventually develop play and need adjustment after hard use!!
 
Cool! I'll try other knives for sure... just wondering if any of you had any tips on how to get a Spyderco lockback to NOT wiggle. If there are no modifications available, then I guess there is not much more to dwell upon, so thanks and goodnight.
 
Thanks for the link! Cool knife! I hope to be able to try that one at some point. Thanks for the tip.
 
Amaranth said:
If you compared an FRN of any knife with a G-10, the G-10 models have less blade play, due to both the liner thickness, AND the fact that ounce for ounce, G-10 is a stiffer material.
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This may be a good explanation. My only FRN knives are Ladybugs and, guess what, my only knife with blade wiggle is a Ladybug...
 
Cisco Kid said:
This may be a good explanation. My only FRN knives are Ladybugs and, guess what, my only knife with blade wiggle is a Ladybug...
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Like I said, I think it's because the nested liners have a little bit of play area inside the FRN scales. I wonder what would happen if I somehow glued the steel liners (with JB Weld or something) into the FRN scales. Would the play go away?
 
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