My Spderco lockback failed!

Daniel L

Daniel L

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Joined
Nov 2, 1998
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1,978
Luckily it was a failure to lock in the open position - I whipped it out of my jeans pocket and opened without looking to cut up some cardboard boxes. Stranglely no positive "click" of the lock engaging...

So I look at the knife and see a wad of pocket fluff / lint right in the area where the lock engages :) It essentially prevented the lock bar from engaging the tang...

A lesson learned for all mechanical devices... I'll keep my pockets free from lint nect time or stick to fixed blades!
 
ya were lucky, the one time one failed on me , a REKAT sifu, it cut the heck outta me, not fun!!!

anything mechanical can fail, imho though


greg
 
i dont know that I would say the lock failed because of lint you had in it, kind of like saying the tire on my car "failed" because I had a 4 foot spear stuck in it, not the tires fault........ but does give a reminder that we need to pay attention to the tool when we use it to make sure there is nothing wrong or nothing thats going to cause a problem.
 
Originally posted by Daniel L

So I look at the knife and see a wad of pocket fluff / lint right in the area where the lock engages :) It essentially prevented the lock bar from engaging the tang...
Click to expand...
I had the same exact thing happen to me with an Endura I own! I actually switched for a long time to carrying liner locks because I felt the "wiping" action of the liner engaging would sweep away any debris that would prevent proper lockup. But, then I experienced the same type of failure with a frame lock I own! Actually, I was being extra stupid in this case. I was kinda sick, and had a Kleenex in my pocket with the knife!

Needless to say, only my knife goes in my pocket now!

Bruise
 
I can attest to that very same experience as well. I was at work when I pulled out my spydie goddard lwt to cut som cardboard up. I proceed to slice right thru the card board but I hit a snag. As I pulled my knife out to try and get a better angle to cut, my knife closed up on me. Luckily, my finger was near the unsharpened part of the knife and no harm was done.
 
Caught on to that one a long time ago. My knife rides solo in a clean lint free pocket, and is inspected almost daily. Never realized how much lint can get into a pocket. Wash all my pants with pockets inside out now and it helps.
 
Had the same thing happen on my Native FRN. Build up of lint and debris where the lockback engages.

It almost happened a week ago too but I caught it in time as I noticed that the blade was not positively clicking everytime although the lock was still holding.

Doesn't take anything away from Spyderco. Just a neglectant owner (namely me) who should be checking that the knife is working properly more often.

BTW, to Spyderco's credit, I noticed it takes a good bit of build up of debris before the lockback is comprised. More like a dust bunny!
 
Just like everything else mechanical, it needs regular maintenance. I usually take all of my users out once a month, and clean them under running water with soap on an old toothbrush. I've had the same thing happen to me on a spyderco worker, took me awhile to figure it out. Thank goodness it didn't bite you.
 
That's definitely a lockback thing, it used to happen to me once or twice a year! Doesn't matter if it's Spyderco or anyone else. If you're going to put your lockback, pivot-down, in the bottom of your lint-ridden pocket, you can definitely get a failure to lock open. It does not ever happen, as far as I can tell, if you clip the knife to your pocket.

Joe
 
One of the reasons I don't like lockbacks.

(I have several other reasons, but that's one of the main ones.)
 
Me thinks the following:

<b>My Spderco lockback failed!</b>

Could have instead been written:

<b>Daniel L failed to clean his Spderco lockback!</b>


Kind of reminds me of when you hear guys say that their slipjoint knife "closed up on them." WRONG! A knife cannot close on you. A pocketknife is an inanimate object and cannot do anything unless you make it do it. You close a knife on yourself. You push a blade in a certain direction, if that results in it folding closed with your finger in the way .... well, just don't say the knife <i>closed on you</i>. [Rant mode off.] :grumpy:
 
and after making SURE it was the finest cotton polyester lint available as per "Tactical Lint" magazine.
I had carefully wedged the lint into the mechanism and my knife STILL locked.

What am I doing wrong?

;)
 
Originally posted by Mike990
Caught on to that one a long time ago. My knife rides solo in a clean lint free pocket, and is inspected almost daily. Never realized how much lint can get into a pocket. Wash all my pants with pockets inside out now and it helps.
Click to expand...

If anyone wants to know where the lint goes, it winds up in my pocket.:barf:
 
Hi guys,

While I think "my spyderco lockback failed" might be a bit misleading, because in fact that lock itself is still sound, I think the general message is fair. Lockbacks are susceptible to pocket lint in a way that no other locks are, in my experience. Since many people carry their knives at the bottom of their pockets, it's important that they know that they may pull their knife out someday and it won't lock open, which could be bad juju for a defensive knife. The remedy? Either live with it, or carry your lockback clipped to a pocket or waistband, or change to an axis/arc/compression/framelock/etc, or stick it in a pocket holster or JB Mission Wallet or whatever.

Since there is no knife quite like the endura for me, I keep mine clipped to my waistband much of the time, which is more comfortable than bottom-of-the-pocket carry anyway.

Joe
 
Didn't mean to scare monger regarding spydies / lockbacks - I'm well aware that it is my failure to not keep lint out of the pockets that caused the problem. I love my Endura and lockbacks (esp compared to liner locks) !! This was the first time it's happened to me after 7+ years of daily carry of the Endura - I am actually surprised to hear that others have experienced it too.

I normally pick out accumulated lint out now and again - but this was a massive wad of lint living in the pocket and a good reminder to keep my pockets clean. It was neglect of pocket hygiene, not neglect of folder...

I have had another "failure" during carboard cutting when I gripping very tightly and the flesh of my hand managed to disengage the lock bar. Newer Spydies have the Boye detente to prevent this - it just goes to show that a folder can never be 100% reliable. But in the meantime, lockbacks (and maybe Axis locks one day) are the locks I am most secure with.

Cheers all,
 
get yourself a can of compressed air. you can get a cheap generic can at walmart in the computer stuff. use it to keep your liners, lock clean. works great!!!

...if you have an air compressor even better!! :) !!!!!!!
 
The only knife I have that is carried in pocket that has NOT failed to lock up due to pocket fluff is my large sebenza. My linerlocks and indeed my 710 AXIS Benchmade failed to lock as a result. That lockbacks are esp vulnerable goes without saying.:(
 
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