Native 4 CF

[PG5768]

rmc85's pictures of his new Native4 showed what a pretty knife it was. The carbon fiber and FFG looked really good. After finding out that a couple online retailers had it available for less than $100 I had to get one for myself.

My first one arrived last week from Knifeworks. It was even nicer looking than the pictures. Opened it up and it felt kind of "gritty". Lubed it up around the pivot area and opened and closed it 20-30 times and the "gritiness" just didn't seem to go away. I noticed some arcuate scratches starting to form in the tang area over the "Seki City" stamp. Not good.

Contacted Knifeworks and they gave me an RMA to send it back. Talked to Kaylee after a couple days to make sure they got it and she said that she had it right there and that Roger would check the replacement to make sure it didn't have the same problem.

My replacement arrived today and Kaylee and Roger were true to their word. Seems to be better than the first one, smoother to open for sure. Here are a few pics:

This is a fantastic little knife, especially for under $100. :thumbup:

 

[PG5768]

I guess my only question would be has any one else noticed a similar problem? My guess is that one of the lightening holes in the liner had some rough spots. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the first knife.

 

[AF]

I don't remember if my Native 4 was gritty when I got it.
Generally speaking when I get a knife with gritty action, I flush the pivot under hot water, then spray with WD-40, then compressed air, wipe with rag, then lubricate.

 

[PG5768]

Thanks AF, I didn't try any of that except the lube. Normally I'd do a tear down and clean everything off, lube, and reassemble. But with a new knife I didn't think that would be a good idea if I wound up returning it. The hot water rinse, WD-40 and air sound like a good alternative. I'll give that a try the next time.

 

[rmc85]

Thanks for the kind words PG5768! Mine was gritty when I first got it, but it smoothed out pretty fast. It didnt take more than a week or two for it to break in real nice.

 

[PG5768]

Thanks for the kind words PG5768! Mine was gritty when I first got it, but it smoothed out pretty fast. It didn't take more than a week or two for it to break in real nice.

You're welcome, your photos are very good. :thumbup:

I could've lived with the rough opening (a break-in period would've taken care of it), but the visible scratches on the blade tang were a little too much. Spyderco's QC/QA program missed one, it seems. I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen too often.

 

[beluga]

My CF Native was so gritty that it left a mark on the cross section of the tang when I opened the blade. I disassembled it, and polished the lock with sandpaper / dremel + Flitz, and action is very smooth now. It should not be this gritty for a higher end Spyderco folders. Anybody complained about this matter to Spyderco ? It's no trouble disassembling and polishing the lock, I actually enjoyed it; but it just should not happen.

 

[esevato]

Glad I got the Native 4 very nice knife, took pics last night

 

[jill jackson]

I got mine yesterday and it's smooth, out the box.
I noticed the Japanese Spyderco's have thicker coating on the clips than the Golden ones. They seem to always be nice and evenly coated, too unlike some of the Golden made which often have small markings in the coating.

 

[amen74]

Thanks for sharing your pics PG. :thumbup:

The Native4 is a very classy Spydie!

 

[PG5768]

Thanks for the kind words PG5768! Mine was gritty when I first got it, but it smoothed out pretty fast. It didnt take more than a week or two for it to break in real nice.

You're welcome rmc85, your photos started me off on this little quest.

My CF Native was so gritty that it left a mark on the cross section of the tang when I opened the blade. I disassembled it, and polished the lock with sandpaper / dremel + Flitz, and action is very smooth now. It should not be this gritty for a higher end Spyderco folders. Anybody complained about this matter to Spyderco ? It's no trouble disassembling and polishing the lock, I actually enjoyed it; but it just should not happen.

I agree with you beluga, the QC/QA on the higher end Spydercos should catch problems like this. You were braver than I was, with the disassembly and 1st aid.

Glad I got the Native 4 very nice knife, took pics last night

Thats a pretty picture, very nice flies, too.

I got mine yesterday and it's smooth, out the box.
I noticed the Japanese Spyderco's have thicker coating on the clips than the Golden ones. They seem to always be nice and evenly coated, too unlike some of the Golden made which often have small markings in the coating.

Now that you mention that, it does have a thicker coating compared to my S30V Native. I'm not too worried about the coating on the clip for my user knives, but my few safe queens all seem to have nicely done clips.

Thanks for sharing your pics PG. :thumbup:

The Native4 is a very classy Spydie!

You're welcome amen74, it is a pretty model isn't it. :thumbup:

 

[beluga]

I'm not very brave, but I like to play puzzle since I was a kid. Disassembling and assembling a folder is like a man's puzzle now

 

[notos&w]

Anybody complained about this matter to Spyderco ? It's no trouble disassembling and polishing the lock, I actually enjoyed it; but it just should not happen.

I have made this complaint several times on the forums but never received any sort of response from Spyderco. I am like you. I polished the surfaces and it is much better. I am disappointed the F&F was not better. At this price, quite frankly, it should have been. And it does not seem the problem is terribly isolated. That said, it is still my second favorite knife of all time. Carried it all day today and probably will tomorrow.

 

[u812]

I have had 2 one when they first came out and one I just got from Poorfish for 99.99.Both were gritty.The problem might be fixed if the knife had washers.

 

[u812]

Just a FWIW I was just checking over mine and the pivot screw was very loose.Not even finger tight,I could but a torx bit in and spin the screw out with out the driver handle.The grittyness did get a little better after lube and tightening the pivot some.I think I will blue lock tight it.
I hope if a G10 one is ever done that the G10 will be about twice as thick as the CF on this one.

 

[amen74]

You're welcome amen74, it is a pretty model isn't it. :thumbup:

Yes it is. I love Spydercos lockbacks.

 

[beluga]

I have had 2 one when they first came out and one I just got from Poorfish for 99.99.Both were gritty.The problem might be fixed if the knife had washers.

The CF Native has washers, but they are very thin (paper thin) compared to older Spyderco models. My Tenac also has this kind of washers, but the factory put 2 washers on each side (there are 4 in total). The Native only has 1 on each side.

 

[mrappraisit]

I guess my only question would be has any one else noticed a similar problem? My guess is that one of the lightening holes in the liner had some rough spots. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the first knife.

I had a CF CalyIII that had a burr sticking out from one of the liner holes. I put fine (800) grit sandpaper on the narrow end of a chopstick and sanded the burr off. Smooth as you know what after that.