New Spyderco's and break-in

[Otto Carpenter]

Got two new Spyderco's - PM2 and a Slysz Bowie. I'm pretty new to purchasing multiple knives and so my opinion doesn't really count for much, but I truly like these two a whole lot. That said, I did hit a rough patch with them - both experienced an on-again, off-again rough, balky action. The Slysz actually "squeaked" when I opened it and you could hear it rub. Never exposed either of them to any conditions that would cause this.

I thought about opening them up, but I understand it voids the Spyderco warranty (not sure if that would matter to me). Long story short, they're both running like champs at the moment. The Slysz is glassy smooth and the PM2 is an easy pleasure to open and close.

But what was tying them up? Symptoms lasted for days and now they're gone - hopefully for good. Great knives.

 

[Skeptic13]

Most of my Spydercos have started out a little rough but once I had the chance to carry then and open them for a few weeks they broke in just fine.

 

[CryoGuy5272]

There are many factors. I how opened up all of my knives and the first cleaning can be a little dirty. I think they get some debris left over and it gets in the action. I usually wait a few weeks before disassembling and reliving them. By that time they usually smooth out on their own and all I am doing is replacing the lube with one of my preference


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[Otto Carpenter]

There are many factors. I how opened up all of my knives and the first cleaning can be a little dirty. I think they get some debris left over and it gets in the action.

I half-surmised it might be fabrication debris - maybe from the lock/lock face. It's not like there's much going on internally - knives are pretty simple once good tolerances are established. I would drop a bit of lube between the tang and the pivot on both, but it might bleed out and show up under the Natural G-10 on the PM2 since it's translucent. Thank you for the input.

 

[ribstabsheart]

Update: My PM2 detent hasn't loosened up all. World balistol or Froglube help at all? Haven't been able to loosen the pivot screw, but might need to send her or open her up.

 

[ArchVV]

For the bowie, try adding a tad of lubricant to the detente ball and cycling it open/shut a few time. On the PM2, adjust the tightness of the stop pin screws.

 

[Otto Carpenter]

For the bowie, try adding a tad of lubricant to the detente ball and cycling it open/shut a few time. On the PM2, adjust the tightness of the stop pin screws.

I see the point of lubing the detent ball on the Bowie but why loosen the stop pin screws on the PM2? How would that affect the action? Appreciate any insight you can offer.

 

[Otto Carpenter]

Update: My PM2 detent hasn't loosened up all. World balistol or Froglube help at all? Haven't been able to loosen the pivot screw, but might need to send her or open her up.

The pivot screw may be frozen by red Loctite - I've heard Spyderco uses this semi-permanent Loctite on their hardware. Apparently heat softens the red Loctite up enough to break its hold. I bought 10W Nano-oil from St. Claire with the needle applicator to apply in tight spaces like pivots and washers. Not personally familiar with balistol or Froglube.

 

[ArchVV]

I see the point of lubing the detent ball on the Bowie but why loosen the stop pin screws on the PM2? How would that affect the action? Appreciate any insight you can offer.

Getting the right action on the PM2 can be tricky and part of that is the amount of influence on the pivot that the tightness of the stop-pin screws possess. They may be overly tight, which could bind up the pivot action. But, it could just be something with the pivot screws themselves.

 

[Otto Carpenter]

Getting the right action on the PM2 can be tricky and part of that is the amount of influence on the pivot that the tightness of the stop-pin screws possess. They may be overly tight, which could bind up the pivot action.

Interesting - multiple points of force are exerted on the pivot area. Makes sense. As I said originally, both knives are running great at the moment, after a curious patch of significant rough action.

 

[blueblur]

My latest pm2 had a lot of friction, enough that when it breaks in I still feel it would be too much so I loosened the pivot screw just enough to feel it turn. It was smoothing out but I could still feel a couple rough spots so I put some frog lube on the detent and ramp and it's very smooth now.

 

[ejames13]

Detent on my KW M4 is the stiffest of any PM2 I've owned. I kind of like it. Helps keep the blade in place when I depress the lock and it falls closed.

 

[bin31z]

Its really a hit or miss on PM2's. My KW CF M4 has great action with no fiddling and has very stiff detent. My Jade m4 and S110V both have crunchiness in the lock bar and some degree of lock stick. I played around with the tension on the stop pin with little to no effect and the lock stick seems to come and go. O well, you are talking about interaction between 3 or more different factors (pivot tightness, stop pin tightness and uniformity, smoothness of the detent surface on the blade tang, smoothness of the lock bar bearing surface) on a mass produced item. Like any item exclusively made with stamped or machined parts, hand fitting and uniformity of part tolerances plays a large role in the perceived smoothness of the action. However, hand fitting usually causes the price of said items to skyrocket. I'm thinking handfitted 1911's vs something like a springfield GI. However, this perceived smoothness has nothing to do with the function of said item, so I'm willing to live with it on a 150 dollar knife. This is also an interesting point of comparison between the Taichung factory and the Golden factory. With employee wage rates and benefits the way they are, I feel like the US factory is less willing to dedicate staff time to hand fitting all their products. Wage rates and benefits are both much lower in taiwain (I would say at least half and half again for benefits), they have the luxury of utilizing more man hours to hand fitting. I've felt much more consistency in the taichung knives then I have with the ones from colorado.