new Strider SNG question...

G

Goldistheanswer

Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
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I am a fixed blade collector (Scrapyard, Busse, Bark River, Fallkniven, Mission etc) and I now finally have 2 very nice folders-- a Strider SNG GG and a large Sebenza 21. (I figured I would just cut to the chase lol.)

The Sebenza is literally like silk after a couple of days of break in. There is absolutely no slop or wiggle anywhere in the folding or lockup. It is amazing.

The SNG is a different story. The folding action has the tiniest bit of slop in it -- when the blade is in any position but locked up, I can wiggle the blade a half millimeter or so along its arc. Just a tiny but of slop, but its still there. I think this slop contributes to the very jerky folding action.

Whereas I can swing the Sebenza's blade in a perfectly smooth arc (its like oiled glass) the SNG is jerky. The blade basically stutters then stops, then stutters then stops etc. until its locked up (or closed). Let me be clear though, the SNG's folding action *is* smooth, just jerky, if that makes any sense. It's not gritty feeling in the least. I gave the pivot a shot of Eezox, but folding is still jerky. I've probably cycled the knife 1 thousand times since I bought it.

Is the SNG messed up? Or will break in get rid of, or minimize, the slop and jerkiness along the arc as I open and close it? The funny thing is the lockup on the SNG is *rock* solid. It's actually amazing. The SNG is so rigid when its locked up its like a tuning fork! (I definitely think it is more rigid than the Sebenza).
 
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I've heard Striders have an especially long break in period. give it a little while longer before you start to worry, hopefully it is OK.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I will call the store I got it from to ask them. I can still return the knife, but you are right, the strider may need to be cycled a lot more to get it to smooth out.

If you are anal retentive, the Sebenza is the
perfect knife for you, that is for sure. It is essentially mechanical perfection from folding to lockup. I was expecting the SNG to be similar for $100 more than the Sebenza (!!!) but it is obviously a much different knife. I am a little disappointed by the slop (just a tiny bit) at this price point. Problem is I don't have much experience with folders and the Sebenza probably isn't a good indication of what one should minimally expect from a folder.
 
sorry I didnt read your post carefully enough the first time, when you say slop, do you mean horizontal or vertical?
 
It's hard to explain. I'm not talking about movement when the blade is locked up--that is rock solid with a capital r. I'm talking about when you are folding and unfolding the knife. I can wiggle the blade about a degree back and forth before the blade starts moving smoothly. In fact there is a faint clicking sound as I wiggle it back and forth. It's analgous to slop you might find in the steering wheel of a car -- you can wiggle the wheel back and forth but the car doesn't change direction.
 
OK, so when you're saying wiggle, you mean the blade doesn't wiggle side to side, it moves kind of jerky but along the normal motion about the pivot?
 
That's right. At first I thought it might be that the pocket for the ball in the lock was too big so that the ball would move a tiny bit in that space before rolling smoothly, but I am pretty sure that is not it (I can explain if you want me to).
 
Goldistheanswer said:
That's right. At first I thought it might be that the pocket for the ball in the lock was too big so that the ball would move a tiny bit in that space before rolling smoothly, but I am pretty sure that is not it (I can explain if you want me to).
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yeah actually it sounded like the detent to me too. it's really hard to say if something is wrong with your knife without actually seeing it. it sounds like break-in issues though. is every thing else normal with the knife? like lock-up and all that?
 
Lock up is superb. It's just opening and closing it that looks and feels third class next to the Sebenza. Then again you can't flick a Sebenza open like a strider without risking damage.
 
Ankerson said:
After break in it will be fine.
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+1 :thumbup: Like this man says... Just keep cycling the knife open & closed and it WILL smooth out. Also (fwiw - though I don't want to open a can of worms), You can flick a Sebenza open without risking damage, just like you can with a Strider folder, BUT neither were designed to be 'flicking' knives. It can be done with both, but I don't reco it for either. It's just a bad habit. Broken in, the Striders will be smoooth to open and close, but should have a good positive resistance. That 'jerkiness' you describe, will go away.
 
Goldistheanswer said:
Lock up is superb. It's just opening and closing it that looks and feels third class next to the Sebenza. Then again you can't flick a Sebenza open like a strider without risking damage.
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flicking a Sebenza open won't damage it, they just don't want you wrist-flicking it constantly, like all day while watching football, because it's just unnecessary wear. there'a few threads on that in the CRK forums. if the lock bar isn't sticking, it shouldn't be wearing at an unreasonable rate. actually, I've heard of many more Strider locks sticking than Sebenza locks.
 
RobME said:
+1 :thumbup: Like this man says... Just keep cycling the knife open & closed and it WILL smooth out. Also (fwiw - though I don't want to open a can of worms), You can flick a Sebenza open without risking damage, just like you can with a Strider folder, BUT neither were designed to be 'flicking' knives. It can be done with both, but I don't reco it for either. It's just a bad habit. Broken in, the Striders will be smoooth to open and close, but should have a good positive resistance. That 'jerkiness' you describe, will go away.
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Why the metallic clank when I quickly move the blade a couple of degrees back and forth along it's normal arc? It gets worse (more slop) as the blade gets closer to the closed position. Whatever it is, normal or not, it feels sloppy.
 
Metallic clank? Where is the blade when you hear this sound?... As the blade moves into it's resting (closed) position in the handle, it would be the detent ball reseating into its hole in the blade tang. Or... on the opposite end just before the blade is fully open and locked, it would be the detent ball moving off the blade tang. Other than this (if you're following what I mean), there shouldn't be any metallic clank sound.

That jerky (stiff/loose) motion of the blade as you move it open and closed will smooth out completely over the next week or three but you have to give it time. It WILL break in. I can tell you how to eliminate/fine tune the knife to accelerrate the break-in but that would require you to open the knife up and polish a few surfaces... and if you don't have any insight into this or knowledge or awareness of how it's done... just leave it alone.

Opening a Strider (technically) voids the warranty, and no one is going to encourage you do take your knife apart (like it was a Sebenza). You'll just be told to send it in for service if need be. What you're going through with it is common. So... as you say, you've been a fixed blade guy. Cool. Be patient with your Strider. You'll be rewarded. It's not a Sebenza, but then again neither is the Sebenza a Strider.
 
Thanks for the pointers.
I know about the detents ( I'm a folder newb but not that much of a newb :)). It is clicking in the middle of the total arc and every where in between if I try it. It feels like an issue with the fit of the ball in the lock (too loose). It could be an issue with the pivot, but it is only play in the natural arc-- I can't move the blade up or down or side to side (looking at the knife laterally). In any event it doesn't feel like something a $500 knife should be doing. +1 for the Sebenza pleasing the anal retentive paranoid knife freaks out there in every facet.
 
Goldistheanswer said:
Thanks for the pointers.
I know about the detents ( I'm a folder newb but not that much of a newb :)). It is clicking in the middle of the total arc and every where in between if I try it. It feels like an issue with the fit of the ball in the lock (too loose). It could be an issue with the pivot, but it is only play in the natural arc-- I can't move the blade up or down or side to side (looking at the knife laterally). In any event it doesn't feel like something a $500 knife should be doing. +1 for the Sebenza pleasing the anal retentive paranoid knife freaks out there in every facet.
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what happens if you press the lockbar aside and open it, so that the detent isn't touching the blade? does it do the same thing?
 
tf8s said:
what happens if you press the lockbar aside and open it, so that the detent isn't touching the blade? does it do the same thing?
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That lock stop thingmabob makes this near impossible. I think It is the pivot be cause there is a portion of the action when you are just about to lock up the blade where the ball rolls off of the tang and the side of the titanium lock makes contact with the tang--then a couple of degrees futher and the side of the lock slips off and the top of the lock and the bottom of the tang lock up.

In those few degrees where the tang and lock are slidingover each other (no ball) i still get some slop, although very minimal compared to when the blade is inthe middle of the arc or closer to being closed.
 
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Goldistheanswer said:
That lock stop thingmabob makes this near impossible. I think It is the pivot be cause there is a portion of the action when you are just about to lock up the blade where the ball rolls off of the tang and the side of the titanium lock makes contact with the tang--then a couple of degrees futher and the side of the lock slips off and the top of the lock and the bottom of the tang lock up.

In those few degrees where the tang and lock are slidingover each other (no ball) i still get some slop, although very minimal compared to when the balde is inthe middle of the arc or closer to being closed.
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oh you shold still be able to push it away enough to get the ball not touching, at least, I can on my XM-18, which has the same lock-bar stabilizer (lock stop).

I think if you aren't absolutely happy with it, you should return it; you mentioned before that you still could. considering you paid $500, you shouldn't have to deal with F&F issues (this definitely isn't the first I've heard of it happening with Strider). you could also send it in, but who knows how long it'll take you to get it back. I have heard that they will make most problems right, but for me personally, if I had a problem that I immediately noticed with a knife out of the box, I wouldn't send it in for warranty work, I'd return it, if possible.

for less than what you paid, you could get an XM-18, a Kirby Lambert, or a Yuna, all of which should have nearly perfect F&F and should be just as tough as the SNG (some of those might have a thinner blade, but otherwise they should be very tough), but I'm not trying to sell you anything, and it could be that your SNG is absolutely fine.
 
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I think the slop you are describing during opening of the blade is something I have also noticed in my Striders. It doesn't happen in the locked position and also not in the closed position with the detent ball engaged, but at all other blade positions inbetween, right?
I think this comes from the pivot hole in the blade being slightly larger than the pivot's outer diameter. When rotating your blade open or closed, it will first move in a way until the blade pivot hole touches the pivot, this is the movement you notice as slop. After this, it will start its regular rotation on the washers.
I'm not particulary concerned about this, but I can understand how you would dislike it. Technically it is nothing to worry about, but I'm sure either the dealer or Strider themselves could address this under warranty of you wanted them to.
 
Goldistheanswer said:
The SNG is a different story. The folding action has the tiniest bit of slop in it -- when the blade is in any position but locked up, I can wiggle the blade a half millimeter or so along its arc. Just a tiny but of slop, but its still there. I think this slop contributes to the very jerky folding action.

).
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This is perfectly normal. My Sng is exactly like this. Many Strider owners report the same thing, it is just the way Strider designs it.

As far as deployment goes, the Sng and Seb couldn't be more different.

Sebs are made to be opened slowly and deliberately. They are very smooth however.

Striders are designed to be snapped open with the thumb. They are actually very hard to open slowly and deliberately.

Two very unique knives.
 
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