Para 3 Lightweight

Wharn said:
Interesting... I thought BD1N was supposed to be fairly rust resistant?
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That’s what I thought also . Got mine wet a few times but wiped it down quickly on my pant leg with a few swipes after using it and being caught in the rain with no issues . Since then though I’ve put a light coat of gun oil on it like I do with all my knives regardless of the blade steel .
 
J John_0917
My guess is because of the FRN that maybe when mass produced the tolerances aren’t as consistent as g10.
Mine out of the box was a free faller with a little flick not much and blade is dead centered.After break-in now no flick is needed and no blade play since day one, also never to needed to adjust the pivot.
Maybe try disassembling it and reassemble it.
 
Mine was perfectly centered and free swinging out of the box. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I would have to go through a break in period. My G10 para 3 wasn't this smooth out of the box.
 
I now have two lightweight Para 3’s and I love them. Since autos were legalized in Illinois 8/11/17, I have been overwhelmingly focused on them. That said, auto carry in Illinois is still tricky because individual towns can still ban them. It is nice to carry a knife that is legal everywhere accept Chicago. I also had just forgotten how much I love FRN Spydercos. The price, light weight, quality steel, and sharp blades, are simply what knives should be.
 
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J John_0917
I don’t mean any disrespect but with just a little of normal care this blade steel would of normally been fine . Some super steels if you leave wet over night with out wiping it down could also show some staining. With just a periodic wipe down with some oil or flitz once in a while is all it would need that and wipe it down after it gets wet within a few hours. I’ve had many blade steels over the years and have never had a issue with any including D2 and tool steels a like .
All they need is a little love and they will treat you well . If your not that way then I highly recommend the upper scale of super steel and you still might have some issues depending on the time period of no touch Maintence and the type of water your subjecting it to .
I recommend picking you up some flitz and you’ll only have to use it maybe every week or two .
Again No disrespect because I know some folks don’t like to maintain there knives and that’s ok it’s your knife but I wouldn’t put all the blame on that particular blade steel .
Everyone is different but Myself I enjoy maintaining it , sharpening almost more then using it :)
 
Since I’ve got mine I’ve carried it daily and used it lightly cutting some rope , cardboard and other light duty . Put some flitz on it and wiped it down with oil once . Got caught in the rain using it at work and only wiped the blade down on my pant leg with a couple swipes and put it back on my pocket .
This is the end result
LtWQZ7D.jpg
 
TheFactor said:
J John_0917
I don’t mean any disrespect but with just a little of normal care this blade steel would of normally been fine . Some super steels if you leave wet over night with out wiping it down could also show some staining. With just a periodic wipe down with some oil or flitz once in a while is all it would need that and wipe it down after it gets wet within a few hours. I’ve had many blade steels over the years and have never had a issue with any including D2 and tool steels a like .
All they need is a little love and they will treat you well . If your not that way then I highly recommend the upper scale of super steel and you still might have some issues depending on the time period of no touch Maintence and the type of water your subjecting it to .
I recommend picking you up some flitz and you’ll only have to use it maybe every week or two .
Again No disrespect because I know some folks don’t like to maintain there knives and that’s ok it’s your knife but I wouldn’t put all the blame on that particular blade steel .
Everyone is different but Myself I enjoy maintaining it , sharpening almost more then using it :)
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I totally agree, no offense taken...I do normally care for my knives, especially the tool and carbon steels.

The whole point of not being attentive to BD1N was to see how it handles things, this is new steel to most of us (myself included) and I want to see it’s characteristics. It rusting at times isn’t a problem in my book, it’s just something to note that it really isn’t as stainless as many (including me) expected...Especially since BD1 is very stain resistant.

Where else it has surprised me is that the edge retention has been better than I expected and MUCH higher than BD1. I’d really like to know the hardness on this, I have a feeling they went to the high end of the range, which probably cut down stain resistant and maximized edge retention.
 
John_0917 said:
I totally agree, no offense taken...I do normally care for my knives, especially the tool and carbon steels.

The whole point of not being attentive to BD1N was to see how it handles things, this is new steel to most of us (myself included) and I want to see it’s characteristics. It rusting at times isn’t a problem in my book, it’s just something to note that it really isn’t as stainless as many (including me) expected...Especially since BD1 is very stain resistant.

Where else it has surprised me is that the edge retention has been better than I expected and MUCH higher than BD1. I’d really like to know the hardness on this, I have a feeling they went to the high end of the range, which probably cut down stain resistant and maximized edge retention.
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Well said Sir and totally agree with you on all accounts :thumbsup:
 
TheFactor said:
Well said Sir and totally agree with you on all accounts :thumbsup:
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What’s the saying about some members of the herd being sacrificed to benefit the rest?

Also, my P3 was one of the very first to get to a dealer, I wonder if the heat treat will be adjusted over time.
 
I love my Para 3 LW and looking forward to other colors and blade steels. I am working on a mod right now, shaving down the built in FRN bushing and installing a Phosphor bronze washer. I have some that are the same dimensions as the one in the knife. I see no reason why it shouldn't work, since the blade steel is already riding on the FRN.

It is a trial and error fit right now as I have to remove the same amount of material as the width of the bushing. I'll post up when I get it finished.

I have no complaints about the smoothness of mine and it has no blade play. It is however highly sensitive to pivot adjustments on the FRN side, due to the FRN on steel. Adding the bushing should give a bit of a cushion and make it less sensitive. I can't see it being any smoother, but it sure won't hurt it at all.

I imagine Spyderco designed it like this as a cost saving measure, not a requirement of the Para 3 LW design.



TXPO
 
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