Para washers

Shmackey

Shmackey

Joined
May 5, 2000
Messages
1,478
I had to remove the pivot pin and blade on my Para to clean out some grit that wouldn't flush out with the knife assembled. I noticed that one side had one of those thin orange washers, and the other had two. I put it back like that, because I figure it can't hurt, but I wonder: is it supposed to have two on one side, or did they just stick together and go in as one when it was assembled?
 
In my experience, the number of washers that you may find in a Spyderco folder is pretty much random. It’s usually two to four per knife. (This is with the ultra-thin, orange plastic washers.) I call it the “washer lottery”. :)

I would guess that Spyderco uses some kind of machine to stamp out the washers and that one will often stick on top of another. Since the washers are so thin, it’s hard to notice that they’re doubled when the knife is assembled.

When you remove the additional washers from a knife, don’t just throw them away. It’s easy to accidentally crinkle or tear one when you reassemble a knife, so it’s handy to have a stash of extra washers to use as replacements.

I don’t have any experience with Spydercos that use PB washers and can be easily disassembled. Hopefully, the newer PB washers don’t suffer from the same doubling effect as the orange plastic ones.
 
I call it the “washer lottery”.

That made me laugh. (very good quote!) I agree, just a random double washer thing. I just used two of them and kept the other. Worked fine.
 
Shoot I wish I had some extras. I've never been fortunate enough to get a knife with more than two and it ain't cause I haven't had em apart neither.

STR
 
Come to think of it, I had a Millie a few years ago that exhibited the same thing. Interesting.

Good idea about keeping the extra as a spare, but it's already all back together. Well, I guess I'm keeping it as a spare--stored inside my Para.
 
I haaaaaaaate those washers. Worst "feel" ever, IMHO.

(Still a Spyderco fan, just think those washers were a step in the wrong direction.)
 
Shmackey said:
I had to remove the pivot pin and blade on my Para to clean out some grit that wouldn't flush out with the knife assembled. I noticed that one side had one of those thin orange washers, and the other had two. I put it back like that, because I figure it can't hurt, but I wonder: is it supposed to have two on one side, or did they just stick together and go in as one when it was assembled?
Click to expand...

Of course it depends how thick the washers are and how parrallel the handle slabs are, but the wrong number of washers could make the blade wiggle a small amount, even when the pivot screw is tight.

However, my paramilitary had g10 slabs that were too close together at the very front and the blade brushed against both sides when opened (but not when closed - only the front edge hung inwards too much). I sanded them down for smooth and quiet opening. But if your handle slabs are in the same state as mine were, an extra washer might not hurt or even balance it out.
 
cerulean said:
In my experience, the number of washers that you may find in a Spyderco folder is pretty much random. It’s usually two to four per knife.
Click to expand...

Have you noticed odd washer numbers on Japanese, models, Golden models, or both?
 
STR said:
Shoot I wish I had some extras. I've never been fortunate enough to get a knife with more than two and it ain't cause I haven't had em apart neither.

STR
Click to expand...

STR, e-mail me with an address and I'll mail you two. That's all I have, but I know I'll never use them. You'll get more use out of them than me!
 
My Para (early model) had the orange plastic washers, but the newer models are fitted with PB. I, as many people, griped about "gritty" opening on the early models, so Sal sent me two PB washers. They work great. You could request PB, if you want.
 
Were the PB washers just drop-in replacements? The plastic ones seem as thin as possible. I'd be interested in using PB if it's that simple.
 
Carl64 said:
Have you noticed odd washer numbers on Japanese, models, Golden models, or both?
Click to expand...

I can’t really say if multiple washers are more commonly found in Seki or Golden knives. It seems like the Golden models are often screwed together, while the Seki ones are more likely to be pinned, so most of the folders that I’ve taken apart were ones made in Golden.

It sounds like an exaggeration, but I actually can’t remember the last time I saw a Spyderco that only had two washers (one on each side of the blade). Probably the last five or six knives that I took apart all had doubled washers on at least one side.

When I’ve removed extra washers from a folder, it did seem to improve the smoothness of the opening a tiny bit, but that could have just been psychological. The washers are so thin that I doubt having more than one on a side would really effect the knife’s performance much.
 
The PB washers were just drop in, as easy as taking the knife apart and putting it back together. They were .005" thick I think.
 
It could be that each knife is tuned for variances by the washers to bring everything to snuff but in my experience the thickness of three of those washers won't be noticed much anyways. It is probably more likely that they just stick together from static or a light film of oil.

STR
 
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