Q Ball

Kreyzhorse

Kreyzhorse

Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
2,496
Haven't seen much on it, but does anyone have the Q Ball and what are your initial thoughts?
 
Haven't handled one. I really like my other ball locks from spyderco. Looks great, but the price seems a bit steep for VG10 and G10 to me.
 
I purchased one...tried it for a short time....REALLY wanted to like it.....but returned it. Not a good fit in my hand (small hands here) and way too hard to close. My fingers are pretty small and I had to really dig into the opening to engage the ball lock to allow for closure.
 
kenb said:
I purchased one...tried it for a short time....REALLY wanted to like it.....but returned it. Not a good fit in my hand (small hands here) and way too hard to close. My fingers are pretty small and I had to really dig into the opening to engage the ball lock to allow for closure.
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That's too bad. Also hard to understand why they made this knife and the D'Allara with an inaccessible ball lock.
 
Just curious, what made the knife uncomfortable or was it just the ball lock wasn't very functional for you?
Conversely, i have big hands and wondered if it was going to be a little too small for my taste.
 
I pre-ordered this and mine arrived last week. I love everything about it except that it's damn near impossible to close because the ball is hidden too far in there. I have to dig just fingers in at just the right angle to get enough grip on the ball.

It would be 100 times better if they just put the Manix 2 style lock grips.

It's frustrating because I like the rest of the knife. But I think it's going back. I'm never going to reach for a knife that is a pain in the ass to close.
 
The older D'Allara had the recesses cut out and you could fit the fattest of fingers in there. The new D'Allara and Qball doesn't look it has any recesses at all. I'd imagine that it would be a pain in the ass using the very tips of your fingers to close the knife....
 
Glad I read this thread before pulling the trigger on one...Thanks for the info...hope they fix this issue bc it's a cool looking design.
 
You are actually supposed to clip your finger nails in a special way to interface with the uncaged ball lock.
 
I have xl hands and had to resort to using my pinky to disengage the lock... It was very odd to me spyderco designed it the way it is.
 
I have a Q Ball on order and will report back when I get it. I already have the D'Allara 3 though, and its lock seems the same as the Q Ball, and I find it even easier than a Manix 2 to close one-handed. I just pull on the ball with my thumb nail and flip the blade around with my forefinger. Your nail does not need to be cut any special way, but it sort of scrapes the G-10 a bit the first 2 or 3 times until you get the hang of it. My thumb nail just extends about a mm and a half (from the "quick"-- it does not extend as far as the tip of my thumb), and that's plenty of length, but it won't work if you trim or bite your nails as close as possible. I have large hands, but my fingers are about average size. I do find it difficult to close with just the balls of my fingers, but very easy with the thumb nail. This is the way I've always closed the older, steel BBL D'Allaras.

The Q ball may be more difficult than the D'Allara 3 because of its smaller size. As I said, when my Q Ball arrives I'll compare it and report back.
 
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I don't think you can count on people having nails of a minimum length. My nails are shorter than you describe soon after trimming them.
 
I got one and like it a lot. I don't think the ball lock is hard to disengage, and it's a damn strong lock.

Of course, it's not a knife you'd sit and flip all day, but I don't use it for that.
 
I can't comment on the lock, but the price is a bit steep. Lol, I say that about a lot of knives these days...
 
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Kreyzhorse said:
Look forward to seeing your thoughts.
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My Q Ball finally got here today. When I got a brief look at one at a B&M a month ago, I thought the lock was just like that of the D'Allara 3, which I bought at the time. It turns out that the ceramic ball is a little smaller on the Q Ball. Just eyeballing them with a ruler, the Q Ball ceramic ball looks about 7.5mm in diameter and the D'Allara ball appears to be about 9mm. Using manual calipers, the Q Ball knife itself looks about a half mm thinner than the D'Allara, apparently due to slightly thinner G-10.

The ball spring on my Q Ball is a little stiff, whereas the one on the D'Allara has loosened up some after being opened and closed a couple of hundred times in the last month. Both can be disengaged and closed easily with one hand, using the thumbnail and forefinger, which is the way I always do it. Both can be unlocked and closed with one hand using the tips of thumb and forefinger (no thumbnail), but I find it easier to do this with two hands, especially the Q-Ball. I think this will be easier when the spring loosens up a bit.

Since the ceramic balls ride on steel rails and don't contact the G-10, it would be easy to carefully remove a small amount of G-10 around the opening and bevel it a little more if anybody wanted to, but for my part, it's not necessary using the thumbnail method.
 
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