Serious problem with lock on new Military (440V)

C

Cliff Stamp

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I got home friday to find my new Military, which was a nice surprise for the weekend. Blade shape and handle had good geometry and I was looking forward to doing some work with the 440V blade. However the lock is very unstable and fails even elementary testing.

Holding the knife in the normal way with my thumb on the ramp and the liner resting just infront of the first joint on my index finger, the slightest pressure at all with my grip and my thumb easily folds the lock. Not very good at all. I then simulated about 10 pick ups to see if I was being artificial with my grip, and each time the lock folded.

I examined the knife to see what the problem was because I figured that the liner might have bad alignment. But no, when opened, the liner lock engages the tang of the knife with its full width. As far as I can see its a combination of a few things. First off the liner is very thin, this means that it does not engage much of the blade and its also very easy to flex. Second the teeth on the liner make it bite into your skin when you grip the knife which means that your skin will not slip across it when you tighten you grip. All of these add together to make the liner move very easily and unlock with the slightest tightening of your grip.

Now my question is - is this normal behavior? If it is not, good, because I like the knife in almost every other respect. Do I send it back to Spyderco or the dealer?

-Cliff


[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 24 April 1999).]
 
Cliff - This is not normal at all. The lock up system on the Military is one of the best. There must be a malfunction in this particular piece. Either the interface is "not right" or the eccentric pivot needs to be adjusted. This can only be done at our factory in Golden. My apologies for the inconvenience. The fastest and best way to solve your problem would be to send it to us. Danelle will take good care of you.
sal
 
It seems to me that the liner is not engaging all the way into the blade for a solid lock-up. I have encountered this before with other brands and including spyderco. I guess trying to get the liner to land just right on the blade is not the easiest thing in the world. I have also seen some new liner locks that the liner travelled all the way across and touched the other liner. They say this is not good either, but in my opinion it's less likely to fail.
 
Found the address :

Spyderco, Inc.
Attn: Customer Service
20011 Golden Gate Canyon Road
Golden, CO 80403 U.S.A

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 24 April 1999).]
 
Cliff -- I also received my 440V Military last Friday (Saturday here in the Philippines). Unlike yours, the lock on mine was rock solid. Thank God (and Spyderco), or I might have to pay the $60 as return UPS shipment, the same amount that Spyderco paid UPS in shipping me this gift.

I agree with you that the liner does seem to look very thin, but because it's made of stainless I believe it has the sufficient stiffness to lock on the tang without flexing. One thing I like about the tang is the "ramp" that Vince Ford designed to prevent the liner from running to the other end of the tang. A simple, yet brilliant solution.

I also did the white-knuckle test on my Military and it passed very well.

I like the "teeth" on the liners as, being a lefty, this helps my left thumb unlock the liner.

As with most of us forumites, we tend to be biased against liner locks. But I believe Sal when he said that the Military, Starmate and Centofante are the "rightest" linerlock folders -- production or custom -- around.

I guess yours just slipped thru their QC.

Hope to read how your Military performs after its visit from the Golden infirmary ...
smile.gif






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"It is better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot." -- Anonymous


[This message has been edited by Titan (edited 26 April 1999).]
 
Titan :

Thank God (and Spyderco), or I might have to pay the $60 as return UPS shipment
Click to expand...

If a dealer or maker expected me to pay for shipping because they were at fault it would be the last order from me. There are lots of dealers that would not expect you to foot the cost :

www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum25/HTML/000053.html

Glad to see yours was solid. As for :

Hope to read how your Military performs after its visit from the Golden infirmary ...
Click to expand...

That's a given. I really like the ergonomics of the Military and the blade geometry. I am a little concerned about tip strength but time will tell.

The Calypso Jr. I also ordered at the same time has earned a place in my pocket for daily carry. It performs really well at light slicing tasks. Thanks Joe for pointing this out awhile ago.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 26 April 1999).]
 
Cliff~

By any chance are you left-handed? Let me know...

I will watch the mail for your knife.

Danelle
 
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