Should a Shaman open when it's dropped?

[jayjaygee]

I'm looking at buying a second hand Shaman from a friend of a friend but (luckily?) he dropped it and the blade opened when he did. Otherwise it seems great, but I wondered if that could mean it's defective or a counterfeit? Or is that normal? I guess if you want smooth action you run that risk maybe?

 

[kreole]

Yeah it can easily. A little shock will pop a leaf spring out of place, and there's no bias to closure once the detent is out of place. Same can happen with liner and frame locks

 

[jayjaygee]

Yeah it can easily. A little shock will pop a leaf spring out of place, and there's no bias to closure once the detent is out of place. Same can happen with liner and frame locks

Until recently, all of my folding knives have been Buck lock-backs. I've recently bought a couple of axis-style locks, but this is my first Spyderco.

So if it dropped and opened, I should not assume that means it's a counterfeit, right? I know you just answered this, but it's not a cheap mistake for me to make so I'm just asking for reassurance. Seller seems like a legit person, but who knows if he was scammed.

 

[Ozmose]

Nah, it's normal. I've had it happen on $1,000+ knives. It really doesn't take a lot of force to overcome a detent. It's different for back-locks since the spring tension pushes on the blade in closed position. If you release the detent on a compression lock, the blade can just swing freely.

 

[Sal Glesser]

Hi Jayjaygee.

I agree with Ozmose. I believe he is correct in his analysis.

sal

 

[ricklikesknives]

Depending on height and force, any folding knife.. with any style of lock.. is susceptible to opening when dropped, in my experience. Best practice is to not drop knives..

 

[stillshot2]

This is kind of like asking, I wrecked my car and one of the doors flew open. Is that normal?