Spyderco quality

[Reeek]

I have a ZDP MW CF coming next week myself - I hope I don't have to deal with a return either - fortunately I use a dealer who performs personal inspections on the knives before he ships. I hope mine comes out good because Sprint Run knives and Q/A issues are a bad combination - it's often best just to get your money back and move on in those cases where a good replacement isn't available. With all the pre-ordering for Sprint Run knives these days, available replacements can be hard to find sometimes.

 

[CanisMajor]

I'm not sure I understand why some proclaim 'I bought XX amount of knives and never had a problem.' That doesn't really matter when he showed us pictures of a poorly made knife. I have never had a knife that bad, not even CCC $5 knives. Not only is the lockup a little screwy, and the blade horribly ground, but the finish on some of the metal is very rough. It also looks like there is a gap between the liner and scale and that the liner might be sitting prone to the scale a little? The last two I can't tell for sure. Sure there might be a goof up sometimes and that is fine as long as the company stands behind the product when the person that got stuck with the lemon decides they don't want a lemon. If I worked at Spyderco I would want to get that knife back ASAP and replace it or give a refund/credit just so it wouldn't be out there for people to see. I know when someone shows me something poorly made I think twice about if I want to buy into something that company is selling. Most of my Spyderco knives have been great fit and finish which is why I am a little surprised that customer service would want this example out there to be shown to the world.

I was just saying that I have had no problems with their QC on all the knives I own. I guess I could have just said "No problems for me...", but I didn't. Yes the grind is bad on the knife, and yes Spyderco should take care of it, I would not be happy with that knife if I was in his situation.

Like others have said, this should be in the Spyderco Sub-Forum. Sal will most likely see it, and he will most definitely take care of it. I've been witness to that multiple times.

Canis

 

[Reeek]

Well said

I have mixed feelings about this post. I think the grind is obviously off on this knife, it is a "Sprint Run", and Spyderco does market the knife as having "brother-in-law" envy but, generally I don't think it's wise to "call out" a manufacturer on a public forum unless and until you've exhausted every avenue of resolution. When you stop and think about things, it's always preferable to try and create a win-win situation when possible. The challenge is of course to put emotions aside, while pursuing a satisfactory outcome....and that's always easier said than done. YMMV

- regards

 

[PG5768]

Sounds like the Seki City Spydercos are the ones experiencing the "tolerances" issue. There was an earlier thread with pics of a CF Native 4 with a blade grind almost as bad. Link

For knives with MSRPs of $180 or more, I would expect much tighter tolerances and a more rigorous QC/QA program. My Millie, Lums, and S30V Native don't have any issues. My first CF Native 4 had a problem with the liners scratching the blade and very rough opening. Rather than deal with CS I contacted my vendor who was kind enough to make an exchange. The 2nd one was better, he actually inspected it himself before sending it. That isn't something that should be needed with a knife that had an MSRP over $200.

BTW: Sal's in Germany at IWA this weekend. Doubt if he's got time to pop-in here to see the latest goings-on.

 

[Dorito Monk]

I'm sure lemons like your knife happen to all companies, but this isn't the first thread where someone has mentioned Spyderco's warranty dept. dismissing their legit gripes as "being within QC standards". That knife would not cut the mustard with me, either. :thumbdn:

The messed up knife is bad enough, but Spyderco refusing to replace or repair it really irks me. Flukes or manufacturing flaws I can understand, but poor CS policy can't be blamed on machinery or the luck of the draw. That's just unacceptable, imho.

Good to know Spyderco is so eager to help out their customers. Makes me think twice about the new Dragonfly I've been eying...

 

[Harry Callahan]

While I personally thing the OP is being a little nit-picky, I have noticed an overall decline in fit-and-finish on the Seki knives in recent years. I've actually been wondering what Japan's "made in" labeling laws are. Could they be outsourcing the bulk of the work out to China? I don't profess to know. What I DO know, however, is that the difference between a pre-03 Seki knife and one of recent production is like night and day. As has been pointed out on this thread, Taiwan Spydies are "where it's at" right now. Stunning quality coming out of Sal's Taiwan contract makers. Grab up all the Taiwan Spydies you can while this lasts. It's almost custom grade stuff and one of the best kept secrets in the industry. Cheers.

 

[ZippoThisKnifeThat]

To ZippoThisKnifeThat:

Well you did know what you were getting before you bought it, to be fair. That steel is similar to AUS8 I believe? Doesn't SOG and Al Mar as well as some other companies sell AUS8 blades for well over $100 and some over $200? Compared to that $70 is a deal.

And as a FYI, any metal handle is going to get scratched and marred like that. Even the beloved Sebenza which is made of the same material. If you don't like the looks then stay away from any metal handles because they all get goofed up fairly quickly.

I think the OP was ok in what he did. He didn't just throw Spyderco under the bus like some do. He contacted customer service and was told the knife was OK to them how it is. He gave them a chance and they stated their position and he then reported the details here with evidence. Sounds fair to me. I don't know why he has to go to the Spyderco subform to post this. He already contacted customer service and got an answer and like was mentioned before, he shouldn't have to go to the owner of the company to get something done.

In this day of computers and the internet it should be known there is a good chance that a problem is going to be brought to the attention of others in a public forum such as this one.

Well said many other brands do charge more but as far as SOG goes we all seen the bad rep people have been giving on this forum due to their price to quality ratios along with other complaints. If going that route this knife should have little complaints. ZDP189 and Carbon Fiber are premium materials that can surely cost far more than what they are sold for including this knife.

True that attention should not be brought to the Owner of a company, but if it ends with a positive outcome I'd be happy that the owner of a company would personally help my situation.

 

[Josh K]

You can get a bad knife from anyone. I have a few benchmades, and one spyderco. While I prefer benchmade overall, the sypderco is definitely a quality knife.

Sorry you had a bad experience, call them back and throw a fit.


-Freq

Because throwing a fit always gets you what you want.

 

[Stainz]

When Wallyworld had the S30V Natives for <$40 a few years ago, my loving bride bought me two of them - one is still unused. What a bargain - perfection in a smaller EDC. The choil - thumb jimping - eased thumbhole - sure lockback - all combine to exude a well thought out and executed product. Even better - it was made in Golden, CO, USA, Earth!

Oh sure, I'd rather have one made in G10 or Micarta - but that FRN is functional. That is one quality knife as-is, even if it was made to meet a relatively low price. I coerced several friends to go buy them there when they were available. To a man, we have all found them to have even bevels and razor edged - along the entire edge. That's at least a dozen of them. Sadly, if you took a sampling of that many of the same model Benchmades, and I love my Benchmades, you'd have some dull ones, uneven bevels, and probably a few missing screws! If I can judge Spyderco by the S30V Native, they have been super.

Stainz

PS My next knife will likely be another B-M... they are as good as Kershaw re their QC warranty work.

 

[spoonrobot]

I'd don't think the "off-center grind" is an issue. Looking over my production folders it appears to be a variance that comes with the fact that they are production knives. I've got knives from 4 different brands and all exhibit a variation to some degree with only a few being completely centered. I think it's a trifling complaint from users expecting too much from a production piece.

I'd be more concerned with the lock-up but I'd see if it settled in a little before declaring it an expensive paper weight. Then again I've never had a flair for the dramatic that some posters have.

 

[gine]

that blade must have slipped through q/a. The grind is hideous on that knife.

+1.

 

[hoopster]

I wonder if this really is a Seki city issue? IIRC my Lum Chinese is from Seki and it's the worst finished knife I've ever bought at any price. Not to mention the clip bent and stripped out of the handle the first day I wore it to work. Spyderco's response, "It's not covered under warranty". They did send new screws but I had to pay for a clip. In over 10 years of carrying knives I've never had a clip problem until that happened.
Spyderco's still my favorite knife company.

 

[Dorito Monk]

I think it's a trifling complaint from users expecting too much from a production piece.

Then again I've never had a flair for the dramatic that some posters have.

Here, here! :thumbup: It's ludicrous to expect a production company to uphold a high standard of manufacturing! These ingrates should be happy they got a knife at all. Suck it up and move along, folks.

 

[coop1957]

It is unfortunate that you received a knife that was not up to usual Sypderco standards. I've been fortunate in that I've never had a problem with any Spyderco knives. Over a 12 year period I've purchased 13 folders and two fixed blades with no problems at all.
Hope it all works out for you.

 

[Gramps]

I'm sure lemons like your knife happen to all companies, but this isn't the first thread where someone has mentioned Spyderco's warranty dept. dismissing their legit gripes as "being within QC standards". That knife would not cut the mustard with me, either.

The messed up knife is bad enough, but Spyderco refusing to replace or repair it really irks me. Flukes or manufacturing flaws I can understand, but poor CS policy can't be blamed on machinery or the luck of the draw. That's just unacceptable, imho.

Good to know Spyderco is so eager to help out their customers. Makes me think twice about the new Dragonfly I've been eying...

Here, here! :thumbup: It's ludicrous to expect a production company to uphold a high standard of manufacturing! These ingrates should be happy they got a knife at all. Suck it up and move along, folks.

Your level of outrage in the one comment and sarcasm in the other seem premature when the issue is still in resolution. I can't help but think you're carrying some other grudge into this discussion that has little to do with the subject. Better to let a fire burn itself out rather than fan the flames. Spyderco has developed an exceptional reputation for customer service. I've no doubt they will resolve this satisfactorily. Let's give them the opportunity to do just that without jumping to conclusions.

- regards

 

[spoonrobot]

Here, here! :thumbup: It's ludicrous to expect a production company to uphold a high standard of manufacturing! These ingrates should be happy they got a knife at all. Suck it up and move along, folks.

Hyperbole and sarcasm do not negate my point.

In looking at examples from four companies all exhibit the centering variance to some degree. In my years on this forum and elsewhere I've never even seen this issue mentioned; but now, in the span of a few hours, everyone is an expert on manufacturing tolerances, standards and specifications? Those declaring the grind to be poor have most likely not looked at a lot of other production pieces.

I'm reporting what I see, and that is that production folders exhibit this characteristic to some degree. To be dissatisfied with this and to see it as a flaw is a failing on the users part. Production knives will show variance in many different characteristics, this is just another area. Similarly, users will have different thresholds of satisfaction, I think that the OP and several other posters in this thread are holding theirs too high.

 

[PG5768]

Hyperbole and sarcasm do not negate my point.

In looking at examples from four companies all exhibit the centering variance to some degree. In my years on this forum and elsewhere I've never even seen this issue mentioned; but now, in the span of a few hours, everyone is an expert on manufacturing tolerances, standards and specifications? Those declaring the grind to be poor have most likely not looked at a lot of other production pieces.

I'm reporting what I see, and that is that production folders exhibit this characteristic to some degree. To be dissatisfied with this and to see it as a flaw is a failing on the users part. Production knives will show variance in many different characteristics, this is just another area. Similarly, users will have different thresholds of satisfaction, I think that the OP and several other posters in this thread are holding theirs too high.

Just finished looking at most of my folders, only 2 of the 30 showed any centering variance that was visible to my unaided eye (except for my reading glasses). A Schrade lockback and my CF Native. Buck, CRKT, SOG, Coast, Opinel, Schrade, Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw and ZT are the brands I reviewed.

I don't doubt that using a hand lens or camera zoom would make some of the more subtle off-centeredness visible.

As far as expecting a knife company to have symmetrical blade grinds, I don't think that is holding them to too high a standard.

 

[Dorito Monk]

You gentlemen are right - the sarcasm was uncalled for. It does not lend itself to friendly discussion and has no place here. :foot:

spoonrobot, I was trying to point out that your dismissal of the OP's concerns as 'trifling complaints' (and those of many other users in this thread) and your scathing comment about such users' 'flair for the dramatic' seemed to have the sole intention of brushing aside the totally valid opinions of many other members.

Gramps, feel free to read whatever you want into my comments, although I'm not sure what makes you think I'm bearing a grudge, or against whom I bear it (against spoonrobot? against Spyderco? against the eyeroll smilie?).

 

[Gramps]

You gentlemen are right - the sarcasm was uncalled for. It does not lend itself to friendly discussion and has no place here. :foot:

spoonrobot, I was trying to point out that your dismissal of the OP's concerns as 'trifling complaints' (and those of many other users in this thread) and your scathing comment about such users' 'flair for the dramatic' seemed to have the sole intention of brushing aside the totally valid opinions of many other members.

Gramps, feel free to read whatever you want into my comments, although I'm not sure what makes you think I'm bearing a grudge, or against whom I bear it (against spoonrobot? against Spyderco? against the eyeroll smilie?).

I don't think that anyone likes to see someone get taken advantage of or not get their money's worth, and I think that is what you perceived is at issue. That's pretty normal since we all can relate to having an experience like that. I do think that Spyderco's customer service has a history of being exceptional, and will make things right.

- regards

 

[yoda4561]

While I often look at posts like these, and think "man that OP is just nitpicking" in this case I'd say that knife definately does NOT meet the quality standard I expect from spyderco, not even close. If it were me I'd push the issue with spyderco to get it fixed, and if that didn't pan out get a refund/exchange from the retailer immediately. I have seen a number of benchmades that were about that bad though, which is why I just don't buy them unless I can hand pick it in person.