Spyderco Question

GenghisJohn

GenghisJohn

Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
63
This is a serious question so don't pile on too hard...:cool:

As a big knife enthusiast I am a bit surprised myself but I have never owned a Spyderco. I have handled most of them from time to time and I realize they are very sharp and have quite a following.
But here's why I havent purchased one...

I have this pet peeve you could say, for folders without an adjustable pivot. Even if I leave it alone as I do with most of mine I still like to have it there. I fear that the blade will someday loosen and a blade that moves side to side AT ALL freaks me out.

I love the Military model although it is a little large. I almost bought one of those. They have the adjustable pivot.
The Delica as raved about in another thread does not.

Any advice or thoughts as to the Delica "loosening" up? Do they? Don't they? I have avoided many customs too for this reason.

Am I just paranoid?:D
 
You're not paranoid.
some us have VERY eccentric tastes in what we want in a knife.
I don't really know enough about Spydercos to answer your question although, many spydercos do have adjustable pivots.
 
I also avoided owning spyderco's for awhile. I didn't like the appearance of most of them. Recently I got a used delica in a trade, and it made me realize just how great spyderco knives are. This knife is used and I think pretty old, but it has rock solid lock up with no blade play at all. I don't think you'll have a problem with blade play on the lockback models at least.
 
Yeah, I never liked the look of them either...I think I'm gonna get one of their $30-50 models, maybe an Endura and mess around with it.
 
If your Delica loosens up, you can send it back to Spyderco to have it adjusted. You could adjust it yourself. Rest one side of the pivot pin on an anvil or such, and gently tap the other side of the pivot pin with a ball peen hammer. That would shorten the rivet and tighten the pivot. Be careful, because if you get it too tight there’s no way to loosen it. Hammering the pivot would probably void your warrantee.
 
Keep it lubed, it'll lock up rock solid. I still haven't had a problem with my delica, even with borderline abuse (probably abuse).
 
You are SO not alone in this concern.
I am the same way, except I bought about five or six Delicas before I realized that I do not care for the "set at the factory" pivot tension, nor do I like the fact that the handles are not disassemblable.

I still am a big Spyderco fan -- that's why I started acquiring their other models -- the ones that DO allow the user to adjust or, if necessary, disassemble. (Careful, they say many manufacturers' warrantees are void if the user disassembles the knife -- but I don't know how they'd know...)

I got myself a Gunting, which is built like an ANVIL, and has a wicked blade with a combo edge. I also got a Vesuvius (Frank Centofante design), which I feel is the most attractive Spyderco knife ever made. When new out of the box, it did have a bit of side-to-side blade play, which I remedied by tightening the pivot screw. I have to say that someone on this forum did post about difficulty removing the Vesuvius' blade wiggle and I bought two specimens in spite of this because I like the design so much. Sure enough, both of mine came with a tiny bit of wiggle. I cannot explain why, but the knife seems to have that problem innately. I have tightened mine up to a point where I can barely feel the wiggle, if at all, and the action is still not over-tight, i.e. I can still easily open the knife, even doing the "hold the blade hole and flick the handle down" trick.

Because the blade wiggle is tightened down to a quite satisfactory level without making the action too stiff, I feel I can recommend a Vesuvius with a clear conscience -- even to someone like you, who shares my finickiness for tightness and adjustability. Just get yourself a Benchmade "Blue Box," which comes with all the attachment bits you might need to adjust a wide variety of Spyderco and Benchmade knives. They're only around ten bucks.

Good luck finding "your" knife. :)

---Jeffrey
 
I also really prefer screw construction so I can adjust things to how I like them. But I've had quite a few pinned or riveted Spyderco's and them hold up quite well. I used an old style Rescue for about 4 years when I worked in landscaping. It took its share of abuse and never loosened up appreciably. Just my experience.
 
Just a thought to throw in the pot, unlike a lot of custom knives Spyderco has made it's name manufacturing "working" knives that will see a lot of use and probably more than their fair share of abuse. If the piviot kept coming loose on thier pinned pivots I don't think the reputation would have lasted as long.

Ok, all of use would like adjustable pivots and screwwed construction, who wouldn't, but there is the cost to think about. Spyderco do have a number of models that are screw construction, even a model of Delica (CF-Delica), but have found in the past non-knife-knuts (the majority of purchasers) weren't willing to pay the extra.
 
yes, the delica's pivot will loosen in time. that may not be necessarily bad. when I first got the delica, it was too stiff to flick open (even a spydie drop), a couple of hard flicks later, it's nice n smooth.

and when it gets too loose (if ever), just tap the pivot a little with the butt of a screwdriver. works fine that way.
 
Excellent...thanks.

Did I hear right that they now have a smaller version of the Military?

Loved everything about that knife except it was about a foot long folder...LOL:D
 
NO, it will be coming out soon. I believe it will be called the Paramilitary. BTW Check eBay for Spydercos, there are many discontinued models that you will only be able to see on eBay. I personally believe that there is a Spyderco for everyone, they have a lot of different models. Keep an eye for the Howard Viele model, it's gorgeous.
 
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