Norgman
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 283
Possible Silver Bullet for Spyderco cupped washer issue!
There are several threads on BF that address and discuss cupped washer issues with Spyderco Southard and Domino knives. I plan to post my findings on multiple threads with the intent to help fellow BF members with what I have found to be a solution that has worked for me. I own 6 Southard C156GPBN knives and all of them had cupped washers when I disassembled them brand new from Spyderco. Their "new condition" flipping action varied from good to average. As you can tell I really like the Southard model since I own 6 of them and my concern over time is the action was going to degrade as the very thin (.005") stainless flat washers continue to cup and eventually fail entirely.
What I have determined is that the plastic bearing washer works just fine and is not a concern for wearing out, the issue as we have all noted is the cupping of the thin (.005") flat stainless steel washer the bearing washer rides on. My silver bullet is that I have found a replacement flat stainless steel washer that perfectly fits the Southard knife pivot and is .010" thick which is twice as thick as the factory .005" flat washer. The extra .005" thickness on each side of the pivot has not impacted the blade centering nor blade play and in my opinion improves the flipping action. Best of all, NO MORE CUPPING!!! I do not own a Domino but I bet a dollar to a doughnut this washer is the same size as the washers used in my Southard. It would be great if someone with a Domino could validate this for the team.
The replacement stainless steel washers can be found at Superior Washer & Gasket Corp. ( www.superiorwasher.com ), part number 300-1044-010. Their dimensions are, ID .219", OD .432", thickness .010". They cost $2.00 each. I have used them in a couple of my Southard knives and have flipped them 100's of times. It worked for me, I hope it works for you!
There are several threads on BF that address and discuss cupped washer issues with Spyderco Southard and Domino knives. I plan to post my findings on multiple threads with the intent to help fellow BF members with what I have found to be a solution that has worked for me. I own 6 Southard C156GPBN knives and all of them had cupped washers when I disassembled them brand new from Spyderco. Their "new condition" flipping action varied from good to average. As you can tell I really like the Southard model since I own 6 of them and my concern over time is the action was going to degrade as the very thin (.005") stainless flat washers continue to cup and eventually fail entirely.
What I have determined is that the plastic bearing washer works just fine and is not a concern for wearing out, the issue as we have all noted is the cupping of the thin (.005") flat stainless steel washer the bearing washer rides on. My silver bullet is that I have found a replacement flat stainless steel washer that perfectly fits the Southard knife pivot and is .010" thick which is twice as thick as the factory .005" flat washer. The extra .005" thickness on each side of the pivot has not impacted the blade centering nor blade play and in my opinion improves the flipping action. Best of all, NO MORE CUPPING!!! I do not own a Domino but I bet a dollar to a doughnut this washer is the same size as the washers used in my Southard. It would be great if someone with a Domino could validate this for the team.
The replacement stainless steel washers can be found at Superior Washer & Gasket Corp. ( www.superiorwasher.com ), part number 300-1044-010. Their dimensions are, ID .219", OD .432", thickness .010". They cost $2.00 each. I have used them in a couple of my Southard knives and have flipped them 100's of times. It worked for me, I hope it works for you!
