Spyderco Tenacious - rough opening

Thrill

Thrill

Joined
Sep 9, 2010
Messages
3,598
I picked up a Tenacious the other day and was pretty impressed overall considering what I paid. Really didn't have any concerns as I like the feel and was even able to flick it open pretty smooth and fast even though this is my first Spyderco. Now today when I'm playing with it I'm having some issues. It seems that it's opening rougher today than on day one!! Even after numerous times being opened and closed. I can hear what appears to be metal on metal in the pivot area; sometimes it's worse than others as it comes and goes. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I don't want my first experience with Spyderco to go downhill.
 
try spraying some brake clean in there. Sounds like its just some grit rubbing on the blade. Or if you want take the blade right out and clean the pivot area and apply a couple very small drops of oil.
 
i had the same thing happen on my persistence ( little bro of tenacious). whats going on is that the wahsers are polishing the blade and its getting all gross. i just took some WD-40 and some cue tips and oiled it up. after i did so its been smooth ever since.
 
Just loosen the pivot a bit and rinse it with hot water and some soap.
Probably some pocket lint found its way into the action...
 
most of my gecs come in with polishing compound in the pivot area,on the spydies it may be residue from machining lube. good advice so far--i just take mine in backyard *& blow it out with wd40
 
I heard that wd-40 isn't the best and it's better to use an oil. Any recommendations on an oil specifically for knives?
 
On a cheaper user knife, I just run hot tap water over it while opening/closing the blade. Then I use a spray can with gun lube to blast the heck out of the pivot while opening/closing and it's worked for me.
 
WD-40 works well when you're cleaning something. It's also a fairly decent lube but it's not a good long term protection against rust. Of course if you use your knife for food prep, WD-40 isn't the best thing.

I use anything from 3-in-1 oil, CLP, turbine lube, etc. What ever is handy.
 
savagelh said:
try spraying some brake clean in there. Sounds like its just some grit rubbing on the blade. Or if you want take the blade right out and clean the pivot area and apply a couple very small drops of oil.
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Brake cleaner works great for quickly cleaning out gunk.
I used it as my first step in cleaning my .45s when I shot competitively.

Just keep in mind it strips off ALL oil or protection, so you need to add that protection back after you use the brake cleaner.
I use Break Free, but lots of things work fine.
 
Thrill said:
I heard that wd-40 isn't the best and it's better to use an oil. Any recommendations on an oil specifically for knives?
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WD-40 works great not sure why you would think otherwise. Only downside is that its not food safe and in that case for any knife that I use for food prep I use mineral oil which works great as well but doesnt last as long as WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil.
 
kawr said:
WD-40 works great not sure why you would think otherwise. Only downside is that its not food safe and in that case for any knife that I use for food prep I use mineral oil which works great as well but doesnt last as long as WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil.
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I think this comes primarily from the gun guys. When I go to the firearms maintenance forums, there's a lot of talk about WD-40 not being the best thing for guns.

Folding knives are very different. No worries about heat, pressures, high speed moving parts, non-stainless steel parts, etc.
 
Yep also had this issue. Smooth as heck for as long as I could remember and out of nowhere got terribly stiff/rough. Although it smoothed back out after opening and closing a bit.

Spyderco Tenacious is a high value knife for the money and being your first Spyderco at this spectrum I wouldn't let the Tenacious be your "initial" impression of Spyderco. It is a great knife, but it is an one of the most affordable offerings that reps Spyderco's logo.
 
ZippoThisKnifeThat said:
Spyderco Tenacious is a high value knife for the money and being your first Spyderco at this spectrum I wouldn't let the Tenacious be your "initial" impression of Spyderco. It is a great knife, but it is an one of the most affordable offerings that reps Spyderco's logo.
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This. :thumbup:
 
mine did this but I just kept working it and eventualy it broke in nice and smooth only complaint is it seems to have a catch when trying to close it. But i think that will eventualy go awa.
 
I use some olive oil from my kitchen to lube my Tenacious.

Works great, you just need to remove the excess oil carefully the prevent dirt sticking to it. No worries preparing food with it this way. Makes the opening buttery smooth.

I noticed that a couple of hours after lubing the effect is much smoother compared to the first minutes after applying the oil. I Guess that because olive oil's kinda thick.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Got it going pretty smooth with a tad of WD-40. Now after a couple days of use I'm starting to notice a little side-to-side blade play. Is this to be expected in the Tenacious because of it's "value" (low cost)?
 
Thrill said:
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Got it going pretty smooth with a tad of WD-40. Now after a couple days of use I'm starting to notice a little side-to-side blade play. Is this to be expected in the Tenacious because of it's "value" (low cost)?
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Tighten the pivot up a bit and it should disappear.
 
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