Spyderco Tenacious Very Stiff, Help

K

Kuttrs

Joined
Jun 8, 2012
Messages
61
So I just got a Spyderco Tenacious not even a week ago, and since I got it, it always made this slight squeaking noise whenever I deployed it, which I think was the ball detent on the liner having friction with the blade. Even after oiling, it would still squeak. But it was fine, it wasn't stiff or anything.

However, just 2 nights ago I applied some loc-tite in the pivot screw since it was constantly loosening up on me even after just like 20 flicks. The next day, when I picked it up to see how the loc-tite did, the entire knife was incredibly stiff and slow-deploying. I tried loosening the pivot screw, but it only slightly helped. It was still very stiff. I even oiled it, opened it up and cleaned it, did everything I possibly could, but it's simply not getting nice and loose again.

It's not the pivot screw that's causing this, when I took the knife apart and simply snapped the scales together and just kept the one pivot pin in and it was stiff that way, and I've come to the conclusion that it is the liner-lock that is causing this. I simply cannot fix it, what's going on? If I can't get this fixed I'll have to send it back to Spyderco and see if they fix the thing. Any ideas?
 
Take it apart, clean the washers and pivot area thoroughly. Put it back together and lube it up. It should be nice and smooth then. From what I've heard, stiffness and squeeking is a fairly common issue with new tenacious's. Mine had the same problem, but a thorough cleaning seems to have solved it.
 
Is there anything I should clean it with specifically, or just water, then lubing it up?
 
Well, it depends. The first time I cleaned the knife, I didn't take it apart. I squirted some dishsoap into the pivot and rinsed the knife out while opening and closing it. The knife was much, much smoother, but the grittiness eventually came back a few weeks later. If you take it apart, wipe down the washers and pivot area with a rag or something. I didn't wash them at all, but just wiping them off seemed to fix the problem.
 
Kuttrs said:
Is there anything I should clean it with specifically, or just water, then lubing it up?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you might have overdone it with the Loctite. It happens. A little goes a long way. Yu can try bending the liner gently towards the scale and see if that improves. The contact point for the detent ball is extremely small. I don't think that would be causing so much resistance. The liner is fairly thin and flexible, so it also seems unlikely.
 
RevDevil said:
Sounds like you might have overdone it with the Loctite. It happens. A little goes a long way. Yu can try bending the liner gently towards the scale and see if that improves. The contact point for the detent ball is extremely small. I don't think that would be causing so much resistance. The liner is fairly thin and flexible, so it also seems unlikely.
Click to expand...

I'd try cleaning it before messing with the liner or detent. That could easily create more problems then it could solve.
 
Fixed it a bit, just disassembled it again and scraped the washers, they had all this crud on them (which I'm assuming was the loc-tite). So that problem is fixed now, however the knife is still squeaking like it was when I first got it. Are new Tenacious's just prone to do this, or?
 
RevDevil is right about the locktite. A little goes along way.

I apply loctite by putting a drop on a piece of masking tape on my bench or table. I use a bent paper clip to pick a small drop. i apply this to the screw. This gives me better control than applying it straight from the bottle, especially on small screws.

I wonder if polishing the washers a little would help or maybe washers made with a different material.

I have an older Tenacious, its a good work knife.

ric
 
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