Starmate vertical blade play

[Kallisti]

Hi all

A question for the Starmate owners out there. I finally got a Starmate a couple of months ago. When I got it, everything seemed fine. It was a little stiff, but numerous openings and some White Lightening have helped there.

Recently I noticed there was some vertical blade play. It seems like the liner lock leaf is moving very slightly. Tightening the pivot screw didn't seem to help. Not a major problem but I wondered if anyone has had similar experiences and what I can do if anything to remedy it. Is it a question of send it back to the U.S. or
play with the eccentric pivot thingy? edited to add: I have been doing snap openings. Would this effect blade position?

On a related note - I also tightened the scales as I noticed they were coming loose. At this point I realised the screws have been abused. The torx fitting has almost been worn away making tightening the screws tricky. When numerous screws fell out of my Gerber A-F Covert I wrote them and they sent a bag of screws plus a driver. Do Spyderco send out replacement screws?

Many thanks

Kallisti

 

[u812]

I have only had mine for a couple of weeks but no problems with it.

 

[ThinkOfTheChildren]

Originally posted by Kallisti
Is it a question of send it back to the U.S. or
play with the eccentric pivot thingy? edited to add: I have been doing snap openings. Would this effect blade position?

Hard openings or other impacts to the stop pin will increase wear on a liner lock. Some knives, it makes little to no noticeable difference, some knives wear in a matter of days if you snap them open a lot.

How far across the tang is the liner lock moving?

Adjusting the eccentric pivot might help, depending on where on the tang the lock is engaging. Sending it in to Spyderco is always an option but a costly one in your case.

If you want to adjust the pivot on your own, at the possible cost of voiding your warranty, check out this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=163929
I originally thought that it would void your warranty, hands down, but reading the warranty again, it seems as if you're fine as long as you don't damage the knife. In other words, if you can adjust the pivot without a problem, you'll be fine. Don't quote me on that though.

...At this point I realised the screws have been abused...

Did you buy the knife used? You might have stripped them on your own without realizing it. Those tiny torx screws have heads that strip easily in my experience.

Do Spyderco send out replacement screws?

I have no idea. Your best bet is to simply email warranty and repair.

 

[Kallisti]

I only noticed the verticle play after the snap openings, so I guess that is to blame. Seems likely. Seems to be increasing also. I can't really see the liner lock move but can feel it move when touching it and rocking the blade.

Did you buy the knife used?

No - hence use of the term "abuse". As I hadn't touched the screws until a couple days ago I hadn't noticed.

I'm a bit wary of that eccentric pivot right now. May tackle it later. Anyone care to comment on experiences of such adjustmets?

Kallisti