Stepped pivot on the Military

[Cynic2701]

I just got a blue S90V Military and tried to tighten down the pivot to get the detent I typically like (I like to make my knives very stiff and almost hard to open) when I was surprised to find that it had no effect. I suspected that Spyderco may have moved to using stepped pivots on the Military.

Upon further investigation:



You can see the difference in pivots between the old Military (a left handed model in this case) and the new pivot. Some people are going to like this change, but for those that prefer being able to crank down on pivots, it might be a good idea to make sure that you get a couple of the old ones before they are gone. The detent hole also no longer goes all the way through the blade.

Additionally, the diameter of the stepped pivot is slightly larger than the older style pivot, so they are not interchangeable. You will not be able to fit a blade from an older Military onto a stepped pivot from a newer Military. Conversely, the older pivot will be slightly too small to fit the blade (from a newer Military).

 

[kreole]

I was hoping there has been enough negative feedback to get Spyderco to move away from the stepped pivot.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Honed_Edge]

CQI... Was this info not made public? I never heard mention before your warranty voiding discovery. Thanks for the great pictures! I LOVE BLUE!

 

[kreole]

CQI... Was this info not made public? I never heard mention before your warranty voiding discovery. Thanks for the great pictures! I LOVE BLUE!

I'm not sure, but it's not unprecedented for Spyderco to put a new feature in a sprint run. The G10/M4 Military, for instance, was the first titanium Military to come with a steel lock insert, and that fact wasn't known until they were recevied.

 

[Cynic2701]

I will say that I have no complaints about the performance of the blade. It's my first S90V knife and it seems to take a 7 - 3 micron edge quite well--though I should probably go with a coarser edge, I'm liking the amount of bite it has even at that level of polish.

 

[RevDevil]

Rather than a stepped (bushing style) pivot, it would have been great if a 2 piece design would have been used, similar to CRK. Although I cannot complain in the least.

I will say that I have no complaints about the performance of the blade. It's my first S90V knife and it seems to take a 7 - 3 micron edge quite well--though I should probably go with a coarser edge, I'm liking the amount of bite it has even at that level of polish.

In my experience, S90V does extremely well at around 600 grit. A really high polished edge really didn't make it cut better (too many carbides).

 

[wire edge]

Thanks for the pic! I was very curious about this when isaw the non-domed pivot on the BB Military.

 

[Cynic2701]

In my experience, S90V does extremely well at around 600 grit. A really high polished edge really didn't make it cut better (too many carbides).

I just gave it a few strokes on a 1000 grit Shapton (my closest analog to 600 grit, and which is only one or two microns finer) and the edge seems very aggressive. From what I read, it seems to hold this type of edge for a very long time?

Thanks for the pic! I was very curious about this when isaw the non-domed pivot on the BB Military.

I didn't even realize it until I opened it up.

 

[RevDevil]

Yes, that toothy edge is going to last for quite a while. On my Para2 S90V I tried a high polish, 8K grit followed by stropping and it was sharp, but it wasn'tas sharp as say the same treatment on 154CM. The increased carbide amount is what I discovered why. I tried different grits, 1000, 800, 600, and 400. I left the edge at 600 and it's still sharp as can be.

 

[JNewell]

I was hoping there has been enough negative feedback to get Spyderco to move away from the stepped pivot.

Thanks for the info.

Yes - it is IMHO at best a no-gain change, definitely not what I'd call CQI. Overall, I'd give this change a :thumbdn:

 

[JNewell]

Rather than a stepped (bushing style) pivot, it would have been great if a 2 piece design would have been used, similar to CRK. Although I cannot complain in the least.



In my experience, S90V does extremely well at around 600 grit. A really high polished edge really didn't make it cut better (too many carbides).

Yes, but... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Cynic2701]

Yes - it is IMHO at best a no-gain change, definitely not what I'd call CQI. Overall, I'd give this change a :thumbdn:

Yeah, I never thought I'd be one of "those people" (e.g. air cooled Porsche people) that complain when some feature is done away with. Oh well.

The only solution I can think of is finding washers that are slightly larger to put on the knife so that I can over-tighten the pivot to my desired tension.

 

[marthinus]

Thank you for taking the time to post this.

I am a bit disappointed to hear they moved towards the stepped pivot and there is no domed pivot as IMO the old pivot was a thing of beauty and usually things like that are found on custom/handmade knives.

Some people prefer a tighter action on their knives and this takes that option away from them.

 

[Franz_N]

The blade doesn't get tighter at all? That's kind of weird since with all the para 2's i have adjusted, the blade could be made really stiff if you tightened down the screws enough. Maybe the stepped pivot is too big and doesn't allow the blade to be sandwiched tightly.

 

[ericvar101]

CQI... Was this info not made public? I never heard mention before your warranty voiding discovery. Thanks for the great pictures! I LOVE BLUE!

taking your knife apart does not void your warranty, only if in the process you caused damage to your knife by taking it apart.

 

[ericvar101]

Just courious, why would you want to over tighten your pivot and make the action so tight and harder to open?

 

[Skywalker31]

Just courious, why would you want to over tighten your pivot and make the action so tight and harder to open?

The Military blade is pretty heavy and it's relatively easy (IMO) to just sling it out of the handle without ever touching the opening hole; some people might like to keep it in there a bit more securely until they can deliberately go to open it. Me, I kind of like being able to flick it out any which way.

 

[Honed_Edge]

Eric,

Quote Originally Posted by TazKristi

Disassembling a Spyderco voids the warranty. Period. There was a question about this being a "myth". It is not a myth. It does not matter if you don't break anything when you do it. If we can tell that a knife has been disassembled (whether it's a FrankenSpyder or not) the warranty is technically void. We manufacture knives with all screw construction not because we want you to take them apart. We do so, so our Crew can take them apart for maintenance and repair. I'm sure there might be some other questions, but bottom line, if you take your knife apart, the warranty is void.

Someone a while back told me my reading skills are lacking... but this seems clear enough. Note, I'm not against disassembly, just pointing out matters of fact.

 

[Cynic2701]

The blade doesn't get tighter at all? That's kind of weird since with all the para 2's i have adjusted, the blade could be made really stiff if you tightened down the screws enough. Maybe the stepped pivot is too big and doesn't allow the blade to be sandwiched tightly.

I have an M390 Para 2 that has side to side play that cannot be adjusted out--though up and down it is very solid. I ground the stop pin a little "shorter" and that has helped a little bit, but the stepped pivot itself prevents me from tightening it any further. The tolerances are very good, but not as precise as it is on a CRK for example. There are plenty of anecdotes here in this forum of people who either can't adjust it out or tighten the screws and then the blade is too tight.

Just courious, why would you want to over tighten your pivot and make the action so tight and harder to open?

The less chance that the knife will open the better--at least within reason. A pair of my pants were ruined when a Sage 2 opened in my pocket. I'm pretty lucky it only ruined my pants and not my hip. My BM 943 that I carried a lot for a few years could occasionally open in my pocket a little bit and stab my thumb or my pants.

I also don't like feeling like my blade is going to flop open with a light wave of my wrist. A very strong detent is what I like. It also gives me peace of mind that if an overzealous LEO/customs agent/etc. were to question whether or not my knife was a gravity knife that it would be very clear that it is not.

 

[Gmrpnk21]

Eric,

Quote Originally Posted by TazKristi

Disassembling a Spyderco voids the warranty. Period. There was a question about this being a "myth". It is not a myth. It does not matter if you don't break anything when you do it. we can tell that a knife has been disassembled (whether it's a FrankenSpyder or not) the warranty is technically void. We manufacture knives with all screw construction not because we want you to take them apart. We do so, so our Crew can take them apart for maintenance and repair. I'm sure might be some other questions, but bottom line, if you take your apart, the warranty is void.

Someone a while back told me my reading skills are lacking... but this seems clear enough. Note, I'm not against disassembly, just pointing out matters of fact.

This is a thing the bothers me here. It states in the warranty information that any damaged CAUSED BY DISASSEMBLY IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. It doesn't state anywhere that disassembly for maintenance voids the warranty. Let's say I notice a grinding sound coming from a knife and the action isn't smooth. I take it apart and discover that there is a bit of metal on the liner in the pivot area that wasn't removed, and it caused the washer to be deformed. Would they refuse to fix a defect in the knife that had absolutely NOTHING to do with who took it apart? I would sincerely hope not! Warranty repairs should always be handled with a degree of understanding, and I am sure that a respectable company such as spyderco does that.