Stiff Spyderco Sage?

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drake225

Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Messages
66
I always hear people talk about how smooth and great the Spyderco Sage 1 is, so i decided to pick one up. I ordered it for around $98 on Amazon and when it arrived, i was alittle disappointed. It did come VERY sharp and the CF scales are awesome, but the blade was stiff and the liner lock was sticky. The liner lock is starting to get better but the blade is still stiff. I did apply some Tuf-Glide but it didn't help that much. Should I loosen my pivot and take the knife apart and clean it? I am hesitant to do so since the blade is centered so perfectly and i don't want to ruin that. My Sage is probably one of the older models since it doesn't say "Taichung" on the blade.
 
It should get smoother with time but I wouldn't hesitate to take one apart. Just make sure you have the right tool bits and once apart don't bend the liners. The blade should still be centered fine and if it isn't it's no problem to get it centered again.
If lubing and some use doesn't fix it, I'd just back the pivot screw out some until it loosens before I tried to disassemble it though.

Both of my Sage1's are the smoothest knives I've ever handled.
 
Give it a chance to break in a bit. I have a Sage 1, and while I wouldn't say the action was ever stiff, it did become substantially smoother as it accumulated more openings/closings. Echoing the above, I'd now say it's among the smoothest knives I have.
 
my friend had that problem, he got his off of amazon too. He lubricated the pivot with some really good gun oil, and his works really well now. Either loosen the pivot, or try adding some oil ( the really high quality stuff...not crappy stuff) and that should help.
 
id try loosening the pivot. see if that helps. if it does take out the pivot screw, put a drop of blue locktite on it (wipe most of it off except whats down in the threads ) and re tighten till the blade has no side play and moves smoothly. leave it there overnite to allow the locktite to set and lube, should get very fast pretty quickly after an initial adjustment. ive had a dozen spyderco folders and 2 or 3 of them had to be tweeked a little initially. just make shure you get the proper size torx bit for the job, probubly a t9 or t10.
 
The first thing I did with both of my Sages (1 and 2) was disassemble them, clean them, and apply CRK fluo grease. Now they're buttery smooth, especially the Sage 1.
 
Wow, i searched hours and can't find my screwdriver set....By the way what are the screw sizes? They look like T8 to me but someone told me they were T10. I hope they're T8 since i dont have a T10 in my set.
 
Before taking it apart, I would try degreasing it (I use alcohol), work the pivot under some hot soapy water, dry and re-oil everything. Just a suggestion.
 
drake225 said:
Wow, i searched hours and can't find my screwdriver set....By the way what are the screw sizes? They look like T8 to me but someone told me they were T10. I hope they're T8 since i dont have a T10 in my set.
Click to expand...

They are T8.

I would suggest a bath in dish soap and hot water. Loosen the pivot first and open and close the knife repeatedly. Rinse in hot water, towel dry and then take a hair dryer to finish the job. After it is thoroughly dry, re-lube.
 
I have a Sage 1 and it has definitely loosened up with use. It is now the smoothest knife I have. I think a little break in will help. Great knife one of my favorites, very well made.
 
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