Strider knives question

DaveH

DaveH

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This is not really a GBU post, but I have a question.

Has anybody that has owned or owns striders experienced a side to side blade play? Also what are the chances this can be sucessfully fixed by the company?

Sounds like an odd question but I have no experience with the company and I'm evaluating whether I should reverse a purchase. I really don't want to spend some $20 to send it back to be fixed, not knowing.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Whatever the problem the Strider guys will make it right.

Dave what model did you get?
 
Strider PT. I guess the point is I don't want to spend ANOTHER $20 on this knife right after I bought it.
 
If you got it from a dealer send it back.If it was bought from somone ask that they refund what it will cost you to fix it.
 
Yes I had that on a used SMF I bought. I was ticked at the guy I bought it from, but they were hard to get at the time so I kept it and I'm glad I did. I sent it in and they fixed it right up. If it can't be fixed, it will be replaced. No worries. Shooth them an email and let 'em know it's coming.
 
You could just tighten the pivot. Try squeezing the knife around the pivot area and NOT the pivot itself. If the wiggle is lessened then it probably just needs tightening.
 
I'm a big Strider fan, but I'll admit, sometimes the pivots need minor tweaking, if you have the tools, the odds are the problem can easily be solved by tightening the pivot slightly, in Strider's defense, this is a common problem even on some high-end customs too, so it's not just Strider.

If you do tighten the pivot and it solves the issue, put some blue Loctite in the pivot so it'll stay that way.

Personally, I really like that, much like a Sebenza, Strider folders are easily taken apart for cleaning, lube and minor tweaking.
 
I think the pivot is just loose too. But I called to get a wrench, none available, don't advise our customers to adjust, send it in with a $15 return fee, blaah :rolleyes:
 
There are several aftermarket wrenches for the Strider pivots. You can make/machine your own with a Dremmel tool, on SMF's, a very wide screwdriver can work, not sure about the PT though. If the Loctite is intact, you might have to heat the pivot for 10 minutes with a hair dryer, or soldering iron first to get the 2 pivot halves to break.

I know it sounds like a pain, and yes, I suppose in a perfect world, every knife would arrive perfect, but outside of Sebenzas, they don't. :) I like to learn how to disassemble my knives anyway, so here's a good excuse for you to learn and do it. :) Once you get the knife in shape, I think you'll find it's a VERY good knife, that in many ways, has no peer. I have had a few TnTs, and other similar priced and highly regarded customs at twice the price of any Strider that needed a small amount of TLC. :) Like I said, it's not a perfect world, but sometimes, the best things require a little extra effort. :)
 
Megalobyte said:
There are several aftermarket wrenches for the Strider pivots. You can make/machine your own with a Dremmel tool, on SMF's, a very wide screwdriver can work, not sure about the PT though. If the Loctite is intact, you might have to heat the pivot for 10 minutes with a hair dryer, or soldering iron first to get the 2 pivot halves to break.
Click to expand...
Peter Atwood makes a Prybaby with a Strider pivot wrench built in. I know, because I have one. :)
 
Just wondering if you got it from the person selling one on knifeforums.
If so I ask if it had benn taken apart and he said yes,it may just not have been put back together quite right.
The pivot is fairly easy to adjust.
 
I've had the same problem with all my Strider's except for my SMF. My AR's all came with slight side-side play. Recently I did buy a prybaby with the Strider Pivot Adjuster, but before that I made one from a piece of steel. Just dremeled out the middle until it fit the pivot. I've been using my SMF pretty hard and snapping it open as well, and it's tight. My AR's seemed to loosen up alot quicker. Not a big deal to work on if you have the spanner, I'd much rather find a way to tighten it, than to pay $20 and be without my knife for how ever long their turnaround is.
 
Dave,

After being tightened, the AR's didn't get super-stiff or anything. The play was eliminated and the opening was still very smooth, just required a tiny bit more force than before, and was barely noticable at that. I did loctite 2 of the AR's that had constant looseness issues and it fixed'em right up. There is a sweet spot on them between too loose and too tight, just have to keep messing around till you find it.
 
Looks like it's going back to Strider.

Another newbie dopey question. I usually hold a sheet of paper and slice at an angle away just to get a guage of how sharp a knife is. This one just snags a rips the paper though the edge looks good, should I ask them to sharpen it too?
 
They can sharpen it up no problem. One thing with S30V especially on my Striders, they will feel very sharp but not slice paper. The tiny wire edge can be a bit hard to break off, this may be the culprit. Once you get it back, you will be loving that knife!
 
I do see a lot of so called wire edges on new Striders, stropping it is supposed to get rid of them.

All Strider folders I have had, had a sweet spot as Maurauder said, the pivot just tight enough so there is no play, yet the action remains very smooth, a well broken in and properly lubed Strider folder can be surprisingly smooth, in fact, I have had a few ARs that were as smooth as some of the TnTs I have had, which are pretty freakin' smooth. :) They get smoother and better as you cycle and/or use them. They really are designed to last several lifetimes, and I have no doubt, they will.

I will also say that aside from a few minor problems here and there, the QC and F&F on their folders has improved a lot since they started making the SNG several years back, it took them a few years to get it down, but they're making a very well put together folder these days, even if you do need to occasionally tweak the pivots.
 
Dave, I think that Strider's pivot is a take on the chainring bolts used on bicycle cranks to hold the front chainrings on. Stop in to any bike shop in town and ask for a spare chainring bolt wrench and they'll probably just give one to you. We used to have tons of them all over the place when I was a mechanic in college. Otherwise, tell them your dilemma and just ask if you can use the tool. They should be cool with it.
 
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