Tired of Spyderco Lack of QC

Status
Not open for further replies.
cziv

cziv

Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
10,038
I posted some of this in a Spyderco vs Benchmade thread before but yesterday just sealed the deal for me.

I took delivery on my second Spyderco in 2 weeks and as always the blade is off centered (steel liners on this one, so no Military G-10 tweaks). This was a Resilience. I got a perfect example and sold it to my buddy who wanted it and ordered another one. Blade is just off the liner - barely enough to not rub it. The darn thing took several different wrenches to adjust the pocket clip, pivot and there's two stripped spine screws.

It arrrived with the usual scratches in the G-10 - these two are habitual offenses in all of my Spydies from 3 Militarys to a Police 3, to Resilience, Tenacious, Persistance and so on. Like it's a feature or something!

My last Military arrived 2 weeks ago, with red ink or marker on the scuffed G-10, which I was able to rub off with some soap, water, pencil eraser and Lord knows what all I did to get it off, but I did. That allowed me the ooportunity of just being po'ed about the second G-10 Military in a row with a full handle-long scratch (or scuff).

The lock wouldn't engage on that last Military with the "snap" authority that they have. I wondered what could be wrong. Tried different pivot adjustments but no luck. I was barely getting an inaudible lock-up and that was about 20% to 25% at most. Tried all of the clip screws and then started testing the spine screws and the rt. & lft. side up front were totally stripped.

Returned to the dealer who didn't have any left in stock and got no shipping refund either direction so that fiasco cost me about $16 plus my time.

The only dang Spyderco I ever got that was in perfect condition was a Street Beat. Fixed, so no centering issues and Micarta handle so no dinged up g-10.

I'm done with them and sticking to other brands. I was going to buy a Para 2 but I'm quits with Spyderco. I don't think it's too much to ask to get a nice example of a folder at well over $100 for a pocket knife. (military, police3).

Am I having bad luck, bad attitude, or do all of you Spyderco owners get the same cr*p I do and just don't get upset about it?
 
cziv said:
Am I having bad luck, bad attitude, or do all of you Spyderco owners get the same cr*p I do and just don't get upset about it?
Click to expand...

I would have to say luck.

I get all my Spyderco's from Tom at SpydercoVT and have never had any of the issues you describe.

While I wouldn't send something back for an off centered blade (which is just something you have to deal with), marked up / scratched / blemished handles would be something I would give them a call about. Especially with Golden made models.

Self adjusting the knives might be another problem. You mention adjusting a Military because you didn't like the lockup sound? Was it solid? Don't touch it. Play? Send it back.
 
Wow! I've owned several Spydercos and have never had the kind of problems and examples you have had. I currently own several Spydies and they are all nearly perfect in every way. Talk about bad luck. You have it! LOL!
 
I have never had a single problem with any of my Spydercos, and I have plenty (I just counted, and its 55 :eek:) . I'm guessing that either you are under some bad juju, or maybe its that I just don't notice scuffed G10 or blade centering to the degree you do.

But based on my experience, and what we see around here, and am pretty confident that the vast majority of Spydies are going to come out of the box looking NIB and ready to rock.

:thumbup:
 
Josh K said:
Self adjusting the knives might be another problem. You mention adjusting a Military because you didn't like the lockup sound? Was it solid? Don't touch it. Play? Send it back.
Click to expand...

I doubt if loosening & tightening the pivot screw is out of line. The thing looked like it would fail and the fact that I eventually found the two spine screws completely stripped, (they just sat and spun around when I put a torx bit on them) in front at the lock area pointed to that probably being the problem with the lock. It wasn't my first Military - it was definitely messed up. :(
 
powernoodle said:
I have never had a single problem with any of my Spydercos, and I have plenty (I just counted, and its 55 :eek:) . I'm guessing that either you are under some bad juju, or maybe its that I just don't notice scuffed G10 or blade centering to the degree you do.

But based on my experience, and what we see around here, and am pretty confident that the vast majority of Spydies are going to come out of the box looking NIB and ready to rock.

:thumbup:
Click to expand...

That really sucks to hear - but I'm glad to hear it for you powernoodle :thumbup:
 
I would be questioning whether or not the dealer is part of the problem. Does he or his employees handle and/or inspect the knives? Are his shipping methods adequate the the item he is sending out?

I have more than my fair share of Spyderco knives and not one single knife has had any issues that you are describing. And believe me when I tell you that I am a stickler for quality.

All of my knives come directly from Spyderco so I know that their QC is not the issue. Again, consider your dealer as a possible problem and not to default the blame to Spyderco.
 
I think you're having some bad luck. Amazingly bad, in fact. I've gotten 100+ Spydies in the past 2 years and I sent back 2 for NIB issues (major scratches on CF and Ti scales from the very first batch of Sages from Taiwan). They were both replaced by the retailer quickly with new ones. Sure, I ate the shipping but that's the risk in dealing with internet sales w/o seeing them in person. And I think most of us recognize the excellent F&F/QC from Taiwan so I'm sure it was a total fluke.

I also had 2 knives that went back to Spyderco for free warranty fix. One was a lockbar that went out of adjustment (stuck out of the handle about 1/8 inch) after 2 months of carry, and the other was a loose pin in the scale. Both were replaced free of charge.

I have a few folders where the blade centering is perhaps a few degrees off, none of them touch the liners. If you divided the space between the liners from 0 to 10, 5 being perfect, anything between 3 and 7 passes in my eyes.

What do you think? Am I just having good luck?
 
Last edited:
Wow, Sorry to hear that. Your post almost makes me feel guilty for hardly ever having any issues with my spydercos, and there has been a few. Dont give up the hope, when it comes to turning 1 piece into 2, spyderco does it best (IMO)
 
I'm a newly converted spyder guy but I must say I am hearing a lot about issues with stripped screws . Is this common in other brands as well? Don't misread this post , I am not bashing Spydies ... I love my spydies , just asking a question
 
I've bought mine from one of the most recommended internet vendors mentioned on this forum. The shipping is fine, it's what comes out of the box that's the problem.

I have my last Spyderco on backorder from another highly recommended internet vendor mentioned here. I told him about the bad luck I've been having and he promised to take it out of the box and really give it the "once over."

Mentioned something about being anal himself - I told him "yourself is the keyword, I don't think a $130 Military should arrive dinged up, blade off centered, and the lock not engaging solidly, with stripped torx screws."

So I'm hoping to end my Spyderco odyssey on positive note. :)
 
marknett1 said:
I'm a newly converted spyder guy but I must say I am hearing a lot about issues with stripped screws . Is this common in other brands as well? Don't misread this post , I am not bashing Spydies ... I love my spydies , just asking a question
Click to expand...

Ive never had this problem( have used over 100 spydercos easily), then again I dont often see the need to tweek my knife so I dont do a lot of adjusting. I do see your point though, been seeing this brought up a lot lately.
 
Ken C. said:
I would be questioning whether or not the dealer is part of the problem. Does he or his employees handle and/or inspect the knives? Are his shipping methods adequate the the item he is sending out?

I have more than my fair share of Spyderco knives and not one single knife has had any issues that you are describing. And believe me when I tell you that I am a stickler for quality.

All of my knives come directly from Spyderco so I know that their QC is not the issue. Again, consider your dealer as a possible problem and not to default the blame to Spyderco.
Click to expand...

Ken I was thinking the same thing since he stated he buys all his Spydercos from the same dealer. To the OP, try ordering them from a different dealer and see if your bad luck continues. I really doubt it will. ;)
 
cziv said:
dinged up, blade off centered, and the lock not engaging solidly, with stripped torx screws
Click to expand...

Spyderco would not let a knife out of the shop as you describe. Again, I believe you need to discuss with the dealer what his happening on his end prior to shipping it out to you.

I do have something to say about anyone who is complaining about stripped screws...

What the hell are you doing messing with them to begin with? Spyderco uses Lock-Tite Blue on the threads. The should NOT move unless you, the end user, are doing the damage by either forcing the screw in deeper or not properly removing them (you need to heat the screw beforehand to ease removal). A heat gun on low setting or a hair dryer works well for this.
 
i have had blade center problems with OLDER spyderco knives but all the newer stuff ive gotten has been top notch
 
I've seen one issue personally with a Spyderco Para2 missing a hole drilled for a clip placement, I took it in for warranty work and got a new Para2 back. I have bought 200-300 Spyderco's since 2004 and rarely have had the issues.
 
Ken C. said:
Spyderco would not let a knife out of the shop as you describe. Again, I believe you need to discuss with the dealer what his happening on his end prior to shipping it out to you.

I do have something to say about anyone who is complaining about stripped screws...

What the hell are you doing messing with them to begin with? Spyderco uses Lock-Tite Blue on the threads. The should NOT move unless you, the end user, are doing the damage by either forcing the screw in deeper or not properly removing them (you need to heat the screw beforehand to ease removal). A heat gun on low setting or a hair dryer works well for this.
Click to expand...

I get the feeling someone forced a screw that was loctited and ended up stripping it. This in turn leads to internet rage :rolleyes:. Also it might be a dealer problem. Maybe you're getting factory seconds.
 
I've probably purchased at least four hundred brand new Spydercos over the years. Out of those, perhaps a dozen, had some "issues" with fit and finish. I wound up returning three to Spyderco for repair. The rest were problems I could either take care of myself or decided I could live with. So no, I have no complaints about Spyderco QC although I will admit I do not expect perfection in a production knife.

FWIW, the red marks are not marker, they're particles of dry printer's ink from the knife rubbing against the red box. G-10 and peel ply CF, being textured, tend to get it the worst. I suspect some of the other "scuffing" mentioned is from the white inside of the box. Not sure why the Military does not get bagged, most other models do.

Paul
bar_02.gif

My Personal Website ---- Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting ---- Kiwimania ---- Spydiewiki
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twisted up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top