Would you adjust your own pivot or send it out to Spyderco?

[hookahhabib]

Sorry, I know this must have been asked before, but my search skills must be weak tonight because I couldn't find the information that I'm looking for...

I ended up impulse buying a blue G10 Domino in CTS-204p that I saw at a local store yesterday and it's just about perfect, except for one little problem. I see the slightest bit of side to side blade play...I know disassembly is a no-go, but will I have any warranty issues if I try adjusting the pivot myself? Am I better off just sending it in to Spyderco to have the blade play fixed or should I just go for it and try to fix it myself first?

The knife is perfect in every other way: it fires out faster than any flipper I've ever handled before, super smooth action, perfect detent, perfectly centered blade, hair-whittling sharp (the sharpest factory blade I've ever personally received), and just about perfect fit and finish...I just need to dial-out this blade play and part of me feels a little silly sending the knife in for a warranty claim over a little bit of play, so I figured I'd see what you guys think...


so, what do you think I should do about this?

At the same time, I did pay good money for it, and

 

[IsAreBe]

Just use the correct torx size and you should have nothing to worry about in regards to any potential warranty return in the future.

 

[Ray Allen]

Hi,
They are adjustable for a reason, so you can set it to your preference now or in the future as it wears. Typical owner maintenance like inflating air pressure in your tires.

 

[The Deacon]

The "good news" is that simply tightening a screw won't void your warranty.

The "bad news" is that, given the Domino's stepped pivot, there's a fair chance that the screws are already socked down as tight as they will get, in which case attempting to tighten them won't solve the blade play issue. There's also a chance that, if you do manage to tighten them, there may be no "sweet spot". You may go directly from slight blade play to enough drag to make flipping difficult. And, if it's only a slight amount of play, Spyderco may not consider it a defect either.

 

[Lee48]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. Try tightening it.

 

[calc]

Adjust the pivot, it'll take 10 seconds and you'll know right away. If you don't have a Torx set yet, it'll run you $10 and you'll get plenty of use out of it.

 

[tvenuto]

I would attempt to adjust. Also, you might see if adjusting some of the other screws has any effect.

 

[brownshoe]

Could be another screw loose. If adjusting the pivot works, I always back it out and lock-tite it into place for long term stability.

 

[bb6tuner]

Yeah man, just go ahead and tighten it with the proper size torx bit. My CTS-204P Domini had a little okay as well, but the internals are the same as every single domino I've had. Just tighten enough to where you don't feel any blade play, and with a little luck, it'll stay centered. The gritty feeling is from the detent ball riding on the coarser finish of the blade. It will wear in to glassy smooth.

And Deacon, ive taken apart my Domino, and it didn't have a stepped pivot. Its like a three piece pivot. One female pin with two screws on either side. If I take out a screw I can push it out of the other side.

 

[The Deacon]

Yeah man, just go ahead and tighten it with the proper size torx bit. My CTS-204P Domini had a little okay as well, but the internals are the same as every single domino I've had. Just tighten enough to where you don't feel any blade play, and with a little luck, it'll stay centered. The gritty feeling is from the detent ball riding on the coarser finish of the blade. It will wear in to glassy smooth.

And Deacon, ive taken apart my Domino, and it didn't have a stepped pivot. Its like a three piece pivot. One female pin with two screws on either side. If I take out a screw I can push it out of the other side.

Interesting. I based my statement on a photo of a Domino disassembled that someone posted a while back, and the pivot (or at least what I assume to be the pivot) looks stepped to me.

 

[Orion's Belt]

Paul, that is the lanyard tube. Mine sits in the Domino's box.

 

[hookahhabib]

Thanks for encouraging me to do it myself guys...I realize it would have been silly to send my knife all the way to Spyderco to have them do just a simple adjustment. I ended up tightening the pivot with a T7 torx driver and it's perfect now. Still flips out super fast and now locks up dead solid. I love this little Domino!

My Domino with this week's other acquisition...

Thanks again

 

[danthaman1980]

Glad you were able to work it out yourself!

If the pivot screw loosens over time, consider using some purple loctite to secure it in place. The tricky part is finding the sweet spot with the loctite in, then resisting the urge to keep playing with it for the next day or so ; )