Sal, does it make sense to send this SE Police in?

Murdoc · #1

Although I'm not the first owner of this Police and it's quite new to my collection, I already love it to death.

It's a well-aged knife, but it still rocks. There is quite a bit blade play and a good amount of scratches on the handle, but I would consider this normal for a knife of that age :-)

The only thing is, the serrated blade is a mess

I tried to sharpen it on my 204 and it is usable now, but the serrations will never be what they used to be, at least with my limited sharpening skills, let alone be "factory sharp" again.

Pics can be seen in this thread:

Lifetime of a Serrated Edge

Sal, do you think your professional employees that do the sharpening would be able to bring this serrated blade back to a sharp and toothy life? Or should I just give up and use it like it is?

I'm asking this question via the forum because I think the answer could be interesting for others as well, especially regarding the "lifetime" thread :o

Thanks in advance

Dennis

tonydahose · #2

they have brought back some of my old enduras more than once, i'm positve they could make it new sharp again but the blade will lose a little height when they regrind it.

fishwatcher · #3

Spyderco once brought back to life, a SS SE Police model, that had rusted shut, during an extended stay on a boat parked on a driveway for more then 1 year. It was really ugly. It had been stored inside a Spyderco zip pouch.. and even the pouch had to be cut open, for me to access, the rusted knife.

I figured Spyderco Warranty wouldn't address this, but I'd be willing to pay for a repair, if it could be refurbished. Well.. Spyderco came through. They fixed it up, more as a challenge, then a warranty repair issue.. and shipped it back to me w/ no repair charge, rust all polished away (though there were some nice pit marks left of course), and blade sharpened up.

I'll bet they can bring your serrated edge back, w/ no problems at all.

Murdoc · #4

[...]but the blade will lose a little height when they regrind it.

...and perhaps a little length.

I could live with THAT! In the end, the blade of a Police is not THAT small :D

Still, I would of course appreciate Sal's opinion in this.... although I'm sure that you guys did already hit the nail on the head.

Dennis

#5

Dennis,
Sal is not going to be able to be on the forums for a bit, I would recommend sending it in and letting us evaluate it here. Pictures are great, but they never make up for seeing something in person. The only true method for making an evaluation is send it in and let the crew look at it. It'll be in good hands. Promise.

Kristi

flyguy · #6

Murdoc wrote: Still, I would of course appreciate Sal's opinion in this.... although I'm sure that you guys did already hit the nail on the head.

Kristi already answered this (she is an employee of Spyderco), but I wanted to add: Sal doesn't get involved with warranty issues on the normal.

Please post before and after pictures (assuming you do send it in).

spydutch · #7

Well I once bought a well used :rolleyes: :eek: Rookie from which the serrations were(probably?) sharpened with a dremel, the tip was gone and the blade was severely scratched up. I send the knife in and I got a prestine looking Rookie back.

So I would say send it in, you won't regret it

Murdoc · #8

Hi,

promised to keep you informed (did I? Well, I do now) about the trusty old Police.

After some more pm with Kristi, I decided to give it a shot and send it in! I will take a few more "before" pics and then hand it over to DHL (german variant of USPS). Then, the waiting will begin... :o

Already missing my Police :)

Did I mention it is the first fully serrated knife that found its way into my EDC rotation? I have the D2 SS SE, but I never EDC'd it long enough to put the serrations to the test. Can't wait to get it back with factory sharpness :eek:

Help me through the waiting time

!

Dennis

tonydahose · #9

Murdoc wrote:
Help me through the waiting time !

Dennis

buy another :spyder: during the wait to comfort you. :D

Murdoc · #10

I hear ya, Tony...

A Ladybug 3 PE and an Endura 4 BRG ZDP on the way :D

Can't wait, as always....

Dennis

Murdoc · #11

A few "BEFORE" pics along with my D2SS SE for comparison's sakes.

Frightening!

Dennis

yablanowitz · #12

That isn't bad. I should get a few shots of some of my girlfriends SE Delicas (that I have to reprofile every time I get my hands on them :rolleyes: )

Murdoc · #13

I would like to see some pics of that!

I'm afraid if I decide to EDC a fully serrated blade (i.e. the Police when it gets back) It will be inevitable to get some 701 ProFiles. Not cheap, but worth it (I hope).

Dennis

Murdoc · #14

Oh boy,

I miss my Police!!

I always thought I were a PE guy and length doesn't matter :-) ...

but...

been EDCing the SS SE Delica2 cause it is the most similar one (I own) to the Police that is on its way to Colorado for about one week now.... but its just not the same

I think there's a reason why the C07 is one of the REAL classics in the Spyderco line... You have to carry one of them for just a few days to get addicted :eek: (thats what it has in common with the Stretch :-)) Do you think "The Police is one of the Spydercos that doesn't impress me that much"... make sure not to EDC one for more than a few hours... trust me :-)

Man, I can't wait to see what the good people in the Spyder-Factory will make out of this old, trusty all-steel knife!

I'm afraid that I will have to wait for 2-3 months to hold the result in my hands.... or what do you say, Sal?

I know, "buy a new one while you wait" is what most of you guys may think..and you're right! But somehow I miss the old buddy with the "POLICE" still STAMPED instead of laser-etched into the blade.... am I sick? :)

Anyway, safety first... it has a good amount fo blade play in any direction and the lock bar went too much into the blade leading to a "slanted" lock bar. Don't know if it is still safe. We will see what the experts in Colorado will say.

Dennis

tonydahose · #15

murdoc...your knife will look brand new when you get it back. i have seen much much worse come back in really good shape, yours should be no problem for spyderco.

Murdoc · #16

Great news!!

yesterday, i asked W&R about the SE Police :

[...] I sent in my GIN-1 Police SE for resharpening
service about 1 month ago . Has the knife already
arrived at your place? Did you already inspect it? [...]

a few hours later, I recieved this mail:

Dennis,

Actually, we received it on the 4th of June, and it shipped back out to you
today. UPS world wide express [...]

Thank you and have a great day,

Charlynn
Spyderco
Customer Service

How great is THIS?!

It's on the way to my house and will arrive soon! Can't wait to see what the good folks at Spyderco have made out of this trusty old knife :)

And how fast this one worked out! Actually, it took only 3 weeks for the complete deal. Outstanding! I didn't really expect that; I was attuned to something like 5-6 weeks at last :D

Want some "after" pics when it arrrives?

Dennis

Zatx · #17

[quote="Murdoc"]

Want some "after" pics when it arrrives? ]

Of course!!!

Left Hand Path · #18

That's a pretty nice turnaround time on sharpening.

Please post pics when you get the knife back - I think many of us would like to see them.

Murdoc · #19

Yeah, it has arrived! Just got a message that the package arrived safely at my house.

I will be home in a few hours

..... opening the parcel will be the first thing to do! :)

Dennis

Murdoc · #20

OK, here we go....

They did not only resharpen the edge but kinda refinished the whole blade (unfortunately, they didn't extend the refinishing job to the handle.... oh well

) as can be seen in some of the pics I'm about to show.

Please refer to the "before" pics - I won't post them again, but notice the scratches in the middle of the "back" of the blade from improper sharpening. Nearly gone! Even the spine was treated :-) Not that visible on the pic, but evident. Ok, it still has some bladeplay and the lock bar still isn't completely in line, but nothing serious and perhaps not fixable.

The only thing is, the serrations aren't as aggressive as i.e. on the Delica II that's on the photos, too. And it seems that the Police is now ground in the "two step serration pattern" found on Spyderco kitchen knives:
"[...] Multi-level serrations offer two levels of teeth. The first level create penetration points (or tips) that initiate the cut and protect the tips behind them. The second set of tips continue resistance free cutting and protect the sharpened recessed curves behind them. [...]"

But look for yourself:

Ok, a little bit of the old blade had to be sacrificed :-(... the edge is a little higher than before. Look:

Backside is nice again, too! And nicely refinished: no scratches visible in this angle.

A good comparison shot of the two serration styles and the Delica being more aggressive:

Did somebody forget what model it is :-) ? Notice the ENGRAVING vs the new laser etching:

The restored tip: