Para 3 LW centering

[u.w.]

I have taken the washer out of one of mine (first run BD1N), and it brought the blade nearly to center.
Though maybe adding a washer to the other side might help - but - the design of the handle only allows for a washer on the one side - not both sides, so...

Weather the washer is/was the issue??? but removing it did bring the blade nearly centered.

u.w.

[metaphoricalsimile]

Mine are both off center. They both have great actions, and great blades, and awesome steels and perfect ergonomics and carry like a dream so I accept it as something that has literally zero effect on my daily use of the knife. You don't notice unless you look at it, and you use knives with your hand not your eyes.

[Wartstein]

Yeah two out of 3 of mine are off center a little toward the show side. Not a show stopper for me. I actually carry the Para 3 LW quite often at work

I really don't want to fuel "my" thread "why are so many people concerned with perfect blade centering" again, since the discussion there was spinning in circles anyway already.

But for me too an off centered blade, as long as it does not rub the scales, is not a show stopper at all.

I am still convinced that a majority of those who are bothered by an a bit off centered blade would not mind (or even notice!) that at all, if they were not "told" that this should be an issue. When in fact for me it us a totally overblown and artifical quality criteria (as long as it has no functional implication).

I mean the slightly off centered Para 3s work perfectly well, the off centered blade can't be seen at all when the knife is opened and in use, but only if one pulls the closed folder out of the pocket and deliberately looks at the handle from a particular angle... for me one really tries hard to let it ruin their day just because when in this very specific scenario a blade is not totally parallel to the scales....
but, as always, to each their own...

[Evil D]

What does surprise me about this is, it almost seems like people refuse to try to fix what is very easy to fix 99% of the time.

[Revival]

What does surprise me about this is, it almost seems like people refuse to try to fix what is very easy to fix 99% of the time.

I have tried your method (as you did with the Police 4 K390) and it did not work. I know other people that have tried various different methods with their lightweights with no success.

Have you personally successfully centered a Para 3 with your method or are you referring to FRNs in general?

[Evil D]

What does surprise me about this is, it almost seems like people refuse to try to fix what is very easy to fix 99% of the time.

I have tried your method (as you did with the Police 4 K390) and it did not work. I know other people that have tried various different methods with their lightweights with no success.

Have you personally successfully centered a Para 3 with your method or are you referring to FRNs in general?

I don't have a Para 3 but I've been using that trick for about 12 years now on Spyderco knives and it has worked for almost every knife I've tried it on. Some are more persistent than others, maybe this is just one of those.

[nerdlock]

What does surprise me about this is, it almost seems like people refuse to try to fix what is very easy to fix 99% of the time.

I have tried your method (as you did with the Police 4 K390) and it did not work. I know other people that have tried various different methods with their lightweights with no success.

Have you personally successfully centered a Para 3 with your method or are you referring to FRNs in general?

Same here. Might be because of the different FRN used between Seki and Golden?

[Airlsee]

Rex45 P3LW is really off center for me, I disassembled it a few times when I first got it trying to get it to stay centered, but no dice.

I've got 2 of the Teal S90V P3LW's and they both came centered from factory, I honestly don't know why some of the P3LW's can't be centered, but I eventually stopped letting it be an issue for me.

It's the only model that I seem to have accepted as just remaining off center with no real solution.

[Michael Janich]

Dear EmeraldArcher:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Soanso McMasters]

Given that it seems a normal feature of this design I have no issue with it, particularly given the excellent ergonomics of the Para FRN. My FRN Chaparral has sharp edges that aren’t particularly comfortable whereas the Para 3 FRN feels perfect in the hand.

[metaphoricalsimile]

I have taken the washer out of one of mine (first run BD1N), and it brought the blade nearly to center.
Though maybe adding a washer to the other side might help - but - the design of the handle only allows for a washer on the one side - not both sides, so...

Weather the washer is/was the issue??? but removing it did bring the blade nearly centered.

u.w.

I deeply don't understand this. I feel like the performance/durability degradation of not having the washer (running steel on steel is bad) would far outweigh the slight aesthetic improvement of having a centered blade.

[Superflex]

My BD1N, S90V and M4 versions are all spot on centered.

[u.w.]

I have taken the washer out of one of mine (first run BD1N), and it brought the blade nearly to center.
Though maybe adding a washer to the other side might help - but - the design of the handle only allows for a washer on the one side - not both sides, so...

Weather the washer is/was the issue??? but removing it did bring the blade nearly centered.

u.w.

I deeply don't understand this. I feel like the performance/durability degradation of not having the washer (running steel on steel is bad) would far outweigh the slight aesthetic improvement of having a centered blade.

Good morning metaphoricalsimile :)

I don't recall saying I did it for aesthetic reasons, or " aesthetic improvement"...

and,

your post makes me wonder??? Do you own a Para3 lightweight? and if so, have you taken it apart??

the reason I ask is..


..We are talking about the Para3 lightweight, AND removing the single phosphorous-bronze? washer in the Para3 lightweight does not (to my recollection) give you "steel on steel" contact..
It's not a steel handle - It's FRN - And it doesn't have steel liners...
(again, wondering if you own one)
Removing the single phosphorous-bronze washer gives you "steel" on FRN.
Did the older pinned Spydeis have phospor-bronze washers? Or were they FRN handles and blade only?
Heck... for that matter, don't some of the current Spydies have FRN handles on "steel" blades, with no phosphor-bronze washers? LIke the Dragonfly2?



UKPK? Native5 LW?



Not my videos - linked for reference.. (Thanks for making these videos Nick)

AND
Doesn't the FRN kinda act like a "nylon" washer anyways?


.. No doubt, in certain applications you are absolutely correct..
However, there are several instances, or places, where a "steel on steel" tight (friction fit, or water/oil/fluid tight or air tight) fit is exactly what is needed.. though in folding pocket knives maybe not so much?
But, I'd bet there are ways to do it on folding knives that wouldn't really cause horrible "degradation". The cost of doing so though...


continuing..

I Have NOT noticed any " performance/durability degradation" as a result of removing that single phosphor-bronze washer, though it did bring the blade just a bit closer to centered - or - away/off of the inside of the handle...


I do appreciate you concern and comment very much


u.w.

[Ramonade]

Well, the side with the washer as a partial liner that the blade is in contact with if you remove the washer.

edit just after posting : Not meaning this is bad, just saying that there is a partial steel liner on that side

[u.w.]

Definitely not taken as bad in any way, and thank you for posting. Nor is anything I've posted been meaning anything bad either.
It's been a year or more since I took mine apart, looking to bring the blade off the side it was on via washer manipulation.

I also just saw a thread where metaphoricalsimile posted, holding a Para3 LW, so I'm guessing does indeed know.

On the one I took the washer out of, I haven't noticed any degradation because I removed the washer, and it did bring the bade closer to center.

u.w.

[Ramonade]

I prefered to be more precize, sometimes arguments start from nothing ! lol

People in the knife community always want the makers creating titanium framelocks to use a steel insert. (I won't bring out the fact that a titanium framelock is perfectly fine -Sebenza 21 *kof kof*)

Steel on steel friction is a long wearing contact so I don't see it degrading badly anyways. The only reason I would see this negatively impact the function of the knife is based on friction or if the tolerances were so tight we couldn't remove one thin washer ! Phosphore bronze washers certainly induce less friction and a bit of lubrification (I remember Eric Glesser saying this) than steel. If the knife works fine steel on steel at the beginning, there's no reason for it to degrade spontaneously.

PS: English is not my mother tongue, I might be making some errors when what I'm writing gets too technical

[Dreaded]

For anyone wanting to give this a try, as I found the centering problem in my particular Para 3 LW and I suspect it’s the same with most.

After disassembling, note the height of the steel liner in its pocket. If it isn’t flush and is sticking up past the scale, the cause of this is the steel liner has dead sharp edges on the backside and the pocket in the scale has a small radius in the corner causing interference.

Chamfer the liner side of the steel insert until it sits flush down in the pocket, taking care to not chamfer the exposed edge up at the spine of the scale. Mine was sitting .008” proud of the liner and was completely flush after I was done chamfering. Reassembly proved to center the blade perfectly.

Hopefully this helps a few that are upset about their Para 3 LW centering and if this is common maybe it will make it into a CQI update.

[Soulrack]

The way I solved this problem is I sold/gave away my Para 3s and bought a Sage 5. It's just a superior design IMO. YMMV

[araneae]

You all would have been SOL a couple decades ago (or less). I have no idea if my FRN Para 3's are dead centered or not and I have 7 now. Don't care, it's still one of my most carried knives. The centering OCD appears real for a large group, but as long as my blades don't rub the liners I don't care if they're perfect.

[sv4]

For anyone wanting to give this a try, as I found the centering problem in my particular Para 3 LW and I suspect it’s the same with most.

After disassembling, note the height of the steel liner in its pocket. If it isn’t flush and is sticking up past the scale, the cause of this is the steel liner has dead sharp edges on the backside and the pocket in the scale has a small radius in the corner causing interference.

Chamfer the liner side of the steel insert until it sits flush down in the pocket, taking care to not chamfer the exposed edge up at the spine of the scale. Mine was sitting .008” proud of the liner and was completely flush after I was done chamfering. Reassembly proved to center the blade perfectly.

Hopefully this helps a few that are upset about their Para 3 LW centering and if this is common maybe it will make it into a CQI update.

I think this is it, thanks for the great tip. It worked!