Is this normal spyderhole finish? [Seki city quality]

[araneae]

I think perhaps you could put your thumb in it and use it rather than staring at it, but that's just me. The LT3 isn't really an art piece. If you want a knife that meets your standards you should consider buying in person or accept occasional dissatisfaction. I am sure I've never inspected most of my thumb holes, but they seem to work perfectly every time.

[nerdlock]

My point is I would feel bad personally to ask $200 for thing with such unfinished detail, when others do it right. Also I had Endura 4, thing was 70% cheaper, and spyderhole was not that bad at all. You can find plenty budget models from Spyderco, made in Seki, where it's just right. So it's about QC or that one manufacturer who was making Lil Temperance 3.

I've been trying my best to commiserate and sympathize with you given the fact that we both are based overseas and therefore are subjected to taxes, duties and other stuff that makes imported products relatively expensive. But it seems that you are not listening to reason here.

Seki made Spyderco knives with G10 handles generally cost a lot more than FRN models like your Endura. I'm exactly not clear on the specific reason but it's been mentioned here and in other forums that margins are pretty tight, and that importing steels like S30v and G10 adds up to the cost of the knife there.

I don't want to speak for the company itself nor present myself as knowledgeable on the company's manufacturing processes, but all the years I've been lurking on the knife forums, those have generally been the stated reasons why Seki made G10 Spydercos are expensive.

Another reason is that this knife belongs to a niche, itself being marketed as self-defense oriented and not something that would immediately appeal to a general market. Given that reasoning, I would understand why the makers at Seki might have spent less time focusing on the QC of this model when they have larger batches of Delicas and Enduras to make and deliver.

Just make it easy on yourself; if you feel that the finish of the inside of the Spydiehole bothers you that much, just return it and get another knife. It's clearly a cosmetic issue and happens in all productions. No need to drag the issue further. Just be thankful that this isn't a sprint but a regular production model, else you'd be out of your luck trying to secure a similar replacement.

[Bemo]

Many of my Seki and Golden ones look like this. My best Seki one is the K390. Honestly not something I worry about and if it wasn't for your post I wouldn't have looked to begin with.

[Michal O]

Maybe I'm overreacting because price, or maybe I used to really good finish in other, cheaper brands, or mentioned Taichung Spydies. ~14 years ago I probably wouldn't had a problem with it. Times now are different and something like that is noticable.

[R100]

I think it all depends what you are are looking for. If you want a no compromises hard core user then the Li'l Temp 3 is hard to beat. I particularly like its no nonsense build quality. The Li'l Temp compression lock is more heavily built than any other compression lock knife I have. It is rock solid and fits perfectly with this overbuilt knife. I know I'm in the minority here but I dislike drop shut actions and fiddly pivots like the PM2. The chamfered edges of the Seki style G10 are also far more comfortable in hand and in pocket than the square edges of the Golden models. These details are far more valuable to me than the finish of the Spyder hole.

You are also getting an ergonomic masterpiece refined over years and many iterations. Sal worked on this one for a long time.

Dan

[Michal O]

It's stout knife, lock is solid I must admit. Action is like in many Benchmades I had and adjusted after dissasembling. I noticed that between liner and washer is a gap, also between liner and stop pin. But knife opens pretty good with almost no blade play on sides. I'll decide in few days if I keep it and fix after Seki, or ship it back.

[Blerv]

Yea that looks normal. If the finish is annoying I’d get a dowel and some diamond paste. Just be careful not to dull the edge of you will lose a lot of the grip. My Peter Herbst has a beautiful opening hole and it’s smooth, it’s a pain to actually open one handed though.

[Michal O]

I have several Spydercos and most of them have small hole chamfering which doesn't affect opening. Maybe it depends on whole design of particular model.

[Enactive]

I think we need a poll on whether we should serrate the holes for skinning hot dogs?

sal

[skeeg11]

I suppose it is kinda like a glass half full or half empty perspective. Whether the hole is polished or not does not affect its functionality and in fact after spending much time in the pocket will probably be covered with pocket lint, dermis, grime, oil, etc. After using and examining the fit & finish on my S35VN Resilience, the fact that they took the extra step of polishing the interior of the Spydie Hole makes me even more receptive to future purchases in this family of knives regardless of manufacturer COO. If the Astute is a member of this family, then any similar upgrade in steel would pretty much be an instant buy for me.

[Josh Crutchley]

All the pictures so far look better than my Q-balls finish. But that hasn't stopped me from carrying it almost everyday.

[Michal O]

All those are just drilling marks. They don't use laser to cut hole for sure.

[sal]

Hi Michael,

The holes are cut out with a laser. What you are seeing are the marks left in reaming to clean up the laser marks.

sal

[SpyderGrill]

Hi Michael,

The holes are cut out with a laser. What you are seeing are the marks left in reaming to clean up the laser marks.

sal

Bam! The hole is a non issue, send the knife back or get over it.

[Michal O]

Hi Michael,

The holes are cut out with a laser. What you are seeing are the marks left in reaming to clean up the laser marks.

sal

Ok, thank you for information, I appreciate it. After few days I cooled down, so maybe I'll keep it and finish hole with sandpaper.

Hi Michael,

The holes are cut out with a laser. What you are seeing are the marks left in reaming to clean up the laser marks.

sal

Bam! The hole is a non issue, send the knife back or get over it.

It's not the end of the world but personally I'm always trying at work, to make surface of every detail decent looking, if it doesn't cost me time and is only a matter of good parameters on cnc tools I've got. That's probably why I'm picky about it.

[standy99]

I could fix bad action, finish on hole with dremel, and few other things I noticed... If it was $50 knife, not $216.

Well it’s only a $216 knife due to European Tax system and sellers profits.