my military linerlock has failed twice now.

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marshall
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my military linerlock has failed twice now.

#1

Post by marshall »

just got the military model (this years' CPM S30V blade)as a bestman gift for my buddy i work with and i got one for myself too. we're both firefighters and outdoors type people, so i liked the looks and size of the military. anyways july 9th, my wedding day, i had a few hours to myself in the afternoon so i was out walking the dog along some old railway tracks and i pulled out the military and was opening and closing it(i just got it the day before in the mail, so it was the first day to check it out). i was slashing the thicker weeds(about a pencil to a pencil and a half in thickness) when all of a sudden it felt like i got hit with a rock in the knuckle. so i look down by the weed i just cut through to see what i could have hit my hand on when at pretty much the same time i feel the movement across the fingers, i look at the hand and there's blood all over it. the blade swung around to the closing position and hit my pointer finger between the two lowest knuckles. anyways the best i could figure at the time was when i opened it that one time, i MAYBE didn't set the linerlock into lock. so i had a stitch or two in the tendon and four stitches to close the cut while on the honeymoon. anyways lesson learned always listen and feel the knife lock when flicking it open. which brings us to this morning after i get off work, same thing out walking the dog on some secluded trails when at the end of the walk the dog stops to do his thing, i saw two nice stemmy weeds which i was slashing the limbs off. when i looked down i saw that the knife was half closed- it had come unlocked again. So obviously my knife isn't locking properly. Have any of you had probems like this? or should I avoid making certain cutting actions with it? Is it a defect with the lock that I should let Spyderco know about? I thought this was a good all-around urban utility knife for all tasks.
steve andrews
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#2

Post by steve andrews »

When my Starmate was brand new the liner lock sometimes didn't click in when I opened the knife slowly.
This cured itself with use.
Does the lock slide across onto the ramp properly when you open it?
Try opening the knife slowly and watching the lock, then try snapping it open.
You may find that when you open the knife slowly it may not lock. Open and close repeatedly and it may be cured.


Edited by - steve andrews on 7/24/2004 9:07:57 AM
marshall
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#3

Post by marshall »

it locks perfectly fine. it slides open nicely and good movement all around. i've just had thoses 2 incidents where the lock has failed on me.
jaids
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#4

Post by jaids »

Welcome to the forums Marshall. Maybe you should send it in if it fails again.

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J Smith
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#5

Post by J Smith »

Try a spine wack test.Open the knife and with fingers in a safe position wack the back of the blade against the top of a table or your palm.If it releases send it back to Spyderco.My S30V Military had a lock problem,only a very small part of the liner was touching the tang.You can see if that is the case by looking at the ramp on the blade and seeing the mark the liner leaves on it.Mine would not fail but it would try to slide over a little under presure.I posted about it a Sal had me send it to him.Got it back in about 2 weeks with it fixed and adjusted up perfect.

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CKE
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#6

Post by CKE »

Welcome to the <img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Forum. Check it(safely with fingies out of the way) if she fails send it back.....wait, what Jeff said<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Take Care and enjoy your visits here.

"everything else is just a jeep"
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sal
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#7

Post by sal »

Hi Marshall. Welcome to the Spyderco forum and I'm sorry for your cut.

If the knife failed, send it back right away, please call it to my attention.

If you do a spine wack, make sure to keep your fingers clear of the blade should it fail.

Our Military has an excellent reputation for reliability. They're spine wacked a half dozen times during assembly and sharpening. Your knife more than likely has a problem and should be returned.

sal
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Civilian
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#8

Post by Civilian »

That sounds like it would be a fun job "spinewacker"
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MAT<img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>TER
marshall
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#9

Post by marshall »

well i did the spine whack test and it passed. when i was out before i had about two thirds of the rear handle in a fist each time this has happened, while making side throw like slashes. but i know for a fact the knife was locked sat morning when it unlocked, and i'm pretty sure the same for the 9 of july. so do i still send it in, even though it passed some spine whack tests?
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J Smith
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#10

Post by J Smith »

HHUMM,the omly thing I can think of is maybe you released the lock with your finger and did not notice it.It could still be something wrong and the movement you were makeing with it caused it to unlock.
Strange,wouldn't hurt to let them check it out but if it did pass the wack test and you being in Canada and the troubles with customs.If it was me I would not send it in unless I was sure it was faulty.

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Jimmy_Dean
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#11

Post by Jimmy_Dean »

Hi marshall. Sad to hear about your cut. I live in Canada and I sent out my knife for repair some time ago and didn't have any problem. For your own safety, you should probably send it back anyway. Are you left handed or right handed? If you use a right-handed liner locking blade with the left hand, it's possible(while unlikely) to disengage the lock witht the palm of your hand during certain cuts. Send it in anyway, your fingers are worth more than 5$
-Dean
marshall
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#12

Post by marshall »

i'm right handed. yeah i'm thinking i'm gonna send it to get checked out.
serrator
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#13

Post by serrator »

Speaking as a fellow canadian and Spyderco fan, I would make **** sure that there was something wrong with it before sending it back.

I happen to know for a fact that there are a number of canada customs workers who are also Spyderco fans.

Since they have apparently been cracking down on such knives, I'd say that if they inspect your package, you have only a 50 percent chance of getting your knife back, which is worth a lot more than just 5 bucks, even if defective.

If it were my knife I would just keep it and call it a slip-joint.

Good luck...
marshall
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#14

Post by marshall »

well i've lost feeling in a quarter of my finger below the laceration as well as slicing though half a tendon and a total of six stitches all while slashing through weeds. maybe something wrong with it or there won't be nothing at all wrong with it. i'd feel safer in the long run having the people who know this knife the best doing their own tests on it rather then me worrying if this military is gonna unlock again. the doctor in the E.R said it could have sliced the bottom of the finger right off with a bit more speed or force. he saw marks in the bone from where the serrated edge bit in. whats the best way to ship this across the border(courier, mail) has anyone use or tried different means of shipping and what luck did you have?

Edited by - marshall on 7/26/2004 11:28:20 AM
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dialex
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#15

Post by dialex »

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum, Marshall. Sorry to hear about your problem. <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> It's quite unusual to a Millie. The lock could wear off in time and operate better, but who knows? I'd send it back to the factory for inspection / repairing.

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serrator
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#16

Post by serrator »

Any customs problems you encounter will be when the knife is on it's way back INTO canada...that's right: Customs will take it after it has been repaired! Why would customs want a broken knife?

There are ways to ship and label packages containing knives that can reduce the chances of them being inspected, but I do not know if Spyderco W.A.R. (Warranty And Repair) is willing to ship things special. Fortunately, I have never had to return a Spyderco knife, but with things the way they are, I would do so only if it were a fixed-blade.

canada customs wants to take our Spydercos!
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sal
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#17

Post by sal »

Hi Marshall,

I spent some time discussing your dilemma with R&D and the factory. It was
quite confusing considering that the knife held up to a spine whack.

If the knife held up to the spine whack then I don't think you should bother to send it in. If the knife is not defeating then it is not defeating.

We thought about the possibility that you might have accidentally unlocked
it by squeezing the handle, but this is unlikely. If your index finger was anywhere near the lock release then the choil would have hit your index finger. It was designed
that way and so I don't think that you unlocked the knife.

Perhaps if you were left handed you might have unlocked the knife in a squeeze, but even then the same situation would apply, the choil would hit your index finger.

After some discussion, the only thing that we could think of was that you were holding the knife further back on the handle and as you were striking the bushes or plants that you were hitting, that somehow part of the shrubs that you were cutting entered the handle between the scales pushing over the
lock. I have no way to verify this and I certainly want you to cut yourself
again trying it.

This has never happened before so we have no way of knowing for sure and have never heard of it happening to any liner lock in the past. We will do some testing on our end.

sal
marshall
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#18

Post by marshall »

thanks sal for looking into the problem. it held up against 7-9 spinewhacks, and i was holding the lower portion of the handle so maybe part of the shrub did enter in like you said
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#19

Post by delicrazy »

hi,

i had the same thing happen with a buck alpha hunter of mine, it passed spinewack but failed occasionally. try holding the handle at a 45 degree angle, with the point down, and stab it into a piece of wood. kind of like an upside down spinewack on just the back of the point, but more of a stabbing motion. this made the buck fail a lot of the time, but even then it was only about 50% of the time. still, if you dont send it in i doubt you are ever going to be truly trustful of the locking mechanism, so you may want to let spyderco take a look.
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