Spyderco Forums

I have had this BRAND NEW Spyderco tenacious for two days, and to be honest, i'm a little disappointed. The blade squeaks with a horrible metal rubbing sound (and yes, it's broken in) and if you look at the photos, the blade and gimping are completely bent to one side. At first I thought it had to be lubricated, so I did. Still horrible. Also for only two days in my jeans pocket, the black "DLC" is rubbing off with no problem. Anyone else have this annoying problem?! Any suggestions? I mean I heard Spyderco was good and I'm hoping that mine is just a bad batch.

http://tinypic.com/r/2uegv8m/6

http://tinypic.com/r/13ym9t0/6

http://tinypic.com/r/qy5sf7/6

http://tinypic.com/r/29er48o/6

Loosen the pivot, wash with hot soapy water. Open and close under the hot soapy water. Dry and blow out with compressed air. Tighten pivot. The rest of the stuff, meh. Looks like a user. Use it like it was meant to. Welcome to the forum!

If you're not happy with it exchange it with your dealer or send it back to Spyderco.

I've gotten junk into the area of the ball detent (the little ball embedded in the liner lock that keeps the lock from rubbing on the blade), causing a grinding feel when opening. Cleaning it out twice fixed the problem. As for DLC coating on the blade rubbing off, this shouldn't happen, as DLC should be extremely hard to remove. If your talking about the black paint (not DLC) on the clip, that stuff comes off fairly easily and I usually end up stripping it off my black clips because I think the scratches and chips look terrible.

I doubt any coating on the cheaper lines of knives is DLC.

DLC doesn't come off.

Jet B wrote:I doubt any coating on the cheaper lines of knives is DLC.

DLC doesn't come off.

^ Yup

Jet B wrote:I doubt any coating on the cheaper lines of knives is DLC.

DLC doesn't come off.

Gunslinger wrote:

Jet B wrote:I doubt any coating on the cheaper lines of knives is DLC.

DLC doesn't come off.

^ Yup

Not to mention that it's only used on US made knives, the ones from Japan use Ti-Ni coatings of some kind and the Chinese ones are only described as having "a non-reflective black coating". Plus, the only damage I can see is to the clip, which is probably painted like pretty much every other black Spyderco clip from anywhere and no more or less resistant to scratching than any of them.

Can't honestly say I see anythng wrong with the blade or jimping, certainly nothing that jumps out and screams defect.

If you are not happy with it send it back to the place you bought it from. I can't see anything wrong with it from the pictures and I am no expert on the blade coatings Spyderco uses. I'm sure you can trust what The Deacon says though. I doubt if there is anything wrong with it that would be considered a problem covered by the warranty but that's Spyderco's call. The pivot should clean out pretty easily as others have said. This happens with new knives once in a while and is fixed using normal maintenance practices. Clean and lubricate and I think the pivot will be fine.

The Tenacious is one of the value knives and IMO these knives are "worth" more than they cost. The Fit & Finish may not be as perfect as other Spyderco knives but of course the others cost more. The blade steel (8cr13Mov) is good steel and less expensive than steels used in more expensive knives. The G-10 handles OTOH is more expensive than FRN which is what I'd expect to be on a "value" set of knives just to keep the cost down. FRN is a great handle material so having it instead of G-10 would not make the knife less desirable, just less expensive IMO. I believe Spyderco makes the value line of knives for people who don't want to spend the money for the knives that have some of the best materials and manufacturing specifications. So there may be issues with them that may be considered flaws in other (more expensive) knives but not for knives that are made to be used and not meant with a beautiful appearance in mind. From what I can see I think once the pivot issue is taken care of you have a great knife that will work for you (and work hard) for many years.

Jack

Hi Vince,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

sal

When I got my Blue Tenacious, it made the same metal-rubbing noise. I washed the pivot and then used some multi-purpose oil and no more noise. It opens smooth as silk.

Clean the pivot as suggested. paint comes off of clips with use, period. As for the straightness of the thumb ramp, you bought the China made low end of the line.

Thanks to all for your replies. It is a great knife when locked in, probably the most lock I've felt. Also, thanks for the info about washing the pivot. My fault; I thought the clip was DLC like the blade. I wish. Thanks for the warm welcome. :)

vince120193 wrote:Thanks to all for your replies. It is a great knife when locked in, probably the most lock I've felt. Also, thanks for the info about washing the pivot. My fault; I thought the clip was DLC like the blade. I wish. Thanks for the warm welcome. :)

Welcome to the forums! The tenacious is one of the highest value production knives if not the highest. I would also reccomend washing out the pivot then, while holding the knife very tightly, swing your arm around to fling the water out...please don't let go... Then lube it up with some oil, work it in and it should be good. Also, the blade, nor the clip are DLC coated

vince120193 wrote:Thanks to all for your replies. It is a great knife when locked in, probably the most lock I've felt. Also, thanks for the info about washing the pivot. My fault; I thought the clip was DLC like the blade. I wish. Thanks for the warm welcome. :)

Later on, if you really get bit by the Spydie bug. Try a Paramilitary 2 with the DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating. That stuff is light years ahead of the titanium nitride that most other knives have. The Tenacious is a superb knife considering what it costs. The Para 2 is more money for sure, but it's also an incredible step up in value and really is worth much more than you pay.

Jet B wrote:Later on, if you really get bit by the Spydie bug. Try a Paramilitary 2 with the DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating. That stuff is light years ahead of the titanium nitride that most other knives have. The Tenacious is a superb knife considering what it costs. The Para 2 is more money for sure, but it's also an incredible step up in value and really is worth much more than you pay.

Ha, I don't know much yet. What about the manix 2 line? Seems a lot of people enjoy it; same with the para 2.

I have the same problem. I'm very disappointed. My tenacious squeaked so loud when closing it actually began to hurt my ears! Militec didn't do a thing, not did Tuf-Glide . Had to use 3 in 1 which I didn't want to do and it still squeaks but a bit less. Finally got fed up and sent it back for an exchange. New one came today and it is just as squeaky if not worse! Sounds like a damaging metal on metal sound. This is the black blade version. Cost approx. $44 delivered. I know this is an "inexpensive" knife but I'm not accustomed to having to do significant maintenance on a brand new knife! No, I'm not gonna wash it or take it apart! I've had $20 Big 5 knives that are great right ot of the box. Knife is very broken in as I have opened and closed it a thousand times but it has no effect on the squeaking. I will go back and try 3 in 1(as the dry lubes don't work on the squeaking)again but I am not happy! Perhaps Spyderco is resting on the laurels of this being a pretty nice blade for the money. But wth is going on with the squeaking!!! I feel bad for the online retailer who is likely going to get this one back as well. I hope they're all finding their way back to Golden, Co!!

CaliMarine wrote:I have the same problem. I'm very disappointed. My tenacious squeaked so loud when closing it actually began to hurt my ears! Militec didn't do a thing, not did Tuf-Glide . Had to use 3 in 1 which I didn't want to do and it still squeaks but a bit less. Finally got fed up and sent it back for an exchange. New one came today and it is just as squeaky if not worse! Sounds like a damaging metal on metal sound. This is the black blade version. Cost approx. $44 delivered. I know this is an "inexpensive" knife but I'm not accustomed to having to do significant maintenance on a brand new knife! No, I'm not gonna wash it or take it apart! I've had $20 Big 5 knives that are great right ot of the box. Knife is very broken in as I have opened and closed it a thousand times but it has no effect on the squeaking. I will go back and try 3 in 1(as the dry lubes don't work on the squeaking)again but I am not happy! Perhaps Spyderco is resting on the laurels of this being a pretty nice blade for the money. But wth is going on with the squeaking!!! I feel bad for the online retailer who is likely going to get this one back as well. I hope they're all finding their way back to Golden, Co!!

I understand you being upset. I know I would. When there is a common problem with a particular model it ends up being discussed here. Having not heard several people complaining about this particular problem I'd be curious about how the knives have been stored at the dealer. Did you get the replacement from the dealer or directly from Spyderco? I suggest you send the knife to Spyderco with a letter describing the exact problem as well as explain how you feel about it. I'm 99.999% sure you will get a perfect knife back. We have all been in similar situations with various products so your pain (and anger) is felt. Good luck with it. It really is a good knife. It's not supposed to wake the neighbors up when closing it though. :)


Jack

The Deacon wrote:
Can't honestly say I see anythng wrong with the blade or jimping, certainly nothing that jumps out and screams defect.

+1.

I may be alone here, but I sort of don't even consider the value knives real "Spyderco knives". I mean, I know they ARE, I guess I would just be a lot more forgiving of flaws than I would of the other higher end knives. By comparison, if something came out of Golden with an issue like this, I wouldn't be happy at all.

Evil D wrote:I may be alone here, but I sort of don't even consider the value knives real "Spyderco knives". I mean, I know they ARE, I guess I would just be a lot more forgiving of flaws than I would of the other higher end knives. By comparison, if something came out of Golden with an issue like this, I wouldn't be happy at all.

I totally have that attitude but fortunately, my tenacious and persistence just happen to be near flawless. Maybe under expecting is a good idea though. :D