Spyderco Endura Lock Failure?

[Bill1170]

OBJ Viking,

There is no need to touch any screws to access the tang notch on an Endura. It's just behind the jimping on the spine of the blade, and a toothpick or straight pin is all you need to clear it out. You might have had a different issue with your son's Endura, but crud in the notch is very common and trivial to address. These are wonderful working knives.

[OBJ Viking]

OBJ Viking,

There is no need to touch any screws to access the tang notch on an Endura. It's just behind the jimping on the spine of the blade, and a toothpick or straight pin is all you need to clear it out. You might have had a different issue with your son's Endura, but crud in the notch is very common and trivial to address. These are wonderful working knives.

Thanks Bill - I was unaware of how to access it and was trying to see inside when I loosened it up after cleaning and the lock was not engaging. I will keep your advice in mind for the future.

Melissa with Spyderco just called me and is shipping the knife back. I paid a $25 repair fee because I had taken the side of the knife loose when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the lock, and the backspacer was not in the correct place. She said they thoroughly checked out the knife and the lock is working fine, and if she had to guess it was probably some small trash or something that had worked it’s way down into the lock internals, but the knife is fine and they did not find anything. Possibly it worked it's way out when I loosened up the screws and lifted that side off? They tested the lock multiple times. I will give it back to him when it gets in, as it is probably quite a bit cleaner than mine internally since they cleaned and checked it, and I know it hasn’t been used as hard as mine. Thanks Spyderco for the excellent customer service.

[StuntZombie]

OBJ Viking,

There is no need to touch any screws to access the tang notch on an Endura. It's just behind the jimping on the spine of the blade, and a toothpick or straight pin is all you need to clear it out. You might have had a different issue with your son's Endura, but crud in the notch is very common and trivial to address. These are wonderful working knives.

Thanks Bill - I was unaware of how to access it and was trying to see inside when I loosened it up after cleaning and the lock was not engaging. I will keep your advice in mind for the future.

Melissa with Spyderco just called me and is shipping the knife back. I paid a $25 repair fee because I had taken the side of the knife loose when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the lock, and the backspacer was not in the correct place. She said they thoroughly checked out the knife and the lock is working fine, and if she had to guess it was probably some small trash or something that had worked it’s way down into the lock internals, but the knife is fine and they did not find anything. Possibly it worked it's way out when I loosened up the screws and lifted that side off? They tested the lock multiple times. I will give it back to him when it gets in, as it is probably quite a bit cleaner than mine internally since they cleaned and checked it, and I know it hasn’t been used as hard as mine. Thanks Spyderco for the excellent customer service.

Yep, that's pretty much what I did when I took my Delica apart. Even taking it apart partially is probably enough to cause that thing to pop out of place. At least it doesn't sound like the backspacer got messed up.

Glad to hear they got it worked out though. You'll have to let us know how it works when you get it back.

[suv44]

I had the same problem with the Delica 4. They say it was lint buildup. I don't buy that excuse for a bit. I could of cut my fingers. I am not impressed with the knife and lost trust in the knife also. I will be shopping elsewhere.

[jabba359]

I had the same problem with the Delica 4. They say it was lint buildup. I don't buy that excuse for a bit. I could of cut my fingers. I am not impressed with the knife and lost trust in the knife also. I will be shopping elsewhere.

Do you really think that Spyderco would send back a knife to the customer that had a faulty lock and risk a lawsuit by lying about it? Just because you don't know how to properly maintain a knife doesn't mean it's defective. I am not impressed with you and lost trust in your assessment abilities. If you don't change the oil in your car and it stops running right, do you blame the manufacturer?

[suv44]

If you check other knife forums, there are lots of people with lockback knives that failed.

[suv44]

I had the same problem with the Delica 4. They say it was lint buildup. I don't buy that excuse for a bit. I could of cut my fingers. I am not impressed with the knife and lost trust in the knife also. I will be shopping elsewhere.

Do you really think that Spyderco would send back a knife to the customer that had a faulty lock and risk a lawsuit by lying about it? Just because you don't know how to properly maintain a knife doesn't mean it's defective. I am not impressed with you and lost trust in your assessment abilities. If you don't change the oil in your car and it stops running right, do you blame the manufacturer?

You're taking a one-sided view and not looking at the other side of the 'coin.'As for your opinion about me, I don't care what you think about me and my assessment abilities. You will believe whatever you want.Your car analogy- it's total nonsense. The knife was brand new, I put it to a simple test, and it failed horribly.

[The Mastiff]

I am not impressed with the knife and lost trust in the knife also. I will be shopping elsewhere.

Spydercos are not for everybody. Good luck.

[suv44]

I am not impressed with the knife and lost trust in the knife also. I will be shopping elsewhere.

Spydercos are not for everybody. Good luck.

I have not had good luck with a Spyderco knife.

[StuntZombie]

Are you saying that you don't believe lint or debris can cause a lockback to fail, or are you saying Spyderco lied about the issue?

[suv44]

Are you saying that you don't believe lint or debris can cause a lockback to fail, or are you saying Spyderco lied about the issue?

I am not saying anyone lied. Of course, lint or debris can cause failure. However, in lockbacks, the most common failure is the small pivot pin which secures the locking mechanism, or the tab of the lock or notched tang of the blade. It could of been a culmination of factors.After my experience,in my opinion, I am not a fan of lockbacks.

[StuntZombie]

Actually, I would think the spring would be more likely to fail then either of those two pieces. If there wasnt enough tension on the lock, that would cause it not to click as strong, but then again so would some lint. If you do decide to try a lockback again, I recommend digging around with a toothpick if you notice the same thing again. Sometimes stuff will get lodged down in there and might not be easily seen, even with a flashlight.

Either way, it pays to remember that any lock can fail, often for stupidly simple reasons. Like the time I had a Military turn into a slip joint because of oil on the locking surface. Now that was annoying.

[suv44]

I did look around with a flashlight, and didn't see any lint.It looked very clean to me.

By-the-way, I tested the knife before I used it that day. It made a clicking sound and locked.Cut some cardboard boxes, closed the knife, and took a break. When I went to open it, it did not lock.Tried opening and closing it several times, and it still would not lock.

[StuntZombie]

That's why I suggest poking around a bit with something pointed like a toothpick. That stuff can get compacted to where it will blend in with the locking surfaces.

I can't say I have had it happen exactly like this, I'm not sure if it is possible, but I wonder if a piece of cardboard could have ended up under the lockbar itself, rather than the locking notch on the blade. I could see that causing locking issues, and it wouldn't be easy to see unless you disassembled the knife.

If the tang looked fine, and it still felt like the lock had tension, that could be another possibility.

I might have to see if I can replicate that kind of failure, just to see if it is possible.

[suv44]

Something from the cardboard jamming the mechanism sounds more plausible.Now, there'a another viable possibility.

[StuntZombie]

Heck it may have even been something in the knife already, and just closing the blade was enough to work it in to that locking notch on the lockbar.

Honestly, that's my main dig about the loclback. There are tiny nooks and crannies inherent in the design and it doesn't take a lot to cause issues.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if that may have been OBJ's issue in this thread. He even took the knife apart a little bit and couldn't see anything.

[jmh58]

Something from the cardboard jamming the mechanism sounds more plausible.Now, there'a another viable possibility.

Soo.. Did ya get the knife back yet?? John :)

[ChrisinHove]

I did look around with a flashlight, and didn't see any lint.It looked very clean to me.

By-the-way, I tested the knife before I used it that day. It made a clicking sound and locked.Cut some cardboard boxes, closed the knife, and took a break. When I went to open it, it did not lock.Tried opening and closing it several times, and it still would not lock.

That's a little different from what you said before;

" I carried it in my pocket for a few months,took it out, and operated it.All was good. I go to use it and it didn't lock. "

[GoldenSpydie]

I don't know about you, but this seems a little contradictory. The way I read it, suv is clearly stating that he thinks CS lied. :rolleyes:

I don't buy that excuse for a bit.

I am not saying anyone lied.

And please, can someone explain to me why we have to go over all of this again in a hijacked thread? :eek:

[StuntZombie]

I don't know about you, but this seems a little contradictory. The way I read it, suv is clearly stating that he thinks CS lied. :rolleyes:

I don't buy that excuse for a bit.

I am not saying anyone lied.

And please, can someone explain to me why we have to go over all of this again in a hijacked thread? :eek:

I guess it's a somewhat similar issue to what OBJ was experiencing, just a difference in models.