Title change:Not impressed with Spyderco Delica 4

[apollo]

Lets say spyderco makes 10000+ knives a year (just a number i thought on it wil not be correct)
And i must say compared to the other brands out there. They are a step higher on the ladder.
Now if you make that many knives there will always be one that is "less" in quality then the normal ones but still good enough to sell.
And if you get one like that i think luck just was not on youre side at that moment. Now i think if spyderco is telling you it is fine then it will be fine.
Just use it and see.

Now i also had bad luck.And i know your pain. My Kiwi 4 just Sucks.. (bladeplay all over the place , very bad grind, Dull,... ) But i do not blame spyderco for it. Yes that knife should have not bin sold that way but there is not a person in the world that is flawless!
Now i have about 18 spyderco's and i sold about 20 in all the years, that did not "fit" in my collection and all those are perfect.
So i respect spyderco they try to do there very best for all of us. And that is one very difficult job!
Even more when you see there are people from all over the world here.

So i think the best thing to do is just stay relaxed. And just test the knife. If the lock fails again then i would think about buying another. i'm sure you can not be that unlucky that it would happen to you 2 times.

Just my 2 cents..

greetings apollo

[Blerv]

I responded with this in the Byrd subforum where the initial post showed up and just wanted to put it here.

I still think it's very likely that lint/dirt/grease could have blocked the lock bar from engaging fully. The lock design operates under very tight tolerances and the bar doesn't seat very far into the tang. The benefit of this is that disengaging it isn't laborious; the disadvantage is it can be plugged. You can see the mechanism by Google image searching, "spyderco lockback cutaway". Preventing this from happening in the future can either be done by occasionally looking at the gang for obstructions or by checking lock-up with both hands.

This W&R claim couldn't be proved by either party. The fact that it works now makes me think it only needed a cleaning. That or the part was replaced and lint was blamed simply to save the return shipping. An very unlikely action for a reputable company.

As a fellow customer and not an employee I empathize with your situation. You will probably get better feedback in the General Spyderco section rather than the Byrd subforum.

Keeping knives clean and maintained is paramount for safe operation and years of reliable service. Lock-backs are susceptible to lint or dirt gathering in the channel. While it's never happened to me I can see how this could occur. Perhaps another lock-type would be preferable that is less-likely to fail due to build-up? Something like the compression lock, Reeve Integral Lock, or Michael Walker Liner Lock for example.

Best of luck!

[Evil D]

I have to pay for shipping to get my knife back

Any time you send a knife in for inspection, if there is found to not be a warranty problem, you pay for the shipping because they haven't done anything to be liable for.

Couldn't they be liable if there was a problem that could injure the user, but that they didn't fix the problem?

I don't think they can be liable for lint in the lock..

[FCM415]

I just logged on to dogpile like everyone else. I voodoo predict that Cliff will come in and tell us that we are biased fanboys so I have to do my part.

[sal]

Hi Suv,

Sorry for your stress. Do you have the knife now or is it still at Spyderco?

sal

[gbelleh]

I've had exactly that happen a couple times. A knife is working fine, then it suddenly won't lock open. Sure enough, a glob of lint is in the works. But picking out the lint makes it good as new. I do check my carry knives for lint buildup and blow them out with compressed air regularly to avoid this.

[sdedalus83]

This happened with my Native 5 lightweight after about 2 weeks of daily use. Tape that had snagged on the choil migrated to the lock, and while it still engaged, it became very sticky and the lock bar was clearly not seating fully. Now I just make sure to check it every few days.

[OldHoosier62]

Yes suv44, it happens a lot. I prevent the issue for the most part by turning the pockets inside out after the come out of the dryer and make sure there is no accumulation.

As an owner you are at least partially responsible for "preventive maintenance" such as sharpening, lubrication, insuring the clip screws are tight.....and keeping foreign bodies out of the mechanism.

No harm, no foul. Lessons learned.

[JD Spydo]

Greetings SUV44 :) Hey guy I'm sorry to hear you're having some problems with your new Spyderco folder. I don't know what kind of clothes you're wearing or what kind of demands you put a knife through in the course of a day>> but hey have you considered possibly using a belt sheath? That is if you wear pants or jeans that you can wear a belt with. Because when I carry one of my big Spyders a lot of times I wear a belt sheath.

It sounds like you have an inordinate amount of clothing lint you are having to deal with. We here on the forum just don't hear of this particular problem very often at all. I don't know what type of lubrication you might be using but some lubes do attract dirt and lint >> and if that's the case you might want to try a dry lube like graphite or one of the new teflon based dry lubes.

I can assure you that Spyderco wants you to be happy with the knife so hopefully the people in the repair department can help you or maybe some of the Brothers here can help you to remedy the problem.

[ChrisinHove]

Two tips...

1. A toothbrush is ideal to clean out the lock indent.
2. Don't use your wife's.

[Doc Dan]

I keep hearing that lint is a possibility. How many here have bought a new knife,carried it in there pocket for a few months, took it out and operated it to make sure it's ok. When the time came to use it, it failed you? I believe this is rare.You would be pissed too.

This statement makes me even more certain it was lint or some foreign matter in the lock. This is the most common cause of lock failure with the simple lock back design. I have to carry (of necessity) my knives in my pocket and I have had lock failures due to lint on several knives. The lint sometimes will be easily seen, but sometimes it can get behind the lock bar claw where you cannot see it. Lock backs need regular cleaning, even if you cannot see dirt, lint, foil, paper, or whatever.

[Johnnie1801]

Like everyone mentioned lint can build up fairly easily, I use a can of compressed air once in a while or sometimes even just blow hard into the pivot area. Anyway, looks like Sal is going to look after you

Hi Suv,

Sorry for your stress. Do you have the knife now or is it still at Spyderco?

sal

[camvdcs]

Been carrying a Delica for about 23 years. I got lint stuck inbetween blade and lock about 2 times. Blew it out and good as new. :)

[The Deacon]

I keep hearing that lint is a possibility. How many here have bought a new knife,carried it in there pocket for a few months, took it out and operated it to make sure it's ok. When the time came to use it, it failed you? I believe this is rare.You would be pissed too.

I'd be surprised and annoyed, but if it was a midlock, as all of the Spydercos I carry are, and I discovered that the cause of the failure was lint, I'd be annoyed at myself for not cleaning it more often. I'd also check for that before wasting Spyderco's time and my money sending it in for evaluation.

[Holland]

Two tips...

1. A toothbrush is ideal to clean out the lock indent.
2. Don't use your wife's.

lol :D

[Jazz]

A toothpick works the best for cleaning them out. Maybe clean out your pockets once in a while, too.

[OBJ Viking]

I recently sent in an Endura that stopped locking open and closed on and cut my son's finger while he was using it (thread here in this forum). We are "knife guys", live out in the country, and use out knives every day (not necessarily the same knife, but the one we have with us) for some chore or another. So it was entirely reasonable that something was obstructing the lock on this particular knife.

I cleaned the knife by soaking it in hot soapy water and blowing it out with a can of compressed air and it still failed to lock open. I then took the screws out of the side and lifted up the scales on that side a little to try to see what was in there, but didn't see anything. I didn't disassemble it further because I don't know the internals and how they fit together and was worried that I wouldn't be able to put it back together. I pushed the side/scale back on it and screwed it back together and sent it to Spyderco.

A lady from Spyderco called me today and told me that the backspacer was not in the proper spot indicating that it had been disassembled and I needed to pay a $25 fee for repair due to it having been disassembled. I explained to her the problem it was having and what I did to try to correct it or find the problem through cleaning and then lifting the scale to look inside. She understood and said the knife is working fine now and suspected that it might have been dirt or something impeding the lock, but this was just speculation as she said it was working fine when they took it apart and reassembled it and the only problem they found was the backspacer out of place. I suspect what was in there was dirt or something interfering with the lock and it came loose when I loosened it up to peek inside.

I fully understand the fee because I messed with it and I also learned my lesson to just send it in next time if it happens again and cleaning doesn't rectify the issue. I am also now more conscious as to how much additional PMCS this type (a lockback) needs verses other type locks.

I think they are a reputable company and will stand by their product and hope you give them another try. I am not disappointed in dealing with them and am going to show my son how to properly clean out his knife after hard use, and just have him keep an eye on it when he gets it back to make sure the lock is properly engaging.

[mattman]

Lint is a somewhat common issue with lock backs in general. (It has happened to me)

Any customer service issue (with ANY company) is never 100% pleasant, because it starts with a problem...

Spyderco has very good quality, and great value. One of the ways they continue to be able to offer the value that they do, is by not absorbing these "no fault found" shipping fees. If you lived next door, you could drop it off, and pick it up, but this scenario is unrealistic for most of us. Does your car dealer pay for your gas when you take a car in for warranty service?

Just trying to put things into perspective...

Enjoy the Delica... It's a great knife.

[shunsui]

If you Google for Spyderco and lint you'll see there's quite a history.

You might read through some of those older threads and find some better insights on the problem. Some of the old threads have more info that doesn't get repeated for various reasons.

[sal]

Hi Suv,

Spoke with Charlynn. She says the knife is still at customer service. She said the problem was just lint in the lock (a common problem until one is edge-u-cated to clean out the lock). I guess you are now Edge-u-cated. she also said you buggered up the edge with a "drag through scrape-amatic". Additional edge-u-cation.

I would guess that you are fairly new to knives, at least knives like ours. That's ok, we were all there once. I learned about lint in a lock-back in '64. (It's not a new problem).

About costs. Shop time at Spyderco is usually about $1 - $2 per minute (more for managers) To received a package, open it, log it in, inspect the knife, contact the customer, solve the problem and ship it back will run 10 - 30 minutes. Shipping usually cost more than the $5 we ask for. I can assure you that customer service is not a profit center. Also Charlynn has to deal with irate customers, that are often just plain wrong, and still keep her patience.... :o

I'll wave the $5, I think you should apologize to your fellow forumites and maybe even to Charlynn. Getting on a forum when you're pissed is never a good idea. In fact when I'm pissed, I just shut my mouth until I am no longer pissed and can begin to be rational.

sal

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"Mad Is Bad"