Urban Slipjoint 'action' not crisp

[swisspyder]

Hi guys, something's always bugged me about my Urban but I'm not sure whether my standards are too high. Would be interesting to hear whether your Urbans are also like this. The closing 'action' isn't crisp from fully open towards the half stop. It's kind of mushy and I can close the blade slightly (tip moves about 2mm) before I hit another resistance point which is then crisp and closes snappy to the half stop. The half stop is the way I would expect it to be, good resistance and a crisp overcoming of it to a snappy closing. That's a bit of a weird description maybe but I hope it makes sense.

None of my other slipjoints (Victorinox, Lionsteel) have this characteristic and I wonder whether it's a manufacturing defect. It has certainly limited my enjoyment of the knife, just because it doesn't feel good to use and I've come to expect more from Spyderco.

[elena86]

My N690Co Urban is very,very crisp from both positions. My K390 ones(I own three of them) not so much but crisp enough to give me confidence.These days my go to edc is the N690Co Urban but just because I use it quite alot for peeling fruits and preparing sandwiches.I only hope Sal will decide to implement the 90 degrees half stop on the N690Co Urbans.Spyderco Urban is a superb compact Spydie and one of Sal's best designs IMHO. I can only hope Sal reads this :spyder:

[swisspyder]

Mine is a K390 as well. Here's a video to illustrate what I mean. Sorry for the vertical video.

https://youtu.be/ccT5_XGfmwM

[swisspyder]

I also think it's a superb design and really love it, but as soon as I put my thumb on the ramp it closes ever so slightly to that position you see in the video, which is really not great and means that I have to completely keep my fingers off the top of the blade to use it.

[NickShabazz]

I've always looked at the Urban and UKPK as being knives where the main point of control is the thumb and index finger pinching the blade, with the handle being there for additional grip. The action being a bit softer and less crisp than many traditionals doesn't particularly bother me. But I'm also not a traditional knife guy.

[elena86]

I also think it's a superb design and really love it, but as soon as I put my thumb on the ramp it closes ever so slightly to that position you see in the video, which is really not great and means that I have to completely keep my fingers off the top of the blade to use it.

Not the case with my K390 ones, but you're right, is not very crisp.The N690Co one is difficult to close even using both hands...I like that

[BelgiumRofls]

Mine has also developed play like yours. I think the D-shaped pivot hole of mine has deformed slightly?
This model has made me appreciate washers and/or liners around the pivot quite a bit more.

[curlyhairedboy]

Just pulled mine out to check. From what I can see, the 'play' at the beginning of the closing motion is simply the backspring 'rolling' out of the detent notch. It's rounded, but I imagine that any gunk in the notch will soften the action further.

EDIT: if I were to suggest any CQI, it would be to change the backspring/backspacer profile such that the blade does not make contact on a 'bounce' during closing.

[swisspyder]

So it seems that this kind of action is to be expected, at least with the K390 Urban. Ok then, I suppose I'll have to adjust my grip on the knife and be more delicate :D I think it could definitely be a potential for improvement to make the detent a bit sharper/deeper.

[dsvirsky]

My Urban K390 requires a firm push on the ramp before it starts closing. That aside, the lack of crisp closing from the open position to the half stop is due to the nature of the notch lock. It has a lot to do with the backspring not being under tension during that portion of the blade's travel.

I own a custom notch lock (cran forcé) folder with a backspring so strong that you can't just close it like other slipjoints -- your hands must be in just the right position to rotate the handle towards blade, instead of pushing down on the blade. The action on that folder is the same as on the Urban, between the open and half stop positions.

[mikeh99]

My Urban K390 requires a firm push on the ramp before it starts closing.

Mine too. I'm very happy with the action.

[Sharp Guy]

My K390 Urban is similar to the OP's but maybe not as much. My G10 Urban, G10 UKPK, & FRN S110V aren't mushy at all.

[foofie]

I would have sworn my two k390's were crisp when fully open. I just checked, and they are both like OP's. It takes quite a bit of force to toggle it, but so perhaps not quite as squishy? I have been using it a lot, and have not doubted the strength of the backspring so far.

[Jumpin'Spyder]

I can confirm 1 of my Urban K390 user is the same of OP, pity to say. The other one I own is stored away and not yet used, but I cheked and it is without defect, but not yet used, so cannot say if it is a matter of worn or not

[dsvirsky]

if I were to suggest any CQI, it would be to change the backspring/backspacer profile such that the blade does not make contact on a 'bounce' during closing.

I was thinking about this some more and I wonder if there have been multiple production runs with some modifications made in between? When I first got my Urban, I was concerned it might be making contact with the backspring when snapped closed. However, even squeezing with significant pressure (and these are hands that have been lifting weights for 40 years), I can't move the blade any further towards the backspring once it's closed -- there's no possibility of any "bounce."

[swisspyder]

Why oh why Spyderco do you not use a metal insert for the D shape at the pivot in the FRN scales? Mine is free spinning, even though I really didn't use any force on it. Now it's slightly loose and impossible to retighten or undo completely. Great stuff!

This is a known issue, that the D shape gets rounded out when you turn the screw. CQI anyone?