Update - What Can I Do About This Squeaking??

[JaseRicco]

So, I received my Tenacious Exclusive this afternoon. I have lots of great things to say about it, but I’ll have to save that for another post if I can figure out this huge gripe of mine.

Out of the box everything seemed perfect. But soon after, while opening and closing it a bunch, the knife developed what I consider to be a squeak. Actually sounds more like a creeking door or even a violin. This noise is loud and rather annoying. I called over to CutleryShoppe and the gentleman I spoke with was extremely curtious. His thought is that the knife was dry and needed some oil. I didn't think this was the case given the fact that Spyderco’s usually come pretty well lubed but figured I’d give it a try, however this was to no avail.

To my best guess this is what is happening - it feels like the blade and detent ball are rubbing together with enough force to vibrate the liner lock which is intern making this noise. I say feels, because when I lightly press a finger against the liner lock while opening and closing the blade I can actually feel the vibration. And when I completely disengage the liner lock, and then move the blade...no noise.

Anyone come across this at all with any of their liner lock knives?

[mattman]

Toothpick to pack some grease in the detent hole. Won't take much. Vaseline will do, until you figure out of you want to take the "Which lube is better?" journey. (I use fluoridated grease)

[JaseRicco]

Toothpick to pack some grease in the detent hole. Won't take much. Vaseline will do, until you figure out of you want to take the "Which lube is better?" journey. (I use fluoridated grease)

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond, unfortunately it did not help at all. Good suggestion though.

Honestly I think this may be a defect in the value folder liners. I had this problem with the Efficient as well. Little bit of oil and or lubing isn’t going to stop the liner from vibrating.

[Sharp Guy]

Honestly I think this may be a defect in the value folder liners. I had this problem with the Efficient as well. Little bit of oil and or lubing isn’t going to stop the liner from vibrating.

I'm not sure I'd be so quick to generalize Jase. There's a lot of value line knives out there and I've never heard of anyone complaining about this. One of my first Spyderco knives was a Persistence and it didn't have this problem.

[JaseRicco]

Honestly I think this may be a defect in the value folder liners. I had this problem with the Efficient as well. Little bit of oil and or lubing isn’t going to stop the liner from vibrating.

I'm not sure I'd be so quick to generalize Jase. There's a lot of value line knives out there and I've never heard of anyone complaining about this. One of my first Spyderco knives was a Persistence and it didn't have this problem.

I don’t mean to generalize, this just happens to be the second Value Folder I have had with this same issue. Oddly enough I have never heard of this complaint either, so either I am being too picky about the knives I purchase, or just have some bad luck...maybe al title of both.

I do have an Alcyone, and except for the stiff action...no issues at all.

[mattman]

If you hold the lock open enough so the detent ball comes off the tang, does the nose go away completely?

[curlyhairedboy]

A dab of mineral oil on the detent ball should sort this.

The Tenacious line is not known for noise issues.

How does it cut?

[JaseRicco]

If you hold the lock open enough so the detent ball comes off the tang, does the nose go away completely?

Yes...when I fully disengage the lock compressing it as much as it can be and then move the blade, the noise goes away completely. This is what leads me to believe the the noise is coming from the liner and not from the pivot.

[gundamaniac]

I've had liner and frame lock folders that I gave a good disassemble/cleaning/reassemble to without remembering to relube the detent track and boy were those some rough actions. I've had them squeak, grind, sound and feel like something being rubbed on sandpaper. A bit of lube on that detent track and all of that went away. Had this happen to me on a Buck Vantage, ZT0562, and a Hinderer. You'd think I would remember, but nope. I'm really absent minded sometimes :o

[JaseRicco]

A dab of mineral oil on the detent ball should sort this.

The Tenacious line is not known for noise issues.

How does it cut?

I tried this as well as a bit of Vaseline which was suggested earlier in the thread...no help at all.

Razor sharp righ out of the box, so I would assume it will have great cutting ability.

[JaseRicco]

I've had liner and frame lock folders that I gave a good disassemble/cleaning/reassemble to without remembering to relube the detent track and boy were those some rough actions. I've had them squeak, grind, sound and feel like something being rubbed on sandpaper. A bit of lube on that detent track and all of that went away. Had this happen to me on a Buck Vantage, ZT0562, and a Hinderer. You'd think I would remember, but nope. I'm really absent minded sometimes :o

I hear ya. This thing is certainly lubed up enough, so I’m at a bit off a loss. I really don’t want to have to return this to CutleryShoppe as it’s such a Bad A** knife. But the noise that is being produced is ANNOYING.

[curlyhairedboy]

Could be something that goes away after some break in.....

[mattman]

Hmmm.
Try a thin piece of cardboard (like a matchbook cover) to "floss" the detent ball.

There *may* be a piece of grit in there??

[gundamaniac]

My suggestion would be to contact Spyderco directly.

....on the other hand, if it were me personally, I'd disassemble it. If lube on the detent ball really isn't solving the problem, I'd look at the blade tang and see if there's a polished detent track there where the detent ball was riding. Maybe give it a good cleaning, polish it up with some mother's mag or whatnot (if that detent area is rough), clean off the polish with soapy water, lube up the detent track, and reassemble. My Vantage was incredibly rough out of the box, but became super smooth after that treatment. Of course, I don't officially recommend this method since it voids warranty and is probably unnecessary tinkering.

Other things I've tried have included cleaning the detent track then working the blade open and closed repeatedly while watching TV to try to cut the detent track into the blade tang and smooth it out, then clean it all up, relube, and cycle open and closed a few more times. That's worked out nicely too and doesn't require disassembly or voiding the warranty :D

[JaseRicco]

Hmmm.
Try a thin piece of cardboard (like a matchbook cover) to "floss" the detent ball.

There *may* be a piece of grit in there??

Thank you again for the suggestion. I tried this as you said...nothing.

[JaseRicco]

Could be something that goes away after some break in.....

This could be the case, but since I have to make a decision whether or not I’m going to return, I cant wait too long and break it in too much or I’m returning a used knife. I’m wiling to take a few simple steps, but beyond that a decision has to be made.

[JaseRicco]

My suggestion would be to contact Spyderco directly.

Other things I've tried have included cleaning the detent track then working the blade open and closed repeatedly while watching TV to try to cut the detent track into the blade tang and smooth it out, then clean it all up, relube, and cycle open and closed a few more times. That's worked out nicely too and doesn't require disassembly or voiding the warranty :D

I can try this, though I am not convinced that this noise will go away after breakin, but worth a try.

[Sharp Guy]

My Sage 1 does something similar so I can certainly understand why it bugs you. On my S1 there's friction from the detent ball that I can feel and hear, although the sound is faint. It doesn't affect the function of the knife but it sure bothers the perfectionist in me. I've tried cleaning and lubing with all kinds of slippery stuff and nothing helps. I've even tried polishing the blade where the ball rides and nothing changed. I just use it as is and try not to let it bug me. One of these days I might see if I can replace the detent ball with a ceramic one but not sure it's worth the effort. If it was as extreme as your Tenacious sounds I think I'd be sending it in to W&R to let them do their thing. Kind of a pain in the butt to do so but worth the in the long run.

[JaseRicco]

My Sage 1 does something similar so I can certainly understand why it bugs you. On my S1 there's friction from the detent ball that I can feel and hear, although the sound is faint. It doesn't affect the function of the knife but it sure bothers the perfectionist in me. I've tried cleaning and lubing with all kinds of slippery stuff and nothing helps. I've even tried polishing the blade where the ball rides and nothing changed. I just use it as is and try not to let it bug me. One of these days I might see if I can replace the detent ball with a ceramic one but not sure it's worth the effort. If it was as extreme as your Tenacious sounds I think I'd be sending it in to W&R to let them do their thing. Kind of a pain in the butt to do so but worth the in the long run.

Thank god...someone who feels my pain lol. Believe me, if the noise was faint I’d totally deal with it because I love the knife otherwise. What I have pretty much decided is that I will contact CutleryShoppe tomorrow morning and have the knife sent back. What’s more disappointing is that even if they offer to send out a pre-paid return label, I wont be replacing it with another Tenacious Exclusive I’d have to pay for shipping on the new knife and run the risk of having the same issue, not to mention the shipping charge for this knife that ill be forfeiting. Think ill just cut my losses.

[gundamaniac]

I dunno, in that case I'd try to send it in to Spyderco and see if they can fix your Tenacious Exclusive. Sounds like you quite like the knife except for that issue, I would see what Spyderco can do for ya.