Caribbean salt is getting sticky and showing rust

[jib]

This is my first post here (long time lurker) and I hate that it comes with a complaint, but I knew this community were the folks to ask.

I work on a boat everyday and have religiously carried a smattering of H1 salts. When I saw the sheepsfoot PE Caribbean, I knew I was in love. The LC200N promised to hold an edge longer than H1 and the weight felt good in my hands - especially while cutting at sea, on the moving boat. I loved the smooth opening, flipping open with a snap of the wrist even, but that's gone now.

Getting it to open is a chore that now requires two hands due to rust forming at the joint. I rinse it as often as I can with fresh water and oil it when available, but the fact of the matter is that I'm in the ocean or by the ocean literally everyday and needed a knife that can survive on just the occasional fresh water bath, or nothing at all (like my trusty H1s).

Had anyone else experienced this or similar with their Caribbean? Any thoughts on how to fix what it has now and nip the rust in the bud? Any preventive measures I should take going forward? Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Evil D]

It needs sent back to Spyderco as is so they can see it. This is the sort of real world stuff they need to study to make improvements.

[VashHash]

I'd recommend tuflglide for the pivot. I have an autonomy 2 that's been to the beach and it faired well with just freshwater rinses. Of course both those knives are made in different countries. I wonder what steel is used for the pivots.

Also have to agree with David about possibly sending it in. If not then maybe rinse it with wd 40 or something similar to clean it out.

[Calicoast]

Would definitely send it in for the crew to look at. Have you opened it up to confirm that it is in fact rust? Can't remember where or the steel, but I recall reading a story where some growth attached on to the pivot, continued to live and grow with constant salt air, etc.

[VashHash]

Would definitely send it in for the crew to look at. Have you opened it up to confirm that it is in fact rust? Can't remember where or the steel, but I recall reading a story where some growth attached on to the pivot, continued to live and grow with constant salt air, etc.

I remember someone leaving a salt knife on a boat for a long time and something growing on the blade but it wiped off. I've also heard LC200N isn't as rust resistant as H1 but I don't have enough experience with LC200N to know for sure. It didn't rust on my beach camping trip but that was just a day.

[FullFlatMind]

That's a bummer. Hopefully they get it fixed up for you. You are probably putting this steel to it's ultimate test of regular use as intended. H1 is supposed to be more rust resistant than LC200N. The benefits over H1 seem to be worth it but obviously H1 has it's place.

I just received this exact same knife as a Father's Day gift as a pair to my Pacific Salt. It will get used for camping, fishing, food prep, and basically anything outdoors.

[The Meat man]

LC200N is just as rust proof as H-1.

As I recall, however, there have been issues with galvanic corrosion when LC200N is in contact with different metals in the presence of a corrosive agent (like salt water.) As I understand it, that is why Spyderco made a switch over to ceramic detent balls for use in the Salt models.
The LC200N itself is impervious.

[James Y]

Hopefully, surfgringo will chime in here. IIRC, he's had his Caribbean in his kayak(¿) and had either little or no rust issues at all with his.

I wonder if it's some kind of algae growth.

Jim

[vivi]

Any chance you could share photos?

[curlyhairedboy]

to my knowledge, the Caribbean has as much hardware as possible made of LC200n, including liners. Will be following this; I expect it's fouling, not corrosion.

[sal]

Hi Jib,

Welcome to our forum. Sorry you are having problems. Best to send it to us and call it to my attention.

sal

[Surfingringo]

When it comes to the salt knives and highly corrosive exposure it is always the hardware and not the steel that can cause an issue. The more hardware, the more potential to see some sort of corrosion. That said, I tested my Caribbean pretty rigorously for a couple of months and had very little issue. Some VERY slight rust bleeding around the standoffs but that was after HEAVY exposure and it still wiped off pretty easily when I disassembled. Even if the pivot was showing some corrosion it seems a bit odd to me that it would make the knife hard to open. Can you see any corrosion staining or “leaking” at the pivot area?

Op, the ideal solution would be for you to send the knife in to be evaluated. It’s a bit of a hassle but you would be doing a big solid for spyderco by giving them a chance to see what’s going on with the knife.

[wrdwrght]

Watching this thread with interest. I hope the mothership resolves your problem ASAP and you tell us what the deeper problem was said to be.

Couple of questions up front.

Have you disassembled your Caribbean before?

Has it been exposed to sand or grit?

Has the blade been in contact with some other metal for an extended period of time?

[jib]

This is why I love this community! The response to this has been incredible :) I will definitely put it in the mail for you guys today (it's coming from a sailboat in Hawaii so it might take a bit). I did not post photos before because I couldn't figure it out on the fly via mobile on my first post, but I'll throw them in here.



To answer most of the questions, I have NOT taken it apart yet and probably won't before sending it in so that Sal and the gang can take a look at it "as is". I'm honestly not exactly sure what it is that's causing the sticking (looks like rust to me, but I've been wrong before) and maybe it will clean off quickly with a quick disassemble, but it sounds like something worth at least looking at. All I know is that I used to be able to thumb the blade out a fraction of an inch and then snap it open the rest of the way with a flick of the wrist - sometimes even with just a strong flick - and now it most definitely requires two hands to pry it open. It's been exposed to a little sand here and there, but I always rinse any grit off after that kind of use, even if it's just with a splash of salt water (as counter intuitive as that seems - salt water seems better than nothing when it comes to sand and grit).

Sal - do I need to include anything with my knife when I send it back to you, like a note referencing all this? Do I send it to the same place I would for a sharpening? Thanks for the help!

[sal]

Hi Jib,

Thanx for not taking it apart. Better for us to see. Nothing special to go with the knife. I work here and everyone knows who I am.

sal

Spyderco
Attn: Sal Glesser
820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403

[vivi]

I saw a lot of rusting around the stop pin and liners like that on my DLC Para 2 that I exposed to a lot of salty sweat carrying IWB during the summer.

[jib]

I saw a lot of rusting around the stop pin and liners like that on my DLC Para 2 that I exposed to a lot of salty sweat carrying IWB during the summer.

It's weird that the pictures show up when you quote them, but not on the post itself (at least on my screen). Thanks for quoting them so others can see them as well!

[Pelagic]

I carried a millie and a pm2 in s110v on a dredge for about a year. Intense exposure to both salt water and grit/sediment. I never had much of a problem aside from rust at the stop pin. All rust spots on the blade wiped off effortlessly. Brake cleaner is good at blasting the pivot out and working out any stiffness in the action. I'd hit it with PB blaster afterwards and keep on going. I rarely had to resort to disassembly.

[Evil D]

I work here and everyone knows who I am.

sal

This is the best thing I've ever read on this forum.

[carrot]

I work here and everyone knows who I am.

sal

This is the best thing I've ever read on this forum.

Same.