Got first Spyderco, somewhat disappointed...

[FlyingMoose]

I've never had a "good" knife before, but I've heard of the brand Spyderco over the years, so I figured that's the brand I should get.

I got a Native 5, which I received yesterday.

It was kind of stiff to open at first, so I did a little searching and the recommendation is to sit there watching TV and opening and closing it, which is what I've been doing. It seemed to be a little gritty but I figured that was just how they are at first.

I opened/closed it for an hour or so (probly several hundred times) and it just seemed to get harder to open and more gritty.

I don't mean that it actually feels like it has grit in it, but sort of a grinding metal together feeling. It was also starting to squeak a little bit.

I put a drop of heavy oil on the part of the back of the blade that rubs against the locking bar but that didn't seem to help at all, which surprised me. If I hold in the lever it's a little smoother, and will fall open a bit, but it still feels awful, especially for something so expensive. I got the impression that part of what made Spyderco good is the feeling of opening and closing it, but I have a $5 utility knife that feel much nicer.

I realize that the lock-back type won't feel the same as some of the other types, but this thing feels awful. I could certainly never open it with just one hand and it's even kind of difficult with 2 hands, my fingers are getting tired from opening/closing it because it's so tough to do.

The more I open/close it, the more "grindy" it feels and it keeps getting harder to move. Do I just need to cycle it a few thousand more times?

I checked the screws that hold in the blade and they're not especially tight. The blade will wiggle back and forth while the knife is closed, not quite enough to touch the sides but it's not being pinched.

I'd rather not take it apart if I don't have to, but I'd like to hear any suggestions.

[Sonorum]

If the pivot already is loose (it shouldn't be side to side play) and the blade doesn't want to fall shut when you depress the lock bar I think I would return it. I have never had a spyderco feel how you describe it other than being extremely dirty.

Edit: Is a lightweight FRN model or g10? My FRN native is very very smooth and I have it so that the blade swings free when I depress the lock bar fully.

[JonLeBlanc]

I’d say give it some time. A day to break in might not be quite enough. And welcome to the forum.

[SG89]

If you are having issues with it day 1 it's probably got something wrong with it. Just return it and get another one. It's not supposed to be like that.

[JRinFL]

I have has to flush out some leftover gunk from the manufacturing process on some backlocks. I rinse it under the tap, while pressing the lock release. Dry it well with air, then lightly oil. If it is still an issue call Spyderco support. It should not stay gritty at all. Spyderco backlocks and the Native in particular should be very smooth.

If that is too much, call your dealer and get it replaced like SG said above.

[Albatross]

If you're comfortable with it, take the knife apart and clean any points of friction, then apply oil, some loc-tite on the screws, and reassemble.

Your knife WILL break in, unless there's some sort of manufacturing defect. I'm not suggesting that Spyderco is doing this, but some of the best makers, produce knives that require a break-in period, which they say is supposed to actually increase the life of the knife. Think locks that engage early or washers that aren't 100% flat. There's more to wear.

Years ago, I had a folder that came with silky-smooth action, but it wore out several times faster than a stiff, gritty Spyderco.

Give it a bit, one day isn't enough to evaluate the knife yet. Spyderco has you covered if there's a defect, and many of us have recieved gritty, stiff knives, and have learned that it's just a temporary annoyance most of the time. One way or another, you'll end up with a knife that performs very well.

I've had some that took a month to break in, but now rival any knife out there, as far as the smoothness of opening and closing goes.

By the way, is this the lightweight version or G10?

[VashHash]

I would suggest getting some WD-40 and spraying it into the pivot and lockbar area. Then using compressed air to blow it out toward the tip of the blade. See if any kind of gunk comes out. After that I'd work it a few times and repeat. Then wash it out. Dry it and lube it up. If that doesn't work I'd maybe send it in.

[Pokey]

I have two lightweight Native 5's and one carbon fiber/G10 model.

When I get a new Spyderco with a lock bar type lock I'll work the blade for a few hours, then put a small drop of oil on the tang and on the bronze bushings if the knife has them. Then, I keep working the blade. Eventually, the oil on the tang will start to turn black. I think as the tang and lock bar are rubbing, the lock bar is being polished to match the shape of the surface of the tang. I'll wipe the tang off with a cotton swab and put another drop of oil on the tang and keep working the action. After doing that for a day or so, I may adjust the pivot screw to take out any wobble.

The grittiness you're feeling could be from the lock bar/tang/bushings wearing in. To flush the grit out of the lock bar/tang/bushings try a couple of drops of Isopropyl alcohol in the joint and shake the knife to flush it out. (Easy on the alcohol, it may turn the scales white.) Let the alcohol evaporate, re-oil it and keep working it.

Case knife owners will use WD-40 to hose the gunk out of the joints on old Case knives. Warning: WD-40 is NOT a lubricant, use oil after WD-40 dries.

Edit to add: In the time it took me to type this more people jumped in and said pretty much the same thing. I need to type faster. :D

[bouhunter]

There shouldn't be any issue opening a brand new Native with one hand. There must be something wrong with that knife.

[TomAiello]

Welcome to the forum!

Where did you buy it? Was it an authorized retailer?

The Native 5 has had a lot of fakes and copies.

I'd just return it and get another one, probably from a different seller.

[Chinook3]

Don’t take it apart and just return the knife. Ask the seller to “ inspect” the new one.

Always use a reputable knife dealer and not the “ big river” one. Spyderco makes great knives sorry this happened to you. Welcome by the way! :)

[WRB]

Doesn't sound right, that's for sure. My Native, while not as easy to open because of the backlock, is smooth as butter. I can open and close it one-handed no problem. In fact, I've been doing that off and on all night prior to viewing this post, just because I've enjoyed feeling how smooth it is.

If a drop of oil didn't immediately rectify the problem, I'd return it.

[VooDooChild]

There shouldn't be any issue opening a brand new Native with one hand. There must be something wrong with that knife.

This. The Golden factory pretty much makes the best backlocks on the planet. If it is that difficult to operate with 1 hand it makes me think there is a problem.

[James Y]

Personally, I would NOT recommend taking it apart. If it seems to be getting worse, I would see about returning it.

One way to lessen the chance of getting a lemon is to make a list of things you want (smooth action, solid lockup, uniformly ground edge, etc.), and potential flaws in a knife that you don’t want (gritty/poor action, blade play, stripped screw heads, etc.), and order from the dealer over the phone. Then request that they check for those things in the knife you’re ordering. That’s how I do it, and I’ve never gotten a lemon that way. If the dealer isn’t willing to do that, order elsewhere (although every dealer I’ve ordered from was glad to do that).

Jim

[FlyingMoose]

It is a G-10 type, the one with the "natural" greenish color because I thought that was the coolest-looking one. It looks amazing in person. Since they apparently sold out to scalpers in the first 3 minutes from the dealer, I had to get it on eBay.

I live in the Philippines, so I had it sent to my mom who then shipped it to me. So with the price of the knife, shipping and tax, and then shipping to the Philippines with import taxes and duties, I've paid about $350 so far. I realize that living here makes things more expensive, which is why I chose a reputable brand, to try to minimize the chance of problems, and a special edition, to minimize the chance of a fake. Also, if I'm paying that much in shipping to get it here, getting a bit more expensive version seemed like a good idea, because I didn't want the knife to cost more than the shipping. I emailed the seller and he seems knowledgable about knives, not just some person selling random imported stuff.

If I were to send it in to Spyderco, that would be another $200 shipping and would be impractical now because of coronavirus. Even if I returned it to the seller I'd be out over $200 for shipping. In either case there's a not-insignificant chance of it "disappearing" in shipping. I was quite relieved when it arrived here. I would like to send it to Spyderco, but it's not practical right now. Maybe next time I visit the US, but again with Coronavirus, that may be quite a long time. That's the reason I ordered it and had it sent here. I was planning to get it next time I visit the US but didn't want to wait that long, and no one seems to want to ship here, so that's why I had my mom forward it.

Anyway, if I push the lock bar the blade falls open, so I think it's the blade grinding against the lock bar, not the pivot. I put on some heavy silicone oil I have for my treadmill belt, but it didn't seem to help much, if anything it made it worse.

I am wondering if it's because it's an exotic kind of steel (CPM-M4) which is harder and grates more against the locking bar. This also makes me afraid to wash it as some have suggested, because I have read it may be more prone to rust.

I may have to take it apart, but for now I'll just keep opening and closing it, maybe it will grind itself down so it stops being so difficult. Right now it's even a struggle to open it with 2 hands, and seems to be getting more difficult. It had a ding in the edge near the end of the blade, so I had to do a lot of sharpening to get it smooth, but I guess that's why it was even as cheap as it was (plus not coming with a box, which I don't need anyway). Other examples seem to be $50+ more.\

I guess I may have to take it apart, but I'm not sure what to do about the pin, since I don't have a punch to drive it out. I removed the screws but the side (the G-10 part) still wouldn't come off.

[Oloung1]

It was kind of stiff to open at first, so I did a little searching and the recommendation is to sit there watching TV and opening and closing it, which is what I've been doing. It seemed to be a little gritty but I figured that was just how they are at first.

I opened/closed it for an hour or so (probly several hundred times) and it just seemed to get harder to open and more gritty.

I don't mean that it actually feels like it has grit in it, but sort of a grinding metal together feeling. It was also starting to squeak a little bit.

I'm not going to say that you should disassemble but I will say it's going to need a good cleaning. No Spyderco backlock should be gritty new from the box to the point that you cannot open it one hand, let alone two. I went through the exact same scenario when I got my Delica4 from a reputable outdoor store about 2 months ago. Your Native is leagues above the Delica platform. There's "breaking it in" and then there's "grit". Breaking it in would be working out a little factory grease, not increasing the grittiness or resistance of the action.

Issues started with a slight grittiness a few hours from unboxing. In between, it must have fell into a pocketful of sand - the same pockets that my other knives rotate out of. Next couple days became increasingly crunchy despite sink washing, canned air dusting and daiwa oil. I also had the open action squeal right before it crunched.

Was about to give in and send it back. I didn't have any issues with any other branded knives I carried. I had tools from other knives. After studying every disassembly video, I took it apart, cleaned the tang, washers and backlock, oiled and re-assembled. Then I got it.

TLDR; clean it (if you have the correct tools) or send it to get cleaned.

[araneae]

As others said, do not take it apart. It should be smooth, return it to whoever you bought from. The Native 5 is one of the best, most refined backlocks available.

[Doc Dan]

It should be smooth. It will break in and get even smoother, but it should be smooth and easy from the start. Send it back.

You could try flushing it out wit WD-40 then re-lubing. But I think I’d send it back.

Where did you buy it?

[FlyingMoose]

I'm not sure how long it will take my messages to get approved by a moderator...

I've been sitting opening and closing it, and it's really grinding hard, almost like I'm filing something. It takes a lot of strength to move it.

I'm hoping it will get easier soon.

[FlyingMoose]

Ok, I just flushed it with a bunch of WD-40, and a lot of black stuff and grit came out. It feels slightly better, but still very rough.