Blemishes? Advice Needed

[SleeplessInSoCal]

I love my new Z-Wear Shaman, and consider myself lucky to have scored one, thanks to a heads-up from a member on this forum (SteelCity16).

My issue (is it one?) is that my new specimen came with a scratch on the blade, and it stands out to me every time that I handle the knife. Is this something that’s fixable by the factory? I’m not precious, but I do love the aesthetics of the knife. I’m going to wear and use the knife, but I do like to take care of my things. None of my user Spydercos have scratched blades.

Any insight? Can it be fixed?

[Abyss_Fish]

Chances are, with the scratch's location on the blade, it's from contact with the liner in one way or another. So you could probably polish it out yes, but it would likely reappear. I have a few knives with scratches like this, usually from the edge of the finger choil. Best you can do is tune up your action and use some blue loctite to keep everything in place.

[SleeplessInSoCal]

Chances are, with the scratch's location on the blade, it's from contact with the liner in one way or another. So you could probably polish it out yes, but it would likely reappear. I have a few knives with scratches like this, usually from the edge of the finger choil. Best you can do is tune up your action and use some blue loctite to keep everything in place.

It seems that way, because of the arc. But when I open and close the blade, the scratch stays completely exposed through its travel. So it appears that it happened before assembly.

This isn’t something that Spyderco will fix, is it?

[Abyss_Fish]

It seems that way, because of the arc. But when I open and close the blade, the scratch stays completely exposed through its travel. So it appears that it happened before assembly.

ah.

This isn’t something that Spyderco will fix, is it?

If it was a regular production model then I'm sure they could help you, but with sprint runs they usually don't have any spare parts of any kind. I'd contact customer support anyways though, there's always a chance.

[JuPaul]

Personally I probably would just tighten everything up and live with that scratch. I'd also make sure I scored another one before sending that one into Spyderco. I kinda doubt they would/could fix it. My bet is they would offer you store credit and that one would go into the 2021 seconds sale.

[SleeplessInSoCal]

Personally I probably would just tighten everything up and live with that scratch. I'd also make sure I scored another one before sending that one into Spyderco. I kinda doubt they would/could fix it. My bet is they would offer you store credit and that one would go into the 2021 seconds sale.

Kind of what I figured the veterans on here to say. Difficult for me with slight OCD tendencies. But I don’t want to lose the opportunity to own this knife, because I love it. I’ll just suffer through the imperfection. 1st world problem.

I was just holding out hope that someone might say, “Yeah, they’ll totally fix that!”

[Spyderman91]

I can feel your pain...

For me my DLC Shaman came fine, but I wore it in a sweater while I was at a bonfire on the beach.

Later that night when I opened it a grain of sand caused a similar scratch where your's is located.
Even though I was using the knife I had the same feeling because I'm "OCD with my tools", but over time...
I honestly forgot it was even there. Now to answer your question there are some solutions that you could find on other blade forums. I would suggest some but I have not tried them personally.

The last resort would be to have someone refinish it for you in a way that would mask the scratch, like an acid wash or something similar. Lastly on the bright side you have a Zwear Shaman with character and it's your own now!

[Wartstein]

I love my new Z-Wear Shaman, and consider myself lucky to have scored one, thanks to a heads-up from a member on this forum (SteelCity16).

My issue (is it one?) is that my new specimen came with a scratch on the blade, and it stands out to me every time that I handle the knife. Is this something that’s fixable by the factory? I’m not precious, but I do love the aesthetics of the knife. I’m going to wear and use the knife, but I do like to take care of my things. None of my user Spydercos have scratched blades.

Any insight? Can it be fixed?

Full disclaimer: I am one of those who actually really likes his knives more and more, the more used, personal and scratched up they look, the more they show their "story"... but of course I totally respect people who are different and enjoy knives more when keeping them as pristine as possible!

Still: If you really plan on using the knife as you said: Can you really do this and still avoid superficial scratches on the blade like the one in the pic? Honest question! I could NOT in my kind of use, but that´s just me.

[Wartstein]

Added to my post above:
See the older Shaman in this pic by Buddafucco (not mine! / B., I hope its ok I put it here) (here is the post: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=88818&start=60#p1494321) to see what I mean: Probably hard to totally avoid marks like those when using the Shaman?!
But again, I don´t know your kind of use!

[TkoK83Spy]

Personally I probably would just tighten everything up and live with that scratch. I'd also make sure I scored another one before sending that one into Spyderco. I kinda doubt they would/could fix it. My bet is they would offer you store credit and that one would go into the 2021 seconds sale.

Kind of what I figured the veterans on here to say. Difficult for me with slight OCD tendencies. But I don’t want to lose the opportunity to own this knife, because I love it. I’ll just suffer through the imperfection. 1st world problem.

I was just holding out hope that someone might say, “Yeah, they’ll totally fix that!”

Though that is a bummer to receive it brand new like that, I have to side with the vets here as well. I'm also a bit OCD myself, but once a knife already has a blemish, I personally find it much easier to use as a working knife. You intend on it being a user...I will say that Cruwear and most likely Z-Wear as well, scratches fairly easily as you will see in my photo of mine below. So it's inevitable it would get some scratches eventually! At least it's on the clip side too

[Pokey]

Lightly rub it with Scotchbrite? This would probably change the surface roughness and it might not match the rest of the blade, though.

There are different levels of roughness on Scotchbrite. It varies with the different colors of the pad.

[TkoK83Spy]

Lightly rub it with Scotchbrite? This would probably change the surface roughness and it might not match the rest of the blade, though.

I tried that in the past on an old Kershaw I had, not a good idea for the exact reason you said. Even with a light rub, I still made some swirl mark scratches on the blade and the finish looked different.

[Pokey]

Lightly rub it with Scotchbrite? This would probably change the surface roughness and it might not match the rest of the blade, though.

I tried that in the past on an old Kershaw I had, not a good idea for the exact reason you said. Even with a light rub, I still made some swirl mark scratches on the blade and the finish looked different.

Yeah, anything you could use, other than the original belt used at the factory will make it different.

[RustyIron]

I tried that in the past on an old Kershaw I had, not a good idea for the exact reason you said. Even with a light rub, I still made some swirl mark scratches on the blade and the finish looked different.

Just a tip for restoring a brushed finish...
The hard part is keeping each stroke parallel to the last. Pick out the stone or emery cloth that you think is appropriate. Test it on similar material to make sure the scratches are going to be similar. Use a block or a dowel under emery cloth to keep the pressure even across a large area, and to help maintain parallelism. Start the movement of your fingers before the emery cloth starts cutting, and keep moving after it stops cutting. If you start/stop at the edge of the work, you'll end up with curvy lines.

A scratch like the one we're talking about should be really easy to fix, considering it's on a flat surface. If the blade is removed from the knife, the finish could be restarted up until the thin area above the Spydiehole. That area is so narrow that any mismatch between the original and restored areas will be unnoticeable to the eye.

An even better solution? Take that knife out into the yard and get going on the neglected yardwork. Use it to hack through bushes. Prune them up real pretty. When finished, the blade will have enough scuffs and scratches that the original "factory scratch" will be insignificant.

[Sharp Guy]

I don't necessarily like my knives to come pre-scratched but considering what you go through to get one of these I think I'd just live it. It's going to earn more scratches with any real use anyway. So this one has a head start.

I wouldn't try removing the scratch. It's going to take a lot of time and effort to make it look decent. It's only going to get scratched again.

[SG89]

Ignore the scratch. Use the knife. Be thankful you have such a nice knife. Trying to buff out the scratch will look terrible. Congrats on getting a really cool sprint :D

[LanM]

Just be lucky it’s not H1, ha. I’m a user myself, but I was a bit surprised that my dragonfly salt put an arced scratched (more significant than yours) right out of the box. I get the concern if it’s a safe queen. But to me they’re cutting implements first, pseudo art second.

An unused knife is like an unused condom-wasted potential.

But I hear you on the OCD-I’m that way about some of my watches. Which btw, I find a fiberglass bristle pen pretty good at re-brushing the finish. As well as Grey or green scotchbrite (body shop variety not grocery store) depending on the grain desired. I can post up some examples if you want, won’t be until next week as I’m traveling this week.

[The Deacon]

I love my new Z-Wear Shaman, and consider myself lucky to have scored one, thanks to a heads-up from a member on this forum (SteelCity16).

My issue (is it one?) is that my new specimen came with a scratch on the blade, and it stands out to me every time that I handle the knife. Is this something that’s fixable by the factory? I’m not precious, but I do love the aesthetics of the knife. I’m going to wear and use the knife, but I do like to take care of my things. None of my user Spydercos have scratched blades.

Any insight? Can it be fixed?

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If it were mine, and the scratch bothered me, I would send an email with a photo like yours to Spyderco Warranty & Repair and ask if they could eliminate the scratch.

[JRinFL]

The Deacon's advice is sound.

I would do nothing if it were mine, until I could secure a second pristine one. And I would only do that if I meant to collect it and not use it. If it is meant to be a user, then try to ignore it and move on as it will only get more scratches. One of my favorite cars came with a scratch on the lower part of the dashboard. It was "repaired" by the dealership, but I could still see it. It did not deter my affection for that car.

[bearfacedkiller]

Lightly rub it with Scotchbrite? This would probably change the surface roughness and it might not match the rest of the blade, though.

I tried that in the past on an old Kershaw I had, not a good idea for the exact reason you said. Even with a light rub, I still made some swirl mark scratches on the blade and the finish looked different.

Yeah, anything you could use, other than the original belt used at the factory will make it different.

You can buy Scotchbrite wheels for a buffer/bench grinder. I believe that is what they use for the satin finish. I have thought for years about getting one for refinishing my own blades.