Chinese Centering

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
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FRNFanboy
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Chinese Centering

#1

Post by FRNFanboy »

So… what’s the deal with blade centering on the Chinese models? I have a Tenacious and a Resilient, and both have the exact same off-centeredness, about 60% favoring the show side. It seems weirdly consistent, and it can’t be adjusted out, even by making the pivot unbearably tight. Many reviewers have noted the same thing, and it’s not recent. Has the company ever addressed this?.
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ladybug93
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Re: Chinese Centering

#2

Post by ladybug93 »

probably because of the liner lock pushing against the blade. if it's not rubbing, no need to worry about made-up youtuber criticism points that only serve to give them something to talk about without actually having to use the knives.
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
skeeg11
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Re: Chinese Centering

#3

Post by skeeg11 »

Actually I consider a consistent 60% an endorsement for whichever company/mfr. this is.
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Wartstein
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Re: Chinese Centering

#4

Post by Wartstein »

I don´t care for what they call "perfect" centering at all (as long as the blade does not rub on one side of the scale that IS perfect for me) - but that said: My Tenacious LWs blade actually sits exactly in the middle of the handle, no deviation to the left or right.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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TkoK83Spy
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Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Chinese Centering

#5

Post by TkoK83Spy »

I think I know a thread about this subject matter! :rofl :zipper
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
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Wartstein
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Location: Salzburg, Austria, Europe

Re: Chinese Centering

#6

Post by Wartstein »

TkoK83Spy wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 7:14 am
I think I know a thread about this subject matter! :rofl :zipper

Oh man.. please don´t steer people in that direction... :shush :grimace :skull-crossbones :grin-sweat
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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ladybug93
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Re: Chinese Centering

#7

Post by ladybug93 »

here it is!
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
skeeg11
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Re: Chinese Centering

#8

Post by skeeg11 »

After looking long and hard at my new S35VN Resilience, it might not be dead nuts centered. Really hard to tell. 55% at most.
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FRNFanboy
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Re: Chinese Centering

#9

Post by FRNFanboy »

Props and all that, but I meant in reference to Spyderco’s China models specifically. And if you don’t require perfect centering, that’s all good and well, duly noted. But my question is WHY? Civivi, Kizer, Ontario and all of these other Chinese makers are able to deliver near perfect centering. Why not Spyderco? Moreover, bad centering is usually seen as a production error. The centering issue with these models is so consistent, and has persisted for such a length of time that it seems like it could no longer be called an error. Is it really just a case of “well, we need to produce the knife at this price point and these quantities which means we can’t correct this design quirk?”
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ladybug93
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Re: Chinese Centering

#10

Post by ladybug93 »

usually seen as a production error by who?

i have a damascus delica that has perfect centering and it's getting a wear spot from rubbing the frn when i open it because of the lateral pressure that comes from opening it. i kind of wish it was offset a little to help prevent that.

a lot of liner locks are pushed off center by the lock. it's not uncommon, especially in cheaper knives. usually, when these other knives are off center it's because they are ground unevenly. i'd be more concerned with that, even though it typically doesn't affect anything either.

i just don't get the fuss. would it be nice if it was perfect? i guess. but a knife is a tool first. if it's a good tool, then why does it matter if it sits perfectly between the liners when it's closed as long as it isn't rubbing?

it just strikes me as something that only matters to people that only take pictures of their knives or do tabletop reviews without ever using the knife. someone decided they were going to nitpick knives in reviews so they'd have something to talk about and we all just latched on and started judging them on nitpicks instead of their usefulness as tools.
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
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Makunochimaster
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Location: Ukraine

Re: Chinese Centering

#11

Post by Makunochimaster »

my tenacious s35vn.
crooked ground (off center steel billet tip);
already impossible to align;
only view flaw, does not affect work;
the main thing is that there is no friction on the liner;
p.s. my civivi elementum (price 50$) was perfect assembly and finishing [it's not in reproach Spyderco].
later i sold all D2 steel knives.
(sorry, english is my non-native language)
Image
IMG_20220514_211300_862.jpg
IMG_20220515_124823_313.jpg
Last edited by Makunochimaster on Sun May 15, 2022 3:51 am, edited 15 times in total.
Native 5 cpm-s110v G10. Native 5 cpm-s110v frn.
Lil' Native MB cpm-s30v. Dragonfly 2 zdp-189.
Delica 4 cts-204p limited. Cricket Nishijin blk vg10.
Urban n690co. Persistence s35vn lightweight.
skeeg11
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Re: Chinese Centering

#12

Post by skeeg11 »

This thread caused me to check all my Byrds and I gotta say that centering on them is pretty dang good. My least centered Spyderco is my serrated LC200N PacSalt 2 which actually ain't all that bad, either.
jegred2
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Re: Chinese Centering

#13

Post by jegred2 »

skeeg11 wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 9:59 am
This thread caused me to check all my Byrds and I gotta say that centering on them is pretty dang good. My least centered Spyderco is my serrated LC200N PacSalt 2 which actually ain't all that bad, either.
My CaraCara 2 isn’t bad, but it has a slightly warped blade that isn’t very noticeable. My experience with any lock back knives is that their centering changes every time they get closed, they may be centered one time and not another time when closed.
Osok-308
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Re: Chinese Centering

#14

Post by Osok-308 »

Not gonna lie, I don't care much about centering on my budget/beater knives. My tenacious and hawkbill are both a bit off, but that's what I expect for getting a budget knife. Centering doesn't make my blade more or less versatile.
bjz
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Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:13 am

Re: Chinese Centering

#15

Post by bjz »

This topic always cracks me up! My few Taichung knives are dead center. My numerous value/Byrd user knives all arrived dead center, some have developed barely perceptible off-centering from lots of cutting. Of my few golden models, only my lil native and ukpn are on par with my Chinese models, the other are a bit off center. My few Japanese models…none are centered, nor do they stay in the same spot.

I’ll gladly put myself in the “value line spyderco’s are meant to be used so who cares about perfect centering?” camp. Luckily, all of mine are near perfect so if it’s such a “known widespread issue” I suppose I’m just really lucky 😂
skeeg11
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Re: Chinese Centering

#16

Post by skeeg11 »

My findings seem to echo yours. :respect
Osok-308
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Re: Chinese Centering

#17

Post by Osok-308 »

My tenacious' centering:

Image

Doesn't bother me one bit. The knife is usually on my pocket, or being used. The centering doesn't effect the knifes deploying or cutting ability, so what do I care? It's a tool and performs as such. I doubt most people are buying from the beget/Chinese line to display.
James Y
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Location: Southern CA

Re: Chinese Centering

#18

Post by James Y »

I own only one China-made Spyderco, an earlier Byrd hawkbill, and it's centered. In fact, out of all the Spyderco knives I own, I can't think of one that is off-centered in the handle when closed. And the highest number of mine are from Seki, followed by Golden; then one from Taichung, and the one Byrd from China. Maybe I've simply been lucky all these years.

Jim
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ladybug93
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Re: Chinese Centering

#19

Post by ladybug93 »

after all the fuss between these threads, i decided to check my resilience. it's ground unevenly, off-center, and has an uneven bevel. i've used it a lot before now and, believe or not, it actually manages to cut things, even in this current condition.
Image

this led me to check my astute too. it's a great slicer, but you can see it has an uneven bevel as well. in fact the blade is ground so uneven that it manages to find its way back to almost perfectly centered at the tip. not sure if you can see that from the picture, but it's definitely favoring the side opposite of the lock but it's ground so uneven that it puts the tip back toward the center.
Image


i've never checked these knives for this once. i did check to make sure they would cut things well and to make sure they were comfortable in hand. no surprise, they are both great tools.
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
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