Disappointed with my first Spyderco knife

[Hoshikaze]

Let me start with telling my background of knife collecting. All this while I have been a budget knife collector, I've only owned knives such as Sanrenmu, Ganzo, Enlan and with a bit of Victorinox and Opinels.

So, when I finally decide that it was time for me to get a good knife, I researched around and decided that my first good one will be a Spyderco Delica 4. So I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon (it was sold directly by Amazon). It has been a good 3 months since I have owned the knife. I have EDC-ed it every single day and gave it some decent use.

So far, other than the VG-10 blade steel, almost everything else about the knife was disappointing for me.

1) Fit and finish of the FRN backspacer and scales were not very good (i.e. the back spacer was not flush with the scales). I'll let this one slide, but I thought I'll point that out.



2) Centering of the blade is strange. It is not only biased to the left, but it is also warped diagonally. It was like that since day 1, and no amount of pivot adjustment could change that.





3) Edge grind was uneven at the tip. You could argue that it can be serviced by the user, but I have Sanrenmus that are more evenly ground.







4) The pocket clip had play since day 1 (i.e. it can be moved side to side if you made it to). None of my other knives do that. It was the first time I had a knife with such a problem. No amount of tightening could fix that.

Replacement for the clip would cost me at least USD$10.95, which is not very appealing for an international customer like me.

Also, the black coating on it was terrible. It would just scrape off when you breathe on it. I sanded everything off and made do with that.



Here is my main EDC (Sanrenmu 7034) before I made a jump to the Delica. You can see slight wear at the sides, but it was nothing like the one on the Delica.




5) There is this strange "fingerprint" stain below the SpyderHole. It has also been there since day 1.

I'm not sure if my camera can pick that up well enough.

Just to be clear, it is not my fingerprint. I have cleaned and polished the blade to no avail. This strange stain will always be there.




Overall, I am just disappointed with my first Spyderco. I made an account in this forums just to voice that out.

To you, maybe the Delica is an entry-level knife and therefore the fit and finish is expected to be subpar. But I have budget knives that are a fraction of the price that do way better. You can tell me "Well, stick to your China crap then!". I thought I had made an upgrade to my collection and it turned out to be subpar. This is not the "Spyderco Quality" that I have heard so much about.

You may tell me to send it back for them to fix it, but the shipping fees are ridiculous to send it from where I live to the US.

[spyderHS08]

If you were disappointed from day 1 you should have utilized amazons great return policy....other than that Id say try an American made model if you are really wanting to try out the top of the line spyderco quality. The delica is still a great knife for roughly $40 no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

[Hoshikaze]

If you were disappointed from day 1 you should have utilized amazons great return policy....other than that Id say try an American made model if you are really wanting to try out the top of the line spyderco quality. The delica is still a great knife for roughly $40 no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

I would have used it, but I got this in a mass order with other people. The organizer would not help me, so I had to live with it.

On the bright side, the VG-10 has been a performer so far. I like it so much that it would be hard for me to want better steels (for now).

[JD Spydo]

If you were disappointed from day 1 you should have utilized amazons great return policy....other than that Id say try an American made model if you are really wanting to try out the top of the line spyderco quality. The delica is still a great knife for roughly $40 no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

I have to second what this good Spyder Brother has said. Now I'm in no way defending poor workmanship or even a poorly assembled folder that got past quality control. But I've been a devout Spyder Addict since I got my first one back in 1995. Have I encountered models that had problems? You bet I have and I immediately got ahold of Spyderco's Warranty & Repair department which is about the best one I've ever encountered and have had all my problems resolved through them. I could give you some detailed testimonies about how good they are but I don't want to take up space and bore anyone.

But trust me when I say this>> they want you to be happy with your purchase. They've proven it to me on many occasions. Even if it's just been getting clip screws that I've had trouble finding or in one case I had the wrong pocket clip on a Spyder I got through a trade of all things and they just sent it to me with no questions asked and on that particular occasion they didn't charge me a dime. And also trust me>> they want to know about things that aren't right. So give them a call and remember they are on Mountain Time depending where on the globe you are located.

And it's great to have you aboard the Spyderco Foum.

[Lost]

Welcome to the forums, sorry to hear about your first experience. I can assure you that the knife you received isn't a direct reflection of all Delica 4 knives or Spyderco quality in general. I have 7 Delicas (different colors,blade grinds) and none of them suffer from any of the problems you have mentioned above. I also have numerous other Spyderco knives and can tell you they are well worth the small fortune I've spent on them. Sometimes QC let's these things slip through the cracks and it makes it to the consumer(yourself) as it did this time. As mentioned above, give one of the USA made knives a try.. Quality is top notch. Hope you decide to give Spyderco another chance.

[chuck_roxas45]

That's the hard thing about collecting. Standards of fit and finish are so much higher. I'm glad I just use knives so I don't have to have magnified pics to be satisfied with my knife. All it has to do is cut well. :D

[bearfacedkiller]

It does appear as though some lemons slip through QC coming out of SEKI once in a while but it has also been my experience that this is a rare exception. The Delica is a super tool but a super high end knife it is not. Except for the off center blade I don't see any other problems. My black clips hold up well and your grind doesn't look that bad. I would carry your wonky delica without a clip and the tip broke off before I would carry that sanrenmu. Sorry I can't help a lot. The overseas shipping is a problem for many and I am not sure about how to get around it without just buying form a local dealer so you can return it local if need be. What country are you located in?

Anyway, welcome to the forum! :) Friendly and helpful bunch of people here so join right in and if you have any questions ask away.

[Rare Blade]

on a side note where'd you get your lanyard bead?

[Strong-Dog]

If you were disappointed from day 1 you should have utilized amazons great return policy....other than that Id say try an American made model if you are really wanting to try out the top of the line spyderco quality. The delica is still a great knife for roughly $40 no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

Where are you buying a delica that's $40???

[swigert]

I would have been disappointed there also, however, I would have asked for a replacement from either amazon or spyderco....

don't give up on Spyderco friend...

[303_enfield]

Better to send it back, then live with a disappointment. I get Enfield parts from all over the world. Sending stuff back is part of the collecting life.

[FCM415]

I'm assuming that you do not have a brick and mortar knife store where you can check the product before you buy it...

Just a tip, in the future when you buy enthusiast brands like Spyderco, Benchmade, or what have you, find a dealer online (a little search on forums gives you trusted dealers) where you can request for them to hand check what they send you. You can say "Please check for QC issues", or something specific like "Please check for blade play and centering"... I always go this route and it has never failed me dozens upon dozens of knives later. Plus, many knife dealers price knives competively with Amazon. I use Amazon ALOT, but rarely for knives.

I cannot help resolves the Delica you are unhappy and I probably wouldn't be too happy if I received it either. I can only speak on my personal experience and the Delica is probably my most used utility 3 inch folder. It's so useful to me and appreciate the small thin and light footprint. Just a great user, nothing fancy.

[tvenuto]

I use Amazon ALOT, but rarely for knives.

I cannot help resolves the Delica you are unhappy and I probably wouldn't be too happy if I received it either. I can only speak on my personal experience and the Delica is probably my most used utility 3 inch folder. It's so useful to me and appreciate the small thin and light footprint. Just a great user, nothing fancy.

I'm of the opinion that there are Amazon dealers who will get a product returned, and instead of sending it back to spyderco (or whatever the appropriate procedure is when a QC issue is found), they just send it back out to the next customer. Eventually someone won't return it. Frequently, when these issues come up, the knife was bought from Amazon. Correlation is not causation, but after a while you do wonder why a disproportionately large number of these stories come from Amazon purchases.

The Delica is an awesome knife, and I hope you don't give up on spyderco due to this bad experience. I would also be disappointed in the knife you received; I'm not a stickler for blade centering, but the blade warpage is a bit disconcerting (at least from the photos).

Thanks for bringing this up though, I'm sure it's good for Spyderco to know. Also thanks for taking the time to detail what was wrong with the knife and provide pictures, while presenting it in a calm fashion.

[Tdhurl1103]

Man, I'm sure your first experience with Spyderco must be a confidence killer. Your Delica is not typical of Spyderco at all. I only have 3 Spydies (Having owned 5 total), all of which were/are excellent examples of how great Spyderco's manufacturing and QC really is. Perhaps try again.


Thanks for coming to the forum

[SpyderNut]

Hi Hoshikaze, welcome to the forum!

It is always frustrating not to be completely satisfied with a purchase--regardless of the amount spent. As several of the others mentioned, Spyderco strives very diligently to resolve issues and keep their customers happy. Although it will likely be a hassle for you being overseas, I would personally recommend sending your knife to the Spyderco Warranty and Repair Department and request a once-over. If it is defective or anything, Spyderco will make it right by you.

Hope to see you around. This is a great place to be!

[spyderHS08]

If you were disappointed from day 1 you should have utilized amazons great return policy....other than that Id say try an American made model if you are really wanting to try out the top of the line spyderco quality. The delica is still a great knife for roughly $40 no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

Where are you buying a delica that's $40???

I'll be honest here....I've never spent over $40 for any of my delicas or enduras. I've got 3 delicas and 4 enduras, combo edges, black, green even ffg orange handle as well. I just prefer to wait around and stick to the BST forums for my "lower end" knives but my higher end American made models I try to find at dealers or get them new.

[Hoshikaze]

Hi all. Firstly, thank you all for the advice.

Many of you all have asked me why I have not sent it back to Amazon in the first day. There are 2 reasons for that. First of all, I bought it in a mass order and the organiser will not help me. Secondly, I kind of had the thought that the Delica is an "entry-level knife" to most people out there, so such quality might be expected.

Also, if I can afford the shipping to Spyderco from where I live, I can easily get another Delica. That is how ridiculous shipping is here.

I can live with most of the issues except for that wobbly clip. It kind of sucks that I have to pay for a clip.

I do not mind paying, but I have some reservations. For $5 international shipping, taking 3-4 weeks to reach me is ridiculous. I would expect that from free shipping from China, but not after paying $5. Maybe shipping works differently in the US? I cannot comment on that.

[SpeedHoles]

That is sad to hear!

Does it appear the blade is warped, or the FRN?

Wish it were easier for you to resolve a quality/warranty issue, because that really is part of the great experience of owning a Spyderco; their customer service!
They are solid, no doubt, and would do whatever they can so results like this can be taken care of... but Amazon probably makes this a little tough.

I too have honestly been a little disappointed with my black clips, but I usually do the same and polish them, or replace with a deep carry clip if the knife didn't come with a wire clip.

And if you check out their edge-u-cation, Spyderco actually recommends removing the clip screws and loc-titing once you find your preferred carry position.


Your username appears to be Nihonjin, do you by chance reside in Nippon? My wife is from Osaka and I used to live in Hikone-shi. Maybe if you're travelling through Nagoya, try to swing by Seki city! :)

[mastiff]

My first 5 Spydies were (in order) a Delica, Para Military 2, Tenacious black oxide coated, Manix 2, and a Manix 2 DLC (black blade). All of them were very well built and fit and finish were good (the Delica had some flashing on the FRN but not much) to excellent (Yes even the Tenacious, who'd have thought the Chinese would be more fit and finish oriented?). These 5 were bought in less than a month, I'm not exaggerating one bit. I bought my Delica from Amazon, the rest (the other 6) were bought from BladeForum sponsors, as I wanted to be sure to not get any fakes.

I've not been as happy with my last two. That's makes 7 Spydies in 5 weeks just to keep track. Why? First I got a Stretch, while it looked okay the action was really gritty. For a folder that cost near as much as the Manix 2 ($4 apart is what I paid), that's just terrible. No amount of air blown through it (and my air compressor goes to 125 psi) or oil could fix it. I'm not sure if a QC problem has arose in Japan. The QC should be on par with the Manix 2, apparently it's not. The Stretch still works, I'm just not as happy with it as the other 5, and it's all due to QC. I've read a few posts recently of less than thrilled customers concerning Japanese Spydies. It's been discontinued and the seller doesn't have any more in stock so I'll keep it. If it had all the problems that your Delica had it would've went back to amazon.

My Sage 3 was my next Spyderco. The fit and finish is superb, on par or better than any of my Golden Spydies. It's beautiful, I really mean it. The liners are so well done I thought it was linerless when I first looked at it. It's like the liners were melted into the scales. I love the lock and it reminds me of my Manix 2s, my favorite folders even over the PM2. All that being said, I'm disappointed by the blade retention. It was a gravity knife when it arrived. I asked on Blade Forum, read posts on other forums, and asked the seller to check his other in stock Sage 3s, to see if this was the norm and I got mostly unsure answers. I even watched nutnfancy's review of the Sage series, which he did do a blade retention test and it looked as if blade retention in the Sage 3 wasn't a problem for him. The best I could come up with was the suggestion to tighten the pivot screws, which helped a lot. The problem is, friction only fixes problems for so long. The seller has said that he'll swap mine out, in fact do anything to make me a happy customer, now that's service! I told him I'd wait a week and see if it loosens back up, although I'm not EDCing it. I can depress the lock with only my right or left pointer fingers or thumbs not both at the same time mind you, my only guess it a weak spring. I'm not sure if it's the design, or even if it's supposed to be that easy?

So what am I trying to say in this long post (sorry for that by the way)? Don't give up on Spyderco, I'm not. The community is great, you even have the owner answer questions and post on the forums from time to time. The actual Spyderco dealers are great, they answer questions fast and are very helpful when problems arise. I'll continue to buy Spyderco folders. I've never had a folder fit my hand better, be easier to to open, or really just impress me as much as they have. I came from SOG and they're not even in the same league as Spyderco IMHO. Even though I've had a few problems I've been eyeing the Sage 1, the fit and finish on the Sage 3 impressed me that much. I've had problems with folders that cost more than a Delica (the Sage 3 almost cost me 3x as much as my Delica) but I'm still happy overall.

Few companies are like Spyderco anymore. New designs, constant quality improvements, great materials, fit and finish, an owner that actually talks to the working man, and a quality to price ratio that's better than any knives I've previously purchased has made me a dedicated customer, probably for life.

[Hoshikaze]

That is sad to hear!

Does it appear the blade is warped, or the FRN?

Wish it were easier for you to resolve a quality/warranty issue, because that really is part of the great experience of owning a Spyderco; their customer service!
They are solid, no doubt, and would do whatever they can so results like this can be taken care of... but Amazon probably makes this a little tough.

I too have honestly been a little disappointed with my black clips, but I usually do the same and polish them, or replace with a deep carry clip if the knife didn't come with a wire clip.

And if you check out their edge-u-cation, Spyderco actually recommends removing the clip screws and loc-titing once you find your preferred carry position.


Your username appears to be Nihonjin, do you by chance reside in Nippon? My wife is from Osaka and I used to live in Hikone-shi. Maybe if you're travelling through Nagoya, try to swing by Seki city! :)

You made me take a closer look and it seems that the FRN is kind of uneven. I went ahead and tried to twist the entire handle and now it is slightly better.

As for the clip and screws, I have actually made a comment about it. I think is it being approved. But basically, I do not like the shipping time after I have to pay for $5 international shipping. I believe the screws already came with blue loctite, but it still has play.

Unfortunately, I do not reside in Japan. However, it is on the top of my list for places that I must visit before I die.