Problem with my Dodo.

[Mr. Bombastic]

Earlier in the year I sent my Dodo (which had a lock problem) to Spyderco and about a week or so ago I received a brand new Dodo in the mail. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>



However, this Dodo has a very stiff and bumpy action even after lubing and loosening the pivot. I'm sure the Dodo isn't supposed to be like this.



I've emailed Customer Service, but haven't received a response yet. I'm not looking forward to having to send this replacement back to Spyderco from the UK.



Compounding the problem is that my Dodo was my favourite knife. I can't bear to see her like this! <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>



I'm stumped of what to do, do I just keep waiting for an email reply? I've sent a few in the past that haven't been answered.



I posted this in more detail over at:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/sho ... #post46581

[sal]

Hi Mr. Bombastic. Have you taken it apart?

That might be the easiest way to see what might be the problem. 2 allen wrenches required.

sal

[Mr. Bombastic]

Hi Sal. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

I took the knife apart and lubed everything up again. That got rid of some of the stiffness of the action, but it's still very bumpy. It seems to come from where the back of the blade meets the ball bearing, but both surfaces look smooth to me. I'm mystified!

[Mr. Bombastic]

Well, I still haven't received a reply to my email. <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

I'm kinda resigned to sending it back again now (well, not now, when I can afford the postage again, lol).

To say I'm miffed, is an understatement. <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[zeus]

I got my new Dodo last night and it seemed pretty stiff compared to the one I saw at the gun show two weeks ago…anyway I bought it to mod and take apart so I did. As stated before you need two Allen wrenches in 3/32” and a T-6 Torx.

Before I pulled it apart (or any knife I work on) I check the operation of the pivot separate from the locking mechanism. In the Dodo’s case I retracted the ball so the only pressure on the blade was from the pivot and washers. Factories set up the pivot tension to avoid the blade flopping open or closed if the lock is disengaged (like a gravity knife). My action was pretty scratchy and snug. Loosening the pivot helped but only a bit. You may want to try retracting the ball lock and see if the blade pivot or the ball lock or both is the culprit for your stiff and bumpy action. Then disassemble the knife and check the parts for their function. I was surprised to find a double spring setup on the ball plunger; it caused a lot of tension against the blade heel as it rotated. As a side note, there are NO stop pins in there, just solid metal back AND FRONT stops created from one chunk of steel the ball rides in. So flipping (or snapping) the knife open or closed by retracting the lock will cause no damage IMHO. Maybe someone could post a picture for a better idea. Or I will at some point.

After the knife was stripped, I put it together without the ball lock assembly and checked for free blade smoothness. Still scratchy. Seemed like the blade was riding on the G-10 instead of the pivot washers. The thin transparent synthetic washers are quite small in diameter (I think they could have gone double the diameter) and I checked these for foreign matter. There appeared to be some machining residue and a small amount of lubrication. These were cleaned but not re-oiled. I relieved the inside edges of the G-10 scales near the blade area-of-rotation. This helped though I still have just a bit of a scuff on the blade near the pivot. Again with the reassemble and test minus the locking bits. This time the blade flips open and closed pretty smoothly. I then look to the lock rails and plunger and perform a very light de-burr on any surfaces which interact. I was also surprised to see the plunger is aluminum. Why aluminum was chosen on a moving rod inside of steel rails is a mystery to me, but I don’t make knives… actually I don’t think the plunger rod contacts anything but the steel ball and the two springs (one spring rides inside of a larger one) and is held suspended against the ball bearing. I add two drops of Miltec-1 (one drop per washer), reassemble the knife, work the pivot a bit and the thing is much smoother once the pivot tension was set to my liking. Too little and you’ll get side-to-side movement. Too much and it’s tight on the blade.

WARNING: The next modification was done at my own risk and I do not recommend it for anyone!

There was a great amount of tension created by the dual spring setup so I removed the smaller spring. This gave me the desired “AXIS Lock” effect; retract the ball and with the same one hand flip open and flip close. The tension seemed comparable with the omega springs on my Benchmades. I tested the lock with the single spring set-up by wrapping the blade in scrap leather, blocking the choil with a piece of wood and applying a large percent of my 195 pounds to the handle in different directions. Attempting to cause the ball to slip back and release the blade. I could not overcome the lock but I could see that if my palm flesh pressed into the scale recess and against the ball during a bear grip, there is a chance it could disengage.

[Clinton]

When I got my black Dodo, I noticed that under tension, the lock would fail. Looking closely at it, I noticed that the ball was basically sitting directly over the "joint" between the back/heel of the locking ramp and the metal lock assembly. I took the blade out (and broke two T-6 bits trying to get out the scale screws--RED locktite?), took a diamond stone and ceramic stones and smoothed down the locking ramp. It took about half an hour, mostly because I did a lot of honing and fitting to make sure I didn't take off too much material. My goal was to smooth up the ramp enough to get the ball to move forward just enough so that it was squarely on the heel of the ramp. Now, it is an *extremely* secure lock.

I second the "pull back the locking ball" technique to see if the grinding feel comes from the pivot or the ball. In my case, it is from the ball.

The easiest way to clean this blade is to use the kitchen sink tap and blast HOT water through the blade. The idea is to get the whole knife up to temperature while blowing out any grit and dust. Then shake it out, blow out the water and it should be dry in a few seconds. I have not used lube as the pivot washers seem to be very slick, and there is really an extremely small amount of physical contact with the ball. My reasoning is that the added lubricity is not worth attracting extra dust. Though, with Miltec that is not a problem....

Clinton

[zeus]

Mr. Bombastic,

Any luck determining the source of your stiff and bumpy action yet?



Edited by - Zeus on 4/17/2004 9:31:57 AM

[ken]

"Problem with my DoDo"

Man I'm not even going to go there! Kind of a personal problem but I do hope you get it cleared up!!!!

ken

[Mancer]

Sorry to hear the problems you guys have had, wonder if they early bugs in the design?

Ive been lucky with all my orders, and my DODO which I got my hands on finally 2 days ago is flawless, its extremly smooth and opens/closes prefectly.

I wish you all luck on your problems.

Cheers

MaNcEr

It's Time To Kick @$$ 'N Chew Bubble Gum

[Jimmy_Dean]

Unless I'm wrong, I've read many places that taking the knife apart will void the warranty. It's funny to see Mr. Glesser would advise you to do just that.

-Dean

[CKE]

J-D> the Dodo was designed so the ELU could take it apart. I am positive I remember reading that somewhere. I love my Dodo, but now I have heard at least 6 people with problems. I have even spine wacked mine to see if it would fail...ROCK solid. Guess I got a really good one. Probably why I carry it so much. Hope all your problems get sorted. It is a great blade. Take Care!!!

"everything else is just a jeep"

[Mr. Bombastic]

Thanks alot guys for the helpful hints and advice guys. It's much appreciated.

I spent quite a bit of time this evening taking the Dodo apart again. The tang of the blade is smooth, and the pivot rotates nicely if it isn't under pressure from the ball. It looks like the problem is that the ball doesn't move back and forth too freely along the metal notch it sits in (not the notch in the blade, the one in the handle). The ball is very stiff in that notch, even without pressure from the spring.

I don't have any tools to fix the problem and file down the metal. I still haven't received a reply from Customer Service, so I guess I'll just have to scrounge some money together and send it in hoping I get a good replacement this time.

<img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[zeus]

First I wanted to say that my Dodo from the factory was functioning like a new knife and there were NO problems from a factory standpoint. (just a bit of stiffness) I like to tinker with them to make them custom-like for me.

Second, Mr. Bombastic ....

All you need to do to fix the ball in the ramp is abscond with one of your wife's emery boards she does her nails with. Or a simple pocket hone ( round, like for fishhooks) to start cleaning up the rails/ramp then the emery board to finish polish the ramp.

[Mr. Bombastic]

Thanks Zeus.

I don't have a wife, but I should be able to get my hands on a hone and emery board.

[zeus]

Someone was nice enough to post some pics of the inside of the Dodo:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... light=dodo

[DAYWALKER]

Aloha!

jimmy dean beat me to it! I too, found it interesting that Poppa Spyder advised taking it apart!

Cool.

God will put you over...if you let Him! John 14: 13,14...try it, it WORKS!

[Mr. Bombastic]

Thanks for the continued help! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

I've tried rubbing the area I suspect is the problem with an abrasive, but it hasn't had an effect. Even when I try the knife while it's open (as pictured in the thread on Bladeforums) I get the same 'bumpiness'. I can't spend any more time fiddling with the knife, so I'm gonna send it off in the next few days. Hopefully, it'll get checked before it leaves customer service this time.

Incidentally, I still haven't received a reply to my email. <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Edited by - Mr. Bombastic on 5/15/2004 9:48:14 AM

[Jimmy_Dean]

Don't really expect an email back. I wrote twice in the past about my Endura and never heard from them. In your case it's a real bummer but I guess you'll have to send it in anyway. Sad to hear that though.

Daywalker, you gotta be faster on the trigger <img src="tongue.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

-Dean

[sal]

Hi Mr. Bombastic. Sorry for all of the grief. I believe another return will be the only solution. You extend the effort and I'll pay for the shipping costs. Please email Joyce with your shipping address. We'll send a new one out on Monday. You can return the old one.

We're planning permanent distribution in Europe to better sevice our distributors. It's still many months away, but when in place, it will better serve warrantee problems.

Warantee & Repair at Spyderco is many weeks behind. We began re-organization last week. It will take about 3 weeks to catch up. Apologies.

sal

[Mr. Bombastic]

In regards to your offer Sal, thankyou so much! I don't know of any other big company heads that care so much about their customers to personally address issues like this. You've made my day.

I wouldn't have gotten so bothered really if the Dodo wasn't something I wanted to carry so much, but hadn't been because of this issue. It's surely a testament to Eric's eye for design.

Your apology means alot, Sal. I'm a Spyderfan for life, despite my arachnophobia! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Edit: email sent.

Edited by - Mr. Bombastic on 5/15/2004 4:11:38 PM