Q Ball Bearing Lock (C219GP)

[JT]

BTW, the "Q" ball, like the Dodo and Poliwog is one of Eric's designs.

sal

I knew it! :D

[Donut]

I'm interested in this one. It's on my list of things I need to get.

[infinkc]

Can't wait to get one of these knives. Want to get one for my 8 mo old son, Quinten, who I call "Q ball" all the time. Love to give this to him when he becomes of age as his first knife.

[SpeedHoles]

So, this has full liners, unlike the Dodo... wonder why that was seen as necessary? It's 1.5oz heavier, also. I really like how light the Dodo is.

[DougC-3]

So, this has full liners, unlike the Dodo... wonder why that was seen as necessary? It's 1.5oz heavier, also. I really like how light the Dodo is.

The liners are 'full' but skeletonized. Maybe they meant for it to be a bit on the heavy duty side. It's a little like a small Manix2, which is also pretty heavy for its size, even the skeletonized ones. I can't find any mention of Dodo liners, so I guess it must be linerless? I've only handled one once, about three years ago and didn't notice. I foolishly rejected it because of the way it looked and missed an opportunity at a good price :o BTW, the new catalog says 3.5oz for the Q Ball, so just 0.9oz heavier than the Dodo's 2.6 if that's right. The Ouroboros is also just 2.6oz, which is one of the things I like about it.

[SpeedHoles]

So, this has full liners, unlike the Dodo... wonder why that was seen as necessary? It's 1.5oz heavier, also. I really like how light the Dodo is.

The liners are 'full' but skeletonized. Maybe they meant for it to be a bit on the heavy duty side. It's a little like a small Manix2, which is also pretty heavy for its size, even the skeletonized ones. I can't find any mention of Dodo liners, so I guess it must be linerless? I've only handled one once, about three years ago and didn't notice. I foolishly rejected it because of the way it looked and missed an opportunity at a good price :o BTW, the new catalog says 3.5oz for the Q Ball, so just 0.9oz heavier than the Dodo's 2.6 if that's right. The Ouroboros is also just 2.6oz, which is one of the things I like about it.

Ah ok, I got my weight from a retailers technical description. They may not have updated it, and listed it at 4.1oz.

And yes, the Dodo is linerless.

[Tabo]

In stock now at Blade HQ!! 3 left as of this post!

[farnorthdan]

Thanks Tabo, just snagged one :)

[Anubisman]

Mine is enroute from GP Knives.

[Tabo]

The day has come but it isn't pretty... I received the blade today and while it's everything I've hoped for and ergonomics, the lock is near impossible to disengage one handed. The ball sits way too deep. This is a deal breaker for me. I am returning it tomorrow. I was hoping it would be like the Manix in ease of disengagement but it is definitely far from it. Sounds like the case for the d'allara 3. I really hope Spyderco addresses this issue on otherwise such a great knife.

[holeshot]

The day has come but it isn't pretty... I received the blade today and while it's everything I've hoped for and ergonomics, the lock is near impossible to disengage one handed. The ball sits way too deep. This is a deal breaker for me. I am returning it tomorrow. I was hoping it would be like the Manix in ease of disengagement but it is definitely far from it. Sounds like the case for the d'allara 3. I really hope Spyderco addresses this issue on otherwise such a great knife.

My issue as well. It would be perfect with an Axis lock :)

[farnorthdan]

How hard do you guys think it would be to mod/recontour the opening for better access. Or is there just not enough material to do this.

[farnorthdan]

Mine showed up today, pretty sweet piece, it is a little tough to unlock one handed but can be done with a little practice. I'm hoping it will get easier as it breaks in.

[ABX2011]

What a good looking knife. Thanks for the pic.

[jujigatame]

The lock access and disengagement being tough was my concern as well. The plain ceramic ball looks great but a cage would be much more practical.

[DigDug72]

How hard do you guys think it would be to mod/recontour the opening for better access. Or is there just not enough material to do this.

I was just asking this same question on a reddit knife sub, but never got an answer. Have you opened her up yet Dan and investigated this possibility?

[farnorthdan]

How hard do you guys think it would be to mod/recontour the opening for better access. Or is there just not enough material to do this.

I was just asking this same question on a reddit knife sub, but never got an answer. Have you opened her up yet Dan and investigated this possibility?

Haven't opened it up yet, just came on Monday, I do like it though, after messing with it for a while I'm able to unlock one handed, its tight but I think it will loosen with time and become easier. The scales are pretty thin, 6.5mm, so not much to work with, plus there's a very small torx super close to the lock opening.

[DigDug72]

Thanks for the info and pics Dan! Yeah, modding for easier lock access looks like a disaster waiting to happen - I'm gonna get one and just break her in the good ole fashioned way.

[DougC-3]

I handled one briefly in a store but didn't get much of a chance to try one-hand closing. However I did buy a D'Allara 3 then, which has the same lock, and found it quite easy to disengage the lock and close the knife one-handed by simply pulling back the ball with my thumbnail and flipping the blade around with my index finger. The blade can also be flipped shut without using your finger if you prefer. The thumbnail way was a little tentative the first two or three times, but is pretty easy to learn. I would definitely give it a try before returning (edit: or modding) the knife. The more secure grip on the bigger D'Allara handle may make it easier than with the smaller Q-Ball though. I'll try to post a couple of pics or maybe a vid, but there's nothing special about it.

[DigDug72]

Thanks for the info Doug, that's good to hear! Definitely getting one of these bad boys...