Shaman not staying worn in?

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SpikeXX
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Shaman not staying worn in?

#1

Post by SpikeXX »

I got a Shaman about a month ago, and have used it pretty much every day since. It started really stiff and even a little gritty, and eventually wore in to a point where I could flick it open and closed almost reliably. It had a little further to go, but it felt close to the kind of action I had expected. But it keeps going back to tight. Its probably been back and forth a half dozen times now. I finally think I've worn it in, and then it back tracks again.

Yesterday for instance, it started the day nice and smooth, and as they day progressed it started stopping just short of lock up, and that turned into only opening half way on a flick shortly there after. When it started only going to the half way point, it felt and sounded gritty for a little while before just staying tight.

I have also noticed a black gunk built up on the blade, just above the Spyderco Lettering. I thought it was rubbing on the G10, but I can't see anywhere that it would make contact. Maybe it has nothing to do with it, and its just having to use my thumb on the stiff action is actually building up. It would be the first of four spydercos to do so but maybe?

I don't know, I'm kind of at a loss. Its the first knife I've had where its back pedaled so hard, and so often. Anyone else had this issue? Did it sort itself out eventually?
Molle Ninja
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#2

Post by Molle Ninja »

Lube?
SpikeXX
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#3

Post by SpikeXX »

I was hoping to let it wear in on its own, but I'm starting to lean that way.
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BrianMcCord
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#4

Post by BrianMcCord »

Even after it is worn in, you will need to occasionally add some oil of your choice.
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Brock O Lee
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#5

Post by Brock O Lee »

Mine did the same about a week into ownership. It was nice and smooth, and half a day later it could not be flicked, and required constant thumb pressure to open/close. It had a lot of friction on the detent ball. A drop of oil fixed it.
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Favourite Spydies: Military, PM2, Shaman, UKPK
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SpikeXX
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#6

Post by SpikeXX »

Least I'm not the only one. Maybe tonight I'll have break down and give it a little love tonight. If a drop of oil doesn't help, maybe giving it a clean will.
sn0wman72
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#7

Post by sn0wman72 »

Mine needed a slight loosening of the pivot, and has been opening and closing like a dream (the big blade helps this IMO)

Sounds like a cleaning for yours is in order, and maybe a polish of the washers?
SpikeXX
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#8

Post by SpikeXX »

I tried loosing the pivot a touch. The action gets better, but get some definite blade play. Tight down I was able to get almost the same action, but it keeps heading back to stiff. Have to keep polishing them in mind just in case.
kvdo
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#9

Post by kvdo »

My Shaman was the same way. When I disassembled it, I found that the detent ball hole had a lot of grit - I believe what was happening was that the detent ball would pick up grit and worsen the action.

After I cleaned out the detent ball, my Shaman stayed smooth.
SpikeXX
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#10

Post by SpikeXX »

That would make a lot of sense. I'll make sure I check that tonight.
twinboysdad
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#11

Post by twinboysdad »

Molle Ninja wrote:Lube?
That's what she said
koenigsegg
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#12

Post by koenigsegg »

Had the same issue with my PM2 that I've had for almost 2 years, hold your lock bar and see if the blade drops that will tell you if it's the pivot or the detent. What do you guys use to polish your pivots?
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Robbob
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#13

Post by Robbob »

When I first got my Shaman the action was lackluster and I had a bit of buyer's remorse. However, I loosened the pivot some and now it's my favorite knife. There is a bit of blade play, but I don't worry about it too much. I do believe, however, that the detent maybe a bit too strong, especially compared to the PM2.
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Fred Sanford
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#14

Post by Fred Sanford »

sn0wman72 wrote:Mine needed a slight loosening of the pivot, and has been opening and closing like a dream (the big blade helps this IMO)

Sounds like a cleaning for yours is in order, and maybe a polish of the washers?
Absolutely unnecessary. You don't need to take a knife apart and polish washers. People need to stop watching YouTube and thinking everything they see is correct.

Lube, yes, but dissemble instead of just oiling, No.
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Bloody Fingerz
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#15

Post by Bloody Fingerz »

A drop of oil goes a long way.
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Braand
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#16

Post by Braand »

1- Oil
2- Adjust pivot - watch out some reports of red Loctite know what you are getting into.
3- Either send it off if you don't have the tools and or the know how to pull it down, inspect, clean, lubricate, reassemble and adjust. Yes sometimes washer polishing is required / deburring things like scales etc.

I think that pretty much covers the order of what to do things in.
SpikeXX
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#17

Post by SpikeXX »

The pivot didn't give me much room to play with, it was either blade play or tight. Actually when I tried last night night loosening the pivot wasn't given me a better action. Just as a note it did seem like they had a permanent thread locker on one side of the pivot, though the other was much more forgiving.

I did end up taking it apart and cleaning it out. It was actually pretty bad inside. Pulled more grime off of it than my PM2 after a year and a half. Actually it looked like there was like a light grey/white grainy paste(?) around the screw hole in the pivot, and looked like it worked itself in a little. I'm assuming it was something to do with a thread locker and came out with the screw but I'm honestly not sure.

The clean helped, got rid of the grit and tightness, but still didn't want to flick past the half way mark.

Broke down and lubed it up, and its pretty close to the PM2 at this point.

Anyways, thanks guys
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marshmallow
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#18

Post by marshmallow »

Mine just got really stiff, when it was fine after couple days of purchasing. Now it's grinding and won't open without using the other hand. I'm hoping oil will improve this.
"stay puft."
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Evil D
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#19

Post by Evil D »

If you're comfortable taking it apart and not screwing it up (no offense), you might want to try some kind of grease instead of oil based lubes. I use Phil Wood bearing grease on everything, and I've found that I can dial out blade play easier while still keeping the blade free swinging. An added bonus of grease vs. oil is it squishes out from the edges of the washers and creates a physical barrier to keep crud out, though it will also in turn collect crud so grease does tend to need cleaned out and replaced ever so often, just depends on the environments you use your knives in.
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JuPaul
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Re: Shaman not staying worn in?

#20

Post by JuPaul »

marshmallow wrote:
Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:20 pm
Mine just got really stiff, when it was fine after couple days of purchasing. Now it's grinding and won't open without using the other hand. I'm hoping oil will improve this.
If it was my shaman, I'd lube up the pivot and play around with the pivot screws (and maybe even scale screws) first. If it didn't improve, I'd take it apart, clean it, oil it, and see if anything else was going on inside. But if you're not 100% confident and comfortable disassembling and reassembling your knife (and you don't want to void your warranty if you screw something up), then do what you can with the knife assembled, and send it to spyderco if it gets really bad.
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