Is weak detente a warranty issue?

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JuPaul
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Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#1

Post by JuPaul »

I have a Sliverax and love it with one exception: the detente is so weak and I can easily open the knife with just a little bump, and with an actual pop of the wrist, I can fully deploy it. I wasn't sure this would bother me, but now I'm wondering if it's even safe to carry this weak. Is this something spyderco could/would fix under warranty? I've seen other threads on how to strengthen the detente on your own, but I'm definitely not comfortable doing anything myself. And nowhere can I find if this is a warranty issue. I'm the original owner, and the knife was purchased through a reputable dealer.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#2

Post by Evil D »

It most likely falls into tolerance, none of them come with very strong detent. I would either research modding it yourself or maybe contact someone who can and have it done. It's a bummer of an issue but one I've gotten over for the love of the rest of the knife.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#3

Post by JuPaul »

Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:08 pm
It most likely falls into tolerance, none of them come with very strong detent. I would either research modding it yourself or maybe contact someone who can and have it done. It's a bummer of an issue but one I've gotten over for the love of the rest of the knife.
Kinda figured it wouldn't be, but thought it was worth asking. Has yours ever opened in your pocket? I've only carried mine a few times, and so far mine hasn't. Everything else about the Sliverax is awesome...
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#4

Post by Evil D »

JuPaul wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:24 pm
Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:08 pm
It most likely falls into tolerance, none of them come with very strong detent. I would either research modding it yourself or maybe contact someone who can and have it done. It's a bummer of an issue but one I've gotten over for the love of the rest of the knife.
Kinda figured it wouldn't be, but thought it was worth asking. Has yours ever opened in your pocket? I've only carried mine a few times, and so far mine hasn't. Everything else about the Sliverax is awesome...


I carry mine all the against the outside seam of my pocket so it can't open. I did get one directly from Paul that has a modded detent and the flipping action is a lot better so it's still worth looking into.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#5

Post by vivi »

I had a weak detent on a Para 2 and it opened in my pocket a few times. Spyderco offered to take a look at it and see what they could do, but I decided to sell it instead (informed the buyer of the detent issues, he was ok with it). So might be worth a shot giving them an email.

Carrying a knife against the seam of your pocket isn't magic. The blade can still open enough to clear the detent, and swing open when you pull it out of your pocket. That is exactly what happened to me one time. Still have the scar to prove it.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#6

Post by The Deacon »

Only way to know for sure whether it's a warranty issue would be to send the knife back to Spyderco for evaluation. Before doing that, if you haven't already done so, I'd suggest making sure there's nothing in the dimple in the tang that the ball detent is suppose to drop into to provide blade retention when the knife is closed. Doesn't take much to reduce the depth of that dimple.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#7

Post by Doc Dan »

This is a safety issue as well as a manufacturing defect. I’d send it in or send it back to the seller.

This is the reason I do not own a Caribbean. Everyone says the detents are weak. Dangerous.

Give me a good old backlock, made properly,for this reason.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#8

Post by Sharp Guy »

JuPaul wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:24 pm
Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:08 pm
It most likely falls into tolerance, none of them come with very strong detent. I would either research modding it yourself or maybe contact someone who can and have it done. It's a bummer of an issue but one I've gotten over for the love of the rest of the knife.
Kinda figured it wouldn't be, but thought it was worth asking. Has yours ever opened in your pocket? I've only carried mine a few times, and so far mine hasn't. Everything else about the Sliverax is awesome...
I had mine open but it wasn't in my pocket. I had it IWB in the back of my jeans and it opened when I sat down. Pretty sure there was pressure on the flipper tab when I sat and that's what caused it to open. Lesson learned.

Modding the detent hole so the ball sits a little deeper is pretty easy to do as long you have the tools to do it. I did mine and it's way better.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82412&p=1310864&hil ... t#p1310864
Last edited by Sharp Guy on Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#9

Post by Evil D »

Vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:06 pm
Carrying a knife against the seam of your pocket isn't magic. The blade can still open enough to clear the detent, and swing open when you pull it out of your pocket. That is exactly what happened to me one time. Still have the scar to prove it.

I realized just the other day that I have two habits that I didn't realize how often I do. For work I carry a flashlight in my right rear pocket and it rides clipped in the ouside seam closest to my hip, and then my knife is in the right front pocket on the outside seam. I caught myself checking and adjusting both of them to make sure they're both pinned in the corner of the pocket. I noticed it more with the light but I think this is something I might pay attention to more than some people which could be why I've never had any issues with a knife opening on me. The only time that has happened was when I carried tip down.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#10

Post by JuPaul »

Yes, I always carry tip up with the blade side again the outside seam of my pocket, but I do worry that the flipper tab could be bumped a bit and open this knife, in particular. My husband has a dremel tool, but I'm just not confident I could adjust it correctly on my own, and surely a botched job would not be covered by spyderco. I'd rather send it in, or send it back, than be out $150. We'll see what spyderco says...this definitely makes the case for backlocks.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#11

Post by vivi »

Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:52 pm
Vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:06 pm
Carrying a knife against the seam of your pocket isn't magic. The blade can still open enough to clear the detent, and swing open when you pull it out of your pocket. That is exactly what happened to me one time. Still have the scar to prove it.

I realized just the other day that I have two habits that I didn't realize how often I do. For work I carry a flashlight in my right rear pocket and it rides clipped in the ouside seam closest to my hip, and then my knife is in the right front pocket on the outside seam. I caught myself checking and adjusting both of them to make sure they're both pinned in the corner of the pocket. I noticed it more with the light but I think this is something I might pay attention to more than some people which could be why I've never had any issues with a knife opening on me. The only time that has happened was when I carried tip down.
I'm not sure you read my post correctly?

I carried the para 2 exactly how you carry your knives. Pressed up as hard against the seam as I could get it so there's more room to slide my hand in my pocket. I do the same with my Pacific Salt when I carry it RFP even though it's a lockback.

It still came open.

I'm just trying to let people know that it isn't 100% safe, because I don't want others to slice their hand open.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#12

Post by Sharp Guy »

JuPaul wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:06 pm
Yes, I always carry tip up with the blade side again the outside seam of my pocket, but I do worry that the flipper tab could be bumped a bit and open this knife, in particular. My husband has a dremel tool, but I'm just not confident I could adjust it correctly on my own, and surely a botched job would not be covered by spyderco. I'd rather send it in, or send it back, than be out $150. We'll see what spyderco says...this definitely makes the case for backlocks.
I wouldn't use a Dremel for that task. I have a very expensive one (like $3K) that I can control very well but I still wouldn't use it. I'd turn it by hand with a pin vise like I was showing in the link.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#13

Post by Evil D »

JuPaul wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:06 pm
Yes, I always carry tip up with the blade side again the outside seam of my pocket, but I do worry that the flipper tab could be bumped a bit and open this knife, in particular. My husband has a dremel tool, but I'm just not confident I could adjust it correctly on my own, and surely a botched job would not be covered by spyderco. I'd rather send it in, or send it back, than be out $150. We'll see what spyderco says...this definitely makes the case for backlocks.
I definitely would not use a Dremel, it's a very delicate process and if you remove too much metal you can create detent slop while the blade is closed. My understanding is you can do it basically by hand with the right bit, and you do it little at a time and reassemble it and test your progress. You can also go too far and cause the lock blade to lay against the side of the blade and scratch it up.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#14

Post by JuPaul »

Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:49 pm
JuPaul wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:06 pm
Yes, I always carry tip up with the blade side again the outside seam of my pocket, but I do worry that the flipper tab could be bumped a bit and open this knife, in particular. My husband has a dremel tool, but I'm just not confident I could adjust it correctly on my own, and surely a botched job would not be covered by spyderco. I'd rather send it in, or send it back, than be out $150. We'll see what spyderco says...this definitely makes the case for backlocks.
I definitely would not use a Dremel, it's a very delicate process and if you remove too much metal you can create detent slop while the blade is closed. My understanding is you can do it basically by hand with the right bit, and you do it little at a time and reassemble it and test your progress. You can also go too far and cause the lock blade to lay against the side of the blade and scratch it up.
Exactly why I do not want to do this myself. I don't have the right tools, or the requisite knowledge and experience.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#15

Post by Evil D »

Vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:44 pm
Evil D wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:52 pm
Vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:06 pm
Carrying a knife against the seam of your pocket isn't magic. The blade can still open enough to clear the detent, and swing open when you pull it out of your pocket. That is exactly what happened to me one time. Still have the scar to prove it.

I realized just the other day that I have two habits that I didn't realize how often I do. For work I carry a flashlight in my right rear pocket and it rides clipped in the ouside seam closest to my hip, and then my knife is in the right front pocket on the outside seam. I caught myself checking and adjusting both of them to make sure they're both pinned in the corner of the pocket. I noticed it more with the light but I think this is something I might pay attention to more than some people which could be why I've never had any issues with a knife opening on me. The only time that has happened was when I carried tip down.
I'm not sure you read my post correctly?

I carried the para 2 exactly how you carry your knives. Pressed up as hard against the seam as I could get it so there's more room to slide my hand in my pocket. I do the same with my Pacific Salt when I carry it RFP even though it's a lockback.

It still came open.

I'm just trying to let people know that it isn't 100% safe, because I don't want others to slice their hand open.


I guess I'm kinda having a hard time seeing how it CAN open? If there isn't any gap between the edge of your pocket and the spine of the blade how can it have room to love outward and open?

I agree, it can't be 100% safe and I don't expect everyone to have the same experience as me but it seems practically impossible unless the knife moves away from the corner of the pocket. It seems like after all these years it would have happened to me by now but I guess never say never. Anyway my point originally is that I have a subconscious habit of checking my knife and keeping it in the right place. It's more because I don't fully trust clips than anything else but something has kept them from opening on me all these years.

Now I did have my Autonomy open and cut me and it was carried this way but I also took off the safety lock and I had a comb in the same pocket and I think it was hard enough to press the fire button and open it. The spring on these knives is plenty strong enough to get it open in your pocket.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#16

Post by curlyhairedboy »

JuPaul wrote: I have a Sliverax and love it with one exception: the detente is so weak and I can easily open the knife with just a little bump, and with an actual pop of the wrist, I can fully deploy it. I wasn't sure this would bother me, but now I'm wondering if it's even safe to carry this weak. Is this something spyderco could/would fix under warranty? I've seen other threads on how to strengthen the detente on your own, but I'm definitely not comfortable doing anything myself. And nowhere can I find if this is a warranty issue. I'm the original owner, and the knife was purchased through a reputable dealer.
I've done detent mods on the sliverax multiple times, it's pretty straightforward to get the detent bearing to seat more fully in the blade.

Of course such work does void the warranty, but there's a community of spyderco modders that would be happy to help with this.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#17

Post by vivi »

Not sure how it happen, but I reached in my pocket to grab it and the tip poked me hard in the thumb. Scar is right at the joint.

I had a Military carried in a side pocket pressed up against the seem that did the same thing. That's why I stopped carrying both those models when 5 years ago they were two of my most used Spydies.

Granted with the Military I know I was running around trails that day. I think a more active lifestyle can play a role, more bouncing around and whatnot.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#18

Post by steelcity16 »

Vivi wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:53 pm
Not sure how it happen, but I reached in my pocket to grab it and the tip poked me hard in the thumb. Scar is right at the joint.

I had a Military carried in a side pocket pressed up against the seem that did the same thing. That's why I stopped carrying both those models when 5 years ago they were two of my most used Spydies.

Granted with the Military I know I was running around trails that day. I think a more active lifestyle can play a role, more bouncing around and whatnot.

I had the same experience recently with my Para 3 LW. It opened up 3 times on me in my pocket one night when i was at a party walking around and sitting down and getting up a lot. Carried the same way of tip up with the blade pressed into the seam of my pocket. I tried to shake the blade out from closed normally and it wasn't coming out. Maybe the fabric kept bunching up and pressing into the tab. Not sure. Luckily I caught it without getting cut each time. Sold that knife as well disclosing the issue to the buyer. Hopefully this was just a lemon and not an epidemic with this Para 3 LW. It has scared me into carrying backlocks almost exclusively though.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#19

Post by Doc Dan »

Given the shape of the blades it’s easy to see how that even pressed up against the seam they could rock out of place and open just enough to cut.

My wife and I both have had detent dependent locks open on us either in pocket or in purse. She will not even a hold one now if it is a liner lock or a frame walk or any such knife that has a detent.

I have also dropped these knives and almost been stabbed in the foot when the knife rebounded and came open.
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Re: Is weak detente a warranty issue?

#20

Post by JuPaul »

curlyhairedboy wrote:
Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:51 pm
JuPaul wrote: I have a Sliverax and love it with one exception: the detente is so weak and I can easily open the knife with just a little bump, and with an actual pop of the wrist, I can fully deploy it. I wasn't sure this would bother me, but now I'm wondering if it's even safe to carry this weak. Is this something spyderco could/would fix under warranty? I've seen other threads on how to strengthen the detente on your own, but I'm definitely not comfortable doing anything myself. And nowhere can I find if this is a warranty issue. I'm the original owner, and the knife was purchased through a reputable dealer.
I've done detent mods on the sliverax multiple times, it's pretty straightforward to get the detent bearing to seat more fully in the blade.

Of course such work does void the warranty, but there's a community of spyderco modders that would be happy to help with this.
Have you done this mod on your own because you want to, or because spyderco wouldn't do it for you? Just curious if it's worth sending to them or if I shouldn't bother.

And by "other modders happy to help", do you mean someone could walk me through it, or that I could send it to someone to do the work?
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