Police 4 Lightweight Observations

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vivi
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Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#1

Post by vivi »

This is a thread for my observations on the new Police 4 Lightweight model.

For my thread on the G10 Police 4, see here: viewtopic.php?t=81418

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There are a few differences that immediately jumped out at me, aside from the obvious scale & blade steel differences.

The FRN Police is the thickest Police I have handled. Here it is next to my P4 G10:

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This change alone makes this Police even more comfortable in my grip. I don't think it's going to feel thick enough while carrying it that I'll mind it in the pocket.

Combined with the additional contouring inherit in Spydercos FRN knives, this is hands down the most ergonomic iteration of the Police to date in my opinion. Look at those beautiful curves:

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There is some additional texturing on the spine for added traction:

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The index choil has a new shape. There is a bit of a drop off from the handle to the blade, giving it a different feel in hand. I don't find it any better or worse than the other Police models, just different.

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Here is the balance point, right under the screw for the lock bar:

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Another thing I noticed is the factory edge appears to be ground at a thinner angle than my previous Police models. Unfortunately I don't have any factory edged ones to compare to right now, but the bevel came wider than expected.

The trim 4oz weight makes this Police feel lighter and more nimble in the hand than the previous versions. I can tell it will be more comfortable to use for extended tasks.

The fit and finish on mine is flawless as far as I can tell. Superior to my Police 3 and 4 in G10. On both of those I can find little flaws, like the backspacer being ground at a crooked angle:

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Police 3

Or the lock release standing proud of the liners:

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Police 4

On my FRN Police I cannot find a single flaw in the craftsmanship. It is incredibly smooth, zero side to side play, and has an authoritative self close.

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One interesting thing another member pointed out to me, is the lock spring is reinforced with a steel bar that is sandwiched between the liners.

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This should make taking down the knife easier than an FRN Endura, where the backspring tension can deform the FRN backspacer enough to make putting the knife back together tricky at times.

One thing that I'm sure was influenced by this design difference between the G10 and FRN versions is the drastically different patterns of skeletonizing on the liners:

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Police 4 G10 liners

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Police 4 FRN liners

One design choice that strikes me as questionable is the location of the smooth clip contact area in the middle of the scale. When the clip is set for tip up carry, it half contacts the smooth patch, and partially contacts bi-directional texturing. This causes the knife to grab on to the pocket on a draw. I like it to be honest, it makes the knife less likely to accidentally slide out of my pocket but not particularly difficult to draw. I can see how others would not like this though.

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One issue I had with the G10 Police 4 is the pivot would loosen up after opening and closing it a handful of times. I was hoping the FRN model would not suffer from the same issue, but it does.

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Generous side to side play developed as the pivot loosened itself from normal operation

When I opened it the first time it was perfectly smooth, and the first time I closed it the blade did not drop shut. After about 15 open and close cycles the blade was free swinging when I pressed the lock release, and after maybe 50 open and close cycles the pivot was so loose the blade was rubbing against the handle. I'm going to loc-tite it later tonight to rectify this issue.



I put together a little video that shows some of the history leading up to this model. Sorry the video isn't very good....I wanted to go out to a state park and include cutting up some stuff, but I was too busy today.

https://youtube.com/watch?&v=FuDiA_RuQmA

Safe to say Sal did it again. The Police 3 was my favorite Spyderco folding design when it came out. Same with the Police 4. Now the lightweight version takes the crown.

If Sal ever turns this model into a Salt, that's the last folder I'll ever buy. I'd also like to see this offered in a full SE option.
Last edited by vivi on Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:42 am, edited 4 times in total.
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marty_bill_
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#2

Post by marty_bill_ »

Awesome, very well done!
benben
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#3

Post by benben »

Thanks for taking the time to post this Vivi, great job!
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T_MAC686
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#4

Post by T_MAC686 »

Man I love “Vivi’s Observations” threads!! You really offer this forum a lot of knowledge on Spyderco knives- keep up the good work!
vivi
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#5

Post by vivi »

Thanks guys! I have fun putting these threads together.

One other minor difference I noted is the index choil is a bit different on the LW. There is a bit of a drop off from the FRN to the blade rather than a seamless U shape. I'm editing the first post with a picture of this and the gap that formed at the pivot from opening and closing the knife.
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Pancake
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#6

Post by Pancake »

It's very nice looking. I want to buy Manix XL, but this could change things a bit. And also there is that Province....
In the pocket: Chaparral FRN, Native Chief, Police 4 K390, Pacific Salt SE, Manix 2 G10 REX45
The Meat man
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#7

Post by The Meat man »

Thanks Vivi. Good review.

I'm keeping my eye on this model. If we get some in interesting steels, or a full SE version, I may buy one.
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abbazaba
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#8

Post by abbazaba »

Thanks for the write up! I'm assuming that despite having a similar weight to the G10 version, the lack of a SS backspacer moves the balance forward nicely? Hopefully right to where the index finger lands when not using the choil?

I love how slim the P4 G10 is, but assumed that the FRN model would be a little thicker... Glad to hear the contoured ergos make up for the added beef.

It's unfortunate the already XL contact patch for the clip didn't quite make the reach, but it's not a deal breaker for me either.

P4 was my favorite release of 2017 and still one of my favorite knives to cut with. I'll be jumping on a P4 LW eventually.
vivi
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#9

Post by vivi »

abbazaba wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:46 am
Thanks for the write up! I'm assuming that despite having a similar weight to the G10 version, the lack of a SS backspacer moves the balance forward nicely? Hopefully right to where the index finger lands when not using the choil?

I love how slim the P4 G10 is, but assumed that the FRN model would be a little thicker... Glad to hear the contoured ergos make up for the added beef.

It's unfortunate the already XL contact patch for the clip didn't quite make the reach, but it's not a deal breaker for me either.

P4 was my favorite release of 2017 and still one of my favorite knives to cut with. I'll be jumping on a P4 LW eventually.
The balance point is at the screw for the lock bar:

Image
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Pancake
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#10

Post by Pancake »

Just a thought on that ,,landing pad " for clip. Just mix a bit of epoxy and enlarge that pad a little. Wait for the epoxy to dry and then sand it down. Epoxy fill the FRN texture and you will have smooth surface.
Not sure if epoxy adhere to FRN
In the pocket: Chaparral FRN, Native Chief, Police 4 K390, Pacific Salt SE, Manix 2 G10 REX45
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#11

Post by ChrisinHove »

Great post! Thanks!
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#12

Post by James Y »

I changed the clip position on mine to carry it tip-down; that way the clip’s contact point is fully on the flat logo area. Happily for me, I find I like carrying this particular knife tip-down better than tip-up anyway, though I usually prefer tip-up for clip knife carry.

Jim
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Coffeetron
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#13

Post by Coffeetron »

thanks for the review! Lots of information.

Offtopic: It would be great if we would have a "Review" - subforum. Otherwise interesting reads like this one could get lost in the pool of information.

I have a theory regarding the pivot loose up. It could be due to the D-shape of the pivot. It won't rotate and thus no force is transferred into it rotating but rather absorbed into the pivot construction causing a loose up over time when flipped often and/or used hard.

I cleaned my pac salt / native and removed the loctite, no loose up observed but they are fairly new. I also have another folder that was exclusively used for almost 2 years and it did not need loctite for support even with multiple daily use.
vivi
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#14

Post by vivi »

Coffeetron wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:09 pm
thanks for the review! Lots of information.

Offtopic: It would be great if we would have a "Review" - subforum. Otherwise interesting reads like this one could get lost in the pool of information.

I have a theory regarding the pivot loose up. It could be due to the D-shape of the pivot. It won't rotate and thus no force is transferred into it rotating but rather absorbed into the pivot construction causing a loose up over time when flipped often and/or used hard.

I cleaned my pac salt / native and removed the loctite, no loose up observed but they are fairly new. I also have another folder that was exclusively used for almost 2 years and it did not need loctite for support even with multiple daily use.
I'd love a review section. I think it would be a great addition to the forum.
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#15

Post by Chumango »

How thick is the handle compared with the Military?
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#16

Post by Pelagic »

Vivi wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:35 pm
Coffeetron wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:09 pm
thanks for the review! Lots of information.

Offtopic: It would be great if we would have a "Review" - subforum. Otherwise interesting reads like this one could get lost in the pool of information.

I have a theory regarding the pivot loose up. It could be due to the D-shape of the pivot. It won't rotate and thus no force is transferred into it rotating but rather absorbed into the pivot construction causing a loose up over time when flipped often and/or used hard.

I cleaned my pac salt / native and removed the loctite, no loose up observed but they are fairly new. I also have another folder that was exclusively used for almost 2 years and it did not need loctite for support even with multiple daily use.
I'd love a review section. I think it would be a great addition to the forum.
Pretty sure I made a thread about it earlier this year and most people liked the idea.
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PineChaos
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#17

Post by PineChaos »

The Police lightweight is definitely a winner. Fit and finish is excellent as well, it's the nicest FRN knife I've seen out of G Sakai.
vivi
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#18

Post by vivi »

PineChaos wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:06 pm
The Police lightweight is definitely a winner. Fit and finish is excellent as well, it's the nicest FRN knife I've seen out of G Sakai.
Same here. F&F isn't something I pay much attention to, but my P4LW being flawless stood out to me.
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Pancake
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#19

Post by Pancake »

G10 Police 4 is right now in my pocket...I wonder if I need an LW too.
In the pocket: Chaparral FRN, Native Chief, Police 4 K390, Pacific Salt SE, Manix 2 G10 REX45
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Re: Police 4 Lightweight Observations

#20

Post by z4vdBt »

Thanks for the review. Well done.
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