What was done? (Warranty question)

[wec12]

Long term Spydie fan here :) .

I sent my old Police SS SE back for warranty evaluation (bad vertical plus side-to-side play) and the knife arrived at Spyderco I believe around 1/25. Just received my Police today (Feb 04). Fast turnaround! Thank you Spyderco.

However, I did not notice any improvement at all and vertical and side-to-side play are still there. No apparent tool mark nor any evidence of fixing it from the service. I understand that it is possible that the knife is not fixable because of the nature of SS handle. The letter did not have any detail on the service, zero explanation. Please see the attached photo.

Am I missing something? Am I expecting too much?

Any guidance/insight is greatly appreciated.

[StuntZombie]

It sounds like the extent of the service was an inspection and resharpening, as explained by the note. There were no tool marks or evidence of it being fixed, because they didn't do anything else.

What do you consider bad blade play? As long as it's not in danger of unlocking while you handle it, it's probably fine to use.

Also, it might not hurt to give them a call and ask them about the knife in particular.

[The Deacon]

The letter explained that your knife was not eligible for warranty replacement and could not be repaired, but that they reconditioned it as much as possible and sharpened it. Not sure what else you expected them to say, but they did give you a number to call if you had any questions. FWIW, I'm sure they would not have done those things, and would have specifically stated they felt the knife was unsafe to use, if that were the case.

[wec12]

The Police was sharp enough for me before sending it to Spyderco, so no sharpening was needed. Wouldn't there be a solution or followup action after Spyderco crew found out the blade play was bad?

How bad is the bad play? When the blade is closed, audible metal hitting metal (blade hitting inside of the handle) can be observed. When the blade is open, I can hear audible sound around blade-pivot-handle-lockbar area when shaking without applying force on the blade and, of course, with applying force on both handle and blade.

So developing blade play is not covered by the warranty?

[Johncjeff]

You stated it’s an older knife. Perhaps it falls under “normal wear”, and is not eligible for warranty repair.

[StuntZombie]

I decided to do a test on the only all stainless folder I currently own, a Spyderco Lava. Closed, I can hear the blade moving back and forth when I shake it. Open, same thing. Applying pressure to the blade and handle I can induce blade play. However, it is still plenty solid, and I wouldn't be afraid to stick it in my pocket and carry it. With the size of the blade on the Police model, I wouldn't be surprised if your problem seemed worse. I'd say that as long as it doesn't look like the handle scales are separating (look for a sunken pin at the pivot) your Police model is probably fine to use. Having had a stainless Police that would often get difficult to open or close with very little buildup of gunk, slightly more open tolerances on these stainless knives might not be such a bad thing.

Still, if it still bothers you that much, definitely give them a call.

[VooDooChild]

Blade play in the open position is its own thing but what are you talking about in the closed position?

Either blade lash, which spyderco designs there lockbacks not to have, and yours shouldnt have unless the kick or lockbar is damaged.

Or are you saying if you grab the knife in the closed position and shake it back and forth the blade is contacting one side of the handle and then the other? Because many of my seki knives can do this if I force them to.

[wec12]

Thank you for checking your Lava, Chris.

Yes, i can hear the blade is rattling when doing “blade lash” (hold to handle and shake the open bladed knife). I have had lots of spyderco over the years and the blade play on my Police is quite disappointing...

[kennethsime]

You can always give them a call, as others have pointed out. It sounds like it's in great shape, though.

[The Deacon]

The Police was sharp enough for me before sending it to Spyderco, so no sharpening was needed. Wouldn't there be a solution or followup action after Spyderco crew found out the blade play was bad?

The "follow up action" was to return the knife to you with a note saying it was neither repairable or eligible for warranty replacement. Since they did not warn you that the knife was unsafe and should be retired, the implication would be that it is still safe to use. They also provided a contact number in the event you had any questions.

So developing blade play is not covered by the warranty?

Noticeable side to side blade play when locked open, and excessive vertical play would be warranty issues in a brand new knife, but are things that can develop in an older one as a result of either normal wear and tear or abuse. That's especially true of all stainless models with pinned handles, where side loads put on the blade can spread the handle slabs.

[koenigsegg]

I often wondered if I sent in my old salt I'd they would retighten the rivet. Now I'm guessing they wouldn't.

[The Deacon]

I often wondered if I sent in my old salt I'd they would retighten the rivet. Now I'm guessing they wouldn't.

Can't speak for them, but you could check with W&R. There's at least an outside chance Spyderco might be willing and able to do that, given that they made riveted knives in Golden in the past and may still have the tool needed to set rivets.

[koenigsegg]

I often wondered if I sent in my old salt I'd they would retighten the rivet. Now I'm guessing they wouldn't.

Can't speak for them, but you could check with W&R. There's at least an outside chance Spyderco might be willing and able to do that, given that they made riveted knives in Golden in the past and may still have the tool needed to set rivets.

I don't think I even got a reply last time I contacted them. Guess I need to call though it's not my favorite