Swayback Lookout Thread

[Sharp Guy]

I'm impressed with the way it's constructed.

Yeah when you consider the work involved it's easier to understand the price. I thought some might appreciate seeing the internals.

I was a little disappointed by a couple things at first but this knife won't be leaving my collection any time soon

[Pancake]

Yeah when you consider the work involved it's easier to understand the price. I thought some might appreciate seeing the internals.

I was a little disappointed by a couple things at first but this knife won't be leaving my collection any time soon

Double internal stop pins? Well, you dont see that every day :D The area that support the washers is stainless steel?

Swayback is a very nice design piece, have to say. But for me, its waay above my price limit. But a very nice design.

[jdw]

I appreciate the look inside the knife. It really is well made. My opinion about the knife has evolved. I used mine in the garden and flower beds yesterday to gather some tomatoes, vegetables and general gardening tasks. It worked great and it is a great slicer. The tip removes the vegetables cleanly and quickly and it would be a great knife for grafting. After I wrapped up I rinsed it, blew it out with compressed air and lubed the pivot. The action has loosened and it is much easier to open. The opening action is still kind of awkward feeling but it is a very nice knife and I don't have any regrets about the purchase.

[Enactive]

Yeah when you consider the work involved it's easier to understand the price. I thought some might appreciate seeing the internals.

I was a little disappointed by a couple things at first but this knife won't be leaving my collection any time soon

Double internal stop pins? Well, you dont see that every day :D The area that support the washers is stainless steel?

Swayback is a very nice design piece, have to say. But for me, its waay above my price limit. But a very nice design.

My understanding is that they mask that area to leave it untreated during the acid etch or whatever finishing process is used.

[Pancake]

My understanding is that they mask that area to leave it untreated during the acid etch or whatever finishing process is used.

Ok, that's seems reasonable. Somehow I thought that that area has to be stainless, but i messed it up with bearings, bearings on titanium are not great, but PB washers on titanium are ok.

[Sharp Guy]

Ok, that's seems reasonable. Somehow I thought that that area has to be stainless, but i messed it up with bearings, bearings on titanium are not great, but PB washers on titanium are ok.

I have several Titanium frame-locks from various manufacturers that run on bearings. I haven't taken them all apart, so I could be wrong, but I think most of them have the bearings running directly on the Ti frame. No issues with any of them.

[Nice marmot]

Ok, that's seems reasonable. Somehow I thought that that area has to be stainless, but i messed it up with bearings, bearings on titanium are not great, but PB washers on titanium are ok.

I have several Titanium frame-locks from various manufacturers that run on bearings. I haven't taken them all apart, so I could be wrong, but I think most of them have the bearings running directly on the Ti frame. No issues with any of them.

Steel bearings will ride on steel washers rather than directly on the titanium. It is like that on the numerous frame locks I own with bearings. The exception is a knife that rides on ceramic bearings. Those can ride directly on the titanium.

[Sharp Guy]

Ok, that's seems reasonable. Somehow I thought that that area has to be stainless, but i messed it up with bearings, bearings on titanium are not great, but PB washers on titanium are ok.

I have several Titanium frame-locks from various manufacturers that run on bearings. I haven't taken them all apart, so I could be wrong, but I think most of them have the bearings running directly on the Ti frame. No issues with any of them.

Steel bearings will ride on steel washers rather than directly on the titanium. It is like that on the numerous frame locks I own with bearings. The exception is a knife that rides on ceramic bearings. Those can ride directly on the titanium.

Yeah I own a few with steel bearing and steel washers too but I'm pretty sure I have several that have steel bearings that are running directly on the Ti frame. Are the ball bearings in Spyderco's latest bearing system steel? If so, I'm pretty sure they aren't running on steel washers. Thinking about it I think all my other knives with bearings from other manufacturers are running ceramic bearings.

[PiterM]

Swayback. The lines just flow. Blade finish is so clean. Plus that sculptured handle, like on a Slysz Bowie. Awesome, awesome knife. Imho Swayback is an instant Spyderco classic...

[Sharp Guy]

Swayback. The lines just flow. Blade finish is so clean. Plus that sculptured handle, like on a Slysz Bowie. Awesome, awesome knife. Imho Swayback is an instant Spyderco classic...

^ That's a beautiful shot Piter!

I agree, the Swayback is an instant classic

[Wright.88]

I just got a MXG clip and it fits Swayback much better than the Lynch clip (it sits flush with the edge of the scale). I've really enjoyed carrying mine and using it for some light tasks. Great design! And regarding opening with my thumbpad: it's a little more difficult than some knives but I think that's due to a combination of having a deeper thumb cutout (as in the scales are a little thicker than some other Spyderco frame Ti framelocks) and a slightly smaller spydiehole than normal. Doesn't bother me at all though and like I said I can open mine fine. It's one of the smoothest spydies I've handled.

[PiterM]

Nice match with that clip, thanks for suggestion.

[marshmallow]

SFO had swaybacks back in stock for few hours.

[ihped1]

Man I love the Swayback. Picked one up last week and very happy with it.

[curlyhairedboy]

It's been very interesting to see the enthusiast response to this knife. In many ways there's a lot of pent up demand for contoured Slysz designs ever since the Bowie got hyped up towards the end of its life.

A lot of that demand never got a chance to actually handle or own a Bowie, so the Swayback hitting customer hands is the first taste of reality.

There's no way the reality could match the hype, but the letdown has led to some overcorrections. Nobody really doubts that the clip could have been done better, but the ergo improvements, grind, blade shape, and lockbar insert (at last!!) allow the Swayback to stand head and shoulders above the previous Bowie.

[ladybug93]

i think it looks like a beautiful and amazing knife. i just can’t afford it.

[JRinFL]

Mine has become easier to open one-handed now, but I think it is more likely that my thumb has become more accustomed to the slightly different technique needed to open it. The clip remains a literal sore point, however. I really need to stop stalling and order an aftermarket clip.

[curlyhairedboy]

The sculpted one from MXGgear works well.

[Sharp Guy]

The sculpted one from MXGgear works well.

I may go with that one. While I'd prefer the wire clip I don't mind the stock hourglass clip as much as some other folks. But I do like how that sculpted clip looks

[Joey]

These clips look excellent! That said, I don’t have as much of a problem with the stock clip as most seem to have. I’m just happy it is a standard screw pattern.

I haven’t played around with it too much just yet, but with little to no use, mine has developed a locking issue. I can force the lock closed with pressure on the back(or top of the grind) of the blade. I can get it to stay locked if I push the lock bar slightly further in, but merely opening the knife won’t allow the lock to fully engage. This same issue is present on my CRKT CEO (same amount of usage).