Just put my last Spyderco in a Zipper bag ...

[FrenchBlob]

That was my last Spyderco .. and I think won't buy anymore...
Make a long story short ...

Pinched a washer after disassembling and cleaning my chaparral , 2 years ago...
Customer service contacted .. no way to buy a washer
Lost a washer 2 month ago
Contacted Customers service : no way to get either 2 washers, or even dimensions of washers

Cost to send back to customer service from France : 50 euros=60 dollars
How can I afford that, half of the price of the knife to get 2 washers !!!
Now my chaparral is in a ziplock, in my wardrobe !

I may understand, and even, that US Customers have to send back to spyderco for light repairs, as shipping costs may be low .. but for international customers, shipping costs are so high !!
I can not understand spyderco's policy ... I was answered that it was related to too many models and stock management...

On the other side, other knife's brands manages to deal with stock and ships clips/screws/washers for free !

I DO LOVE Spyderco, but I can not afford 60$ for 2 washers !

Bad mood today, sorry for the rant but I hope Spyderco policy will change one day. I don't ask for free internal parts, just be able to buy some when needed!

Frenchblob

[JRinFL]

Are there any knife maker supply shops in Europe? You might find it easier to purchase washers and screws from them rather than Spyderco. I do understand the frustration you are having over this issue. Sal has mentioned several times that the costs to run a European repair depot are too high to justify its existence.

Maybe someone here can measure their Chaparral washer and get you the dimensions you need in order to source them locally?

[Wartstein]

Yes, of course a w&r center in Europe (and/or other places outside North America) would be great, but as JR mentioned already, this obviously is not an realistic option for Spyderco right now as Sal has explained for reasons I cen totally understand(see here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=88859&start=40#p1494603).

Now, French Blob, I totally understand your frustration (I´d hate to loose a Chap Washer too) but can assure you: IF Spyderco can help, in my experience their customer service is great, also for us Europeans: They sent me clip screws and pivot screws two times, went perfectly well and smoothly.
Probably it is just the flipside of the coin "great variance of models and also variants inside of a model that they just can´t send you the right washers without having the particular model in hands?!

But yes, perhaps Spyderco could work something out to lower the shipping costs for us non US folks? Perhaps by letting us send knives that need repair back via some of their distributors in Europe? No idea though if this is an option

[TKCSA]

As an international customer myself I can certainly understand your frustration when it comes to the logistics of service and warranty claims. Whenever I buy a certain product from an foreign maker, I always tell myself that I must still be happy to pay the price for the product I was purchasing, even if it came without any warranty. This way I am building in a type of fail-safe to my expectations for the product and the company who manufactured it, as well as their ability to provide a service to me over a very long distance without physically having the knife in hand.

I am sure you can understand the risk and liability that comes with the policy of shipping internal parts, if they allow one request they must surely honour the other requests as well? Unfortunately a policy has to be enforced in general. Imagine the number of Spyderco folding knives out there in the world today, and if they all had a readily available parts channel pretty soon Spyderco would be in the parts supply business and not the knife manufacturing business. Procurement, warehousing, indexing and shipping of internal parts will likely require more manpower, larger stock purchases and more risk of production slowing down due to shortages of parts available for production. This translates to higher operating costs and higher pressure from loyal customers who are all waiting for their favourite model to be made available.

Also remember that a certain model manufactured in Taiwan might have the most parts local to the facility, and they are not necessarily set-up to handle the shipping and distribution of those parts to end line users.

Lastly, Spyderco suffers from imitation, and it is likely a risk for counterfeiters to request the parts for inspection or cloning or even reselling.

I apologize for the long post and also would like to say again that I do feel your pain - I was just thinking about what reasons there might be - I could be wrong on all and then humbly admit so.

[Wartstein]

Are there any knife maker supply shops in Europe? You might find it easier to purchase washers and screws from them rather than Spyderco. I do understand the frustration you are having over this issue. Sal has mentioned several times that the costs to run a European repair depot are too high to justify its existence.

Maybe someone here can measure their Chaparral washer and get you the dimensions you need in order to source them locally?

I´d certainly measure the washers on my Chap for French Blob!
But I´d need a really good caliper for that? Or do you think a cheap one is good enough (I think I have one lying around somewhere.., not sure)?

But then: As Spyderco themselves said: There might be variances concerning the washers even in Chaps of different production times... ?

On the other hand: Washers are not that expensive, perhaps buying some of slightly different thicknesses and trying which one works best could be an option.

[FrenchBlob]

Thanks for your help and comprehension, friends.
Found on the forum dimension for Ti Chaparral :
OD = 10 mm
ID = 4.5 mm
Thickness = .12 mm
I'll try with those measurements .... it's too bad information doesn't come from Spyderco when requested...
As you say, washers are not that expensive. Neither are screws. Another reason to have in stock for main popular models.
Another key could be standardization to avoid huge stock management..
Hope it helps take the chap out of the bag

[Wartstein]

Thanks for your help and comprehension, friends.
Found on the forum dimension for Ti Chaparral :
OD = 10 mm
ID = 4.5 mm
Thickness = .12 mm
I'll try with those measurements .... it's too bad information doesn't come from Spyderco when requested...
As you say, washers are not that expensive. Neither are screws. Another reason to have in stock for main popular models.
Another key could be standardization to avoid huge stock management..
Hope it helps take the chap out of the bag

Hope so too for you! :)
Keep us posted if you like!

[tonijedi]

I already got part from other knife brands shipped for free from the US (I'm in Portugal).
Initially, they asked me to ship the knife but I explained the costs and customs' issues and they promptly shipped some springs and screws.

[Wartstein]

I already got part from other knife brands shipped for free from the US (I'm in Portugal).
Initially, they asked me to ship the knife but I explained the costs and customs' issues and they promptly shipped some springs and screws.

Yes, but Spyderco does that too if possible I think:
As said above, they sent me clip screws and pivot screw no problem.

I think it is really due to Spyderco having a much more different models and especially variance of each model, due to cqi and so on! This is mostly a great thing, but probably makes it hard or impossible to just figure out what is the exact correct part and send it in many cases.

[Sharp Guy]

There's a whole thread on this subject pinned to the top of the forum

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=78106

[FrenchBlob]

If anyone has time to measure the washers for FRN Chaparral ... i'm taking all information available

[Wartstein]

There's a whole thread on this subject pinned to the top of the forum

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=78106

Man!! Unbelievable I did not think of that! :p
Good thing you have a better brain than I have...

[Sumdumguy]

Or, you could go buy a set of calipers and measure them.

You can order PB washers on the interwebs.

[VooDooChild]

Im pretty sure shipping cost are completely outside of Spydercos control.

Even if they were willing to cover the shipping, I would only imagine they would do this on a warranty claim for a defective product that was their fault. No offense but the issues you are having, pinched/lost washers, are because of you.

I do feel for you and other international customers... good luck, hopefully you can get some washers on line.

[adub]

It is a shame that there's no interest in keeping repair kits around by Spyderco. This isn't some logistical impossibility, it's just a lack of will. Lots of companies that I have worked with have no problem keeping screw and other parts kits around for many more SKUs than Spyderco handles. I am a big Spyderco fan but this is an area where the execution lacks, especially given how soft and fragile a lot of those parts are.

[FrenchBlob]

I don't claim warranty. I know this is my fault, but I'm disabled with very few strength in hands, as I explained to customer service.
I just asked for pb washers dimension: No answer
And asked for buying washers: another no.

Why not providing washers dimension? For security, it is better to provide information instead of putting inside knife washers of bad dimension, if I do a bad measurement...

As a few years ago, with the "disassembly voids guarantee" policy, something can evolve for customer satisfaction...

[sal]

Hi Adub,

Welcome to our forum.

Hi Frenchblob,

Sorry for your frustration. Surprising since Charlynn works with overseas customers reularly. I'll send this thread to her to get more information.

sal

[Sharp Guy]

Thanks for your help and comprehension, friends.
Found on the forum dimension for Ti Chaparral :
OD = 10 mm
ID = 4.5 mm
Thickness = .12 mm
I'll try with those measurements .... it's too bad information doesn't come from Spyderco when requested...
As you say, washers are not that expensive. Neither are screws. Another reason to have in stock for main popular models.
Another key could be standardization to avoid huge stock management..
Hope it helps take the chap out of the bag

Actually those dimensions were for the washers in the carbon fiber Chaparral. In that thread the OP was trying to fix their Ti Chap and I offered to check my CF Chap. I also have the FRN and Maple Chaps but, like I said in that thread, I find it hard to believe they'd be different

viewtopic.php?p=1438062#p1438062

[Holland]

This is my only frustration with spyderco.

My Mantra 1 had a bearing race issue to the point where I couldn't open the knife with one hand, and spyderco refused to send me new washers / bearings even with me offering to pay for them and shipping.

Had the knife left in the bag broken for over a year until I took the risk to send it over the border and back (Canada recently became a lot more strict on flipper type knives and were confiscating a lot of legal knives).

Would be greatly appreciated if spyderco would change this policy for international buyers.

[sal]

Hi Frenchblob,

Charlynn said she sent them some time ago. You should be getting them soon if you haven't already received them. I have a copy of the entire email chain with you and Charlynn.

sal