It is just a terrible polish job. It will be fine, just not a pretty as it could be.
I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! (John Adams regarding the White House)
Follow the Christ, the King,
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King--
Else, wherefore born?" (Tennyson)
Those look like machining marks from a grinder or sander with a coarse grit. Not crazing or cracking and not a sign that the spring will fail. You could possibly polish those out if you disassemble the knife or use great care to avoid scratching the scales. I don’t mind the marks at all and I have knives that the backspacers or lock spring looks like this.
:spyder: Shaman REX 45, Smock, Baby Jess Horn CE, Spydiechef, Schempp Bowie,Ti Fluted Military, Titanium Military, Native S30 V and G10, PM 2 in S35VN, and S110V, Manix 2 LW BD1 and SPY 27, Sage 5, Positron black CPM S30V, Chaparral w/Raffir Noble scales, SuperLeaf VG 10, Ladybug H1, Dragonfly 2 in ZDP 189 and Superblue/420J1 and H1, Delica in ZDP 189, Clipitool Standard, the Cook’s knife VG10, Santoku, paring and utility knives, all in MBS 26. :spyder:
They are polished, but don’t get the attention to detail the blade and lock do. Have you tried just wiping it off? You may have something dark on your desk that sheds some fine dust adhering to your back spring. You haven’t scratched it by using it so it must have been like this when you received it. That’s why I think it might be dust of some kind. A microfiber or chamois cloth might clean it right up.
:spyder: Shaman REX 45, Smock, Baby Jess Horn CE, Spydiechef, Schempp Bowie,Ti Fluted Military, Titanium Military, Native S30 V and G10, PM 2 in S35VN, and S110V, Manix 2 LW BD1 and SPY 27, Sage 5, Positron black CPM S30V, Chaparral w/Raffir Noble scales, SuperLeaf VG 10, Ladybug H1, Dragonfly 2 in ZDP 189 and Superblue/420J1 and H1, Delica in ZDP 189, Clipitool Standard, the Cook’s knife VG10, Santoku, paring and utility knives, all in MBS 26. :spyder:
The Urban is one of my favorite Spyderco designs but each of the three I own have little nitpicky issues. Since they continue to offer interesting steels at a great price I just overlook the tiny flaws and enjoy that unique Italian character.
If it's just the brushed finish, I'm not too bothered. I feared it was a structural thing. I tend to inspect my knives fairly closely and I'm amazed I didn't spot this in arrival. As one of you mentioned, it may be some darker gunk/oil that is sitting in the scratches to make them more visible.
If you look closely at the new HH version you can see some similar texturing to what you’ve noticed. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm. There’s relatively little movement in the spring so I doubt moderate use like what you’ve described would cause the piece to fail.
I really don't remember seeing them before when the knife arrived. I'm 95% sure it was just polished along the length of the spring.
Don't these back springs arrive polished?
Survey says: your spine is on the coarser end of the grind marks I see on my Italian slipit Spydercos, but all nine of mine have at least some remaining scratches from initial shaping.
When you look at the backsprings straight on, they look perfectly polished (the type of finish makes me think it's actually an extra fine tumble process?), at an angle and with the correct (or incorrect in this case) light the scratches sort of "pop" and become more noticeable.
I think the lesson to be learned from this is not to look at your moderately priced production knives as if they're hand finished customs!
I think the lesson to be learned from this is not to look at your moderately priced production knives as if they're hand finished customs!
I think this is important. Finishes show any shortcomings most of all, and we tend to be spoilt by both softer, machine made and polished components, and by artificially cheap Chinese manufactured goods.
