And sometimes they're perfect.

[James Y]

I buy my knives online exclusively, because AFAIK, there are no more B&M knife shops in my area, and there haven't been for many years.

I've never gotten any lemons, though, because I always order over the phone, and generally from one or two of the same online dealers. Over the phone, I request they check the knife for certain things i have on a pre-written list before they ship it. They've never had an issue doing that, and I've always gotten good results.

I've actually posted about doing this at least a few times before, but apparently, most would rather just click a button and hope, than take the time to call.

Jim

[Netherend]

I have 10 spyderco knives . Every single one has been perfect out of the box. Nitpicking can be fun among enthusiasts but the quality has never been in question for me

[Sharp Guy]

it does get a little tiring when these threads start popping up like this forum is spyderco's customer service page. i'm always impressed with spyderco's patience and willingness to work with people though.

most of my spyderco's have been basically perfect, as you describe with your mcbee. i think people get too hung up on things they hear youtubers complain about.

I was going to post but this ^ is pretty much what I'd say

[Naperville]

I don't have 100 Spyderco knives like some, I have just 16, but every one of them met my expectations and some of Spyderco's knives that I received crushed expectations. I don't go over them with a microscope, but I'm sure everything would be fine.

The only thing that I need is to buy those remaining Spyderco knives that I have on my wanted list. Must be another 15 knives!

Excellent company for different and cutting edge steels and designs.

[DSH007]

Yes. Sometimes perfect and most of the time very, very good has been my experience.. I've owned 90ish Spydercos over the past 5 or so years and have only returned 2 for W&R service.. My Lil Native, which made an audible grinding sound from the lock bar rubbing against the stop pin and my Siren for.. well I think we all know the story there. Spyderco resolved both issues to my satisfaction in a timely manner.. what more can I ask for?

I think it's important to remember that Spyderco, largely, does excellent work. That said, I have no issues when people bring forth concerns about general F&F or consistency of F&F over time. I know I've had knives that, while functionally "fine" or "within spec," don't quite live up to my expectations of Spyderco's usual manufacturing capabilities, cough AEB-L Urban cough. I think these sort of "complaints," so long as they're presented respectfully, are important data points that help keep manufacturing consistent, and even improve (CQI) over time. Knives are made by humans after all, and humans are known to make some mistakes, yes? Getting it mostly right to begin with and then owning/fixing your mistakes is about as "perfect" as a company can be, imo.. in this sense, Spyderco outpaces much of the competition.. I keep coming back!

[benben]

This one has surprised me, bought it at a gun show a couple of months ago from a vender who I’ve bought from several times before. One of those shows where I was empty handed except for a couple hundred rounds of 9mm. Literally walking out the door, thought I’d cruse by this vendor one more time before leaving, he handed me two that I looked over and I gave them back and said thanks.

Then I spotted this serrated Native LW and asked him if I could see it, he handed it over and then walked off to help someone on the other side of his area, leaving me to check it out for several minutes. This little fella is perfect! From the first time I opened it and gave it a firm grip I knew I was leaving with it, and the vendor made me a great deal on it!

I love my serrated Pacific Salt, nothing will replace it, but with warmer shorts wearing weather already here the Native has been my grass cutting yard work knife lately. This guy just eats vines and weeds!

So to go along with this thread, yeah it’s perfect! Just touched it up, blew it out, oiled the pivot and wiped the blade down, very cool little knife!

[BLUETYPEII]

The majority of Spyderco knives I’ve bought have either been flawless or very close to it. I hav had a few duds though…

[wrdwrght]

Pivoting on what I said earlier… while inspecting my newly-arrived Cruwear PM2 exclusive, I heard myself asking, “How is this not a custom knife?”

[metaphoricalsimile]

I picked up a Salt 2 through the Opfocus program and just wanted to use this thread to shout it out. The lockbar is flush either open or closed, the knife came nice and sharp with a pretty clean apex, the blade centering is spot on, and all the black coating is very smooth and even. The blade has no side-to-side play or lock rock and the blade dropped-shut out of the box (which I highly prefer for lockbacks). Seki City really knocked it out of the park with this one.

[Harkwit]

I'm a victim of complaining sometimes, though I am more often vocal of things that are, to me, deep issues that just don't get corrected. Vertical play that warranty won't correct, and blades hitting backspacers for the most part.

I do get perfect spydies though. Right now a Gayle Bradley 2 is my main carry and it's flawless in centering and action with no play.

I have a few Seki backlocks that have vertical play if you flex on the back of the blade enough, but I accept it because I don't think it's actually the lock causing the play, rather pivot and body screw tolerances (Seki makes them very loose). I don't suspect it'll ever lead to lock failure. I've also never owned a Seki backlock that didn't have this.

I think some complaints are justified when Spydercos command certain prices, at some point these are less common tools and more functional pieces of knife art. I know not everyone agrees there, though.

[Blerv]

I adore a custom or a Sebenza but really these Spyderco’s are usually amazing for $60-100. Often with better grinds and better steels.

It’s the Mustang/Camaro v BMW debate. Most measurements of speed are very simple as are most measurements of a good folding knife. Just enjoy the budget thrills :)

[apollo]

There is only one Spydie i have a small issue with that is my Native 5 2015 lw forum knife.
One of its smaller screws fell out a couple of times. Now i used some locktight on it and it is fine for now. Bit i did retire it from pocket duty for that reason. Now i just use it in the house. Smaller chance of losing the screw i hope. :)

[DukeBrnz]

In my experience, most knives come with at least tiny little things that could be improved. GEC, CRK, Benchmade, Spyderco.. you name it. They are made on production lines with at least the nominal purpose of being used to cut things. I've only sent one or two back for serious defects.

My last Yojimbo 2 however was bang on. Perfect in every way from the factory. Still, I used it right away and it'll never be perfect again.