Lil Temp XL? Moderate Temp? Mid Temp? Discuss the 3.5" Temp folder here!

[cabfrank]

Agreed on the weight. I don't know exactly how much is too much, but I wouldn't want it very heavy. Five ounces tops sounds reasonable, give or take a couple tenths.

[Red Leader]

I'm down. K390 of course, 3.5" or under, for local blade regs (which I don't agree with, but...) and let's get both PE and SE while we are at it.

However, if this is to be Seki City...they absolutely must step up the quality. Otherwise nope. This is coming from someone with the LT3 as my main carry and I LOVE the knife. Probably highest ratio of best design/worst QC of any current Spyderco.

[Enactive]

I'm down. K390 of course, 3.5" or under, for local blade regs (which I don't agree with, but...) and let's get both PE and SE while we are at it.

However, if this is to be Seki City...they absolutely must step up the quality. Otherwise nope. This is coming from someone with the LT3 as my main carry and I LOVE the knife. Probably highest ratio of best design/worst QC of any current Spyderco.

That's unfortunate, the build quality of my LT3 LW is excellent.

I find the design great. I love the handle, but I would prefer less belly and a lower tip, more like the Leaf Jumper, which I tend to prefer.

[SpeedHoles]

Yes please.


I also don't see the issue with the current Seki quality.


Also agree, hopefully the extended length also does shallow out the belly just a bit...

[cabfrank]

Just to add, my LT3 LW build quality/QC is also excellent. I don't see a flaw on my particular example.

[Red Leader]

Just to add, my LT3 LW build quality/QC is also excellent. I don't see a flaw on my particular example.

I also don't see the issue with the current Seki quality.

That's unfortunate, the build quality of my LT3 LW is excellent.

Thanks guys for your thoughts. Perhaps this post is better in the LT3 review thread, but it encouraged me to revisit the knife and take a look at it again with fresh eyes. I had been experiencing several issues, including weak/mushy detent, bad off-centering, and stop pin issues.

When I got the knife, it had some loose hardware, so I've never minded taking it apart. There are some issues that are CQI-worthy to me, just so others don't experience it as well. The first was that that pivot-to-blade hole tolerance is about .004-.005 which is loose and caused two issues, vertical blade slop and the mushy detent. The second issue is that their stop pin is too short - it is held captive on the lockbar-side liner, but is 'free floating' in a sense on the other side, with a visible gap. If you tighten until the gap starts closing, it locks the blade in place so that it is not free moving from how it pinches the blade above the pivot.

The other issue was the centering, which comes from the strength of the lockbar forcing the steel liner into an upward bend when pushed flat against the blade in the closed position. It was literally bending the knife out of true w/blade closed laying on a flat surface. The steel liner is narrow enough to bend w/ the force of the lockbar, and the FRN scales are not stiff enough to overcome the liners.

After massaging the liners in a way to counteract some of this oppositional force, and changing the spacing of the stop pin gap to the to nested (lockbar) side, almost all these issues are now solved. I don't understand how moving the pin counteracted the play in the pivot, but I'm certainly not complaining. It is heads and tails a different and better knife. I may still fabricate a better pivot for it with better tolerances. FWIW I've also taken apart our Sage 5 and Native 5, and the tolerances on those pivots are way better, so I had a rough idea of what it should be like.

It is my primary carry and getting it from the SFO and I do have an attachment to it. They are great knives, and a phenomenal design. Love the compression lock and that beautiful, early lockup. I do think though that Seki has a lot of room for improvement on their tolerances and QC, as the fact that some people got great examples and I've read other stories contrary, so a bit of inconsistency. After rebuilding Seki knives and Taichung knives, there are glaring reasons why Taichung is considered superior in build quality.

Just if we are asking for more compression lock knives from Seki (which I support and want), I think the QC is worth revisiting. At least on my example --> The stop pin is too short and the pivot pin is too small. The other captive pivots are also loose. The FRN is too flimsy for the strength of this lockbar. A K390 compression lock platform should be the absolute pinnacle. I'm comparing this knife to some particular Taichung and Golden examples we have that are some of the best folding knives I've ever held. I want this one to be in the same league.

[derangedhermit]

The Caribbean is focused on maximum corrosion resistance, something I appreciate but do not need. That, and no tip-down option, are why I have never owned one. I really like the design.

The materials used in the current Lil' Temp are more suitable for my day-to-day usage, and the design is outstanding. My only druther would be for a Caribbean-like 3.5mm blade, instead of 4mm. I agree with Dan that weight could become an issue, and a slightly slimmer (but still beefy) blade would help with that.

If the 3.5" Lil' Temp design turns into a production model, I'm in.

[BornIn1500]

I believe Sal first talked about this 3.5 inch Lil Temp a few years ago. I assumed it wouldn't happen because the 3 inch was a slow seller. It would be great to have a Goldilocks sized Lil Temp. I wonder how much of a difference there would really be between this and the Bodacious. Seems like it would be very similar, maybe too similar.

[derangedhermit]

I believe Sal first talked about this 3.5 inch Lil Temp a few years ago. I assumed it wouldn't happen because the 3 inch was a slow seller. It would be great to have a Goldilocks sized Lil Temp. I wonder how much of a difference there would really be between this and the Bodacious. Seems like it would be very similar, maybe too similar.

Well, if there is a Bodacious LW with 4-way clip, I'd buy that also. I'd actually prefer it, as I think the Bodacious is a better general-use design, mainly due to the thinner blade. But Sal said it could be a few years before any variations of the Bodacious exist.

[derp]

I recently discovered the lil temp 3 LW and it’s an instant favorite! Literally one of my first thoughts was I wish there was a 3.5 inch version! One tweak I would like is slightly more rounded edges and particularly the finger forward corners that stick out when closed. I should add that I haven’t tried a bodacious yet (waiting for a compelling steel choice) maybe it’s similar enough to a larger lil temp.

[paladin]

Temperate

[derangedhermit]

I wonder if there was a decision about making (or not making) a concept model based on the existing 3.5" design...