Native 5 - Back Lock Quality Issues

[VelaniBriar]

I am a Spyderco back lock veteran. This is not a tight lock that loosening up will help.

I received a new Spyderco Native 5 15v today from a reputable seller. The knife has the grittiest lock I have ever seen. The grit is both felt and heard.

This is the most expensive knife I have ever bought and it had a worse action than a gas station knife. Anyone have any recommendations? The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible but this makes a Chinese Gerber look like a high quality piece.

EDIT: I appreciate the responses. After two weeks of emailing the vendor allowed me to return this directly and will issue the refund once they receive the knife. I have another native 5 15v on the way from Amazon.

Sorry for crashing out on you guys. I thought I was out $180 for a knife that had serious QC issues and the vendor was refusing a return.

While I have taken apart other spydercos to clean or modify I knew those were perfect products. I wasn’t worried about getting a scratch on a screw because I wasn’t expecting to potentially warranty them. I was afraid to open up the knife and potentially void the warranty on a knife I wanted to return. Is it no longer the case that taking a Spyderco apart voids the warranty? I was afraid I would leave a mark on a screw and they wouldn’t replace it.

To the Golden, Co reputation. That is just what
I have heard online. I only have 2 Golden knives and they are both Manix 2s that are excellent. The common reputation I have read online is that Golden makes great knives but frequently has quality control issues specifically on grind, action, and lock up. I realize I was annoyed and just used a single lemon as confirmation bias. I realize every manufacturing facility in the world has occasional quality issues and one example shouldn’t be used to condemn an entire facility.

I love Spyderco. I’m not a collector and do not have a ton like some of you guys. I own 11 spyderco knives and did not intend to denigrate anyone who works for Spyderco. I was deeply frustrated at a very large purchase that was highly disappointing.

[TazKristi]

Hi, VelaniBriar:
Welcome to our forum. I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're experiencing. Where did you purchase it from? Have you reached out to our Warranty & Repair Department? If not, you'll find all the information you need here: https://spyderco.com/pages/warranty-repair. Our W&R team is your best first option.

I'm not sure where you've "heard" about our factory in Golden, but I'll politely disagree with the assessment.

Kristi

[N. Brian Huegel]

Ever think to contact and return to the "reputable seller"? Perhaps they should have inspected it prior to sending it to you. You could ask the dealer for a return label as they apparently never looked at the knife. Just picked, packed, and shipped.

[Doc Dan]

I am a Spyderco back lock veteran. This is not a tight lock that loosening up will help.

I received a new Spyderco Native 5 15v today from a reputable seller. The knife has the grittiest lock I have ever seen. The grit is both felt and heard.

This is the most expensive knife I have ever bought and it had a worse action than a gas station knife. Anyone have any recommendations? The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible but this makes a Chinese Gerber look like a high quality piece.

You must have heard that from a teenage ninja spec ops on TikTok or something. Golden knives are among the best, especially the back locks. I wish all Spydercos were Golden made.

Contact the warrantee department and do what they tell you to do. I sent a knife in years ago and when told I was going to have to pay shipping, I explained my situation and that I was overseas. They didn't charge me at all. Great folks.

Gritty just sounds like debris. The knife needs to be cleaned completely and re-lubed, I'll bet.

[RustyIron]

The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

The vendor sold you something that was in some way defective and not up to your expectations, but he's going to keep your money and he wants you to "take it up" with Spyderco? I think I'd be more likely to tell him to refund my money and HE can take it up with Spyderco. I'm sure there are a dozen other dealers who would be happy to sell you a knife and who will provide good customer service.

[WilliamMunny]

I am a Spyderco back lock veteran. This is not a tight lock that loosening up will help.

I received a new Spyderco Native 5 15v today from a reputable seller. The knife has the grittiest lock I have ever seen. The grit is both felt and heard.

This is the most expensive knife I have ever bought and it had a worse action than a gas station knife. Anyone have any recommendations? The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible but this makes a Chinese Gerber look like a high quality piece.

1. It is very odd that a "Reputable Seller" would tell you to take it up with Spyderco. Most dealers should offer a refund or replacement on a brand-new knife.

2. Spyderco Warranty and Repair department is amazing; they do a great job. Reach out to them by phone and they will tell you how to send it in. Be warned, if they don't have a Native 5 15v in stock, as they are a limited run, they will not replace it only give a store credit if it can't be repaired.

If it was me and this is a brand-new knife, I would immediately return it to the dealer and order a new one from that dealer or preferably another one. This is mostly to ensure you can get another Native 5 15v before they are sold out. Sal, the owner, probably will disagree as he wants knives with issues sent back to Spyderco so they can help eliminate production issues. If they don't know there is an issue its hard for them to effectively address, it.

Spyderco is a great brand and even better employees. If they dealer won't make it right Spyderco will. Good luck.

[Red Leader]

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible but this makes a Chinese Gerber look like a high quality piece.

I am close to the Golden factory and frequently stop by and handle a lot of knives there. In fact, we are planning to go today over lunch.

From whom do you hear that the factory is frequently terrible? I would not describe it as that. I have plenty of Seki City, Taichung, and Golden Spydercos and the two that are in my pocket right now are from Golden. They do have their quirks and there are some areas that I will keep encouraging them to improve, but I would never describe them as terrible or frequently lacking.

Let's see if that dealer can get you taken care of, and maybe take a little extra time to make sure the one they send back to you as a replacement is smoother.

Question for others: Does Spyderco have any policy around how dealers handle these types of situations? Does being a dealer mean that they adhere to certain customer service practices, or can they tell a customer to go to Spyderco directly and simply remove themselves out of the loop?

[RustyIron]

Sal, the owner, probably will disagree as he wants knives with issues sent back to Spyderco so they can help eliminate production issues. If they don't know there is an issue its hard for them to effectively address, it.

I've never heard that, but it makes perfect sense. I hate it when someone else touches my work. If it's imperfect, I want to know EXACTLY what's wrong.

[WilliamMunny]

Sal, the owner, probably will disagree as he wants knives with issues sent back to Spyderco so they can help eliminate production issues. If they don't know there is an issue its hard for them to effectively address, it.

I've never heard that, but it makes perfect sense. I hate it when someone else touches my work. If it's imperfect, I want to know EXACTLY what's wrong.

I have seen him mention a few times to send it in to Spyderco (not return) or wanting to know what store it was sent back to so they could get a look at it.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I understand that people get upset when a knife they purchase allegedly does not function like they want, but c'mon, to make such an insulting blanket statement comment against the quality craftsman and craftswomanship of the company that goes above and beyond to provide superb quality knives and tools, with zero evidence to support such a disparaging statement? Very grievous and sad thing to say.

I have been collecting and using Spyderco knives for more than 20 years and have never had a problem with their products.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

The vendor sold you something that was in some way defective and not up to your expectations, but he's going to keep your money and he wants you to "take it up" with Spyderco? I think I'd be more likely to tell him to refund my money and HE can take it up with Spyderco. I'm sure there are a dozen other dealers who would be happy to sell you a knife and who will provide good customer service.

Perfect advice, Rusty. Thank you.

[endura3]

I agree with the others that a reputable vendor should be willing to correct this. But if the action is gritty, maybe it just has grit in it?

This is an easy knife to disassemble, and if you're experienced with backlocks it should be pretty easy to work out what the issue is. That would be my first thought rather than returning it, since it's no longer in production. Any manufacturing defect that's causing one component of the lock interface to wear against another incorrectly should be pretty apparent. Otherwise it might just need to be cleaned and relubricated.

The feel of the lock interface also changes significantly with use as the knife breaks in for what it's worth. There's really no sense in passing judgement on the quality of the lock before it's been through a couple hundred opening cycles IMO.

Im not saying you shouldn't return it (especially if you're not confident disassembling it without damaging anything) or that you're wrong to be disappointed, but this might be something you can fix trivially on your own.

[Flash]

I accept there can be relatively minor things which get missed by QC at Spydercos end but that is absolutely terrible customer service by the seller. They are basically saying we’ll take your money whilst you spend your time trying to sort things out with the manufacturer. Name and shame I say.

[Evil D]

It's probably just dirty, this is a complaint I've seen many times. I'm not justifying it, you've got every right to be disappointed but there's a few ways to correct it if you want to keep the knife.

[Red Leader]

I recall handling both a Native Chief and the Native 5 Crucartas and one was just recently put in the case and was very gritty. The other had been around a few weeks and was noticeably smoother as it had been opened and closed far more. The break in does make a difference.


That being said, it is a premium, $200+ American made knife and this would be an area I would be happy to see Spyderco to improve upon.

[Pacu0420]

Sounds like it needs to be cleaned. A single grain of sand will make it feel gritty.

[zhyla]

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible

Haha, heck of a way to make friends on the Spyderco forum .

Before everyone lynches this person, please keep in mind we are hearing about obvious issues with Golden knives a lot more than we used to. I think “frequently terrible” is an absurd exaggeration but there is a growing perception that USA made Spydies have USA prices without the quality control that we would expect at those price levels.

Personally I would take this knife apart and clean it.

Ever think to contact and return to the "reputable seller"? Perhaps they should have inspected it prior to sending it to you.

Why would that responsibility fall on the dealer? I think that is a strange expectation.

[JayHenMac]

I am a Spyderco back lock veteran. This is not a tight lock that loosening up will help.

I received a new Spyderco Native 5 15v today from a reputable seller. The knife has the grittiest lock I have ever seen. The grit is both felt and heard.

This is the most expensive knife I have ever bought and it had a worse action than a gas station knife. Anyone have any recommendations? The vendor is advising to take this up with Spyderco directly.

I’ve heard that Golden’s factory is frequently terrible but this makes a Chinese Gerber look like a high quality piece.

Where did you hear that Golden's factory is frequently terrible? I wish all production spyders came from CO. You mentioned being a Spyderco back lock veteran. You probably already knew that the Native 5 back lock is one of the best in the knife world. It may be the best. I love my Seki back locks, the Endela is by far my favorite Spyder, but the Native 5 lock is just so good and I've never come across one that wasn't excelent. So, if you have one that isn't superb, then it probably needs a good cleaning, or something worthy of a warranty call.

Did you pick up a N5 G10 or Lightweight model? I can see how people don't understand the lightweight lineup. But you are a Spyderco veteran so I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know. I see folks questioning the fit, finish, and feel of the FRN handles. The assumption is that plastic = cheap. In our experiences it's simply not the case. You get all the same functionality but in a lighter package. I've sold or gifted the majority of my G10 models in favor of the FRN. I'm probably in the minority among Spyder fans in that regard.

[BornIn1500]

You could ask the dealer for a return label as they apparently never looked at the knife. Just picked, packed, and shipped.

There shouldn't be anything wrong at all with a dealer simply picking, packing, and shipping. Let's not act like the dealer makes the products. Dealers are not a quality control department for manufacturers. Should Amazon be opening up every box of shoes and testing them before shipping? Should Bass Pro be taking every fishing reel out of the box and casting them out before shipping? This sounds absurd.

[The Mastiff]

Many of us have had enough of a good relationship with a dealer that they will check the knife out before sending it. They earn our repeat business. Others have allowed knives to be bought, used, altered in some way then taken back then resold as new. Usually their volume is too high and their employees not able to discern whether they just sent out a fake that was returned in exchange for the new knife that went out originally.

Their are all types of knife sellers.