my Caspian Salt...

[Saeble]

...finally got here after nine months.

No fault of Spyderco. I'm in Australia and sadly, they are having a crackdown on knives and the Caspian Salt looks too much like what the Gov seem to think a 'fighting knife' looks like. Only a few Caspians made it into the country before they went nuts. Hence it took me a long time to source it.

Its a beautiful and very functional blade. I'm looking forward to my first dive in Indonesia with it very shortly.

I do have one gripe though. Perhaps I got unlucky but the sheath is a poor fit. It comes out quickly with a minimum of fuss but I cannot safely re-sheath it one handed, or blind or when not looking. Far as I'm concerned, that's a prerequisite for a dive knife. All it would take would be for me to get caught up in something close to a silty bottom, or have my mask swept off to find me in serious trouble.

The last few millmetres of travel into the sheath are only achieved with a great deal of force and the locking button is very reluctant to pop into place.
I've sat at my desk reading whilst cycling the knife in and out of the sheath, making a little pile of dusty shavings from inside the sheath, hoping that it was just stiff and close from the factory and a little 'running in' would fix the problem. No dice. I'm wondering if the knife has been ground just a little outside spec or something. Sadly, thats left some gentle marking on the knife, so I doubt a warranty claim is possible. I'd say its also a marginal claim at best in the first place. I may be forced to make my own sheath.

Has anyone else had any trouble with a sticky/poor fitting sheath ? Was it designed more for the blunt tip version ?

# on the box is : FB21PSBK

[StSumwhere]

I too have the Caspian with pointed tip and sometimes when I insert the knife into the sheath it doesn't fully line up with the button. However, just a wiggle and it 'pops' right into place.

As my wife would say "try a lighter touch" and see if it works for you. It did for me :D

Cheers,
Hector

By the way, the day after my first dive with the knife I found rust on the blade. It was over the H1 and Spyder logo and I was really bummed out until someone on this forum pointed out it likely came from the machine tool used to engrave the logos and not from the knife itself. I scraped it with my thumb nail and off came the rust!! I dove with the Caspian all summer long and it has yet to be rinsed off - NO RUST!! :eek: Amazing :eek:

[JD Spydo]

This Caspian SALT is truly making me very homesick for a re-introduction of a new, revamped CATCHERMAN model. With this new gem being introduced how wonderfully timely that would be.

[clovisc]

how about a caspian in a more pronounced hawkbill shape, with a pointy tip... JD? JD?? :D :D :D

the caspian is a great, great platform, IMHO.

i fillet enough fish to know better than to try to use a folder... cleaning fish gunk out of a folder is a pain... and it's next to impossible to get all of the smell out, especially from a stinky salmon! even with a new folding fillet knife on the market, i'm gonna stick to my rock salt... does the best job handling the fish i catch... :D

[Saeble]

I wish it was just a case of 'a lighter touch', its not an alignment issue, it simply gets way too tight for the last 3-5mm of travel into the sheath, like the end of the sheath is pressed up hard against the blade. As I said, I think it's a case of a bad sheath moulding or the knife has been ground just a little bit too thick or out of spec to fit the sheath properly.

Not really sure which way to tackle the problem. I'm half tempted to drill or dremel out the last few millmetres of the sheath on the back and see if that fixes it.

Any better ideas ? Would Spyderco send me another sheath if I asked ?

[tonydahose]

I wish it was just a case of 'a lighter touch', its not an alignment issue, it simply gets way too tight for the last 3-5mm of travel into the sheath, like the end of the sheath is pressed up hard against the blade. As I said, I think it's a case of a bad sheath moulding or the knife has been ground just a little bit too thick or out of spec to fit the sheath properly.

Not really sure which way to tackle the problem. I'm half tempted to drill or dremel out the last few millmetres of the sheath on the back and see if that fixes it.

Any better ideas ? Would Spyderco send me another sheath if I asked ?

try contacting them..i am sure they will try to make it right...

http://spyderco.com/contact/contact.php

[StSumwhere]

... its not an alignment issue, it simply gets way too tight for the last 3-5mm of travel into the sheath, like the end of the sheath is pressed up hard against the blade. As I said, I think it's a case of a bad sheath moulding or the knife has been ground just a little bit too thick or out of spec to fit the sheath properly.

Have you tried shining a light inside the sheath to see if there's an obstruction (such as a piece of paper or styrofoam)? Given Spyderco's track record of quality, I can't imagine one sheath would be molded improperly or one blade ground that far out of spec.

However, if you feel that something's not quite right with your setup, you're probably right. From your original post I understand why you'd be hesitant to return the knife to the factory. Wish I had a definitive answer for you.

[JD Spydo]

how about a caspian in a more pronounced hawkbill shape, with a pointy tip... JD? JD?? :D :D :D

the caspian is a great, great platform, IMHO.

i fillet enough fish to know better than to try to use a folder... cleaning fish gunk out of a folder is a pain... and it's next to impossible to get all of the smell out, especially from a stinky salmon! even with a new folding fillet knife on the market, i'm gonna stick to my rock salt... does the best job handling the fish i catch... :D

Hey Clovisc I'm up for that idea :) But I still want my Catcherman back in a different blade steel, Yellow handle, possibly a titanium coating on the blade similar to what they coat Boker's kitchen knives with to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Also I want a really nice sheath for the Catcherman as well. OK! OK! I know it's a folder but as long of a folder as it is I truly think it would be more sheeple and LEO friendly with a nice sheath. Because here in Missouri I can carry almost anything as long as it is in a sheath where they can see it exposed

I am a bit behind because of my 7 month absence from Spyderville but this Caspian Salt will be in my work gear footlocker by February at the latest. It's truly a "GOT TO HAVE" blade for sure. Oh how the Caspian Salt and a revamped Catcherman would be so apropos when next spring's fishing season starts

[slice22358]

JD and his Catcherman :rolleyes: