Is there suoopose to be a Southard break-in period?

[PatCatMan]

Just got my Southard and the F&F are great.
Seems to be smooth action for the most part - but blade will only fully deploy and lock-up 2 out of 3 times unless I give it a firm push/flip or whatever you want to call it.
Seems that the frame lock is pretty tight and is really tight after the what I would call the little detent ball.
If I push the frame lock as far as I can to fold the knife - the next time generally is very easy deploy - but quickly goes back to the same issue.

I ask this because my friend who has a Southard, his is like butter every time with very little effort needed. It doesn't seem to have the same pressure on the frame lock riding on the blade as mine - and he never recalled the knife being any different. But he also deploys with a little flick of the wrist.

No noise / or grit -just very tight at the end of deployment that results in the knife not opening every time.

Will this loosen up over time?

This is the most I have ever paid for a Spydie - as many others of you - and just want it right.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pat

[Minibear453]

It may be overtightened in the pivot. Well not really over tightened, but just too tight. I'd loosen up that screw a bit and see if it helps. If it's increasingly tight after the detent ball is off, that may just be because of the tightness, and that once the ball's gone, you lose some of the cushion the blade was riding on.

[Evil D]

All things with moving parts will loosen up over time. I would leave the pivot alone and let it happen naturally. The knives I've gotten that were "just right" out of the box eventually developed side to side play once they break in, while the ones that seemed over tightened break into that just right feeling. This knife in particular has a bearing pivot so I would expect it to break in pretty fast.

[jabba359]

Upon first receiving mine, it took some effort to open as well, fully opening and locking maybe two out of every three times. After a few weeks of use and flipping it open and close a bunch, however, it started to get easier and seems to be in a very nice place now. I'd give yours a bit more time before trying to adjust anything.

[sharpguitarist]

Hey Pat,
I wouldn't adjust anything yet.
Flip the knife open repeatedly as your watching tv, and make sure your not putting any pressure on the lock bar.
Depending on your grip, if your fingers are resting on the bottom of the frame as you try to deploy the blade, it could be causing extra friction at the detent ball.
Try loosening your grip a little, or reposition your fingers on the frame.
Also, try applying a tiny bit of lube on the detent ball, and work it in.
I'm sure with a little time, it will get smoother.
Good luck!
Later,
Don

[paladin]

Just got mine also Pat...mine's also a little tough to break the detent at the beginning of opening making the Spyderhole pretty much nonfunctional, but that's fine with me cause I don't want it opening in my pocket....mine will not lock up sometimes at the end of the cycle either unless you have "flipped" it with a good deal of index finger snap or either deploy a little wrist action...the works do seem a bit tight at the beginning & end of the cycle as I fiddle with mine during this posting...OTOH every flipper I own is pretty much the same...You got some great advice so far, especially from Don...I think what you have is a fine knife with very precise tolerances which takes a short period to break in to reach that optimal level of sweet buttery goodness you crave. Worst case scenario, you will have to send it back in to the best Warranty & Repair crew in the world...either way, life is good...right now I would leave factory default settings and cycle it many many times, cheers!

[sharpguitarist]

Hey paladin,
When I first got my Southard, opening with the spyder hole seemed very difficult.
Then I realized that when trying, my index finger was touching the flipper.
Once I learned to keep my finger away from the flipper, this deployment method became as easy as with any other spydie.
Hope this helps.
Later,
Don

[rycen]

It sounds like it needs to break in some but it also could be your technique. Have a look at this video and see if that helps any also make sure your fingers are off the frame lock when you're holding it as that will cause more tension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGfojjfsNgk

[Tally-ho]

but blade will only fully deploy and lock-up 2 out of 3 times unless I give it a firm push/flip or whatever you want to call it.

It depends how you grab the flipper to deploy it. I don't find the video in which someone explained that the knife will deploy better if you put your finger at the top of the flipper than behind the filpper.

Like this:



Not like this:

[Onionman]

My Southard opened really smooth right out of the box. Oil the pivot or loosen the pivot screw slightly. If that doesn't work after using it regularly for a few days, you may want to consider emailing Spyderco and see what they think.

[paladin]

Hey paladin,
When I first got my Southard, opening with the spyder hole seemed very difficult.
Then I realized that when trying, my index finger was touching the flipper.
Once I learned to keep my finger away from the flipper, this deployment method became as easy as with any other spydie.
Hope this helps.
Later,
Don

Nope Don, even then it takes a overly hard to control thumb push to break the detent-- needless to say, not a good combo with a scary sharp edge millimeters from your thumb...but I love my Southard regardless & life's good...
HARD opening detent > FLOPPY opening detent, IMHO...thanks brother

[paladin]

[quote="Tally-ho"]It depends how you grab the flipper to deploy it. I don't find the video in which someone explained that the knife will deploy better if you put your finger at the top of the flipper than behind the filpper.

You are spot on Tally, with all flippers I own it's a leverage + inertia combo to get that opening motion just right and the purchase you've illustrated in your pics is exactly how I do it!...a compact motion similar to a crisp, finger snapping-like motion works for me....pip, pip, cheerio!

[Blerv]

Have you run water and oil through it? Sometimes manufacturing grit is adding resistance.

[PatCatMan]

Water and oil helped alot! Thanks Blerv
Funny - I never thought of running my new knife under water - but it did help.