Caly 3.5 impressions

[SolidState]

Generally, the grittiness comes from the edges of the lock bar. I pop the blade out, and burnish the corners of the bar that contact the metal liners and that always takes care of it. The caly series is my favorite other than the swick.

[VeloWeave]

Got my Caly3 CF yesterday and yes it is gritty. Do you guys think that CRK Flourinated Grease would be ok to use to lube the pivot area or would you use something more runny like Ballistol, those two are what I have on hand right now?

My initial impressions are that the fit is superb but the finish is lacking. The grittyness of the blade action is annoying and found several small flecks of carbon or steel hanging around places they should not be. I'm going to have to clean this one up around the pivot and probably take the blade off check things out, grease it and maybe burnish it a little. Gonna look inside once the blade is off to see if there are more flecks of carbon or steel in the pivot area. This is the 2nd backlock blade that I got from Spyderco that had a gritty pivot. Had to send one back here a few months ago and they sent me a whole new knife, apparently they couldn't fix it or maybe it was just quicker/cheaper to just send me a new one.

[Clip]

Got my Caly3 CF yesterday and yes it is gritty. Do you guys think that CRK Flourinated Grease would be ok to use to lube the pivot area or would you use something more runny like Ballistol, those two are what I have on hand right now?

My initial impressions are that the fit is superb but the finish is lacking. The grittyness of the blade action is annoying and found several small flecks of carbon or steel hanging around places they should not be. I'm going to have to clean this one up around the pivot and probably take the blade off check things out, grease it and maybe burnish it a little. Gonna look inside once the blade is off to see if there are more flecks of carbon or steel in the pivot area. This is the 2nd backlock blade that I got from Spyderco that had a gritty pivot. Had to send one back here a few months ago and they sent me a whole new knife, apparently they couldn't fix it or maybe it was just quicker/cheaper to just send me a new one.

Have you tried washing it out? If not, you really should. Gritty feeling is a common condition with these Calys. My new SB 3.5 still had swarf in between the handles when I received it, but a wash took care of everything. You should wash with detergent, dry with compressed air, and lubricate with Ballistol or something that will penetrate into the pivot. Not saying you're incapable of taking the knife apart and putting it back together correctly, but I believe you stand the chance to do more harm than good taking it apart when it seems like a good wash and lube takes care of almost all problems with the Caly.

[VeloWeave]

Have you tried washing it out? If not, you really should. Gritty feeling is a common condition with these Calys. My new SB 3.5 still had swarf in between the handles when I received it, but a wash took care of everything. You should wash with detergent, dry with compressed air, and lubricate with Ballistol or something that will penetrate into the pivot. Not saying you're incapable of taking the knife apart and putting it back together correctly, but I believe you stand the chance to do more harm than good taking it apart when it seems like a good wash and lube takes care of almost all problems with the Caly.

Clip, thanks. Between my last post and your reply I went ahead and washed it out with some warm water and dishwashing liquid then flushed it with clean water. Blew it out with some compressed air and then ran over it with my wife's hair dryer under medium heat to evaporate any leftover water. It is smoother and less gritty, but not up to my standards (which the Chaparral set) for smoothness. I'll try adding some Ballistol like you said in lieu of taking it apart and see how that works out. I'll then come back and finish this post....

...(1 hour later) Alright I'm back. Added a few drops of Ballistol into the pivot area and also a small drop onto the tang where it bumps up against the lockbar because that was sticky and I always got a click when I depressed the lockbar to unlock the blade. The results are in and I gotta tell you, it worked! The grittyness is all gone, the action is smoother, not quite as good as Chaparral but close, and the click sound is now almost gone when depressing the lockbar. I'm going to let the Ballistol dry thoroughly and soak into the steel for the rest of the day before putting it back into my pocket.

[xceptnl]

Clip, thanks. Between my last post and your reply I went ahead and washed it out with some warm water and dishwashing liquid then flushed it with clean water. Blew it out with some compressed air and then ran over it with my wife's hair dryer under medium heat to evaporate any leftover water. It is smoother and less gritty, but not up to my standards (which the Chaparral set) for smoothness. I'll try adding some Ballistol like you said in lieu of taking it apart and see how that works out. I'll then come back and finish this post....

...(1 hour later) Alright I'm back. Added a few drops of Ballistol into the pivot area and also a small drop onto the tang where it bumps up against the lockbar because that was sticky and I always got a click when I depressed the lockbar to unlock the blade. The results are in and I gotta tell you, it worked! The grittyness is all gone, the action is smoother, not quite as good as Chaparral but close, and the click sound is now almost gone when depressing the lockbar. I'm going to let the Ballistol dry thoroughly and soak into the steel for the rest of the day before putting it back into my pocket.

Your results are fairly common. They will continue to become smoother with use. The action is as smooth as any other knife except maybe the BBL. I actially like that sticky click you get when you depress the lockbar, but it too goes away with use. Enjoy

[Orangeneck]

I have 4 caly's and none showed any signs of grittiness. However, I routinely flush the pivot of every new knife with several blasts from a can of Hoppes dry MoS2 lube. The liquid carrier may flush out any grit before I start playing with my new toy(s).

[MarcusH]

I'm confused. Is this "3.5" knife that everyone is referring to called a Caly or a Calypso? At 1st, I thought people were using "Caly" for short, but now I'm not sure.

Here are some examples of all members of the Calypso/Caly-family:
Calypso
Caly 3.5
Caly 3
Calypso jr.

[DougC-3]

My Caly 3.5 CF ZDP-189 was my second Spyderco, and my first post to this forum was very similar to your first in this thread. I was reluctant to wash it out with water as everybody advised, partly because I was thinking of sending it back to the dealer. Finally my curiosity overcame me and I took it apart like you did, cleaned it out carefully and lubed it, and it's been one of my smoothest operating knives ever since. After cleaning and reassembling, I held the open knife level and depressed the lock really completely to see how smoothly the blade would swing down by gravity alone. It fell so quickly and smoothly that it nicked my finger :)

I wasn't too fond of the slick CF at first, but the extra thinness of it somehow goes well with the handle shape to make it grip even more comfortably.

About the Caly 3 -- I wanted some super blue steel but wasn't crazy about light gray G-10 and was skeptical about the shorter blade, but bought it anyway -- now it's been my favorite EDC ever since I got it, and I use it for food prep and fruit peeling all the time, first to see how it affected the patina, and later because it's just very handy to use. It's great for terminating tomatoes, eradicating radishes, and maiming mangoes :spyder: , all of which make it patinate right before your eyes, especially the tomatoes, but the mangoes have left it with a smooth, even patina over time.

[VeloWeave]

Your results are fairly common. They will continue to become smoother with use. The action is as smooth as any other knife except maybe the BBL. I actially like that sticky click you get when you depress the lockbar, but it too goes away with use. Enjoy

It has gotten smoother with use. The Ballistol should have bonded well by now with the steel and it is as smooth as any knife I have, including Sebenza. Caly3 CF is going to become a favorite of mine. Ergos are superb, blade steel is amazing. ZDP-189 cuts like nothing else I have used, it just shreds through stuff like butter.

[Holland]

very nice photo marcus!

[kloubik]

I bought my Caly 3.5 about a months ago. Best Spyderco EDC I have owned. Very impressed with the knife. I would like to get Caly 3 for comparison and because some places around my area have 3" blade restriction but from pictures Caly 3.5 seems more balanced and fits my hand like a glove.

I too got the knife with gritty action. It was not very smooth when I got it and it actually got worse after a week. I decided to take the knife apart and was not happy with what I found. Unfortunately I did not take any picture but I found a review on another site with virtually same issue. Hope I can post a picture from the review for illustration. I paid more for my Caly 3.5 than for a Para 2 which is slightly disappointing comparing the finish of these two and it seems like quite some people complain about the grittiness. Anyway, it is easy to fix and overall it is IMHO one of the best Spyderco knives I have handled or EDCed.

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source: please see the link

[DougC-3]

Welcome to the forum, Kloubik :)
I've read in other threads that Spyderco has gotten feedback about this some time back and has taken steps to deal with it. I believe the review where you got the photo was dated Dec 2011, if I'm reading the UK date correctly. Unfortunately it can take a long time for all these items to trickle through the pipeline. And of course, if anybody is unable to or prefers not to deal with it themselves, Spyderco has a great warranty and would be happy to rectify the situation, but disassembly would of course void the warranty :D

[D1omedes]

I have a question:

For those of you who have disassembled the Caly 3.5 (or 3), do you run into any issues when putting it back together? Do you simply depress the lockbar and pop the blade back in or is there some finesse work that is required?

[DougC-3]

I have a question:

For those of you who have disassembled the Caly 3.5 (or 3), do you run into any issues when putting it back together? Do you simply depress the lockbar and pop the blade back in or is there some finesse work that is required?

I thought it was very easy, once I noticed that the pivot had a flat area on one side which had to go next to the flat area on the side of the hole it went into. And I was surprised at how easy it was to adjust. I just tightened it and it seemed perfect -- just luck I guess.