Spyderco Forums

I've had my Dodo for a month or so and I'm quite happy with it. It's been my EDC most of the time since I bought it. It's an amazing cutter.

I managed to break the screw that holds the clip on by torquing it too hard (my fault) but otherwise has been fine. I treat my knives well.

BUT

Today I was playing with it and pushed on the spine while in the open (locked position) and found that I can easily close it without touching the lock. I can close it as if it were a stiff slipjoint knife.

Anyone else have this problem? Basically the lock is useless.

I'll have to call Spyderco tomorrow and send it in. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

Oh no! :eek: I'm sorry to hear your Dodo has this problem, I believe that some of the earlier ones where prone to do this. When was yours made? There is a two letter code on the box that will tell you this (example AE= Jan. 2005) No worries though, I'm sure spyderco will make it right :)

I've got a couple of Dodos and haven't had any problem with the ball lock. I just checked the box of the one I carry and it appears it was made in March '04. I also have one that was made in Sept. 03. The 03 hasn't been carried. Being relatively new to the Sypderco bug, I'm not sure when the Dodo was first produced. When were the early ones produced that may have had the lock problem? Would my 03 one be early?

:spyder: my blue dodo had this problem, send it in and they'll fix it. Don't delay as the knife is discontinued which means replacement parts may be limited. :spyder:

I had this problem with mine, if I pushed on the spine of the blade, the ball would slowly retract, and the lock would fail. Ironically enough, after some use, it disappeared, so I don't know what caused it.

Send it in, while the parts are available.

I remember reading that the older torx screws (clip screw included) had the torx indentation (notch) cut out too deep, and it affected the strength of the screws. That could be why yours broke, not "over-torquing". I believe the Dodo was one of the models affected by these screws. Good luck!

Best wishes,
Sundown

I have checked my Dodos and I don't seem to have any problem with lock failure. I have, however, been thinking about this thread and the viability of the ball lock. The ball lock seem to be a solid concept. As to those that have mentioned that the ball should slide all the way forward in the slot formed by the tang and anvil, I disagree. (This argument has been made in other threads about the ball lock...I realized after posting the note that it has not really been discussed in this tread -- so I'm adding this sentence as an edit). It seems that the ball moving forward this far would create two problems. First, it would be difficult to disengage the the lock. Second, if the ball slid all the way forward it seems to me that the lock would actually be less strong and more likely to fail. With the ball all the way forward you are creating more of a pivot point for the blade to rotate around. It seems to me that the ball should be down near the end of the tang in order to create the most resistance against blade closure. If my thinking is correct, then all you need is for the ball to slide forward enough for the mid-point of the ball to be just above the end of the blade tang.

If, however, the ball doesn't slide just beyond it's midpoint in relation to the tang, then it is certainly likely that the lock could fail. I have decided to not worry about the problem since I haven't experienced the failure. If I do then I plan to take emery cloth and polish the inside of the tang every so little to allow the ball to slide just a bit deeper into the slot.

I do love my Dodos and the black PE that I have rides in my pocket more than anything else these days.

If my thinking is faulty, please set me straight. :)

:spyder: The bottom line is Spyderco can fix it but you've got to get the knife to them for it to happen. To the post office you go! Scamper! :spyder:

Luckily my dodo is fine. I did have a problem with my polliwog though.

The ball wasn't sliding into the notch in the blade tang. A simple task for my leatherman... :D

I filed a bit of the steel away from the inside of the notch, just enogh that the ball rools a few millimeters into the blade tang notch. 110% fixed.