Bob Lum Tanto Sprint question

[trackstar55]

I just received my Bob Lum Tanto Sprint with the gray G10 scales. The knife feels so great in my hand and the liner lock is so very solid. I am very impressed with this knife.

Once issue I have with it though is that I am not a fan of the gray G10. I am also not fond of the red dot on one side of the G10 that will not come off. I used soapy water with a toothbrush and it won't come off.

I know I could probably send it in, but it is so small, yet it bothers me so much.

I would actually prefer if the handles were black instead of gray. I don't think Spyderco can do that, so is there another option to get black scales for it?

P.S. this is one of the most solid liner locking knives I have ever owned. I am VERY impressed with the overall feel of this knife.

[chuck_roxas45]

Maybe you can RIT dye the scales. There are lots of threads here where folks have dyed their scales.

[bh49]

Cannot tell you anything about RIT dye, but you can find many knifemakers, who can replace scales. Bladeforums is a good place to find them.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forum ... ion-Forums
Phillip Dobson replaced micarta scales on my Persian with wood and I am happy with his job.

[stvsctt]

Is this a red mark from the red box? golden spydercos come unwrapped in box, taiwan made come sealed in plastic, japan comes in bubblewrap, my g10 foilage green UKPK knives had red marks from the box on the handles, try WD40 or zippo petrol.

[trackstar55]

It came in bubble wrap from Seki City, Japan...I will try the WD40 and let you know.

[trackstar55]

here is a pic

Not sure if I am making a big deal about this or not. It kinda bothers me, but I dunno because it is so well made. This is one of the finest quality folders I have ever owned.

What about this mark and resell value if I ever choose to sell it?

Warm soapy water, WD-40, and just using friction from my thumb rubbing it over andover again has done nothing. The spot is just as prominent and has not faded.

[Spider bite]

Sorry to see this. You think thats bad you should see mine.... Some big blueish spot and also a missing "weave" through the G-10. It looks like a thread missing out of fabric would with a void or space right down the G-10 Wierd!?

[GoMeR]

My Lum tanto sprint has red in the handles too, I posted a pic in another thread, I will add it here, mine are red fibers inside the g10. I am planning to send it in to Golden, but I have been a tad busy.



There's a couple up by the pivot that look similar to what is on your Lum, they are not as pronounced as the ones in the picture I posted.

[trackstar55]

Its a shame because the knife is so wonderful. I mean the quality, fit, and overall feel is amazing to me. Its just that blemish on the G10 that baffles me.

What causes these marks? I have one on my Rock Lobster as well, but its a large black one near the pivot pin.

Again, amazing fit/feel, but the blemish is killing me :D

[freeman7]

Mine has what looks like a dirty smudge near the cutout for the linerlock. I'm just not going to worry about it.

[Tdog]

I guess we are all looking for perfection in a new knife, however that doesn't always seem to happen. I got a ZDP Delica that had a very slight imperfection (nick) on the spine of the blade. Not to worry, IMO overall Spyderco does a great job in quality control of a production knife. I don't remember having a "bad" fit and finish on a spyderco knife.....and they are tough! Love my Aqua's (and others) :)

[spydusse]

Why isn't zdp being used on anything besides frn blades nowadays!?I would of bought this lum if it was zdp .I feel it is far superior to vg10 in wear resistance,toughness I don't factor much in folders.also,if your buying a blade in this price range I would think nine times out of ten you could sharpen zdp.

[Blerv]

Zdp also would have driven the price up substantially. Grinding the tanto in vg10 is also easier. For a traditionally "tough" tip there are prob other steels but vg10 is a good happy medium.

To the OP: you might try matching it with model paint just to take the red out. Obviously something reversible and subtle. As with touch-up paint or makeup a little goes a long ways.

[WalzAaronFFG]

Sorry to hear it. The tip on mine is a little funky. I made a thread about it and everyone seemed to think it wasn't going to be an issue for collectors in the secondary market down the road, so IDK how a stain on the G-10 would affect the resale price later on.

Apparently, the handgrind has some variances so that is normal from what I heard, but the g-10 may be different in terms of its impact on resale price. I'm sure some of the more experienced sprint owners could tell you.

This is my first sprint so I have no idea how they would handle exchanges or what would be considered grounds for an exchange. Seems like there isn't much stock to be swapping with customers since it is a limited run.

I decided to just keep mine. Reselling is one of those things I never plan on, but I like to know that the knife will be sale-able if I need the cash.

[Undertow82]

I don't know about the red dot but I just posted a thread about how to clean G10. I use the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers on my lighter colored G10 and it works like "magic."

It's the best/easiest thing I've found to clean G10 yet. Now I don't worry as much about using my lighter colored Spydies because I know I can clean them with ease whenever I need to.

[The Deacon]

Really depends on the cause. G-10 is non-porous, so if it's a stain there's bound to be something (alcohol, WD-40, Mr Clean, Goo Gone, etc) that will remove it and solve the problem. If it's red fibers of some sort that are actually embedded in the resin or the fiberglass cloth. then the only choices are live with it, return it, or dye the handle a darker color.

[Blerv]

A blemish here or there will not impact sprint value. Heck, it wont even impact normal run value once discontinued a while.

Look up past sprint and disco models, particularly ones desired like the Lum Tanto. I guarantee* you won't see anything about minor burrs and uncentered blades. There aren't that many to nit-pick .

Edit: "almost guarantee". Anything can happen and I'm not reimbursing anyone. :p

[Spider bite]

I just got my 2nd Lum yesterday from Knife Center and I will be returning it to them. It came with weakest blade retention on any liner lock I have picked up also blade touching one of the liners closed also the lock engaging over half way of the blade tang. Just not what I am used to in a Spyderco. :confused: