native frn question

[Allen R.]

If my native with pinned construction develops blade play is there anything spyderco can do to fix this or is the knife just shot? The native is my favorite edc, but i can not stand blade play what so ever. I will not carry a knife with any (maybe a little ocd). Recently i put the native on drawer duty because i was afraid it would develop blade play. The obvious answer is buy the native 5 and be happy,but i love my frn 1 and want to use it, so can/will spyderco fix it if it does eventually develop this blade play?

[Zenith]

Here is the thing. Many backlocks have blade play due to one key thing. The holes that the pins go through are slightly larger then the pins. So there is some give. This is not blade play in the regard that it is bad, just part of the design. Some will have blade play, others won't. If you want no play, price will be increased as closer tolerences are required. Will it affect the safety or function, no. Do a search on spyderco back lock play.

[Blerv]

Depends. Vertical play is found on lockbacks to a small degree. Lateral play can be tweaked out of a folder usually with steel liners amd a tight pivot. Since the Native FRN doesn't have these a cautious user can sometime tap the rivet lightly to make the action tighter...sadly you can also mess it up making it too tight.

At the price of a FRN c41 I would just buy an extra and wear them out. Pinned knives hold up great tho. Unless your beating it chances are it will stay tight.

[Allen R.]

the hardest use my knives will see is cutting up boxes jus to see how the edge holds up but thats rare. It may open a envelope or 2 or maybe cut a zip tie open a box etc... I have what i call whipping boy knives, i watched a certain dvd and purchased a few products from a different knife company and if i have a task that may damage the knife i use the whipping boys...

[.357 mag]

My rescue is pinned and I've had it for 6 months and there is no blade play. I also have a dyad and a harpy I've had for 15 years and don't have bladeplay.

[Onionman]

I had an old native I bought used on ebay, and the lateral blade play was terrible. On the advice of a friend, I put the knife on smooth concrete and tapped the pin lightly with a hammer. Dented the pin a bit, but it worked. You have to be careful though and tap lightly or the pin will go in too far and the blade will be very tight and difficult to open. I would not advise doing this unless it is a heavy user and cannot be returned for warranty repair.

[jackknifeh]

If my native with pinned construction develops blade play is there anything spyderco can do to fix this or is the knife just shot? The native is my favorite edc, but i can not stand blade play what so ever. I will not carry a knife with any (maybe a little ocd). Recently i put the native on drawer duty because i was afraid it would develop blade play. The obvious answer is buy the native 5 and be happy,but i love my frn 1 and want to use it, so can/will spyderco fix it if it does eventually develop this blade play?

You have to use the knife. If it is in your drawer the money is wasted. If it develops blade play (which I won't put up with either) beyond what you are happy with the money is also gone. Either way the money is gone. On the other hand I believe it would take lots of twisting to develop blade play. Also, I think Spyderco coule fix it even if they had to take it apart and put a new rivit in it. I have one and haven't had any trouble so far but I don't carry it all that often. I really do like the knife though.

Jack

[Allen R.]

thanks jack point taken im getting it back out , what the **** its only 50 bucks and if it does break, thatll jus be excuse #296 to wife of why i need a new knife

[The Deacon]

Vertical play - on midlocks it's either there, or it's not. If it is, there's no cure. If it's not, the chances of it developing in a knife that's not abused are remote.

Side to side play - can develop on riveted knives over time. Can be cured by gently peening the rivet. I can't emphasize gently enough. Patience and a light hand will remove it, too much brute force will make the knife difficult or impossible to open and close.

[jackknifeh]

Vertical play - on midlocks it's either there, or it's not. If it is, there's no cure. If it's not, the chances of it developing in a knife that's not abused are remote.

Side to side play - can develop on riveted knives over time. Can be cured by gently peening the rivet. I can't emphasize gently enough. Patience and a light hand will remove it, too much brute force will make the knife difficult or impossible to open and close.

I understand that "normal" vertical play in lockbacks occurs only when putting significant force on the edge whan cutting and you usually have to look for it or it will go unnoticed. But, if you lock the blade and there is play just buy using your fingers and no pressure that is not normal or acceptable.

Is my understanding correct? I also understand the post on the blade tang of the Chaparral is suppose to eliminate this vertical play.

Jack

[The Deacon]

I understand that "normal" vertical play in lockbacks occurs only when putting significant force on the edge whan cutting and you usually have to look for it or it will go unnoticed. But, if you lock the blade and there is play just buy using your fingers and no pressure that is not normal or acceptable.

Is my understanding correct? I also understand the post on the blade tang of the Chaparral is suppose to eliminate this vertical play.

Jack

Yes Jack, but not every midlock has that play. I can tell you for a fact that it's rare in Kiwis. Out of my 100+ only a handful have it. But even in models where it's fairly common, not every specimen will have it. Bottom line is, that while it's not abnormal, it's not universal either.

[jackknifeh]

Yes Jack, but not every midlock has that play. I can tell you for a fact that it's rare in Kiwis. Out of my 100+ only a handful have it. But even in models where it's fairly common, not every specimen will have it. Bottom line is, that while it's not abnormal, it's not universal either.

That's good to know. I thought my midlock knives with no vertical play were broken. :) I was going to send them in for repair. :D Just kidding. In fact, I haven't noticed this play in my knives. I haven't looked closely though. I figure if it doesn't stand out, why worry about it. I've only read about it and understand why it would be a characteristic of the lock type.

Jack

[Allen R.]

Hey deacon, i viewed your website yesterday and i am very impressed and a little jealous :D . What would you say is your rarest spydie,and or most prized spydie??

[The Deacon]

Hey deacon, i viewed your website yesterday and i am very impressed and a little jealous :D . What would you say is your rarest spydie,and or most prized spydie??

Really tough call, as I have a few which were gifts from Sal that are both rare and cherished. But, if I had to choose, I'd say this one as it is the most elegant example of my favorite large folder and, according to Sal, only one other exists.

[Allen R.]

Wow! Now thats knife-porn

[Blerv]

I had a Delica once passed down from my bro. It was dinged up and had some play, prob from reassembly. I found that I actually used it like a tool instead of a holy grail. Yard work, scraping, etc. Not a bad thing to reclassify things as they age, we do it to ourselves :p .

[fast.ed]

Blade play: Sent one back recently to spyderco 1st class mail, cost $1.40 postage. They not only fixed it but polished all the scratches and nicks out of the blade. Darn
good deal for the cost. Had another knife to carry while my baby was being fixed up.

[pmbspyder]

my native was my second spydie (got it about 5 years ago). i've used and abused it (short of using the blade to pry) and it has 0 blade play. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I think it's one of spyderco's most well put together and toughest frn lockback knives.

WORST case scenario is over time it develops a little play and you tap the pin, or send it back for spyderco to do it. Either way, the thing is a workhorse and you should not hesitate to put it to use. Enjoy!

[Deal4]

Yeah, yeah, I know this is an old thread, but it's really good to hear all the good things about the FRN Native as I have one on the way! Nice to know the pinned construction doesn't seem to be a problem.
Also good to hear that Spyderco will fix and clean a knife if it ever does develop a problem!

[jackknifeh]

Yeah, yeah, I know this is an old thread, but it's really good to hear all the good things about the FRN Native as I have one on the way! Nice to know the pinned construction doesn't seem to be a problem.
Also good to hear that Spyderco will fix and clean a knife if it ever does develop a problem!

The Native is definately a nice knife. Some people may think it looks kind of "fightish" because the blade grind is different than most standard knives. Heck with those people. :) About the pinned pivot. I've had a few pinned Spyderco knives and had zero problems with them as far as developing blade play or performance. It is surprising to me they can put so many together with a machine stamping the pin closed with so much consistancy. I guess machines can be set up for consistancy though. I prefer a screw only because I like to be able to adjust or disassemble the knife (IF NECESSARY). Other than that the pinned pivot is no reason to not buy a knife IMO. I'm sure you will love yours. The S30V steel is my favorite go-to steel. I'm very happy Spyderco uses it as much as they do. I'm sure many will agree that VG-10 is another go-to favorite. Great perfromance from these two at a good price vs performance ratio IMO. If you absolutely need better edge retention than these two provide you have some pretty demanding cutting needs I think.

I'm sure you will love the Native (old thread or not :) ) and feel secure in knowing Spyderco will take care of any problem in the off chance something is wrong.

Jack