Spyderco Forums

OK, so I was playing with my Szabo folder last night, and decided to try the Spydy drop opening method.

After about a dozen openings I noticed some blood on the knife, upon further investigation I discovered I had two circular cuts to both my thumb & pointer finger, both the exact size of the Spydy hole.

That’s right. . .I got bitten by my Spydy hole.

I remember reading on a forum somewhere that the same thing happened to another chap and he posted a pic of his cuts which were substantial.

Another interesting thing is the cuts are on my thumb and finger exactly where I have built up calluses from flipper knives (first finger) and disengaging liner and frame locks & thumb stud flicking.

Any ideas on how to remedy this? I am thinking sandpaper but as my blade is black coated I don’t want to damage it.

Cheers,BN.

My Sage3 cut me a bit when new. I used a round diamond rod to take the bite out of it. I don't know what advice to give with a coated blade. I do not really like coated blades myself and don't have many. Hopefully someone will chime in with more help.

Whenever I get a new Taiwan knife I grab a brown sharpening rod and softly cut the edge of the hole down. Makes a huge difference

My Tuff has done the same thing to me. Used the brown sharpmaker rods to take the edge off a bit and it hasn't happened again

Hopefully they'll start finishing their holes a bit "softer" if enough people have this issue. Ouch!

I could be wrong but I think I remember reading somewhere that they do it on purpose to give the user even more grip when opening the knife

If you were pinching the hole and dropping the handle down to open, then the blade is spinning around on your fingers via the hole, so while the edges can be sharpish, you also added friction to the mix. Add in the weight of the knife in question, and you get a cut.

Holland wrote:I could be wrong but I think I remember reading somewhere that they do it on purpose to give the user even more grip when opening the knife

I think it's a good idea. Mine are mostly sharp also but not sharp enough to be dangerous in my use. I have an older knife with a round hole from another company and it have very rounded edges. It is rounded enough that it is actually hard to open with my thumb. The sharp edge holes in my Spyderco knives help to make them easier to open.

It is relatively easy to soften the edges if a person's individual use isn't compatible with the sharp edges.

To paraphrase Sal, sharp corners are a sign of good machining. It's easier to take away material than to add it. Besides as my edges confirm, sharp is easy to dull and dull is harder to sharpen.

Is there a burr on your Spyderhole somewhere?

I actually quite like what many consider "sharp" Spyderholes... but then again, either I have thicker skin on my fingers than some, or simply haven't received a knife that was sharp enough to cut..?

But on the other hand (not literally :p), speaking of fingernail material, I've lost quite a bit of that on skimmed finger flicks shaving a bunch away, haha. :D

I like the sharpness of the hole on my sharper-holed Spydercos, but I probably have thicker than average calluses. You build them up pretty good when you're climbing a few hundred feet in the air and you don't want to fall lol.

Curious if the blade coating process could have built up a "burr" of the coating material?

Szabo is Taichung, correct? So TiN coated? Eddy currents at the sharp corners of the hole attracting enough Ti to propagate a slight burr?

I have thick skin and like them crisper, but that sounds a bit too sharp. If you fix it, you'll have a visible ring. Do it, unless that woul bother you.

I myself prefer the older style Spydie holes without the sharper edge. I know it's been said that it adds more thumb traction so to speak. Which it certainly does. Just an observation here now, does it also eliminate one step in the manufacturing process? While a small step, over time, and over thousands of knives, it would save money I'd think. Or perhaps I'm being too cynical. :)

Invective wrote:My Tuff has done the same thing to me. Used the brown sharpmaker rods to take the edge off a bit and it hasn't happened again

This.

Especially on the Tuff, but a few other Taiwan made models as well.

Evil D,
That's exactly what has happened :-)
A combination of inertia, knife weight, a sharpish edge and skin.

I have re examined the knife and no burrs at all.
The hole doesn't feel excessively sharp either.

And truth be know, I actually perfer the sharpness of the hole for added traction.

Has anyone spydy dropped a Tatanka without getting bitten?

Cheers, BN

The Damascus steel Spyder hole has a bite to it - I just used the grey rods to smooth it out.

Had the same thing almost happen to me with my Persian. Some sharp corners on the hole!

My new ppt bit me the same way this weekend. I was just flicking it open downward with my middle finger and after a handful of flicks I looked down and saw a little cut on the top of my finger. Spydie bites again!

This is my biggest and only complaint about Spyderco folders. Older Spydies have the beveled hole. You can open it with thick gloves, oily, wet or frozen hands on all day long , so a sharp edge hole is BS. Not finishing the hole is a cost saving measure. The worst hole cut was from my Tuff, I had to glue my thumb.
Sal, please bring the beveled hole back. What cost would it add to the MSP, $1-$5?