Spyderco Forums

Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted here (possibly years), but i just picked up a new Spyderco Para 3. The first thing I noticed with this knife is that the lock release tab sort of sticks sometimes. Could just be that the knife is so new that it needs to break in. But I've never noticed this with any of my many PM2's. Upon closer inspection I noticed it might possibly have a defect on the blade where the compression lock engages.The part of the blade I'm talking about sits in the inner pivot and its the tapered grind where the locking tab engages. Instead of being a smooth grind/ramp all the way up, It has an indention/cut out about a quarter of the way up and is not a smooth transition for the locking tab. I can see where this might inhibit the locking tab to fully engage with normal wear and tear over time. I own 9 Paramilitary 2's, and none of them are like this. Can any other Para 3 owner chime in here and tell me if this is normal or not?

Could be a defect. Mine is one continuous surface all the way across. As for the lock stick, mine has a slight stick as well.

That looks defective. There is a detent ball ramp on my Para 3, but the rest of the blade tang is smooth, where as yours has a little "step". I would recommend replacing your Para 3, or W and R.

Mine does not look like that.

Something is defintly wrong. This is what mine looks like, defintly not indented or cut out like yours..

I've noticed a little bit of lock stick in mine as well sometimes, but its smooth. It doesn't look like that, that doesn't look right. I'd also suggest contacting and sending it to Spyderco.

Thanks everyone. That's kind of what i thought. I own many PM2's and none of them have this. The knife is otherwise very smooth. But my concern is that over time, this step defect might hinder the locking tab to fully engage once it starts to wear.

So should i send this back to the place of purchase (knivesplus) seeming I only just received this knife today. Or should i contact Spyderco directly and send i back there?

Looks like a defect to me too, mine is nice and smooth, I did have a little lock stick at first but its completely gone now. My pivot was a little tight too but that has broken in nicely too. I would send that one back for sure.

ChaoticMayhem65 wrote:Thanks everyone. That's kind of what i thought. I own many PM2's and none of them have this. The knife is otherwise very smooth. But my concern is that over time, this step defect might hinder the locking tab to fully engage once it starts to wear.

So should i send this back to the place of purchase (knivesplus) seeming I only just received this knife today. Or should i contact Spyderco directly and send i back there?

If there's no hassle with exchanging it at the place of purchase I'd do that. It might not be a bad thing to call them and ask to see if they could hand pick one for you to exchange.

If you send it to Spyderco you'll pay the same amount for shipping and last week they said turnaround time was over three weeks to get a knife back from them.

That's not right. Contact Spyderco via phone and send it in. They'll replace the blade or the knife for you.

Seriously. That is not normal. If you don't want to send it to Spyderco send it back to the dealer you bought it from and let them send it back. That would probably be the quickest way to get a good knife.

ChaoticMayhem65 wrote:Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted here (possibly years), but i just picked up a new Spyderco Para 3. The first thing I noticed with this knife is that the lock release tab sort of sticks sometimes. Could just be that the knife is so new that it needs to break in. But I've never noticed this with any of my many PM2's. Upon closer inspection I noticed it might possibly have a defect on the blade where the compression lock engages.The part of the blade I'm talking about sits in the inner pivot and its the tapered grind where the locking tab engages. Instead of being a smooth grind/ramp all the way up, It has an indention/cut out about a quarter of the way up and is not a smooth transition for the locking tab. I can see where this might inhibit the locking tab to fully engage with normal wear and tear over time. I own 9 Paramilitary 2's, and none of them are like this.

Does it cause any blade play?

Ryno wrote:

ChaoticMayhem65 wrote:Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted here (possibly years), but i just picked up a new Spyderco Para 3. The first thing I noticed with this knife is that the lock release tab sort of sticks sometimes. Could just be that the knife is so new that it needs to break in. But I've never noticed this with any of my many PM2's. Upon closer inspection I noticed it might possibly have a defect on the blade where the compression lock engages.The part of the blade I'm talking about sits in the inner pivot and its the tapered grind where the locking tab engages. Instead of being a smooth grind/ramp all the way up, It has an indention/cut out about a quarter of the way up and is not a smooth transition for the locking tab. I can see where this might inhibit the locking tab to fully engage with normal wear and tear over time. I own 9 Paramilitary 2's, and none of them are like this.

Does it cause any blade play?

There is no blade play. But Blade Play is not what is in question here. The lockup mechanism is what is in question.

Nice clear macro shots make it evident that Para 3 has a machining defect on the lock face/ramp. Spyderco will want to see it so they can trace what happened.

Bill1170 wrote:Nice clear macro shots make it evident that Para 3 has a machining defect on the lock face/ramp. Spyderco will want to see it so they can trace what happened.

Thank you. Those were very hard to get.

I would send it to Spyderco instead of returning it. They'll definitely replace it for you and it'll put the knife directly in their hands.

ChaoticMayhem65 wrote:

Ryno wrote:
Does it cause any blade play?

There is no blade play. But Blade Play is not what is in question here. The lockup mechanism is what is in question.

Let me refine my question. Since the bearing surface on the part of the blade that comes into contact with the lock up mechanism is indented, does it still lock up tight? I was wondering if it was providing extra clearance. If it does lock up tight, it makes me think Spyderco had to notch that surface to even get the knife to lock up.

Dear chaoticdefect65 and all:

Thank you very much for your post. Your knife is not defective.

After I read your post this morning, I spoke to our manufacturing manager and chief engineer. They confirmed that the machined "step" was a purposeful in-line change in the design; however, both versions of the Para 3 shown in this thread are correct and both are completely functional and reliable.

The first production of the Para 3 featured the full-width lock ramp that has traditionally been used on all our Compression Locks. Our testing of that lock in the Para 3 confirmed that it is robust, reliable, and provides outstanding lock strength--just like the many thousands of other Compression Locks currently in service.

When extreme lock testing videos became popular on the Internet several years ago, some testers began using an "overstrike" test. In this test, the knife is gripped by the end of the handle and the forward portion of the "slot" side of the handle is struck against a hard surface to try to get the blade to close. While this test doesn't simulate any logical use of a knife as a tool, since it was a concern of some of our customers, we began incorporating it into our testing protocols.

In its original full-width-ramp configuration, the Para 3 performed just as well as our other Compression Lock knives on the overstrike test. When the lock finally failed, it did so because the impact of the strike allowed the liner to slide completely off the ramp. This gave one of our engineers an idea. In the spirit of Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.), he machined a small "safety step" at the low end of the ramp. In overstrike tests, this step is designed to act as a shelf or step to "catch" the liner and act as a failsafe against lock release. Extensive testing of the concept with the Para 3 showed that the idea had merit, so we decided to implement it as a desirable change in the Para 3 design.

Based on the engagement point of the liner and the ramp, the safety step does not affect lock strength or its ease of operation. Again, it is a purposeful C.Q.I. change that we believe is an enhancement to the design. We plan to do additional testing with prototypes of other models to see if it's something that we might consider implementing in other designs, but for now, it's limited to current production of the Para 3. First-run production of the Para 3 with the full-width ramp are perfectly serviceable, first-quality knives and have been very well received by our customers. If you have one, it will serve you well.

As always, if you have any concerns about the performance or operation of an individual Spyderco knife, your best course of action is to send it to our warranty repair department so we can examine it. And, as always, we welcome feedback on your experiences with our knives and your thoughts on our continued efforts to make them better.

Thank you for your continued passion for Spyderco knives.

Stay safe,

Mike

Mike,

This is kick butt. Thanks for letting us in on that information. Love that Spyderco does stuff like this.

That's pretty interesting.

I hope I'm not just being jaded here but I hope this doesn't result in a surge of nitpicking about gen 1 Para 3s being safe enough or gen 2 locks being defective. This is probably the first of many threads on the topic because it definitely is outside the norm of what we've come to expect to see on a lock face.

Wow that is very awesome and insightful, Thank you Mr. Janich! Now I know I have a "first gen" para 3..not that it means anything to me.

Spyderco once again proves that they are the best out there with there constant C.Q.I. I look forward to whats next.