Lil Native Clip Problem - Unusable, Help!

[aaronkb]

Hi all!

So my BHQ Lil Native just arrived and there’s a lot to love - I can see why it’s such a popular model. The only problem (and it’s a significant one) is the clip. It’s the stiffest clip I’ve ever encountered after years in the hobby and dozens of knives.

I had to force it onto my pocket, and when I went to take it out I couldn’t do it the normal way. Well maybe I could have, but I legitimately felt like I would have destroyed my pocket all in one go. I had to flex the clip outward with my index finger - much harder than it should have been, I almost couldn’t - and lift it out.

Has anyone else encountered this problem, and does anyone have suggestions that won’t require me to mail my brand new knife back to Spyderco? I’m eager to carry it and use it! I could tinker with it but I don’t want to if I might end up returning it.

Oh and these are probably silly disclaimers, but there isn’t an ounce of hyperbole or exaggeration in my description, I have above average hand strength and a variety of other spydies with wire clips.

Thanks in advance,
Aaron

[TkoK83Spy]

You could always wedge some cardboard between the clip and scales and leave it over night. I've done that before with a clip on a Kershaw years ago and it helped a bit after a couple nights.

[DFD04]

Aaron,

Congratulations on the new knife! I would try to get used to it over the next week or two. If you’re still struggling I’d try and bend it back a tad and see if it helps. If you cant grasp it with your finger tip go East with some needle nose pliers. Once you’ve carried it I would say it’s wrong to return it, I’d sell it off on eBay with the disclosure that you’ve carried it and it has a tight clip.

I’d rather have a crazy tight clip than a loose one, YMMV.

[aaronkb]

You could always wedge some cardboard between the clip and scales and leave it over night. I've done that before with a clip on a Kershaw years ago and it helped a bit after a couple nights.

Thanks, might try that.

Aaron,

Congratulations on the new knife! I would try to get used to it over the next week or two. If you’re still struggling I’d try and bend it back a tad and see if it helps. If you cant grasp it with your finger tip go East with some needle nose pliers. Once you’ve carried it I would say it’s wrong to return it, I’d sell it off on eBay with the disclosure that you’ve carried it and it has a tight clip.

I’d rather have a crazy tight clip than a loose one, YMMV.

I appreciate your good intentions but please re-read my post with the understanding that I was not exaggerating. If I hadn’t strained to flex the clip manually (even then, barely creating space between clip and scale) and remove it in multiple stages, it would have actually, literally torn a massive hole in the fabric on the first carry.

This is NOT your typical “crazy tight clip” or a newbie not understanding that clips are sometimes tight and need getting used to. I own and carry an absurd number of Spyderco knives and I’m telling you something is legitimately very wrong with this clip. There’s no flex in it whatsoever - it’s about as bendy as the blade itself.

That said, I appreciate the pliers suggestion!

[SG89]

Did you try loosening the clip screw a hair? On most of my wire clip spydies the screw can be tightened too tight and it makes the clip very difficult to go over fabric and when you loosen the screw a bit the clip becomes more flexible. There's a sweet spot between screw too tight/ hard to clip and too loose and clip tines flop over

[VooDooChild]

You could switch the clip with a clip from one of your other wire clip spydercos that you dont carry often. If you have another knife with same size wire clip.

Also wont spyderco sell customers a clip? Im pretty sure people have gotten them without having to send their knife in.

Could always try bending it if nothing else.

[aaronkb]

Did you try loosening the clip screw a hair? On most of my wire clip spydies the screw can be tightened too tight and it makes the clip very difficult to go over fabric and when you loosen the screw a bit the clip becomes more flexible. There's a sweet spot between screw too tight/ hard to clip and too loose and clip tines flop over

Was considering that and waiting to see if anyone (such as yourself) had had a similar problem and solved it that way. Didn’t want to tinker with it if I was shooting in the dark and still might have to send it back. FWIW, I haven’t had any issue with:
Mantra 2
Three different P3LWs from different batches
Kapara
UKPK
Watu
probably others that I’m forgetting rn
And from other brands, quiet carry drift and something I’m forgetting the name of by Lionsteel

[aaronkb]

You could switch the clip with a clip from one of your other wire clip spydercos that you dont carry often. If you have another knife with same size wire clip.

Also wont spyderco sell customers a clip? Im pretty sure people have gotten them without having to send their knife in.

Could always try bending it if nothing else.

Not a bad idea if I go the tinkering route, which is starting to seem like almost a consensus.

One concern I have is that maybe the issue isn’t with the clip itself but rather the indentation in the scale that it sits in. If for some reason that’s out of spec (something must be) and too deep, a replacement clip wouldn’t help. I suppose there’s only one way to find out…

I’ve disassembled and tinkered with a number of knives, but only for problems I was confident I could solve :confused:

[SG89]

Take the clip off and compare to a similar knife and see if its the g10 grooves or the clip thats the problem. You can always use loctite to have the screw sit higher if needed

[araneae]

Just bend it a little by sliding a piece of cardboard under and lifting up gently. Or, a new clip will run you under $10 from the SFO.

[ZrowsN1s]

Lynch Northwest deep carry replacement clip for spyderco wire clips.

[Henry_P]

My s90v lil native also has an extremely tight pocket clip, it has no give in it whatsoever. I might try the cardboard trick to see if it improves.

[SRT392HEMI]

Lynch Northwest deep carry replacement clip for spyderco wire clips.

Beat me to it. I replace all my Spydie wire clips with Lynch's. Easy on the pocket even with G10.

[JMM]

I had this happen with my Rex45 Lil' Native & it wasn't difficult to resolve, the knife is designed for the clip to be moved/removed from one side to the other so I would start by just loosening the screw a little bit, then a little more if necessary, I'd wager it won't take much at all to at least make it easier to put something under it overnight to get the desired level of tension, it worked like a charm for me.

[CPM-Greg]

Mine's a tightie.

CPM-Greg

[Pokey]

Contact the Spyderco warranty department and see what they recommend. By letting them know it gives them feedback and they may make changes to or adjust the clips in the future. (CQI)

[atv223]

When I got my Rex45 Lil' Native I had the exact same issue. I emailed Spyderco and no one ever replied. I eventually just bent it out a tiny bit and it’s been perfect ever since. In fact, I totally forgot about it until you posted.

The Rex45 Lil' Native was my first Lil' Native and has become a favorite of mine. My BHQ version is on its way!

[ronT2]

I thought member zhyla had some great ideas in the thread below for wire clip repair/tuning, if your up for some tinkering...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85744

[BornIn1500]

Just bend the clip outward a little. I had to do that with my Lil Temperance 3, probably because the clip sits into a divot on the handle. It was super tight. Bend it out slightly and test it. If it's not good enough, bend a little more. It's really not a problem at all, and definitely not enough of an issue to send it back to them.

[RustyIron]

Bending the clip while it's on the knife is suboptimum because the springiness of the clip will make it difficult to apply the EXACT amount of bend that you want, and you have no control over where the bend will occur. Take the clip off and with a needle nose pliers grasp the side of the clip that goes against the knife. Grasp as close to the bend as you can, and keep the jaws of the pliers perpendicular to the clip. Bend it slightly. Reassemble and test the clip. It doesn't matter if it takes several tries to get it perfect. You want to avoid over-bending it, though.