Spyderco Forums

How are the micarta scales holding up?
I ask, because in viewing a vid the guy showed concerns about the thinned out area at the locking tab. There is no "lip" for a good 2 or less on the scales.
THE MICARTA MAY BREAK??
I like the looks of this knife.

gull wing wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 3:32 pm

How are the micarta scales holding up?
I ask, because in viewing a vid the guy showed concerns about the thinned out area at the locking tab. There is no "lip" for a good 2 or less on the scales.
THE MICARTA MAY BREAK??
I like the looks of this knife.

Just got one and there is some flex in that area. But honestly I think you would have to purposely trying to break it to do any damage. It is plenty strong for every day use.

I was very tempted to get one being a huge fan of Cruwear but the full liners are a no go for me.

I've been carrying one on a fairly regular basis since they were released. I have had zero worries about the micarta scales. You don't notice the flex in the scales at all in regular use - only if you go out of your way to flex them. What you do notice is that the lockbar is significantly longer/wider than the standard PM2, which makes for a more comfortable unlocking.

I do wish the finish was a bit finer, like the micarta Shaman scales. But I think I could probably accomplish that with just a touch of wet sanding if I really wanted to.

I saw the same video and I also own one and after carrying it a while I'm not concerned. I suppose it's possible if it was impacted just right very hard that it could fracture there but it seems extremely unlikely with normal carry/use in my opinion.

No issues with mine so far. Sanded down the scales on mine because I'm not really a fan of how "fuzzy" they are from the factory.

ADD:
I checked out some of my existing compression locks. Some do flex at that spot, but it's not an issue. Funny, never thought of checking this area before. Ha!

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 09, 2022 9:52 pm

No issues with mine so far. Sanded down the scales on mine because I'm not really a fan of how "fuzzy" they are from the factory.

Could you talk me through your sanding process? That's my one little gripe with this knife.

Part f my rotation. Only issue is the slight fuzzy factor . Eventually may redo scales , it’s a wait and see for me . MG2

Scales are holding up well. Getting some natural patina. The fuzziness starts to wear down with use. I am carrying mine today. The picture lightens up the color, but they have gotten pretty dark. This was the smoothest PM2 out of the box, but it originally had some lock stick and some play when closing. Took the pivot apart and tightened it up. Also rotated the lock bar to remove the lock stick.

Love mine. Have it with me today. Am I the only one that really likes the fuzzy micarta and wishes it was like that always? I wish my Shaman was fuzzy, the hard micarta on it feels like G10....

troutinCO wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 11, 2022 7:12 am

Love mine. Have it with me today. Am I the only one that really likes the fuzzy micarta and wishes it was like that always? I wish my Shaman was fuzzy, the hard micarta on it feels like G10....

You are not the only one! I also like the soft/fuzzy feel of the Micarta scales on this version of the PM2, it is the complete opposite of the slick/hard feeling burlap micarta from one of the recent exclusive Shaman releases.

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 10, 2022 11:29 pm

Could you talk me through your sanding process? That's my one little gripe with this knife.

Sanded them wet, kind of had to experiment with grits as I'd never done this before. Started with 220, then went to 600 (too smooth) so tried scuffing them back up with 400 and 220 until they felt decent. The finish could definitely be improved but I didn't want to remove any more material. Overall I'm happy with the results though. Not sure how I'd go about it if I did it again. The 600 grit finish looked great but was too smooth.

Carrying mine today…I’ve put it through a fair bit of abuse because, in my eyes, it’s one of the best values in the current Spyderco stable. Readily available, production crucarta under $200 = a knife I won’t hesitate to USE

I was one person who questioned the lock area on here when it came out. It’s been fine and I love the knife. Seems like it could have been better. It’s been in regular rotation since it’s release and I happened to be carrying it today.

I also like the fuzzy and wish my shaman had it.

Mine has picked up a denim color on the one end.

Love the micarta on mine. It feels great and it’s very high quality. Anyone who breaks that tab area is because they are obsessively squeezing it. In any normal use that area does not see any tension

the feel of the scales on this when new was one of my favorite things about it. really love the softer micarta. i haven't taken mine apart yet, but it has lock stick out of the box that's persisted to this day, so may try what i saw above

has anyone managed to break one at the tab yet? let alone without doing it deliberately?

bleasure wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:54 pm

the feel of the scales on this when new was one of my favorite things about it. really love the softer micarta. i haven't taken mine apart yet, but it has lock stick out of the box that's persisted to this day, so may try what i saw above

has anyone managed to break one at the tab yet? let alone without doing it deliberately?

I tried to do it deliberately (for science!) when it first came out because of all the hand wringing and speculation going on over that spot of the knife. I tried all manner of grips and squeezing as hard as I could, doing that but also pushing on something with the blade to simulate use. I even pinched just the upper quarter of the scale at that thin part and used both hands to pinch it. Open, closed, partially open. I couldn't break it and it only bent so far before it made contact with the lock tab bar and then it just stopped it seemed.

I think you might crack it if you grabbed the knife by the blade and started to whack it on a hard edge, at an angle, on just that spot of the scale.

bleasure wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:54 pm

the feel of the scales on this when new was one of my favorite things about it. really love the softer micarta. i haven't taken mine apart yet, but it has lock stick out of the box that's persisted to this day, so may try what i saw above

has anyone managed to break one at the tab yet? let alone without doing it deliberately?

On the lock stick, mine was bad. I found an old thread on here about loosening the lock bar screw enough to rotate the lock bar 90 degrees. Don't have to take it apart and took about 7 seconds. Absolutely, fixed it up to perfection.

Crox wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 11, 2022 1:48 pm

Mine has picked up a denim color on the one end.

I have the same effect on the show side of mine. I don't have this issue on any other Micarta knife, including the ZCarta Shaman. I think the finish is particularly susceptible to it, somehow.