Spyderco Forums

I notice of late that when I close my para 3, that there's a wiggle (slight movement when you hold the blade and the scale and lightly pull). My other para 3's are not like this, their blades sit firmly in place and no wiggle. It's not yet to the point that when you shake the knife there's an audible moving but it's kinda irritating to find out it has this issue.

Has anyone experienced the same? How'd you fix it? The knife hasn't been put to hard use yet but will be. There is no horizontal or vertical play when opened. The detent ball is still present.

Thanks in advance!

Did you try tightening the pivot screws?

Is this detent slop while closed? Basically when the knife is closed, you can wiggle the blade just a tiny bit without breaking the detent which holds it closed? My only Para 3 lightweight has this feature. Is yours a Para 3 lightweight or a G-10 one?

cjk wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:38 am

Is this detent slop while closed? Basically when the knife is closed, you can wiggle the blade just a tiny bit without breaking the detent which holds it closed? My only Para 3 lightweight has this feature. Is yours a Para 3 lightweight or a G-10 one?

That's what I assumed he was talking about too, detent lash. Just like you I've only had one para 3 LW, and it had a decent amount of detent lash.

Assuming thats what it is, It's pretty easy to fix but it would definitely void your warranty and it's not something I'd recommend if you're a novice at knife modding/repair.

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:51 am

cjk wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:38 am

Is this detent slop while closed? Basically when the knife is closed, you can wiggle the blade just a tiny bit without breaking the detent which holds it closed? My only Para 3 lightweight has this feature. Is yours a Para 3 lightweight or a G-10 one?

That's what I assumed he was talking about too, detent lash. Just like you I've only had one para 3 LW, and it had a decent amount of detent lash.

Assuming thats what it is, It's pretty easy to fix but it would definitely void your warranty and it's not something I'd recommend if you're a novice at knife modding/repair.

Could you elaborate on the fix? I'm assuming it's removing the detent ball and reseating it a bit more proud of the lock bar. Or is it something else?

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:19 pm

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

Thanks Giygas!

I have Military that has detent play as well. I’ve decided to ignore it but if there is a simple fix I would be interested in fixing it. It’s the only knife I’ve ever had with this issue.

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:19 pm

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

If there is slop wouldn’t it be from the hole already being too large for the detent ball? And if so, won’t this make the problem worse?

I thought flaring the hole for the detent was to add a bigger opening to allow the detent ball to seat farther in and allow for a tighter detent. But that’s when the hole is not large enough for the detent ball to rest deep enough, causing weak detent. A separate issue.

Not trying to argue, just trying to understand.

Ranger_Ike wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:35 pm

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:19 pm

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

If there is slop wouldn’t it be from the hole already being too large for the detent ball? And if so, won’t this make the problem worse?

I thought flaring the hole for the detent was to add a bigger opening to allow the detent ball to seat farther in and allow for a tighter detent. But that’s when the hole is not large enough for the detent ball to rest deep enough, causing weak detent. A separate issue.

Not trying to argue, just trying to understand.

Not in my experience.

The lash comes from the ball not seating deep enough, which is fixed the same way you would increase detent strength. You even said that it makes a tighter detent...

What you're saying does also cause detent lash, but I've never seen that be the problem in a Spyderco. It would also make the lockbar "bottom out" on the blade, so it's easy to tell the difference just by looking.

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:53 pm

Ranger_Ike wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:35 pm

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:19 pm

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

If there is slop wouldn’t it be from the hole already being too large for the detent ball? And if so, won’t this make the problem worse?

I thought flaring the hole for the detent was to add a bigger opening to allow the detent ball to seat farther in and allow for a tighter detent. But that’s when the hole is not large enough for the detent ball to rest deep enough, causing weak detent. A separate issue.

Not trying to argue, just trying to understand.

It would also make the lockbar "bottom out" on the blade, so it's easy to tell the difference just by looking.

That makes sense. I guess that would be a highly unlikely scenario for a new knife. Thank you

phaust wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 6:22 am

Did you try tightening the pivot screws?

Yes tried that already. Didn't work, thanks though!

cjk wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:06 pm

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:51 am

cjk wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:38 am

Is this detent slop while closed? Basically when the knife is closed, you can wiggle the blade just a tiny bit without breaking the detent which holds it closed? My only Para 3 lightweight has this feature. Is yours a Para 3 lightweight or a G-10 one?

That's what I assumed he was talking about too, detent lash. Just like you I've only had one para 3 LW, and it had a decent amount of detent lash.

Assuming thats what it is, It's pretty easy to fix but it would definitely void your warranty and it's not something I'd recommend if you're a novice at knife modding/repair.

Could you elaborate on the fix? I'm assuming it's removing the detent ball and reseating it a bit more proud of the lock bar. Or is it something else?

Exactly that! Sorry wasn't familiar with the exact term. The blade was from a para 3 LW and I transferred it to regular para 3 scales. It had the slop/lash when on the LW but that stopped when I transferred it, however after quite sometime it now has the lash but not as "loose" as on the LW FRN. I tried experimenting by transferring the blade to another set of liners and had the same result.

I misunderstood the movement, sorry about that!

It won't be permanent, but a dab of grease like tri-lube in the detent hole will keep it from rattling around if the noise is the main the annoyance. Again, not permanent, but it does keep the noise away a long time.

Ranger_Ike wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 5:56 pm

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:53 pm

Ranger_Ike wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:35 pm

Giygas wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:19 pm

I use a carbide ball nose end mill to VERY slightly "flare" the detent hole. If it's really bad, I use it in a Dremel on the lowest speed, but 9 times out of 10 I can do it by hand.

If that doesn't fix it, then I do what you said.

If there is slop wouldn’t it be from the hole already being too large for the detent ball? And if so, won’t this make the problem worse?

I thought flaring the hole for the detent was to add a bigger opening to allow the detent ball to seat farther in and allow for a tighter detent. But that’s when the hole is not large enough for the detent ball to rest deep enough, causing weak detent. A separate issue.

Not trying to argue, just trying to understand.

It would also make the lockbar "bottom out" on the blade, so it's easy to tell the difference just by looking.

That makes sense. I guess that would be a highly unlikely scenario for a new knife. Thank you

So if it's not the hole size, what could it be? Some people I've talked to recommend to bend the lock bar more inward while a few says bend it outward. The inward kind of makes sense (sorry my mods are limited to scales, anything else is done by a friend - so limited knowledge here) as it would tighten the grip on the blade while close?

Learning a lot and hope to be able to sort this out. Thanks all! Apologies for the delay in replies - I'm on the other side of the world.

Same happens with my P3 lightweight, there's a few mm play when closed.
Might get the Dremel onto it like suggested here.

How much space is between the blade and liner by the pivot? If the pivot is rotated a bit then the D shape of it will prevent it from fully going in, leading you to be able to fully tighten down the screws but still have a little bit of slop.