Spyderco Forums

Hi, I purchased a New G10 Manix s110v, but the blade bevel is slightly uneven. At the very tip of the blade it is slighty bigger than on the other side. I know it really doesnt affect much but I was under the impression that Spyderco had the most stringent quality control and perfection standards that something like this would be considered a factory second. I have a factory second para 2 that nothing seems to be wrong with it except for the same issue. Is this a normal thing and it happens alot? Or did I get a knife that couldve been sold as a factory second? The other issue is I had it sent from USA Website to Australia. I know Im being picky and I dont really expect anything other than some other opinions and if it matters then maybe that Spyderco can know about it. But something like this makes it so that I cant sell this on as a Mint condition item either.

Pictures would help, but: sounds pretty normal for a production knife.

How does it cut?

Uneven bevels are very common. It’s frustrating but at this point I just accept that buying a spyderco knife means I have to be ok with their quirks - and this is one of them unfortunately.

Uneven bevels are something comon on Spyderco knives. Sometimes they are even, most of the time not.
Especially Japan and Golden made ones have the uneven grinds more often. Just my personal experience.

Yeah, that's a normal thing... we all have come to more or less accept that

I honestly thought for years asymmetrical bevels were supposed to be that way because nearly every knife has them. Agreed that pics would help determine if it's outside the realm of acceptable.

I feel like the leaf shape also lends itself more to slight asymmetry at "just the tip." Has anyone else noticed this or could it just be my sample size is skewed due to me liking that blade shape.

Not saying you're not right to be disappointed OP if it is an egregiously sloppy grind. Mass produced knives aren't artisan pieces and were made and sold with the idea they are to be used and sharpened. The edge is a consumable part of the tool, and the tools function can only be fulfilled be dulling and ruining the edge.

In my experience 1/4 of Spyderco knives I have bought have an uneven bevel. Only one had it so uneven that I really cared. It doesn't really affect the cutting performance but it bothered me, and I wasn't sure if I could fix it because I am terrible at sharpening. So I returned it. The seller (one of the big knife websites) initially said it was within specifications and I could only return at ship it at my own expense. I was persistent and sent them photos and then they sent a return authorization.

it's pretty common. generally the show side is ground at a more obtuse angle than the back side. not sure why, but it's kind of annoying since I'd want the opposite. Thin show side angle is key for good performance carving up wood.

easy to sharpen out. if you're not confident fixing it, then you have an easy to learn skill to pick up. couple of bench stones and a little practice and you'll get there.

Many of my Spydercos have uneven bevels from the factory. Not a big deal for me because I like to reset the bevel and put my own edge on it.

What's worse is when they have an uneven grind. This happened on my 204P Military. I thought it was an uneven bevel at first, then sharpened at 15dps on my EdgePro, and the bevel on the show side is noticeably larger.

Obviously it depends on how “uneven” we’re talking about here. Being noticeably uneven is not what I would consider “normal” for any name brand knife, let alone Spyderco.

In any case, you should return the knife if it seems off. There will always be QA escapes, you may just have a bad unit.

It’s absolutely fine, in fact it is better this way because now you get to learn how to put an even bevel on it yourself.
It’s what Bob Ross would call “a happy accident”.

All you need to do is purchase The Spyderco CBN bench stone (which may or may not contain grit contamination and have burrs formed along the sides) and you get to practice resetting the bevels on your brand new S110v knife for yourself.

Paraphrasing Bob Ross again “There’s no such thing as poor quality control, only happy accidents.”

My first Manix 2 bought years ago was perfect, maybe today things have changed with the quality control.

I've had several that way, not an issue and it's never bothered me. Over time with sharpening and use it'll work itself out. Use it, cut stuff!

vivi wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:41 pm

.... Thin show side angle is key for good performance carving up wood.

Not something I hear or read often, but this is what I found too.

Generally, for carving wood it is always good when the edge (especially on the show side) goes up "high" on the primary grind.
For that reason I found the sabre grind Endura or Delica to be better wood carvers than their ffg counterparts (which I prefer otherwise): Due to the rather obtuse primary grind on the sabre grind blade, the secondary grind / apex goes higher up that primary grind than on the the same blade but in ffg (both sharpened to the same angle of course).

/ To the OP: Uneven bevels to me are not a problem:
- Most times you won´t notice that in use
- And IF you use your knife, you´ll have to sharpen it anyway, which will even the bevels out over time
- If you don´t use your knife (I don´t assume that of course): Uneven bevels do not matter at all anyway, right?

Uneven bevels is not “normal” IMO. The fact that most people accept the situation doesn’t mean that it’s not an issue. For the money we pay they should come with even and consistent cutting bevels on both sides. Most buyers don’t have the skills and/or the tools to solve this issue and some are quite frustrated about this. I know I am …

Slightly uneven bevels are pretty common on these mass-produced non-custom knives... You can make it look perfect during the first sharpening. You will most likely also see improved edge retention after you get rid of the factory edge.

You can still sell it as mint as long as you don't carry or use it.

fp83 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:39 am

I know it really doesnt affect much but I was under the impression that Spyderco had the most stringent quality control and perfection standards that something like this would be considered a factory second. I have a factory second para 2 that nothing seems to be wrong with it except for the same issue. Is this a normal thing and it happens alot?

It think it happens less now but it definitely happens. I have an old Military 1 with an epic overgrind on it and a K390 Delica with a pronounced bent blade, neither of which are "seconds." I'll post pics when i get home. Mostly it comes from Seki City. The zdp-189 Endura I carry off and on had the factory angle way off. I didn't feel like regrinding it because I want to get my money's worth so I just kept the factory angle and sharpened over it. If one angle is too high it will affect it your cutting.

Cold Steel has some pretty epic screw ups too. I had CS knives with blades bent so bad they were catching on the handle and messy edge angles. On the other hand the sharpest factory edge I ever had was on a black talon. I almost cut my pinky off without knowing it when closing the blade one handed. I should have kept it.

.

elena86 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 25, 2024 1:02 am

Uneven bevels is not “normal” IMO. The fact that most people accept the situation doesn’t mean that it’s not an issue. For the money we pay they should come with even and consistent cutting bevels on both sides. Most buyers don’t have the skills and/or the tools to solve this issue and some are quite frustrated about this. I know I am …

I 100% agree with all of this. I don't understand some of the responses in this thread. But at the same time, everyone has a different definition of "slightly uneven".

Erich wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:20 am

The American dollar is ruined. You can't rely on anyone anymore. In our case we are forced to pay the wages of worthless retail workers at knifecenter, blade hq, smkw and all the rest because "muh Amazon" via the MAP. This and the product control is why I only buy at 50% off msrp, and maybe not even then if the msrp keeps creeping. Lots of companies are doing this now. That and you see people demanding tips everywhere. We no longer live in a market economy. It is pseudo-centrally planned in the usual slapdash American way and the result is galloping inflation.

You can only get away with poorly finished bevels, blade play, lock rock and generally poorly administered quality control for so long.
The enthusiasts may just about be able to tolerate the price hikes, but if the quality of the finished product declines at the same time, people will walk away.

When exactly did it become acceptable to sell a $200 knife with uneven bevels?

No pictures yet? Hard to assess how bad it is without pictures.