Gayle Bradley 2 CQI?

[Mad Scientist]

Any chance the GB2 has undergone CQI to address the weak detent? Has anyone noticed a difference in the CruWear version? The detent is the only thing holding me back from buying one.

[abbazaba]

Detent is perfect on both of mine

[Brock O Lee]

My Cruwear is acceptable, but the older M4 GB2 was not. I enlarged the detent hole slightly which fixed it completely.

I think there is room for improvement at the Taiwan factory wrt stronger detents. They are outstanding in all other areas.

[fanglekai]

The detent is fine on both of mine. One purchased in 2021 at Spyderco, the other is the Cruwear from BHQ.

[Manifestgtr]

The detent on mine is perfect. The only issue I have is a bit of lock stick which will hopefully work its way out. Lock stick on a GB2 isn’t great because it kind of piles on the difficulty of disengaging the lock.

The GB2 is a bit like the chaparral in the sense that it’s a phenomenal work/carry knife in practical settings…but you probably aren’t gonna sit there and fiddle with it very much due to the lock’s disengagement characteristics.

[ekastanis]

Perfect is subjective of course, and I don’t know if the detent on every one is like this, but I don’t consider this to be enough detent force.

[Paul Ardbeg]

I find the detent a bit too weak on both the GB1 and GB2. It doesn't take much to shake out the blade. It did not prevent me from buying them I would also like the access to the linerlock to be improved. I did that improvement myself on the GB2, but want to keep the GB1 original as it's discontinued.

[Sharp Guy]

Detent is fine on my GB2. Both of my original GBs are fine too. But that doesn't mean they're all fine. We all know it's common for the Taichung models to have weak detents. It's easy enough to fix if you happen to get one with weak detent

[Skar]

I prefer the weaker detent myself .
I would like the scales to cover the liners better.

[Sharp Guy]

I would also like the access to the linerlock to be improved. I did that improvement myself on the GB2, but want to keep the GB1 original as it's discontinued.

This has been discussed since the GB was first released. I don't think they're going to change it at this point. They're really not that difficult to unlock, especially the GB2. Gayle has addressed this before. The lock access was intentional. He said even his wife can unlock the GB without issue. Either use it as is or modify it yourself

I would like the scales to cover the liners better.

That was intentionally designed that way too. It gives the handle a contoured feel. Otherwise the handle would feel blocky and people would be complaining about that

[Brock O Lee]

In my opinion the lock access is not an issue, assuming that you don't have lock stick!

I bought a very lightly used GB2 a few years ago when they were very hard to find new, and rumours were that the model had been silently discontinued. When it arrived I realised why it was sold. It had terrible lock stick, requiring two hand opening, and a dangerously weak detent.

I worked the lock unsuccessfully for months trying to get it to smooth out. I tried all the Sharpie and pencil tricks, hard/soft openings, pressing down hard on lockbar to disengage. Nothing really worked. Eventually I added a cutout in the scales to open up the lock access. It is still sticky at times, but I can at least open it one handed. This mod and the detent fix transformed the model for me.

On the new Cruwear model I have the lock is not sticky and I do not plan to do add a cutout. The detent is acceptable.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

My first one in M4 had bad lock stick and week detent and I improved the detent but couldn’t get the stick out and didn’t really carry it much…when I got the Cruwear version I switched out the hardware, got some Micarta scales and sold the M4 with full disclosure…I took a loss on it but absolutely love the Cruwear model because there’s no lock stick and detent is acceptable although I’ll probably tweak it a little.

[Paul Ardbeg]

I would also like the access to the linerlock to be improved. I did that improvement myself on the GB2, but want to keep the GB1 original as it's discontinued.

This has been discussed since the GB was first released. I don't think they're going to change it at this point. They're really not that difficult to unlock, especially the GB2. Gayle has addressed this before. The lock access was intentional. He said even his wife can unlock the GB without issue. Either use it as is or modify it yourself

Intentional or not, I want to see it improved. Of course I can open it, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved.....Especially having larger hands, making it a bit more accessible would improve a lot. But anyway, my two cents....

[nerdlock]

I bought mine several years ago above $150 and had the same weak detent and severe lock stick issues. It's a great looking knife, but it was also one of the least, if not least used knives in my collection. Also another reason why I couldn't get myself to buy the CruWear version. The detent was so dangerously loose I could flip it open with a flick of my wrist. It's now over $200, the price has greatly increased, but the same issues persist.

A few anecdotal knives with those issues would be just an exception to the rule, but with many collectors both here in the forums as well as social media expressing concern over those issues, there is something wrong either with the design of the knife itself, or the quality control during manufacturing - and it really needs to be addressed by management.

If I had to pay $200+ for a knife (or 192.95 + tax for the cruwear), I would expect it to have a decent detent and not so severe lockstick. I don't think I am the only one to say this in these forums, and I hope to not offend anyone with my opinion, but all of the ch!nese brand knives with liner locks I have don't suffer from detent and lockstick issues, and I've had several of those thru the years.

I'm certainly grateful to Sharp and the others who have shown how to do the detent mod here in the forums as far back as 2018, but on the other hand, I don't want to spend a large amount for a knife and then spend several dollars more buying the tools and the bits needed to modify the detent (and potentially ruin the knife itself).

I just hope that someday, Spyderco would address the QC issues with their detents over at Taichung. It's frustrating to always have a hit-or-miss moment everytime you try to buy a detent-based Taichung model.

[Sharp Guy]

I would also like the access to the linerlock to be improved. I did that improvement myself on the GB2, but want to keep the GB1 original as it's discontinued.

This has been discussed since the GB was first released. I don't think they're going to change it at this point. They're really not that difficult to unlock, especially the GB2. Gayle has addressed this before. The lock access was intentional. He said even his wife can unlock the GB without issue. Either use it as is or modify it yourself

Intentional or not, I want to see it improved. Of course I can open it, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved.....Especially having larger hands, making it a bit more accessible would improve a lot. But anyway, my two cents....

My point was that Gayle Bradley did it as a feature and I don't think he'd consider changing it as an improvement. I have no issues with opening my GB or GB2. So not an improvement for me either

[JSumm]

I opened up the access to my GB2 and prefer it. However, as @Sharp Guy mentioned the limited access is definitely a feature Gayle Brady wanted and he mentioned it in a video talking about the design.

As to the light Taichung detents, I think those could be addressed. I honestly think the Taichung factory does not know or they think it is better for some reason because Taichung does so many things so well with great attention to detail. This is just my personal preference of course. I don't want a shake to open knife. Seems like I'm hitting 50% on Taichung models that can do that. Again, personally I don't mind changing the detent, but can understand the reluctance for someone else not wanting to. All that said, does anyone who is not a knife junky notice or care? I don't know the answer to that.

[abbazaba]

I just push the meat of my thumb down into the lock access and slide it over... Never seemed difficult on the 3 or more samples I've had even with XL hands. One of my more carried Spydercos since it's release.

[Sharp Guy]

I just push the meat of my thumb down into the lock access and slide it over... Never seemed difficult on the 3 or more samples I've had even with XL hands. One of my more carried Spydercos since it's release.

It might've been you who suggested that when I got my first GB. It works well for me and I've been doing it that way ever since