Just bought my first Spyderco, very disappointed in the Caly3...

[nautilus]

I realize that this kind of turned into a rant, so skip the the bottom for cliffs...


I've been into knives for as long as I can remember, and have always pretty much thought Spyderco's were kinda weird looking so I never bothered to buy one.

This all changed when I was browsing through my local sporting goods store and the little bug caught my eye, I asked to take a look at it and handed it back assuming it cost around $30. Much to my surprise the store was selling them for only $5.95 so I picked one up. It's by far the nicest anything I've bought for 6 dollars so I figured if Spyderco can make something this nice for $6 I have to try out one of their high end EDC knives.

So I did some research on the forums and picked out the Caly 3 G-10.
The knife lived up to all the hype and I love everything about it, ergonomics, spidey hole, low ride clip, ect, with one major exception, blade play...
It had both vertical and horizontal play, so I took it back to the shop I bought it from and asked to exchange it. They end up pulling out 4 different Caly 3's that all have play in them, so I settle with the one that has very little play after they assure me that they'll take care of me if anything happens.

So, I play with my new Caly 3 for the weekend and cut nothing more than fruits and veggies with it and some more play develops. I notice that the pivot bolt is sliding with the blade just a bit when I open or close the knife, so I figure I should try tightening it to get rid of at least the horizontal play and to keep the pivot bolt snug. I start by inserting a never used allen key and turn the bolt out as to not over tighten it. Well, there's so much **** locktite in the threads that I can barley turn the nut out, I manage to loosen it a half turn or so then I go to tighten it and the bolt won't budge. I turned it pretty hard then stopped as I was afraid of stripping the bolt. As you can imagine the knife has even more play with the loose bolt and is now essentially useless.

I called customer support, and once they called me back the lady I spoke with was very nice and helpful but she told me that the best she could do is that once I sent the knife in she could look through the stack and try to find one with minimal play, but couldn't guarantee she would send me a knife with a solid lockup. If she couldn't find me a knife that's acceptable she would "issue me a credit". She also said that the Caly 3 G-10 is known to have blade play, and that they're going to discontinue it.

I have 4 other folders that I've used for years, the most expensive of the group being around $35, all of them have a rock solid lockup and the ones with adjustable pivots actually let me adjust them...

I can't believe that with all the time and money put into the design and testing of this knife that these very basic issues could have been overlooked.
I thought I read on the forum that this knife is the result of 20 years of testing and refinement or something along those lines?

So, now I'm debating whether I should simply return the knife, and forget about Spyderco (aside from my bug) or is it worth the hassle of dealing with customer service to maybe find a knife with solid lockup that probably has too much loctite to ever adjust.

Any experiences or input would be appreciated.

Cliffs:
Bought a Caly 3, loved everything about it except for the blade play.

Went to exchange it and the other 4 knives at the store had blade play

Called customer service, learned that this is a known issue, and they might be able to send me a solid knife.

Tried to adjust the knife on my own, but there's so much loctite in the threads that I can't even turn the bolt

Don't know if I should return the knife and never buy a Spyderco again, or should I try to work things out?

[Murdoc]

Just took out my Caly3 G-10 and wiggled (the blade!) like crazy. Result:

next to NO bladeplay in either direction. I've seen worse on lots of my spydies which were still a) acceptable and b) 100% safe.

It sounds like after the telephone call to Spyderco, you came to the conclusion that the Caly3 will be discontinued due to a known issue of unusual blade play. This is NOT the case. The Caly never exhibited an elevated amount of bladeplay per se, but Spyderco lockbacks DO have some little play sometimes, which, like the owner of the company states from time to time, is "designed that way". That said, too much play is of course NOT normal and a reason to send it back. We don't know about how much play we are actually talking here, so

I suggest you accept the offer from Spyderco, give them a chance to make it right and send you a new knife, this time with "less" blade play. If you're still not satisfied with the result, you can still give it back or sell it and give up on it.

Like you said, the Caly3 is a great knife and worth it to give it a 2nd try, and this time even with a hand-selected specimen just for you. Who could refuse that offer?

Dennis

P.S.: Do tell us about the outcome!

P.P.S.: Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum

[npueppke]

That is very strange to hear, I had a Caly III for a while and I didn't notice any blade play... maybe the little bit of vertical play inherent in lockbacks.

[ozspyder]

This is an odd one to me. I have a few Caly 3's and a fair few more other Spydercos :p

I must say I have been very lucky because NONE - not a single one of my 120+ Spydies have any bladeplay in them whatsoever. The Caly 3 IMHO is also one of my better ones with really great F&F on it.

I'd say to send your Caly 3 back to Spyderco to get it fixed or organise a replacement. The Caly 3 is IMHO one of the best folders ever conceived.

[Doc Pyres]

I understand you feel very disappointed but I wouldn't let that turn you away from Spyderco forever. I don't have a Caly 3 yet, but I have more than 50 Spydercos, and I've never had one with any appreciable blade play. Customer service at Spyderco is second to none. They will do everything they can to make you happy. Try the replacement they send you or take the credit and try another model. I'm sure you'll find one that you are happy with. Good luck! :)

[jabba359]

That sucks that your introduction to Spyderco knives got tainted with a bum knife. My Caly3 locks up with virtually no blade play. I was disappointed at first because it did have some grit in the pivot area and made a grinding feel when I first got it, but a little lube fixed that up and a year later of EDC work and it hasn't given me any problems since. I say send your knife in and let Spyderco hand-pick you one that locks up solid.

Have you bought knives from that store before? If all five Caly3 knives had problems, it would have me worried about the dealer. They either have very, very, very bad luck with the stock they receive, or something else is wrong there.

Welcome to the forums and I look forward to seeing how this gets resolved.

[bh49]

Went to exchange it and the other 4 knives at the store had blade play

Called customer service, learned that this is a known issue

This is shocking news for me.
I EDC Caly3 PE VG10/G10 for three years and didn't noticed any bladeplay on my knife. I adjusted pivot screw only once, but didn't have any problem. Also I have CF variant without bladeplay. Recently I bought new SE and used PE, both have solid lock-up, at least per my standards. Two of my close friends have both G10 and CF Caly3, none of them mentioned bladeplay :confused:

Sorry for your bad experience.

[ozspyder]

I don't have a Caly 3 yet, but I have more than 50 Spydercos, and I've never had one with any appreciable blade play.

What !?!? :confused: I don't believe you Doc :p

You better get one. I highly recommend both the G10 and the CF versions. I carry the G10/ VG10 version on a regular basis along with my Kopas. The CF one represents pretty goof value ATM from various stores.

[Jay_Ev]

I am sorry to hear that your experience with the Caly 3 was not a positive one. Like the others above, I have checked all 8 of my Caly 3's and none have blade play that I would consider excessive. I hope you get your issue resolved to your satisfaction.

[araneae]

I am a bit confused. I am unsure how you could see the pivot sliding with the blade when you open or close the knife and at the same time it could have so much loctite you couldn't move it. I also see no way for the blade play to increase when you cut nothing more than fruits and veggies and still the pivot was immovable when you tried to adjust it. Perhaps the story has been somewhat confused, but it seems improbable to me.

A very slight amount of vertical movement is not uncommon in spydies. If you look closely, it is actually the lock bar and blade moving in unison. Horizontal play is not an issue i have seen mentioned with the Caly 3. Neither of mine have any horizontal movement. Although both of mine have slight vertical movement, I would consider the lockup very solid. If you send the knife in, they will try their best to satisfy you.

For future reference, heating a loctited screw will make it a bit easier to loosen.

[nautilus]

Thanks for all the input guys, now I don't know if i'm just too anal or if my dealer got a run of duds.

Jabba359, I haven't bought any knives from the store but I did buy a couple Gransfors Bruks axes from them along a lot of other random stuff and I trust them more than any retail business I've ever dealt with http://www.jaxmercantile.com

araneae, I suppose that I didn't word that very clearly I'll try to explain it better.
I would assume that the loctite is only in the threads that connect the pivot bolt to the pivot barrel/nut (I'm sure there's some knife lingo for these parts but I don't know it) the tightness I was experiencing when I was trying to adjust the knife was only between the threads of the bolt, and the threads of the barrel. Because my knife was loose when I got it, the tension in the threads is completely independent of the squeezing force that the bolt would normally be putting through the handle and on to the blade of the knife.
The pivot bolt is actually so loose now that I can push the bolt a little bit on the side where there is a gap in between the bolt and the handle and the pivot will slide through the handle/blade and push the pivot out the other side a bit.
Even if the pivot was in my hand by it's self without the knife there is still so much tension in the threads that I wouldn't be able to loosen or tighten it without risking stripping the bolt.
Hope that clarified things?

How would you recommend that I heat the pivot on a knife with a G-10 handle?

Since my case seems to be overwhelmingly the exception I'll go back to Jax and see if they can get things figured out for me.

Perhaps I shouldn't be looking at lockback? knives if a bit if play is inherent in them. I love the way that the cam keeps the blade tightly closed, but to me any noticeable vertical play is unacceptable in a knife, especially in one that costs over $100.
I did feel a delica in the store that had a very solid fixed blade like lockup so I'm hoping that play isn't inherent in all of the knives of this type?

[Ben_1323]

I had a Caly 3 and loved all the features about it except for the lock (and pinned construction, but that's a different issue). There just seems to always be some vertical play inherent in lockbacks, and I've decided just not to buy them anymore because I can't stand it.

Spyderco knives are still my favorite though, and I've got a P'kal on the way to replace the Caly 3.

[nautilus]

It sounds like after the telephone call to Spyderco, you came to the conclusion that the Caly3 will be discontinued due to a known issue of unusual blade play. This is NOT the case.

I was told by the lady at customer support that the caly 3 is known to have some blade play, and that they're going to discontinue the G-10 version.
She didn't mention that it would be discontinued because of this, though she did hint at it.

[araneae]

That does straighten the scenario out better. If you can't accept the potential for slight movement in a lockback, you may have to hand pick one to make sure you get one that meets your standard. If it makes any difference, this movement should in no way compromise the solidity and safety of the knife.

A heat gun will work, maybe even a good hair dryer.

[demtek9]

I have the ZDP version and it does have some movement, but not what I consider to be "slop" on the blade. It had a little side to side, but I turned my pivot pin in all the way tight and I've very happy with the lockup now.

[Farmer Brown]

I wouldn't expect any bladeplay from a Spyderco knife, but even if one did have such - it'd ruin nothing but my expectations. It'll most probably be functional nevertheless. If you feel that you've been let down, that for the price you paid you should have gotten more, then by all means - have the knife swapped.

Slightly off - topic, but to stress a point...

Because of the nature of the place I live in, and the people I work with - I carry a Wenger Ranger 51 (after being told that my Gerber 22-47162 FAST might be viewed in a different light). Now, THAT knife has vertical bladeplay. If I held the tip of the blade and moved it up and down fast enough, I could actually make a rattling sound.

But despite that,...

1. ...it holds up fine. The liner lock has never failed its purpose.
2. This is arguable, but I maintain that one doesn't absolutely need the locking feature (I treat all my folders as slipjoints; for anything else, I have other small fixed blades for the job).

Just wanted to share this (blatantly) off - topic tidbit. The liner lock is actually released by...

...pressing on the red Swiss Army Cross. It's actually a button which goes through the stainless steel frame on the opposing side and connects with the liner flange.

[Jay_Ev]

How would you recommend that I heat the pivot on a knife with a G-10 handle?

I think you can safely do this with a soldering iron being very careful not to touch the tip to the G-10 scale.

[jzmtl]

There's also a pic floating around that compares spyderco's back lock with buck's, and you'll see why there could be up/down blade play. I'll leave somebody who's better at using search than me to post it.

[Jay_Ev]

There's your problem, it's not an allen screw, it's a torx. Allen key will imitate torx if the screw is loose, but will strip the head otherwise.

All of mine use allen screws for the pivot and torx for the clip screw. Perhaps maybe they switched somewhere along the line?

[jzmtl]

Well it looks like I've spoke too quickly. Took a look at my caly and it is hex. :o I didn't take it apart because of the pinned construction so never noticed that.