Spyderco Forums

My new Delica 4 FFG (blue) is about 10 days old and stiff to open. Is this normal for this particular knife ? Also, I've noticed a bit of a gritty feel when just opening the knife or when the blade is almost completely closed into the handle. Your thoughts are appreciated ...

One of mine came butter smooth. Another one had to be opened and closed about 50 times and by then was very smooth. None of mine have ever been gritty. I would clean it very well flush it out real good and re-lubricate it. If that does not work, do what us old timers have done for so long. Get some plain white tooth paste and put it in the knife, all in the works, then work the knife back and forth a bunch of times. Tooth paste is a mild abrasive and will polish things up for you. It is water soluble so after working it 50 times or so, wash it out real good, then re-lube it. It will be smooth and slick after that.

Doc Dan wrote:One of mine came butter smooth. Another one had to be opened and closed about 50 times and by then was very smooth. None of mine have ever been gritty. I would clean it very well flush it out real good and re-lubricate it. If that does not work, do what us old timers have done for so long. Get some plain white tooth paste and put it in the knife, all in the works, then work the knife back and forth a bunch of times. Tooth paste is a mild abrasive and will polish things up for you. It is water soluble so after working it 50 times or so, wash it out real good, then re-lube it. It will be smooth and slick after that.

Thank you , sir.

I am not sure if this is your problem but I have had the frn rub on my blade making the action tight. Even after loosening the pivot slightly it was still very stiff. I could see the rub marks on the ricasso so I removed the scale and slightly sanded it and it made a world of difference. Again, not sure if this is your issue but if you can see rub marks then it may be worth a shot. Of course I will add the obligatory; disassembly will void your warranty.

Mine was tight enough that it required two hands to open. I loosened the pivot screw ever so slightly and re-lubed it with oil. I also found some frn shavings that came out after loosening. That coincides with bearfacekiller's comment above. Now I can open it with one hand easily.

It depends how much whoever tightened it at the factory tightened it. Loosen it and clean it are my advice. You might want to re lock tite it.

When you clean it out, do not worry about water hurting the knife. After you finish cleaning it (or after the toothpaste treatment), flush it good with warm soapy water, as was said above. Then you can use a hair dryer to blow out the water, or use some WD40 spray as it will displace all the water. Then, lube it nicely and you should be in business.
Note, if you do decide to loosen the pivot, remember: Less Is More. It only takes 1/8 of a turn to make a huge difference to the knife.

Thank you kindly for the advice ...

In my experience yes. Also the pivot screw has some influence.

Enkidude wrote:In my experience yes. Also the pivot screw has some influence.

Thanks ...

I just want to state the obvious and say all lock back knives are designed to have a bias towards closing. If you open it a little and let go it should snap shut. After a point there isn't as much bias and the blade remains where you leave it. Very different from Liner lock and "frame lock" designs.

I've not encountered a spyderco lockback yet ( out of hundreds) that was out of spec. If I did I'd send it back for replacement and that's what I'd advise if it's more than grittyness that needs to be washed out and re lubed.

Typically when one is new to a design ( or company) taking things apart isn't a good thing. Always remember when loosening screws to use a good tool of the correct size, and heat the screw to ease the lock tite's grip. When the sweet spot is found re lock tite the screw down with the correct thread lock fluid. Just forcing it open can cause damage just like over tightening can.

Joe