Pocket knife perfection---Chaparral

[Sharp Guy]

I received my Chap yesterday and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at first. It's NIB so it wasn't very smooth when opening but I expected that. I've worked the blade back and forth a bunch of times and it's already smoothing out. What I'm disappointed in is how difficult it is to unlock. It's much harder than any of my other back locks (Delica, Native, & Dragonflys) and I have to push really hard with my thumb to unlock it. There's no using the side of my index finger like I've always done with back locks. It seems like I have to push it in almost as far as it will go before it unlocks. I've been working with it and it seems to be getting easier and I'm hoping it'll get better as time go on. That said I love the size! It's like a mini Sage 1. In fact, it fits in my watch pocket so nice I'm not sure I'll keep my Sage 1. We'll see.

[Doc Dan]

I have never seen a reason to buy a Sage. The Chaparral is plenty and much easier to carry. Mine was a bit stiff at first. It has an advanced back lock. It has a uniquely placed stop pin to keep the blade from having play or over traveling. Plus the spring is strong. The lock is wonderfully over built in this knife. It will get better.
I had to take a Blade Medic to the edges of my liners and the spine of my blade since Taiwan likes them sharp. I like them smooth. But, that is a personal pet peeve. Once I got that sorted out (3 to 5 min) it is now a splendid knife. Enjoy.

[abbazaba]

Mine took a while to break in, but it has easily the best back lock action in my entire collection. It is super smooth and easy to operate with one hand. What you are describing sounds a lot like my Native5 LW which is still a bear to unlock, not only because of the spring, but also the distance of travel required.

Congrats on the Chap. It's in my pocket today and will probably always be in my top three favorite knives of all time.

[El Gato]

I received my Chap yesterday and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at first. It's NIB so it wasn't very smooth when opening but I expected that. I've worked the blade back and forth a bunch of times and it's already smoothing out. What I'm disappointed in is how difficult it is to unlock. It's much harder than any of my other back locks (Delica, Native, & Dragonflys) and I have to push really hard with my thumb to unlock it. There's no using the side of my index finger like I've always done with back locks. It seems like I have to push it in almost as far as it will go before it unlocks. I've been working with it and it seems to be getting easier and I'm hoping it'll get better as time go on. That said I love the size! It's like a mini Sage 1. In fact, it fits in my watch pocket so nice I'm not sure I'll keep my Sage 1. We'll see.

Congratulations on your new Chap. The more you use it the smoother it will become.
As for the locking spring tension, in my opinion this is just a sign of a superior lock, which the Chaparral certainly has. I believe you will get used to it the more you use your Chap, and even though it is a bit more biased towards lock up, does that not give you confidence in the lock itself?

[Holland]

The stiff lock happens to me everytime I take mine apart and put it back together. It will get easier to unlock the more you use it

[Sharp Guy]

As for the locking spring tension, in my opinion this is just a sign of a superior lock, which the Chaparral certainly has. I believe you will get used to it the more you use your Chap, and even though it is a bit more biased towards lock up, does that not give you confidence in the lock itself?

As I mentioned previously, I have several Spyderco knives with back locks all of which are current models and all unlocked much easier from the start than this particular knife. I have plenty of confidence in the locks on those knives so having a knife that I have to struggle with to unlock doesn't give me any extra confidence. It actually makes me want to use one of those other knives. I understand what you're trying to say and lock strength is important to me but so is ease of use. I have a fairly mechanical mind and understand that some break-in can be necessary on something like this. Please don't get me wrong I really like the knife and I plan on continuing to use it. It was just my initial observation that the lock on this particular knife seems to be much harder to unlock than any of my other back locks. I'll continue to use it and look forward to when it gets easier to use.

[this_is_nascar]

Congratulations on the Chaparral. I find this model the best Spyderco for my tastes. It not a good flicking knife, if that's what you're looking for. I know that many judge, based on this trait, but I have no issue with the way it works.

Mine was great, right out of the box and continues to be. I sold my Sage-1, after owning my Chaparral for a few weeks.

[El Gato]

As for the locking spring tension, in my opinion this is just a sign of a superior lock, which the Chaparral certainly has. I believe you will get used to it the more you use your Chap, and even though it is a bit more biased towards lock up, does that not give you confidence in the lock itself?

As I mentioned previously, I have several Spyderco knives with back locks all of which are current models and all unlocked much easier from the start than this particular knife. I have plenty of confidence in the locks on those knives so having a knife that I have to struggle with to unlock doesn't give me any extra confidence. It actually makes me want to use one of those other knives. I understand what you're trying to say and lock strength is important to me but so is ease of use. I have a fairly mechanical mind and understand that some break-in can be necessary on something like this. Please don't get me wrong I really like the knife and I plan on continuing to use it. It was just my initial observation that the lock on this particular knife seems to be much harder to unlock than any of my other back locks. I'll continue to use it and look forward to when it gets easier to use.

My apologies if I said something to offend you sir. I assure you such was not my intent nor did I imply to talk down to you in any way.
I just happen to like the Chaparral quite a bit and have no other Spyderco back lock models to compare it to.
I hope your new Chap gives you good service. :)

[Sharp Guy]

My apologies if I said something to offend you sir. I assure you such was not my intent nor did I imply to talk down to you in any way.
I just happen to like the Chaparral quite a bit and have no other Spyderco back lock models to compare it to.
I hope your new Chap gives you good service. :)

You really didn't offend. My sincere apologies to you if my response seemed that way. As you can imagine I had really high expectations for this knife and I am a disappointed that, considering the price, it's not nearly as smooth and much harder to operate than other less expensive knives. After I posted previously I took all of my lock back knives out to compare. They're all much smoother and it seems like the lock spring in the Chap is much stronger than all the others including the Native 5. When you consider the how small and thin the lock bar is, and that it has no depression like most of the others, it makes it much more difficult for to unlock the knife.

Again, I really do like the Chap and I'm certainly not going to give up on it. I'm going to continue to use it and I'm pretty confident the bugs will work themselves out. If after a while I don't see much improvement I'll consider sending it in to Spyderco for a little adjusting. I think the style and small size make it a perfect gentleman's knife and I think the Chap and I are in for a long relationship.

[Sharp Guy]

Congratulations on the Chaparral. I find this model the best Spyderco for my tastes. It not a good flicking knife, if that's what you're looking for. I know that many judge, based on this trait, but I have no issue with the way it works.

Mine was great, right out of the box and continues to be. I sold my Sage-1, after owning my Chaparral for a few weeks.

No, I definitely wasn't expecting the Chap to be flickable and, as much fun as that is, wouldn't buy a knife based on that.

I like the Chaparral enough that I may consider selling my Sage 1 down the road. Different lock types aside, the Chap really is a small Sage 1 and for what I consider a Gentleman's folder smaller is good. However, the Sage 1 is a favorite of mine and it's a valued part of my little collection. So it's not going anywhere in the near future.

[dplafoll]

Congratulations on the Chaparral. I find this model the best Spyderco for my tastes. It not a good flicking knife, if that's what you're looking for. I know that many judge, based on this trait, but I have no issue with the way it works.

Mine was great, right out of the box and continues to be. I sold my Sage-1, after owning my Chaparral for a few weeks.

No, I definitely wasn't expecting the Chap to be flickable and, as much fun as that is, wouldn't buy a knife based on that.

I like the Chaparral enough that I may consider selling my Sage 1 down the road. Different lock types aside, the Chap really is a small Sage 1 and for what I consider a Gentleman's folder smaller is good. However, the Sage 1 is a favorite of mine and it's a valued part of my little collection. So it's not going anywhere in the near future.

+1 to the knife, and +1 to it getting easier to open and unlock. I love mine, and it's broken in well enough now that it's plenty flickable for me, whether it's coin-flip, thumb pad, or SpydieFlick. A little nano-oil helps that, but it wasn't necessary.

And if you just feel generous one day and want to get rid of that Sage, I am sure I can find it a good home. Namely mine. :D

[Sharp Guy]

I just want to follow up and say I fixed my Chaparral. The fact that it was so difficult to unlock and wasn't as smooth as it should be was driving me crazy and I couldn't stand it any longer. After taking it apart and reassembling the knife now works as it should. The action is very smooth and the lock bar is way easier to push down. I found a couple things when I took it apart to make me believe the knife was either, not assembled properly from the start, or it was taken apart at some point and not reassembled properly. I can't say for sure but if I had to guess I would say it was the latter.

So anyway, I'm now extremely pleased with the knife and I'm relieved that now works the way it should.

[archangel]

I love my chap as well, it's my favourite spydie. It IS perfect.

Almost.

One thing I think could be improved is the blade thickness. I would love the chap even more if the blade would be just as thick as say the urban leaf's. Just this one mm more... Then it would be one hundred percent perfect.

[this_is_nascar]

I just want to follow up and say I fixed my Chaparral. The fact that it was so difficult to unlock and wasn't as smooth as it should be was driving me crazy and I couldn't stand it any longer. After taking it apart and reassembling the knife now works as it should. The action is very smooth and the lock bar is way easier to push down. I found a couple things when I took it apart to make me believe the knife was either, not assembled properly from the start, or it was taken apart at some point and not reassembled properly. I can't say for sure but if I had to guess I would say it was the latter.

So anyway, I'm now extremely pleased with the knife and I'm relieved that now works the way it should.

Sorry about your issues, but glad you got them resolved. Enjoy............

[this_is_nascar]

I love my chap as well, it's my favourite spydie. It IS perfect.

Almost.

One thing I think could be improved is the blade thickness. I would love the chap even more if the blade would be just as thick as say the urban leaf's. Just this one mm more... Then it would be one hundred percent perfect.

If the blade was thicker, it wouldn't be a Chaparral. For me, it's one of the great features about this knife.