Chaparral lock too stiff

[eyewall]

I've been lurking (learning) for a while and joined because I have a question I couldn't find addressed in another thread, so my first post is about a problem. I recently bought a Chaparral and the lock is so tight I can't close the blade without a certain amount of pain and a disfigured thumb. The thin lock bar digs into my thumb and leaves what is becoming a combination of blister/callus and indentations. My wife tried closing the blade and couldn't do it using any method at all. I'm sure the lock is tighter than it should be but I don't see any way to make it better. The mechanism is pretty simple.

My favorite knife at the moment is a Spyderco Dragonfly 2 FRN which I find easy to open and close with one hand.

My thumb is getting shredded by the sharp edges and stiff mechanism on the Chaparral. I don't mind using two hands to close the knife but even that is difficult and painful.

I think it's best that I return it for a refund but I'm curious, if I buy another one should I expect something similar? Is the lock on the Chaparral really this difficult? I feel like there isn't enough room to get the bar down far enough to fully disengage the lock. I can't get it to fully release the blade, the best it will do is let me force it past a strong detent where the lock pops out of the notch.

I'm kind of disenchanted with the Chaparral at the moment. I should add that I did find a thread here in which the internal mechanism was exposed. I disassembled mine to the same state, cleaned everything, oiled it, put it back together and managed to make the blade a little smoother opening but it had no effect at all on the lock.

Any suggestions?

[tvhaugen]

I would send it back to the retailer for a replacement (just read your post more carefully and see you took the knife apart....so you can't return it to the retailer). My Chaparral's lock does not require the force you are explaining to push. It's a great knife an a replacement should make you very happy.

[Blerv]

I hate to be the doomsayer but by disassembling the knife you cut down on your options. I would probably send it to Spyderco and see if they will fix it but *technically* it doesn't have a warranty anymore. Please don't return it because it would just put a poor functioning knife back into the dealer's stock potentially.

Good luck.

[BAL]

Welcome eyewall and sorry to here about your Chaparral. I don't have one, so I am
not sure about that one. I have had several that were stiff when I bought them and
I would work them over and over as I sat and watched TV or similar and was able to
get them perfectly smooth.

I have loosened a couple up as well, but not sure about yours. Others with the Chaparral
will give you better advice than I.

[jackknifeh]

I've been lurking (learning) for a while and joined because I have a question I couldn't find addressed in another thread, so my first post is about a problem. I recently bought a Chaparral and the lock is so tight I can't close the blade without a certain amount of pain and a disfigured thumb. The thin lock bar digs into my thumb and leaves what is becoming a combination of blister/callus and indentations. My wife tried closing the blade and couldn't do it using any method at all. I'm sure the lock is tighter than it should be but I don't see any way to make it better. The mechanism is pretty simple.

My favorite knife at the moment is a Spyderco Dragonfly 2 FRN which I find easy to open and close with one hand.

My thumb is getting shredded by the sharp edges and stiff mechanism on the Chaparral. I don't mind using two hands to close the knife but even that is difficult and painful.

I think it's best that I return it for a refund but I'm curious, if I buy another one should I expect something similar? Is the lock on the Chaparral really this difficult? I feel like there isn't enough room to get the bar down far enough to fully disengage the lock. I can't get it to fully release the blade, the best it will do is let me force it past a strong detent where the lock pops out of the notch.

I'm kind of disenchanted with the Chaparral at the moment. I should add that I did find a thread here in which the internal mechanism was exposed. I disassembled mine to the same state, cleaned everything, oiled it, put it back together and managed to make the blade a little smoother opening but it had no effect at all on the lock.

Any suggestions?

I don't think you have a problem at all. Since you have already voided the warranty, take the CF scales off the side of the knife. What you want to do is gain access to the screw that holds the pin that the lock bar pivots on. You can't see it when the scales are on the knife. With the scales removed adjust the tension on the screw so the lock bar moves easily just using your thumb normally. Then put the knife back together and adjust the blade pivot how you like it. That should take care of it as long as there are no bent parts (liner, lock bar, etc.). You might want to use loc-tite on the screw threads. THREADS ONLY! Make sure none gets between the liners and lock bar or anywhere other than inside the pin the screw screws into. I believe this will work. If it doesn't and I couldn't return it to where you bought it then I'd send it to Spyderco so they can fix it. It may cost you but IMO I like the knife enough to get it fixed. If you hadn't disassembled it already you could send it to them for free but still, I think you can fix it yourself (which is always nice IMO). Be sure to put a drop of good oil on your knife while it is un-put-together. I like to do it then because it's easier to see that all areas are getting lubed. I take the opportunity to apply Tuf-Glide for corrosion control and Nano-Oil on pivot points.

Good luck,
Jack

PS edit: Several people including myself had problems with the pivot on the Chaparral being gritty when opening it. You could even hear it sometimes. The grittyness on mine went away after about a month of fiddling with it even when not using it. You know, opening it when watching tv and such. I think your Chaparral will get easier also even if it doesn't feel perfect after you try to adjust your lock bar screw.

[kbuzbee]

un-put-together

"apart"?

Ken

[jackknifeh]

"apart"?

Ken

That's it. Glad to see you understand my good english.

Jack

[kbuzbee]

That's it. Glad to see you understand my good english.

Jack

As we get older, my wife and I both find ourselves struggling to find the most basic of words, at times... It's kinda sad.<sigh>

ken

[PARATOM]

As we get older, my wife and I both find ourselves struggling to find the most basic of words, at times... It's kinda sad.<sigh>

ken

Jade Steel?

[kbuzbee]

Jade Steel?

?

Ken

[The Deacon]

The combination of a thin blade, and thus a thin lockbar, a relatively strong spring, and tight tolerances, do tend to make the Chaparral's lock somewhat more difficult to disengage than most Spyderco midlocks. Either that or it's part of a trend, since the Native V and Sage IV exhibit the same behavior, and have thicker blades.

[PARATOM]

?

Ken

your sig, didnt mean to get OT just wondering...

[eyewall]

Thanks for all the replies. I actually did try the lock bar pivot screw Jack, that was why I made it un-put-together in the first place, I had seen the thread from last year where this was mentioned, I believe by you. I did not remove the blade from its pivot because I didn't want to deal with the extremely strong spring. I don't see how any further disassembly or fiddling could make a difference, short of replacing the spring. The lockbar pivot screw seemed to make no difference on mine. I backed off a slight bit on the blade pivot screws and the opening is smoother, though still not as nice as my Dragonfly.

As The Deacon said, the thinness of the lockbar is definitely contributing to the nastiness it's doing to my thumb, as is the spring tension. I think I need to accept that this knife design is not for me, or be patient and let my thumb heal and a callus form before working it a lot more. I find it kind of ironic that a premier "gentleman's folder" requires some serious blue-collar calluses to operate it.

[Blerv]

Perhaps you could call the dealer and see if they have one on hand with a lighter action. Knives tend to vary a bit per unit, not per model.

My brothers black FRN Stretch has a very light action and my blue FRN one is about 5 times stiffer. Both open smoothly and with one hand so it's more adapting than anything.

[arty]

Your experience is not typical. I have two and they are both easy to open and close.
I carry them when I want to have a shorter/smaller knife in my pocket. The Chaparral is my small pocket knife -
my big one is the Rookie, or a knife a little bit larger.
I have plenty of larger knives, but tend to want to carry knives with blades < 3" and handles that are < 3.8".
There are even times when I want something smaller than the Chaparral, but it is a good knife with (at least for my arthritic fingers) relatively easy opening and closing.

[eyewall]

Arty, did you modify or adjust your Chaparrals in any way? The one I have is so tight that I can barely get it to release the blade when it's locked, even using two hands.

[eyewall]

I should add, I've probably opened and closed this thing a few hundred times in the last couple of days. I've been hoping it would loosen up from use but it hasn't, it's as tight as the day it arrived (the lock, the blade is a bit smoother). I'm picking up a Cat G10 tomorrow to feed my Spyderco addiction. Depending on how that goes I may see if I can trade this Chaparral for another one.

[Blerv]

I'm not the most seasoned collector but in my experience they don't get too much more loose over time. Perhaps they develop more play if the person does prying and such but that's different.

Probably the best thing to do minus a full-on disassembly and sanding/polish job is to see if it can be exchanged for one with a lighter action. You will sleep better at night and enjoy the knife that way.

[eyewall]

Yes, I'll check if an exchange is possible. I like the knife but my thumb hurts.

[arty]

The only thing that I did was add some blue lube. I did remove the clip and use a black O-ring to take the place of the clip as a spacer. This didn't involve
taking the knife apart.
The user knife had a little buffing compound in it when it arrived, but the lube helped clear it out. The second, backup was fine, without the grit.
It was never really stiff. Opening and closing were easy.
I do have an Mcusta Name that I can't open with one hand, but that is another story.
The Chaparrals were both functioning fine on arrival.