Chaparral lock too stiff

[eyewall]

Compared to both of yours my Chaparral is obviously flawed. I'll need to decide where to go from here, it's too expensive for me to keep if I'm not going to use it and I'm a little leery of trying another one. I guess one more shot is worth it though, I can't think of anything that fits as well for me as the Chaparral. If I can get an exchange I'll try it again.

[sal]

Hi Eyewall,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum. Sorry you're having a problem.

The lock on your knife isn't right. I would see if you can get it replaced by your dealer, or send it to us. It shouldn't be any harder to close than your D'fly.

sal

[eyewall]

Thanks Sal, I really appreciate that. I'll find out tomorrow if I can exchange the Chaparral. I doubt it will be a problem. I'm getting a G10 Cat tomorrow and a Persistence. I was thinking the Cat might replace the Chaparral but I think the Chaparral has too many qualities that I would miss. If I can't get an exchange I'll send it to you guys, and give my thumb a chance to heal :-)

[eyewall]

Here's an update - I am getting a replacement for the Chaparral. It should be here next week. I got a Cat G10 and a Persistence yesterday and realized the Cat is a perfect replacement for the Chaparral for grittier use like hiking or camping. I'm sorry I missed the short run of CF S30V Cats, but that might have defeated the purpose. I'm in love with the Cat now, will probably fall back in love with the Chap when it arrives, assuming the lock is workable.

A sad note is that the Persistence they sent me was used. I bought these from an online retailer I trust so I was shocked when the Persistence had damaged screw heads, a way too loose pivot screw, worn corners on the scales and the clip screw holes for the left side tip up carry were gouged out. They offered to replace it of course but I sent a couple emails and had a long conversation with their cust svc guy to make sure they knew how wrong what they did was.

I need to find a local retailer. My son got me into trying out different knives, probably knowing he'd end up with all the ones I didn't want to keep. I've been happy for the last thirty years with a couple of folders and a venerable SAK (I miss the toothpick) but now I can't stop buying Spyderco's. I live in knife country with Gerber, Leatherman, CRKT and Benchmade all in town. In fact Benchmade is only three miles from my house. In spite of this, when I first saw the leaf shaped flat ground blade on a Spyderco I was hooked. I haven't purchased anything except Spyderco since.

I'm looking forward to the new Chaparral arriving in a few days.

[kbuzbee]

Jade Steel?

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

Ah, got'cha... Tamahagane. As in Super Blue. My understanding is the literal is Jewel Steel (forgot about that or I "might" have picked it up quicker. ... or not....

Cheers,

Ken

[eyewall]

The final resolution of my Chaparral saga; The new one was much easier to close, the blade and lock are both a lot smoother/easier than the old one. The fit and finish is impeccable and I noticed only a slight grittiness in the pivot which went away after some oil and a couple hours of opening and closing. Very nice, except I decided Chaparral is not for me.

I haven't been able to get used to the sharp edges on the liners and the lock, or the spydie hole. The liners especially bug me when I'm shifting the position of the knife in my hand and it feels like I'm handling a pair of scissors by the blades. I'm not sure what it is, it might just be the thinness of the handle or the still too stiff (for me) lock, but I just didn't find the Chap was right for me. I got a 440C Cat G-10 a few days ago and I love it. It's only slightly smaller, slightly thicker but it's perfect in my hand and hides in the watch pocket on my jeans just fine. The SS will probably be an advantage for me living in the rainy NW. I don't mind sharpening a little more often as long as it takes a good edge.

Thanks for all the replies in this thread. I thought an easier lock would be all I needed to love the Chaparral. Obviously the first one I had really had a problem. The new one however didn't feel different enough to get me past the initial disappointment.

That said, I know there are many other Spyderco's in my future. I'm hooked.

[donutsrule]

My Chap was the sharpest (liners, lockbar, spine, and hole) that I've ever owned, but a couple minutes with some rolled-up high-grit paper made it much nicer without changing the appearance to the naked eye.

[eyewall]

I thought of that but decided not to do it, to just return the knife instead.

[mattman]

eyewall-
there wa a recent thread about sharp liners, I think regarding the Sage 4, where the point was made that sharp, "crisp" corners were a sign of quality, and gave the maker a sense of pride, proving their skills.

I would search it for you, but I'm on my phone. Just wanted to add another data point, before you made your final decision...

[eyewall]

Thx Mattman, I'll try to find that thread, I figured there must be some discussion about this. I understand that perfect corners, sharp crisp edges are a measure of the quality of the work. The sharpness of the edges on the Chaparral however, to me, felt unfinished. It felt like the liners were stamped out with a pneumatic press and then assembled without any further work. I know that's not true, just trying to convey my impression of the scissors-sharp edges. I compared it with my Dragonfly which has no liners but does have other comparable surfaces. The lockbar on the Dragonfly has perfectly squared sharp edges, but they don't feel like they'll cut your hand. Same for the Spydie hole. It's sharp, crisp, but feels finished. I got to where I opened the Chaparral by pushing my thumb nail into the hole and pushing rather than using the pad of my thumb. I avoided touching parts of the handle when closed, like the peak of the choil above the pivot, where the edges felt like they could inflict some damage. If the knife was right enough for me I would have carefully touched up the edges with a stone, fine grit paper or something, hadn't decided what yet, without damaging the fine corners, just taking the knife edge off so it was comfortable to handle.

Part of me thought I shouldn't have to do this on a $100+ knife, but at the same time I am very impressed with the craftsmanship and willing to do what I felt it needed to be a keeper. There were a couple of other things that didn't work for me so I decided to return it rather than have a fine drawer knife. No offense to the maker in Taichung but I think the fellows in Seki City have a more refined sharp-corner-thing for both usability and quality of craftsmanship. Bearing in mind that I've only seen one example from each factory. I couldn't possibly be less of an expert.

[mattman]

I found it...

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showt...291#post784291

[The Deacon]

To be honest, I think there's another reason for crisp edged liners on midlock knives. If the inner edge is not crisp, it creates an unsightly indentation between the liner and the backspacer, as well as the liner and the lockbar. Keeping the entire perimeter crisp is far easier, and thus more cost effective, than selectively rounding some areas while leaving others crisp. Note that the inner perimeter of the liners on the Sage I, made by the same maker, are rounded. I imagine that's at least partly because, unlike the Chaparral and Sage IV, there's nothing the Sage I's liners need to butt up against seamlessly.

Simple truth is, nothing works for everyone. Probably a good thing, or we'd all be carrying the same knife. Probably also a good thing that Spyderco offers such a wide variety of knives in most sizes that finding one which works well for you is possible.

[eyewall]

That's a great thread, thanks for the link!

That makes sense Deacon and no one can question the beauty of the seamless 3 piece steel block along the back of teh Chaparral. I imagine it's pretty hard to give a flat steel edge a mirror polish and still maintain the sharp corners and edges. The top edge of the blade on the Chap would definitely shave a fingernail. Like I said before, I am impressed, but now even more so after reading that thread.