Spyderco Forums

I just got a new phoenix and I love this knife! I notice though that the ball lock is hard to slide back unless you spinn the ball a little. My question is will this break in or do I have one that is too tight?

Interesting. I have many different ball locks and they are all smooth as glass. Phoenix should be here soon, so I'll let you know how mine is. I wouldn't expect this.

Ken

My pheonix is super sticky as well. Mine as well has not broken in. I actually had to pry mine closed the other day because the ball wedged so tightly. Maybe someone from spyderco can speak up about the problem.

I've tried a couple of fixes so far, nothing has helped yet

I did notice that on my dodo the back part of the blade that contacts the ball is much more narrow than on the Phoenix, which is the full width of the blade. Now I know the ball only contacts that center piece but I was just comparing the two and it's the only visable difference I could find.

So you guys are saying the ball is getting "wedged" into it's "notch" in the blade?? :eek: That's not good.

Tricod, what have you tried, so far??

Ken

Well first let me say that this not a safety problem at all. The phoenix has without a doubt the most solid and smooth lockup I have ever seen. I mean really, I have fixed blades that have more play than this thing :) .

The problem comes when you unlock the knife. The ball gets wedged a little to tight and it binds to the point that you can't slide it back. A quick little twist of the ball frees it up and allows you to unlock it. Just after a full day of goofing with the ball my fingertips got a bit sore.


As for what I have tried. Up until yesterday I had been only useing "fixes" that anyone could do without voiding the warranty. Graphite powder, teflon lube, buffing compounds. Etc. Mostly just various forms of lube to help it loosen up. I was also just hopeing that opening and closing the lock over and over would "break it in". Which to be honest, will.

But I'm impatient, the way I see it the axis lock is a similar and it never binds or sticks so neither should the ball lock.
So last night I took the knife apart and lightly sanded the lock faces with 400grit sandpaper on a flat sanding block. And then buffed the surface of the lock face (blade side) to a mirror polish. All in all 10min work tops. My goal was to knock down some of the ridges from the laser cutting process (kerf) so that the ball would slide out of these ridges with greater ease.

It has helped hugely! However it does void the warranty and on a $300 knife (I have custom folders that cost less than that) I expect it to come better. I also don't think this fix should be done by just anyone. It requires a bit of care and know how. You really don't want to go to far and render the lock useless.

Tricod wrote:As for what I have tried. Up until yesterday I had been only useing "fixes" that anyone could do without voiding the warranty. Graphite powder, teflon lube, buffing compounds. Etc. Mostly just various forms of lube to help it loosen up. I was also just hopeing that opening and closing the lock over and over would "break it in". Which to be honest, will.

Thanks Tri, those are the things I would try.....

Tricod wrote:But I'm impatient, the way I see it the axis lock is a similar and it never binds or sticks so neither should the ball lock.
So last night I took the knife apart and lightly sanded the lock faces with 400grit sandpaper on a flat sanding block. And then buffed the surface of the lock face (blade side) to a mirror polish. All in all 10min work tops. My goal was to knock down some of the ridges from the laser cutting process (kerf) so that the ball would slide out of these ridges with greater ease.

It has helped hugely! However it does void the warranty and on a $300 knife (I have custom folders that cost less than that) I expect it to come better. I also don't think this fix should be done by just anyone. It requires a bit of care and know how. You really don't want to go to far and render the lock useless.

Understood. I agree, for that price, you'd think the QC would be top notch. I wonder if something like a jeweler's file could do this without disassembly?

Ken

Unless it was a diamond file it wouldn't cut. By heat treating the blade it stops the ability of a file to cut the steel.

Files cut, we need to abraide the surface. Hench sandpaper. Although in theory you could use something like a stick with sandpaper stuck to it. I'm pretty certain that would still void the warranty.

This really concerns me, as I have been looking to get one also! Maybe Kristi or Sal could post a reply about what they think about the problem!?

Johnny :confused:

Inspired by Tricod but not really ready to take apart a knife with a ball lock I picked up some fine emory cloth, I got mine at lowes for a few bucks and it comes in a pack with coarse, medium and fine. I found the cloth firm enough where you could fold in and lightly polish this area with the knife closed. After about 3 minutes it's perfection! I am sure Spyderco will fix this in future production runs but it's nice to have mine smooth now.

Try a fine polishing point in a Dremmel to smooth out those areas causing the ball to basically "taper lock".

Zeus

Tricod wrote:
... However it does void the warranty and on a $300 knife (I have custom folders that cost less than that) I expect it to come better. I also don't think this fix should be done by just anyone. It requires a bit of care and know how. You really don't want to go to far and render the lock useless.

Very interesting! one pays $300 and needs to be an expert to fix a Schlamperei by Spyderco.

A small Sebenza's price is $330, and for $30 difference one gets a perfection.

I am sorry, this may sound as a crude talk, but in fact I am really disappointed.

Franco

Let's wait and listen to what the people from Golden have to say.

This seems to be really atypical for a high-end Spydie model, so I'm sure we will hear from them.

That said, actually there WERE some (cosmetic) issues with the new Bob Lum Chinese folder, weren't there? But a sticking lock mechanism is of course more serious.

Well, as more people get their specimen, we will see if that problem is common for the Phoenix. That would really suck, though.

Dennis

Murdoc wrote:Let's wait and listen to what the people from Golden have to say.

+1
I am with you Dennis on all counts
I hope this issue will not be unnoticed and addressed. I love Viele designs and was looking forward to buy Phoenix, but I do not see myself to take apart $200 knife to make it function better and brake edge of liners because it is sharp. Fit and finish is a part of quality as well.

Murdoc wrote: This seems to be really atypical for a high-end Spydie model, so I'm sure we will hear from them.

That said, actually there WERE some (cosmetic) issues with the new Bob Lum Chinese folder, weren't there? But a sticking lock mechanism is of course more serious.

Well, as more people get their specimen, we will see if that problem is common for the Phoenix. That would really suck, though.

Dennis

My last Lum came with couple issues as well: uneven almite on the back of the scales (it is perfect on the front), also I had to open and close knife for lock to lock more secure (still I have more faith in locks on Sage and Military).
As a knife user/collector I can live with this issues, even I prefer not to have them, but for me it is an indication that Spyderco's suppliers lowering their quality standards and IMHO (professional as well) this is something, which need to be addressed, or company can suffer on the long run. The knife like my last Lum, probably will not turn off Spydernut, but will not make a good impression on non Spyderco people for sure.

Roman

1. Mine's here! :D

2. It's smooth as glass!

3. The grip is PERFECT. Fits my hand like it was measured for it.

4. Far from being sticky, the BBL is as easy and smooth as any BBL I own (3 Dodo's and a D'Allara)

This knife is awesome! Very easy one hand open and close. I do think I may close this differently than some of you (from the descriptions I've read)... I wish I knew how to post a video but for description....

To close this knife (and every BBL I own) I:

1. Rotate the knife in hand so the blade is "up", thumb is on the ball, index finger on the back of the blade, other three fingers on the handle opposite the thumb.

2. Retract the ball with the edge of my thumb (kinda using the thumb nail but I keep my nails really short so it isn't much, really)

3. Push the blade closed using my index finger. The main grip here comes from my middle finger and thumb which are opposite each other at the ball. The thumb stops retracting the ball once the blade begins to close. It's very easy, reasonably secure and reliable. I might use two hands if I were on the water or something but I've never had any problem doing it this way...

I have to say, the titanium edges are a bit crisp (read - sharp :D ) but, they don't bother me at all (the back edge of the tang of the D'Allara is just as sharp and I DO notice THAT when closing that knife). I have to try to notice the edges of the Phoenix. They aren't a problem for me.

For those of you not into knife mods, if your BBL sticks, I would call Spydero service dept. It is not a flaw in the knife's design and I would ask them to take care of it. This is a terrific knife and mine is definitely a keeper.

Way to bring it, Sal & Co.

Ken

Oh yeah, almost forgot.... This thing is a little TANK of a knife. Strong, tough, solid! I worried it might feel a bit "heavy" but it doesn't. It's PERFECT!

Ken

Glad to hear that some are smooth....so did Tricod and I just get lemons? Still waiting to hear from someone in Golden...

No offense, but let's hope so. It would be preferable to I got the only one working correctly....

Any other Phoenix owners out there care to chime in??

Man I love this knife!

Ken

That's the bad part. My brother and I have been touting this knife to my dad for months and it has got to be right.

Tricod wrote: It has helped hugely! However it does void the warranty and on a $300 knife (I have custom folders that cost less than that) I expect it to come better. I also don't think this fix should be done by just anyone. It requires a bit of care and know how. You really don't want to go to far and render the lock useless.

Where'd you pay $300 for it? It goes for about $190 online.