Sal, will you please take a look at this?

kniferbro said:
Do you sharpen with a clamp-style system? Sharpening hasn't been a problem for me BUT I sharpen by hand. I can see it being a problem with a guided-clamp sharpener.
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I didn't use a clamp system on this one. It's not a huge deal, more of a minor pain. It's a well made knife and I don't have any legitimate complaints with it outside of some things I'd change to suit my personal taste. I didn't post any of that to say it's a bad knife or anything remotely close. It was only to say that we can all nit pick and find things wrong with pretty much anything. If we blast Sal with all kinds of complaints about any and every thing possibly wrong he probably won't be quite so willing to come on the boards and share things and listen.
 
trevitrace said:
Just imagine if that knife had bearings. Egads!
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I got it precisely because it DOESN'T have bearings. And I'm not disappointed with my decision. I still like the overall design of the mantra better for my own personal tastes but yeah, the bearings are a no go.
 
iMarcoU said:
Oké what I meant, see the picture. This is more steel away then I would sharpen in 3 years. Not quite happy, also the factory edge is very rough.
6be3450b3b2d3eb616cbdab666004a35.jpg



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You're working on the assumption that the little "tail" at the end of the sharpened edge represents where rest of the blade was before sharpening. That would involve a lot of time and belt wear, so a more reasonable explanation might be that it's just the transition between the sharpened edge and the tang. Some may find it visually unattractive but others would complain if Spyderco got rid of it by adding a sharpening choil.
 
The Deacon said:
You're working on the assumption that the little "tail" at the end of the sharpened edge represents where rest of the blade was before sharpening. That would involve a lot of time and belt wear, so a more reasonable explanation might be that it's just the transition between the sharpened edge and the tang. Some may find it visually unattractive but others would complain if Spyderco got rid of it by adding a sharpening choil.
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The fewer sharpening choils out there the better. Sure they make some of the knives a little easier to sharpen but when it comes to using the knife the notch becomes a hindrance.
 
The Deacon said:
You're working on the assumption that the little "tail" at the end of the sharpened edge represents where rest of the blade was before sharpening. That would involve a lot of time and belt wear, so a more reasonable explanation might be that it's just the transition between the sharpened edge and the tang. Some may find it visually unattractive but others would complain if Spyderco got rid of it by adding a sharpening choil.
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We know that's what it represents, by looking at Para 2's/Military's which haven't been sharpened to death by the factory.

The blade should (and does, on knives that haven't been oversharpened) extend all the way down to the point I outlined below in the picture. It's quite clear to see, thanks to the fact that there are some knives out there that haven't been oversharpened.

They don't need to add a sharpening choil, they need to stop sharpening the knives to death at the ricasso area. Especially because you're right, it costs them time in money and materials.

If you don't believe me, I'll take pics to prove it to you when I get home.


ETA: this also accounts for the difference in actual blade size. If you took the para 2 pictured below, and measured it against one that had not been sharpened to death, I literally guarantee that the blade would be physically smaller in every dimension. The length would be shorter, the thickness spine-to-edge would be shorter, and the actual edge thickness would be greater (because the edge is now physically moved up on the blade and the blade gets thicker toward the spine)

How can I guarantee this? Because I've owned many of these and I've measured them. Each time one looks like the picture below, the blade is smaller. It's smaller because someone makes an "oopsie" at the ricasso and over grinds it. Well, they can't leave it like that because you'd see a smooth belly from tip to middle, and then a sharp angle from the middle to the ricasso.

So, they have to grind down the rest of the blade to match the oopsie at the ricasso. That results in blades that are smaller, but have thicker edges than the counterparts that are not sharpened to death. THAT's why it bugs me so much, and the reason I made this thread.

Why would I accept a knife that has had years of life sharpened away, that also has a thicker edge cross section? Especially when I know they can do it right.


mbc98Ks.jpg
 
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Lycosa said:
fwiw- I kinda like that subtle curve to the choil.^
rolf
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They still have a subtle curve even when sharpened correctly, because the blade blank itself has a slight curve.

The line is only straight because I just made it that way in paint. :)

I'll take some pictures when I get home tonight and show you what I mean. A properly sharpened para 2 still has a slight curve, it just also still has all the steel left that it was "born" with.
 
The Deacon said:
You're working on the assumption that the little "tail" at the end of the sharpened edge represents where rest of the blade was before sharpening. That would involve a lot of time and belt wear, so a more reasonable explanation might be that it's just the transition between the sharpened edge and the tang. Some may find it visually unattractive but others would complain if Spyderco got rid of it by adding a sharpening choil.
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I sold it anyway. Can not live with sharpening fails. If I buy something in this price range I expect it to be perfect

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It also changes the look of a new knife unfavorably. I have a nicely sharpened Endura, and 3 not so nice ones. It even gives the blade a more down slanted look I don't like. No need for the factory sharpening guy to take so much off. I agree with the OP. Takes considerable life off the knife.
 
Well, ordered 4 more knives to hopefully get a good one - all 4 have the issue pretty bad.

2 native 5 lightweight S110's, an s110 para 2 and also a maxamet manix.

It's getting a frustrating, and very disappointing to be honest. I love spyderco knives more than most I'd imagine, but this is killing it for me.

Sal, I'm begging you - please fix whatever or whoever is doing this. It's just supremely disappointing to open a brand new knife and see all this steel ground away.

And I'm packing these up to ship them back. So if anyone is going to call BS on me I already took pics. I'll also show all of my invoices. I've ordered 35+ spydies in the last 3 months. Exactly 24 of them have had the issue bad enough that I couldn't look past it. The others were either perfect or it was slight enough that I could live with it.
 
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Because I agree with the OP's sentiment, and as I believe this to be a CQI worth following up on.

I still believe Spyderco quality overall to be more consistent than most other mfr's. Much of what has already been mentioned related to over-grinding (increasing TBE, shortening blade height & length) is insignificant to many, but enough of an issue to me that I have found many times I need to buy multiples and sell off the one's that are not acceptable to me. It is a pleasant surprise to open a box and find a nicely ground primary AND secondary (but will say this is about the only nit-pick on Spyderco's today). Can not say this about many other production knives I see.

I hope this thread in no way influences the application of sharpening choils to be universally applied (that would be a negative in my mind).
 
Just checking in. Bought yet another 3 knives......


And I'm keeping them all. They weren't perfect, but they were definitely good enough to keep and not bug me. I still want sal to fix this, because 1 in 10 isn't good odds, but there are some good ones out there.

It was 2 s35vn natives and 1 s110v native in case anyone was curious. I'll take pics if anyone wants to see what I'm calling "not perfect but acceptable."

Have a great week guys.
 
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