Spyderco Paysan - lock slip?

REK Knives

REK Knives

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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I've heard a report about lock slip on the Paysan from a customer, and now I have one in my hand. While it has the "shiro stick" when unlocking, there is noticeable vertical slipping going on when gripped in two hands and wiggling up and down. Wanted to see if others were having this issue or if it was only limited to a few?

I could have made this lock fail w/ 2 hands (didn't take much pressure...), but the safest way (found out the hard way lol) is to lock the blade in a vise and check it this way.

This was an issues w/ the radius'd tang on the Nirvanas as well after they broke in, I'm just surprised to see this on the new and improved Paysan. IF it's a widespread issue, it would be nice for Spyderco get the next production run fixed before too many go out into the public's hands. :)


 
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oh no. grip with 2 hands and wiggle up and down. thats how I cut my hand badly (with a different knife). So, whoever wants to check vertical play, be cautious or better use the vise method.
 
sharp_edge said:
oh no. grip with 2 hands and wiggle up and down. thats how I cut my hand badly (with a different knife). So, whoever wants to check vertical play, be cautious or better use the vise method.
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yeah, you and me both... for those that want to attempt the two hand method better use cut proof gloves... which I just did and it wasn't difficult to make to slip, maybe 10-15 lbs of force.
 
sharp_edge said:
oh no. grip with 2 hands and wiggle up and down. thats how I cut my hand badly (with a different knife). So, whoever wants to check vertical play, be cautious or better use the vise method.
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You can do it without putting your hands in the path of the blade. Just open it, hold the knife edge-up, grab near the pivot area with your index finger and thumb on each hand from below the knife, and apply force with the sides of your hands to try to close the knife.

That should let you test the knife's lock without putting yourself at risk. It's how I test all of mine when I receive a new knife.
 
marrenmiller said:
You can do it without putting your hands in the path of the blade. Just open it, hold the knife edge-up, grab near the pivot area with your index finger and thumb on each hand from below the knife, and apply force with the sides of your hands to try to close the knife.

That should let you test the knife's lock without putting yourself at risk. It's how I test all of mine when I receive a new knife.
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I don't think that would give enough force to make it fail, you would possibly feel it slip though - I don't have it anymore to check it with this method though so I can't say for sure.
 
I've muscled mine as hard I can and I can get a tiny amount of discernible flex in the lockbar when I really bear down on it, but no actual slippage of the lock face. Wish there wasn't even a hint of movement, but it's not a deal breaker for me. Love the knife.
 
halden.doerge said:
I've muscled mine as hard I can and I can get a tiny amount of discernible flex in the lockbar when I really bear down on it, but no actual slippage of the lock face. Wish there wasn't even a hint of movement, but it's not a deal breaker for me. Love the knife.
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Great to hear! If you have a vise to lock it in I'm curious where it's flexing on the lockbar - the relief? Or is it rear contact on the blade tang instead of forward contact? Vise really helps figure out where it's coming from.
 
In my experience, framelocks with lockbar flex will likely fail a not-so-hard spine tap. Bending the lockbar inward will help, though I am not suggesting anyone to do either on their expensive paysan..
 
razor-edge-knives said:
I don't think that would give enough force to make it fail, you would possibly feel it slip though - I don't have it anymore to check it with this method though so I can't say for sure.
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I have gotten some knives with bad locks to close this way, and more importantly it'll show you if the lock has any slip or motion of any kind. I generally assume that if it does that, then it could close. I don't need to it to shut; if I know that the lock shifts, that's enough for a return or warranty work.
 
marrenmiller said:
I have gotten some knives with bad locks to close this way, and more importantly it'll show you if the lock has any slip or motion of any kind. I generally assume that if it does that, then it could close. I don't need to it to shut; if I know that the lock shifts, that's enough for a return or warranty work.
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Yeah I agree on some it would, but on the one I just checked I'm not sure if I could have gotten it to slip that way. I must have weak fingers haha, can't get enough traction! :)
 
I just got one and it has this issue. Super disappointing. I wish i had seen this earlier. Other than that I love the knife but that's a deal breaker for me. I will be sending it back. If this ever gets resolved I would consider purchasing again. I can apply a light downward pressure and get the lock to flex. If i go back and forth it is audible. It makes a clicking noise and i can feel the blade move.
 
grumpy514 said:
If anybody was wondering about the detent, I believe they are ALL weak. I don't see it being a huge issue since its not a flipper but still a shame. This was with a moderate flick of the wrist.
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I can do this with pretty much all of my Taichung made Spydercos. I do NOT consider it a problem. In fact, I like it but, then again, I do not live in any "gravity" law knife states where it would be.
 
sgt1372 said:
I can do this with pretty much all of my Taichung made Spydercos. I do NOT consider it a problem. In fact, I like it but, then again, I do not live in any "gravity" law knife states where it would be.
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The detent didnt bother me at all but the lock slip and lock rock do. I hope they are not all like this. I had the exact same issue with the massdrop gavko thresher. Another knife i was excited for that ended up being a let down. I havent heard any mainstream reviewers mention this issue yet. I discovered mine just by checking for blade play using minimal force.
 
Stang Bladeworks said:
The detent didnt bother me at all but the lock slip and lock rock do. I hope they are not all like this. I had the exact same issue with the massdrop gavko thresher. Another knife i was excited for that ended up being a let down. I havent heard any mainstream reviewers mention this issue yet. I discovered mine just by checking for blade play using minimal force.
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Same here, and I’ve returned the thresher for an exchange 3 times. I own more than a few WE knives and the thresher is the only one that has been less than perfect. It’s clearly a manufacturing issue, since every single one I’ve handled has had some mount of give. It’s a shame too because the detent was perfect on all, easily spydy flicked but certainly not weak.

I was on the fence about the paysan but these issues are unacceptable for any knife, never mind one (over)priced like this. Had this been benchmade or ZT there would be much greater outrage. I don’t know why people have blinders for spyderco, or any company for that matter.
 
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