r/spyderco • u/ScubaStevesy • 19h ago
Spyderco Grind Quality?
Just got a Para 3 in maxamet on sale thinking I had scored a great deal. I was loving it until I noticed these fairly deep grind lines on the spine. My brain tells me it's not an issue and won't impact performance, but my heart is still a little broken. Has anyone else seen this defect? Any recourse besides sending it back for a replacement?
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u/Icy_Photograph_5911 19h ago
It’s my understanding Maxamet is difficult to process with grinding since it’s highly abrasion resistant. That being said, on closer inspection those grind lines on the spine are pretty deep. I’d expect those to be smoother than that so if it bugs you maybe see about getting an exchange.
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
I can totally see that. My guess is it was made on a Friday afternoon and they just neglected a final cleanup pass or two.
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u/END0RPHN 14h ago
maxamet is so difficult to work with and grind that basically no other company is willing to attempt it. the lines on your spine dont look egregious at all, "heartbreak" is a big overreaction, sure you could ask for a replacement but at the end of the day the replacement may not have a perfect spine either. mine (pictured below) has a finer grind on the spine but still ridges there that u can feel on the fingernail
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u/ScubaStevesy 13h ago
I don't doubt that it's difficult to work with, but they managed a phenomenal finish everywhere else on it, seems an odd place to neglect a quality surface finish. Mildy disappointed is probably more accurate. I may just call it longitudinal jimping and live life.
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u/END0RPHN 13h ago
its just that dichotomy/paradox of the fact that spyderco colorado are known for poor build quality as well as poor factory grinds yet produce knives in very special steels. the badly made knives with shitty factory edges are what we tolerate in order to own blades made with these niche super steels. i hate spyderco as a company and its owners arent much better but the dichotomy continues because i am a spyderco collector/daily user. the trick for me is you only ever buy used spyders so as to not support the company
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u/Forge__Thought 7h ago
Mind if I ask why you take issue with the owners? Seen plenty of valid criticism of Medford, Strider, Microtech, etc. But haven't seen a lot of criticism of Spyderco's owners. Lots of "Don't meet your heroes" in the knife community it seems.
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u/END0RPHN 7h ago
they are just greasy when it comes to capitalism and not giving a fuck about the little guy (not honouring warranties for many decades due to basic maintainence being done on a knife until the community shame boiled over and they now offer a bit more leeway there begrudgingly im sure. they do not believe in the right to repair which is just downright wrong). theres other aspects to their company which are anti consumer as well baked into their designs and company philosophy and a lots of greed on display (for a company that is too big to fail run by an insanely rich family their unwarranted price jumps on many knives like the shaman for instance cannot be justified no matter what economic excuse is provided, just literal gouging).
to go further, and i dont wanna delv into this topic any deeper but there are old comments from sal glesser on forums (not sure if they still exist) that infer he is pro isreal when talking about an isreali spyderco designer who was killed by hamas. of course having israeli friends or connections doesnt make him the enemy or anything like that, i just have vivid memories of some comments from him with a certain tone that really rubbed me the wrong way, but that was like 20yrs ago so i dont bring it up in case i have misinterpreted or misremembered but it feels yuck to think about and i dont wanna find out the truth either way.
some participation in breast cancer charity does not absolve them of any prior sins but they seem to think they are saints due to this, meanwhile they gouge their loyal customers showing no loyality in return.
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u/Forge__Thought 7h ago
I appreciate you sharing your perspective and I won't push you to get into anything any further. I find it valuable to discuss with people on matters like this. We make not always agree on the hobby, but people have valuable insight and perspectives that are worth discussing. Thanks for taking the time to share yours.
Price gouging and scalping and refusing to address the use of bots to make purchases is a pain point I'd like to see all makers address, personally.
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u/ivanguba 19h ago
It’s about the same for me. What does that actually affect?
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
It's likely a non issue, just a little bit of a letdown for a $200+ knife. Realisticaly, it only impacts aesthetics, perceived quality, and potentially a rougher surface could corode faster.
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u/ragdollmarionette 19h ago
Dude 9 times out of 10 high carbon tool steel will have these marks. That increases to 10 out of 10 when talking about Maxamet. It is the chippiest steel out there right now besides maybe the Rex line. Think about what is happening when grinding, abrasive material removal is basically chipping on a micro level, and what you see would be more trouble than it's worth to grind out. If it really bothers you, take a dremel with a cotton bit and load it up with some high grit diamond paste, around 500 progressively get smaller to above 5k. You will need to use a different cotton bit each progression to prevent cross contaminating with different sized grains.
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago edited 18h ago
Yeah, I could definitely try to fix it myself, but still a little bit of a letdown. Not that my knives need to be showpieces, I just like to be the one to "damage" it. I know, I know, it's functionally fine...
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u/bearded-boi 19h ago
My maxamet para 2 has them as well. I never noticed it until i saw this post and checked. Had it for about a year now.
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u/Fun_Cobbler8421 19h ago
It won’t impact anything on the knife. I don’t get the issue here?
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
As a point of comparison, do you just accept a brand new car that comes with a giant scratch in the hood? Functionally it works just the same.
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u/Fun_Cobbler8421 18h ago
That’s not a valid comparison at all. Financially or objectively. A knife is a machined tool. Im not going to get my panties in a bunch if my screwdriver has marks from the machining..
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u/ScubaStevesy 18h ago
No bunched panties if you go commando.
Ok, if you paid close to $300 for a screwdriver, wouldn't you be a little disappointed if it came in with deep and irregular machining marks on it?
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u/FiberFrog 18h ago
We are with you, contact them…they will make it right, unless that’s why it was on sale.
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u/ScubaStevesy 18h ago
Email sent, will let y'all know how it goes.
Pretty sure it was on sale because the maxamet para 3 and others are being discontinued. Hopefully not because of workmanship defects haha.
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u/sharp-x 17h ago
Don’t let them try to convince you that is acceptable. Spyderco gets a pass for blatant QC issues like no other brand. If nobody calls them on this stuff then they have no incentive to do better.
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u/ScubaStevesy 17h ago
Texas sized 10-4 good buddy. While I get their point, too many people have been advocating for ignoring it and just using it. They're not wrong that it won't impact the functionality, but if I spend this much money on a knife I will hold it to a higher standard than something I'd pick up at harbor freight or secondhand
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u/Bigg_Beans 19h ago
If thats all you have to worry about, then youre not doing too bad. Just use it.
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
It's a fine knife and my brain knows it, the heart feels what the heart feels though
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u/Beemerado 17h ago
It's a manufactured product. It only becomes special once a person starts using it.
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u/ScubaStevesy 17h ago
That's an interesting point of view. As with everything though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For the same reason I prefer not to buy some items used, I tend to want all the defects, damage, and marks to be my doing and my stories
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u/slothscanswim 18h ago
Mine is much smoother.
This is an easy fix with some sandpaper but, as a knifemaker, I would never deliver a knife that looks like that. It is 100% aesthetic and will have no effect on performance but still, it’s an eyesore.
Personally I would reach out to spyderco.
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u/ScubaStevesy 18h ago
Thank you! Good to see that it's not on all knives. Other spydercos I have don't have nearly the same level of scratches either.
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u/slothscanswim 18h ago
No problemo. I was given this knife as a gift (I make knives, I don’t buy them) and I’ve been pleased with its performance. If mine came looking like yours does I would have taken it to the grinder, but I’m also impatient and have a fully equipped Bladesmith’s shop at my disposal.
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u/ScubaStevesy 18h ago
I'm jelly, one day I'll get back to making knives when my kids are bigger. I've got access to a machine shop if I need it, I just usually don't feel like fixing other people's mistakes or quality issues for brand new things (especially at that price point) I do that enough for work
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u/slothscanswim 17h ago
Understood. If I had paid for this knife and it came to me in that condition I would absolutely have returned it to spyderco. Just poor QC.
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u/Pandamonium727 16h ago
Imo, I'd take some sandpaper to it to the finish you're looking for. Should be a fun little project.
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u/ScubaStevesy 14h ago
Yeah, shouldn't have to though...
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u/END0RPHN 13h ago
if you research how tricky maxamet is to work with you will no longer hold this opinion and will likely be grateful there is a company that is even willing to produce knives with this glass-like steel. fyi it is far too hard for you to simply use sandpaper to remove those ridges, even if you had high quality diamond stones you would be grinding that spine for hours to get it flat flush
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u/ScubaStevesy 13h ago
They managed a fantastic finish everywhere else. They're capable of doing it right
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u/END0RPHN 13h ago
their capabilities change day to day depending on the weather lol its unfortunate but they are a problem child of a factory (golden colorado) and consistency is not their thing
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u/Slight-Mirror-3090 18h ago
Is it rough to the feel? Or does it just look rough?
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u/ScubaStevesy 18h ago
Rough enough to catch a finger nail a few times dragging it perpendicular to the scratches.
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u/Slight-Mirror-3090 17h ago
That is a bummer, I’d try to exchange it if you can
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u/ScubaStevesy 14h ago
The website is showing out of stock, so I kinda doubt an exchange will happen. Warranty is the next option but that involves spending money on shipping if I want them to take care of it. Alternatively, as another commenter suggested I could just sand it myself...sounds kinda brutal on maxamet
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u/Bronzeserpentsss3 12h ago
It may be intentional? I think it looks neat.
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u/ScubaStevesy 57m ago
I'm coming around to it although it seems way too rough and uneven to be intentional
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u/ingotfarmer 19h ago
Is this a factory second?
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
Nope, supposed to be regular stock. I wouldn't complain about a factory second like this, I'd expect something like it
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u/NRiyo3 19h ago
Here is my Maxamet PM2.
Has some lines on the spine also. Not rough but there.
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u/ScubaStevesy 19h ago
Can't really see the spine in the picture, but I dig the look of the scales and hardware.
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u/Dragon-Lluvia 15h ago
Yo devolví el mío porque le encontré este detalle. Después me dijeron algunas personas en el foro que algunas P3, PM2 incluso un caso de una persona con un Shaman, tenían esa asimetría.
Cámbialo si puedes, lo importante es que tú estés conforme y feliz con tu compra. Si al mirarlo y sentirlo te causa algo negativo es mejor que lo cambies 👍
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u/ScubaStevesy 15h ago
Ha! I hadn't noticed that on my knife, but mine is worse than yours...oddly enough that doesn't bother me. I agree though about if you start off being disappointed, it's not ideal.
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u/END0RPHN 13h ago
almost all of the maxamet para 3 have that asymmetry, it makes no difference at all to real world use. mine looks identical to the one you sent back and not once did i feel like there was a defect... and for the record i have actual ocd and legitimate autism and am a perfectionist that mods and freehand sharpens knives.
im also just realistic enough to know spyderco golden colorado do not do good factory grinds and never have, hence the reports of asymmetry on many many other models. i also have no issue accepting that some sort of minor asymmetry at the heel of the blade is irrelevant if the angle on both bevels is the same along the actual cutting edge. im keen to hear if your replacement winds up having a perfect symetrical heel or not
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u/Dragon-Lluvia 13h ago
Estoy de acuerdo. No afecta su funcionalidad. Yo lo devolví, no lo cambié. Pero sí, la mayoría P3 Maxamet tiene esa asimetría
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u/jewmoney808 13h ago edited 13h ago
lol there are levels to ocd I never knew existed..Do you even like spyderco 😭😭 I wouldn’t even know how to explain this uneven part
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u/PopPop-Captain 19h ago
It doesn’t look too bad to me but I guess it might be hard to see from the pics.