Aint never had no spyderco!!!

korbiaka

korbiaka

Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
1,686
First off let me say what a great tool this site is for knife buyers! I've been buying, losing, and breaking knives for years and should have joined a long time ago!
I've had a lot of knives (cold steel, crkt, and even a few S&W P.O.S models) but after my last EDC literaly flew apart in my hands I figured it was about time I did some research before I bought a new folder and that lead me here.
After reading about 100 or so threads (and a ton of Cliffs reviews) the brand that keeps coming up is spyderco. I've been aware of them for years but never new they were such a well respected company. After reading so many great things I've decided my next folder would be from them.
Before I spend $100 on a Para or Chinook I'd like to have a trial run on a cheaper model to see if I get a hard on for them like you guys do. Have been thinking Jester, Dragonfly, or maybee a Byrd (china I know).
Well what do you guys think? could really use some input, TX in advance!


-Adam
 
i have 1 so far-a walker-
sharpest out of the box knife i ever had,well built for such a light piece-
trying to get the local wallyworld to bring in a native for me-its like talking to wood-

i would check your local wallyworlds and see if one has the native or will order one for you -its 40 bucks
 
TX, Rosconey
Tried 3 Wmarts yesterday to get the $40 Native (no.60) but none of them had one.
 
Adam, first things first, you *MUST* realize that Spydies are addictive, moreso than other brands, primarily because Sal and the rest of the Spyderco crew (and the independent designers) design these knives first and foremost, as *tools*, they're designed to be *used*

they may not look the prettiest (although i think they're very attractive), but they cut like nothing else you've ever held, once you've *used* one, you'll understand (find my "Cut-Off" thread in the general discussion forum), out of *all* my knives, the one that cut the smoothest and easiest was my little sub 2" blade Spyderco Cricket, it actually out-cut my Buck 110 and Spyderco Endura, which have blades over twice as long as the little Cricket

the Jester and Ladybug are nice knives for sure, and will get you a taste of Spyderco quality, check for horizontal and vertical blade-play on the "little guys", my Jester has *ZERO* blade play in any direction, that's *unheard of* in a keyring knife, the only issue with the Spyderlings is that they don't exactly fit the hand as well as a full size knife (handle an Endura, a Native, then a Jester or Ladybug, you'll understand)

i'd reccomend starting off with a more conventional sized Spydie to start, you can't go wrong with an Endura, Delica (some of Spydie's "oldest" designs) or a Native, that's where I'd reccomend starting, get a good, standard sized Spydie to start, for example, the Native that wally-world*** sells for $40 (the same Native sold at normal sporting goods stores for $75+) is a great first Spydie, the geometry and location of the SpyderHole is off a little from Spydie's more "conventional" models like the Endura and Delica, but it'll give you a taste of Spyderco quality and get you hooked....




(***i *HATE* wally-world with every fiber of my being, but even *I* have to admit the wally-world Native deal is a killer deal)
 
Wish my Wally-Worlds (which I almost puke in as soon as I get in the door) carried the Native.
TX MacTech
 
I think the question is, what is a good lower priced Spyderco to try out if they have never had one before. First, a low dollar Spyderco is not really going to tell you how much you will like a Para or Chinook, all it will tell you is how well you like a smaller cheaper Spyderco.

That being said, there are some classic smaller cheaper Spydercos that most people will agree are pretty good knives. The Calypso Jr., Delica, and Native seem to be respected by all. I would rank them in that order with the Native being a distant third.

I think the Para is actually one of the most knives you can get for about $100 and I can't see that ever being a mistake. There are a lot of knives that cost 2-3 times more than the Para that won't give you a thing more in preformance. The Sebenza comes to mind. All other things being equal, I would pick a Para over a Sebenza any day. I think it is just a better design. The Sebenza is made a little better but not in anyway that is going to effect use. In fact, if I had to choose a $100 folder, it would be the Para.

I had to learn the hard way what makes the Para so good. I had one and used it but for some reason I traded it. I then noticed that even with all the knives I owned I didn't have a knife to take the place of the Para. The Para is one of those knives that you could take camping, take to work, take to a picnic, take to a war, take to hunting trip, take to the bad part of town and it would never be out of it's element. It is the most versatile knife I own. Not the best at every task but the best at EVERY task if you know what I mean.
 
I understand that having a smaller issue spyderco wont show the true quality of a full sized folder, but having never owned a Spyderco I just want 2 test their initial quality of their products.
I have no doubt their Para is of the highest quality!!!
TX Kgriggs8
 
please remember that Spyderco has the policy that the manufacturing standards are the same for the FRN models, to a higher cost models. The only difference is purely in the use of materials. Buying big knives in quality steel with large handles in G10 is more expensive, but you can never say that the quality control is less because the frn knives are cheaper.

So whatever Spyderco knife you will buy you will get the most value out of that knife possible.

Spyderco knives are highly addictive, they are used by professionals all over the world to get the job done. These men and women buy Spyderco's because they have the feeling and knowledge that these knives will do the task when needed.
 
korbiaka,
I can't comment on the byrds, don't have any (yet). If you check out johnfjensen.com he has quite a few discontinued spydies. He has some of the discontinued delica's, other ones that may be good to try are the meerkat and salsa. He still had a calypso Jr SE. The calypso jr has probably not been reccomended by most since they are extremly hard to find. I like the PE's but :eek: finding one is another story.
Chris
 
One of the things spyderco has going for it that NO ONE else has is a great selection of middle priced knives. From $30-70, No one else can seem to touch Spyderco in this area, or even if their knives are decent none of them ever seems to use decent steel! Everyone else seems to flop around in this category and never quite gets there. Hooray!
 
well walmart didnt want to order a native for me so i took a trip down the street to gander mountain-
they have some nice stuff at decent price's-crtk,browning,benchmade,kershaw-
and a few sale items-

for 40bucks i grabbed a browning ice storm for a work edc-vg10 steel,alum handles-nice low rider clip-

cant say if its spyderco quality but it apears well built and from japan not china
 
Hi korbiaka, welcome to the group. First off, I would like to share a quote with you by Sal Glesser: "We would rather be the knife in your pocket, because it "works" better, than the knife in your showcase, because it "looks" better". Sal Glesser, President Spyderco, Inc.
This is Spyderco's mantra if you will. IMHO, you not find a better knife made for the money anywhere!! If I were you, it may take just a bit, but keep looking for that Native or the new Delica 4. The new D4 is and incredible knife for the money. Also you may want to take a look at the D'Allara Drop Point. WOW, I love mine!!
You will find one and when you do, you will be wondering why you waited so long!!
Good Luck My Friend, Ron

By the way, once you buy one Spyderco, WATCH OUT:D :D.
 
I don't the Byrds are recomended here much because most people are plenty happy with their Delicas and Natives. For the few bucks you will save on the Byrd, I think you would be better off with one of the regular Spyderco models that have gained so much respect.

Tell us what you have in mind for this folder and maybe there is a Spyderco model that is prefect for you. Are you going to do anything special with it? Hunting? Fishing? Open boxes? Boating? Ect. If we knew more about what you do with a knife, a specific design might come to mind.
 
The FRN Dragonfly is my favorite mini-folder. It has the ergos of a much bigger knife and can perform much of what your run-of-the-mill 3" folder is capable of.
With its secure lock, good steel, excellent blade geometry (wide flat grind) and its low price point, it's definitely a winner.

I wish it had a steel clip (regular or wire) instead of the integral molded FRN thingie, but it's pretty stout as is. Sal Glesser (the owner of Spyderco) mentioned in a recent post that clips are significantly more expensive to manufacture than the customer expects them to be, so I guess one has to draw a line somewhere in order to keep the cost down.

I also like the FRN Jester, but its extremely small size restricts its usefulness, of course. However, I don't think that you could make a much more useful folder in that size category.
I recently acquired a Jester and it sits in my mini-survival kit now.
 
I'd say just go for the Paramilitary or Chinook. If you don't like it you can trade or sell them on these forums easy pie. Both are models that many people like and you won't have trouble moving them at all.

If you still want to pick up a cheaper model I'd say pick up a Native from New Graham. If you want something smaller to compliment your future Paramilitary or Chinook purchase, then get the Dragonfly.
 
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