Any J D Smith fans out there?

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Just have to come out and say I like the profile of the Spydie version of JD Smith's Clipit.
Am I the only one or is there something I'm missing?

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Member #7071
 
Just for you, I decided to carry mine today.
Nope. Still hasn't grown on me. Really not my favorite Spyder.

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AKTI Member #A000832

"Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, the bear eats you."
 
HI.

I like the knife itself, however, it is very slow to deploy. A mean slashing tool, but not one of my favorites.

Dave
 
The action is slow, tight, and gritty. The tang does not even approach lining up with the lock bar or handle scales. There are little "rough" marks in the G-10 around the thong hole liner. There is no way to adjust the pivot tension. The liner wavers along the back spacer and lock bar leaving small gaps. The lock bar doesn't line up with the back spacer. The opening hole is WAY too small.

Seeing as this is an exhorbitantly priced G-10/ATS-34 lockback, and a Spyder, I find such lack of attention to detail to be uncharacteristic and unwelcome.

Wanna buy it?
 
I like mine... i agree about the tang not lining up, but that's about it. I don't think it's so much a matter of the hole being too small, but more the fact that there isn't a "hump" to make it more pronounced.

I carry it every once in awhile, it has a little more character than most of my knives.
 
Actually, the hole gets better bi-lateral (ambidextrous) clearance than a lot of other Spyders.

While my index finger will go through the hole in my Military up to the knuckle (too large, actually, for me without gloves), the tip of my pinky won't go through the hole on the Smith.

I know that I'm picky with it, but again, at this price, from Spyderco, I expect simple stuff like the tang lining up to be taken care of - no excuses. I always hold Spyders to a higher standard, because they've earned the reputation of living up to that standard. With every other Spyder I have (and I have several...), I can hold them to as rigorous a standard as I'd like, and they live up to it easily.

The fact that the tang misalignment is not just an occasional QC slip, but rather a characteristic of the knife as it exists in general distribution, genuinely disappoints me.
 
Brian,
you show good cause for the rejection of this model. It is expensive after all.
I will move on and look at another model.
 
BTW, the JD Smith model is going through a total remake. New tooling, new maker. Much improved. Should be out by the end of the year.

sal
 
Sal, what are the improvements on th JD Smith? I like the lines of the knife but have the same complaints as the others.

Thanks
 
Hi Dirk. We changed makers and had to completely re-tool the model.

Steel was changed to VG10.
the Sharp edge at the top of the lock was rounded.
General quality is improved.
Action is improved.

sal
 
I admit it. I'm a huge fan of the JD Smith even with all of the "imperfections" listed in the above posts. The blade shape and handle design was good enough for me "as is." After all, my daily carry is not intended for beauty contests or elephant exterminations--just opening envelopes, cutting lunch food, trimming loose clothing thread and other non-national security matters.

However, a VG-10 blade on the new version and smoother action too? YES! Can't wait.
smile.gif
 
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