Are all stainless Spydies this smooth?

Knifeoholic · Oct 1, 2016

Hello to all! Maybe this has been covered before, it's mostly just to give a thumbs up :thumbup: to the craftsmanship of the stainless steel Spydercos in particular. I have only two of them, a Stretch and a Dragonfly, but they are hands down the smoothest Spydies (or knives period for that matter) that I own. Even from the time they were brand new, the blade free falls the second the lock is disengaged and there is no play in the pivot. Puts a smile on my face every time!

. Just wondering if I got lucky with these two, of if they're all this way? Any comments welcome!

GB940Rookie · Oct 1, 2016

I have a Police SS that just turned 16. Still smooth opening and drops free

The-Stig · Oct 2, 2016

Pretty much all of my 10 or so Spydercos are smooth as butter. I've come to expect it from them at this point.

CapitalizedLiving · Oct 2, 2016

The stainless Lava is considerably smoother than the G10 version. I don't like it better, but I do wish the action on the G10 versions was even close.

JD Spydo · Oct 2, 2016

My very favorite stainless handled Spyder is one that very few people even know about at all>> I'm speaking of their stainless handled RESCUE models ( C-14 & C-45 respectfully). I've been carrying my C-45 stainless RESCUE model for the past two weeks and it's a tank of a folder

The spine on the blade is about the thickest on a Spyder that I've ever seen. The folder is built like a "SNAP-ON" tool and you can't destroy it because I've tried.

Now on the small section of Spyderco folders there is another discontinued model I dearly adore. I'm speaking of the stainless handled Caly Jr. which they made in SE & PE both. It's an incredible folder for it's size and performs just as good as anything else in the CALYPSO line of Spyderco folders. Spyderco's stainless handled knives are great compared to other stainless handled knives on the open market. The POLICE model is also a gem in stainless too.

John_0917 · Oct 3, 2016

Many of the FRN ones need some break in BUT are very smooth once they do. The Taichung models are generally very smooth too. My GB 2 feels like it's on glass.

Oddly enough, the Salt series tend to be very smooth after some time, they have no liners so it's just H1 on plastic, once the steel "cuts" into the plastic there's very little friction resistance. After a month or so mine have all become very good.

JD Spydo · Oct 4, 2016

Two other Spyderco stainless handled folders that not only are great EDC blades but they also work as smooth as glass. I'm speaking of the ROOKIE model with the stainless handle and the original LAVA model thanks to our good Brother Chad Los Banos

I have owned one Spyderco HARPY model that I had broke in that finally got smooth over a period of time. I guess it's because it seems like Hawkbill blades are easy to deploy compared to several other folders.

Even though not every Spyderco stainless model is as smooth as many would like them to be I believe that they can be broken in and modified over time. You could modify most of them to where they will eventually break in to suit one's needs.

Knifeoholic · Oct 4, 2016

CapitalizedLiving said:
The stainless Lava is considerably smoother than the G10 version. I don't like it better, but I do wish the action on the G10 versions was even close.

I have the same feeling toward my Dragonflys. Most of my Stretch models are fairly smooth and broken in, but again, no where near what the stainless one is.

Knifeoholic · Oct 4, 2016

JD Spydo said:
My very favorite stainless handled Spyder is one that very few people even know about at all>> I'm speaking of their stainless handled RESCUE models ( C-14 & C-45 respectfully). I've been carrying my C-45 stainless RESCUE model for the past two weeks and it's a tank of a folder

The spine on the blade is about the thickest on a Spyder that I've ever seen. The folder is built like a "SNAP-ON" tool and you can't destroy it because I've tried.

Now on the small section of Spyderco folders there is another discontinued model I dearly adore. I'm speaking of the stainless handled Caly Jr. which they made in SE & PE both. It's an incredible folder for it's size and performs just as good as anything else in the CALYPSO line of Spyderco folders. Spyderco's stainless handled knives are great compared to other stainless handled knives on the open market. The POLICE model is also a gem in stainless too.

JD, your lucky to have the stainless Rescue! Between your two posts it sounds like you have some great knives! I've never held the Lava or Caly Jr., but often though both would be very comfy in use, not to mention how cool the look! The Harpy would be a great knife too! Just bought a Tasman Salt a little while back and I'm really diggin the hawkbill even more than I expected!

Knifeoholic · Oct 4, 2016

John_0917 said:
Many of the FRN ones need some break in BUT are very smooth once they do. The Taichung models are generally very smooth too. My GB 2 feels like it's on glass.

Oddly enough, the Salt series tend to be very smooth after some time, they have no liners so it's just H1 on plastic, once the steel "cuts" into the plastic there's very little friction resistance. After a month or so mine have all become very good.

I'm in total agreement with everything you said! The FRN models do get very smooth after a while. And both my GB1 and Sage are pretty silky as well. My 1 Salt was actually surprisingly smooth also, but still none as smooth and my stainless models!

. I guess I had the thought that perhaps where they are not adjustable, the were put together with more precision? No idea though, just thinkin out loud!

JD Spydo · Oct 5, 2016

Knifeoholic said:
JD, your lucky to have the stainless Rescue! Between your two posts it sounds like you have some great knives! I've never held the Lava or Caly Jr., but often though both would be very comfy in use, not to mention how cool the look! The Harpy would be a great knife too! Just bought a Tasman Salt a little while back and I'm really diggin the hawkbill even more than I expected!

Hey Brother if you can find one of the STainless RESCUE models I can guarantee you that you will love it. That folder is built so solid that I really can't think of any of Spyderco's great knives I can compare it to. The spine on the blade is so thick I doubt you could damage it even if you tried. The Stainless RESCUE is sadly one of Spyderco's most overlooked and under appreciated models of all time in my humble opinion. The knife is truly built like a WWII vintage tank. I think you could drop that model out of an airplane and it would survive

In the late 90s/early 2000s when the Stainless RESCUE was in the main line up it was sadly overshadowed by many of the all time classics sad to say. But I have used that stainless model on some really hard and demanding cutting jobs and it's just a beast and can endure about any punishing job you can throw at it

My first Spyder ever was a 1995 vintage, stainless handled MARINER model and it was a great knife>> but even as great as the MARINER was it didn't even hold a candle to the Stainless RESCUE model IMO. The more I use it the more I would love to see a Sprint Run of the stainless RESCUE models.

Knifeoholic · Oct 5, 2016

Thanks for the info bud! :thumbup: Now there is another Spydie to add to the looong list haha! Your feedback on the Rescue and Mariner is greatly appreciated! Sounds like the Rescue is a real beast indeed! The stainless knives have such a cool look to them too. Also your Sprint Run idea is great, sign me up!