Best Meduim-Duty Spyderco

Eric Isaacson

Eric Isaacson

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Dec 19, 1999
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I am looking for opinions on what I should buy for an every day carry meduim-duty knife. I am considering a Wegner or a Walker design or would it be better to go with the Military? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Eric
 
As I have said before, and will say again, I love the StarMate. It comes as close to perfection as I have seen in a folder, production, bench-made, or custom, including the Sebenza, and all for about $115 from most dealers. What more could you ask?

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
I second that emotion!
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So, what IS the speed of dark?
 
Starmate says "heavyduty' to me! If I were to recommend a "medium duty" daily carry, I`d suggest one of the Jess Horn patterns. The Jess Horn Lightweight is really quite nice, or you can get the same knife with Micarta scales. I think it`s a really fine gentleman`s knife. (Or you can bust open your piggy bank and get the one with the stag! If you can find one!)
 
No one says Wegner? What the heck is going on? Am I in the right forum? Has the world gone mad? Is this some sick, twisted joke?
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The Starmate is great (I'm a poet and didn't know it), except that it doesn't come in a fully-serrated blade!

Bernie
 
One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier question was that I would like to stay under $100. What about the Walker Almite? Is this a good Knife for everyday carry?
 
I often carry my Walker Almite. Its rather stoutly made for its size. Blade length is 2 9/16" which may be little small for some. I like it a lot but there other Spydercos I would also recommend. Top on my list would be Calypso Jr micarta handle followed by G-10 Standard or G-10 Rookie. I would say the Delica but I personnaly do not like Zytel handles, they feel cheap to me. I also do not like metal handles as they have a cold feel and with anodized aluminum the coating eventually wears in places. So I would like the Walker more in a micarta or if I could afford it in carbon fiber model but its out of my price range for a daily carry. I have heard good things about the Wegner Jr but have yet to own one so I can't say.
 
I am more an accumulator than a collector and I want to carry my knives. I was in a quandry with the Almite Michael Walker, fitting it into a rotation. It is very well made, with an interesting perfectly registering linerlock, of course designed by the inventor of them as I understand it. The blade is strong, deeply hollowground AUS-8 and inspires confidence in cutting just about anything.
The problems I had with it were small handle size, slippery texture of the almite (very nice butt slick) and the clip position has it ride a bit high especially for its size.
I always ended up picking up my micarta Calypso Jr or Viele instead to clip RFC (Right Front Centerstage) I ended up removing the clip and looking at it in a different context. I did 'not' want it rummaging around with my keys or loose change and so I found that, sans clip, it is just about the 'largest' folder that fits comfortably in the watch pocket of my jeans.(I won't use levis) In this role it now competes quite favorably with my CF Dragonfly(also sans clip) and I am carrying it more and I find it surprising more comfortable to use less clip which aids grip on so many other models.
Anyway hope my 2 scents don't stink
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Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
 
My Almite Walker remains my favorite knife. The only time I don't carry it is when I feel the need to be more PC; then I switch to my CF Dragonfly. The anodized aluminum has held up well -- I've had it since August and except for a couple of dings near the spacer, the finish still looks new.

The only reservation I would have in recommending this knife is that the handle is somewhat slick. For me, that's not a problem, but it could be for someone who works their knives harder than I do.

The clip is placed below the pivot, causing the knife to ride somewhat high in your pocket (about 3/4 inch shows), but on the other hand, that allows for an easy draw of the knife.



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Dave

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives
 
I gather that "duty" means a working knife. A working knife should have a versatile blade shape, a stout ergonomic handle, a NON SLIP secure textured scales and a somewhat ease of deployment. If general utility use is in mind then my experience with Spydercos would be the full size Wegner. For a more compact model go with the Standard G10 (soon to be gone).

L8r,
Nakano

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"To earn a million is easy, a real friend is not."
 
I guess we're not too sure what is meant by "medium duty", but I would consider the regular Calypso to be a good medium duty knife. It's large, yet light. It can perform normal cutting chores well, but chopping through a 2x4 is probably not advisable. Cost is about $100 at most places.

I'm assuming that the Starmate, Wegner, and Military would be classified as "heavy duty", while those with sub-three inch blades are "light duty". Does that make sense?
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Cerulean

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain? - Blake
 
I would consider the Standard and Rookies that are available at Smokey Mountain Knife Works for a great price ($42 and $39 respectively). Also look at the Calypso Jr. liteweight. All of these blades are in my opinion medium duty knives.

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Dale Richmond
AKTI Number A000949
 
OK I am really starting to lean towards the Calypso for everyday carry. I have heard many good things about this knife but I might try to squeeze a Walker Almite into this purchase also. To me that Walker just looks great. Earlier I was looking strongly at the Veile but everything I have read says that the hole is too small for quick opening. Thanks for the input
 
Get the Delica or Endura, if you want a larger knife. You absolutely won't be disappointed, for the price.
 
I have both large and small micarta Calypsos. The Calypso Jr is the closest thing to an "everyday" carry I have. The combo of the two is neat and sweet. I just received a Calypso Jr Ltwt. It is a great "using" knife. Better steel than the micarta Jr and the fishscales are handsome(maybe I'm biased) and handy. I'm glad they kept the black clip w/gold Spidie.
And its price might let you get the Almite Walker too, although they are close in size and function. You might want a bigger "user" to compliment the Walker.

Why is it sooooo hard to decide on one "best" Spydie?
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Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
 
Given its somewhat less formidable appearance and its less aggressively bellied blade as well as its shorter hilt, I class the StarMate as "medium" as opposed to the Military's "large". If you want really heavy duty, go and look at REKATs, not Spydies. Those things are tanks! As for the Wegner, ptalpha, I have what I want, and see no need for the Wegner. It would serve no perceived need for me.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
Fuller, when you say you "have what you want", certainly you aren't implying that there are no more knives out there that you want! The idea is simply foreign to me!
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And you're right about REKAT's-the Rolling Lock is bomb-proof.
 
OK, OK, I can't decide. Maybe I should just buy one of each. Hey, you think Sal would give me a deal if I did something like that.
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Outside of a dog, a Knife is man's best friend. Inside a dog it is very, very Dark.
 
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