Crisis intervention: Shaman V police 4 V native Chief V millitary V manix 2

oldmanwilly said:
H Houlahound here is a pic of my Stretch 2 (also an excellent knife) with the same zip tie setup I use on my Police 4 and all of my other FRN Spydercos. It's cheaper and lighter than other available accessories and it is surprisingly effective with minimal effort.

View attachment 1951746

I make a point to keep the head of the zip tie facing whichever side will contact the lip of my pocket when drawing. This helps it hook on the lip more easily. I have seen others on BF loop a washer, nut, or other objects into the zip tie in order to make a larger "wave" feature, but I have never felt the need to do so (plus the zip-ties look junky enough without hanging more stuff off of them).

*Edit to add that I bought a steel wave attachment from 5x5 combat solutions but it kept popping off with minimal use. I switched to the zip ties and have since remained perfectly satisfied.
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Very awesome, thanks for posting.
 
I'd say they're all great except for the Shaman (unpopular opinion, surely).

If I was ranking order of acquisition, I'd get a Manix 2 first (best EDC design out there), a Military next (great choice for a large but lightweight EDC), Native Chief next (same idea as Military but the blade profile is less ideal for general use IMO), Police last (it's basically an extra large Endura and is a bit too big for a lot of people), and skip the Shaman altogether (nearly the same size as a Manix but heavier, thicker stock and grind, and less versatile handle design).

Honorable mentions are the Seki City models like the Endura, which is a practical EDC classic, and the Caribbean if you value corrosion resistance in a folder above all other attributes.
 
I have to agree with some of the others, I would go with the Military.
It's just such a great knife.
 
If I personally had to pick one from your list, I think it would be the Native Chief.

I like the spidie hole being flush, the back lock, and the long leaf blade with fine tip that is centered to the blade.
 
I think the Police 4 in K390 would be a great large knife, EXCEPT for the handle length. My Voron says the longer blade would fit in a Military length handle. Since the Military handle is as big as I want to carry as a folder, I have to pass on the Police 4. (Somebody mentioned the Manix 2XL - great knife with a comfortable handle; but takes up a lot of pocket. I had the S90V version...that's how I found out that I hate Spyderco's peel ply cf.)
 
I own at least 2 variations of each of the knives mentioned.

Which you buy and in what order depends alot of your individual priorities. You didn't mention if the Manix2 as an XL or standard version. Since most of the knives mentioned have bigger/longer blades, I'm going to assume your talking about the Manix2 XL.

If you are a "collector," this is the monthly order that I'd recommend:

1) Police or Military
2) Military or Police
3) Manix XL
4) Shaman
5) Native Chief

The order of this list is based roughly on when they were 1st made/sold by Spyderco and their relative "importance" historically to the marque.

On the other hand, if you are a "user," this is the monthly order that I'd recommend:

1) Shaman
2) Manix XL
3) Military
4) Native Chief
5) Police

The order of this list is arbitarily based on my opinion about how "useful" each knife is generally for cutting/carrying as an EDC.

Opinions will obviously differ. ;)

BTW, the Manix XL was the 1st knife and 1st Spyderco that I bought when I intentionally began collecting knives starting just a little over 5 years ago.
 
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I got a military, shaman, and had a police at one point. To me the Shaman just feels perfect. The handle on the military feels too blocky. You don't notice it too much until you've handled the rounder handle of the shaman which is one of the best I've seen in any knife I own (better than any chris reeve or ZT i own)
 
By chance do any of you guys that some or all of the main models mentioned, have a side-by-side pic to visually compare?

Lot of great info here. I also am interested in getting a Spyderco knife in this size range.
 
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