upon many suggestions, i bought a navigator from SMKW for $30 to fill the need for a sub 2.5" folder. while i still regard the knife as a good value, i am disappointed in several minor things about the knife. each, alone, is very minor but together they leave me less than impressed with spyderco when compared to my many benchmades. this being my first spyderco and after hearing everyone rave about them, i must admit im let down.
1. design. not something to gripe about b/c i knew i what i was getting, but the knife is the largest 2" folder ive ever seen. sturdy but IMO larger than i has to be. now dont jump on me too bad, i know a lot of this is b/c of the thumbhole instead of a stud and im not making a big issue out of it.
2. stiff lock. much more so than the axis or liner locks (which are adjustable) on my benchmades or on my other lockbacks. stiff.
the real complaints.
3. fit and finish. the knife has more sharp edges than i can count (no pun intended - excluding the blade of course). each hole cut in the handle for skeletonizing is rough. they arent so sharp that i cut myself but make the knife uncomfortable to remove from a pocket. also, the point on the rear of the blade right above the thumbhole is very uncomfortable in the open position and against my body when carried IWB. the attention to detail i find in my benchmades is IMO lacking on this knife. i cant imagine that it wasnt designed to have more rounded edges.
4. the blade appears to be ground improperly, if only slightly. the side with writing is fine but the reverse appears to be burned at both the tip and rear of the blade. since i have not cut anything with it im sure it came this way. also, in the burned spots the grind is visibly off. it looks like the grinder either tapered off too soon or tried to touch up the ends. either way, it is not ground correctly.
while the above are not big deals in themselves, as a whole they make the knife a hard sell to replace my BM 771 or even my Zippo 1.5" lockback. ill keep the knife but i doubt it will get used much unless i take the time to carefully round the edges and reprofile the blade. not a great first experience.
how does your navigator compare with this one?
1. design. not something to gripe about b/c i knew i what i was getting, but the knife is the largest 2" folder ive ever seen. sturdy but IMO larger than i has to be. now dont jump on me too bad, i know a lot of this is b/c of the thumbhole instead of a stud and im not making a big issue out of it.
2. stiff lock. much more so than the axis or liner locks (which are adjustable) on my benchmades or on my other lockbacks. stiff.
the real complaints.
3. fit and finish. the knife has more sharp edges than i can count (no pun intended - excluding the blade of course). each hole cut in the handle for skeletonizing is rough. they arent so sharp that i cut myself but make the knife uncomfortable to remove from a pocket. also, the point on the rear of the blade right above the thumbhole is very uncomfortable in the open position and against my body when carried IWB. the attention to detail i find in my benchmades is IMO lacking on this knife. i cant imagine that it wasnt designed to have more rounded edges.
4. the blade appears to be ground improperly, if only slightly. the side with writing is fine but the reverse appears to be burned at both the tip and rear of the blade. since i have not cut anything with it im sure it came this way. also, in the burned spots the grind is visibly off. it looks like the grinder either tapered off too soon or tried to touch up the ends. either way, it is not ground correctly.
while the above are not big deals in themselves, as a whole they make the knife a hard sell to replace my BM 771 or even my Zippo 1.5" lockback. ill keep the knife but i doubt it will get used much unless i take the time to carefully round the edges and reprofile the blade. not a great first experience.
how does your navigator compare with this one?