Does anyone else in these forums dislike Spyderco brand? For me the blade shape is all wrong, unless you intend to use it for stabbing someone. I find it ironic that Spyderco has added a thumb stud to the blade -- this because their signature thumb hole turns out not to be a clever innovation.
I'll likely get flamed for this -- which is admittedly half the reason I'm posting -- but I find Spyderco a bit cultish. Locally we have Benchmade, Kershaw, Gerber, CRKT, with Buck just across the state line. I have a couple Schrade Uncle Henry made with Chinese D2 steel. Buck has begun to move some production to China. I've seen some examples of cheap Chinese junk $12 pig-sticker stilettos. But US brands using Chinese mfg. e.g. Schrade, Buck, etc. seem just fine. You pretty much get what you pay for.
My EDC is a Kershaw SpeedSafe 1650, from China.
You're a brave man. I can see where a thin, flat grind would seem to be The Thing for stabbing people. The problem with this idea is that de-animation (covert or overt) is very hard to do without introducing lateral forces. You need a little more material, especially behind the tip.
Personally, I prefer more specialized tools for this mission. Like a Smatchet.
No, it never gets old.
"Cultish". If there was some cabal of Spyderco enthusiasts, who ran organized campaigns against those who didn't like Spyderco, then I could agree. But, if there was such an organization, they would have already set me on fire virtually, because I have a gift for pissing off anybody and everybody.
There is a lot of enthusiasm for Spyderco, but that's not the same as a "cult", by any means. My personal opinion is that most people are not aware of the concept of ergonomics, as applied to knives. They've maybe heard of it for office chairs and other boring stuff, but knives? Huh. Moreover, Spyderco doesn't talk much enginerding about ergonomics, they just make these knives, and put them out there.
So people are looking for something different, or they hear about how great they are. They buy one, and for some, the experience is revelatory: they've never known it was possible for a knife to feel so natural in the hand! Or to cut so well! Or to get so sharp!
That kind of thing can turn you into a disciple. They're not here to conquer the knife enthusiast world on behalf of Sal (or I would already be dead), they're just engaging in the very human activity of wanting others to share a positive experience.
My experience with Spyderco was a Calypso Clipit, a Cara Cara, and a Crow. I'm a knuckle-dragger who gets scared that he's going to break such thinly ground knives, and the Caly got put away, pretty quick. I think my wife has it....
The Crow was all right, but it tried to unlock on me a couple times. I may have been giving it more than it was designed for....
I think it was a Cara Cara. Some kind of wharncliffe-style blade. It was pretty good, but you can see how much of an impression it made on me. I think I didn't like the finger grooves, and the plastic-y feel of the scales. Some people find Spyderco, and stop there. Others decide it's not for them, and keep on moving.
Lucky for us, knife enthusiasm is a big tent. Unfortunately, that means there are a lot of us in here. So, please be careful how hard you throw those tomatoes: you'll put somebody's eye out....
They tore it down, cleaned and steamed it, and did the usual routine wear parts changes--all for a hundred bucks. This past season, all I needed to do was adjust the carb and idle just a taste to have it just as I wanted. Here's a tight shot of the saw along with the knife in my pocket that day.
