Educate a newbie

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Whelen Nut

Joined
Jan 2, 2011
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I've been a fixed blade guy all my life except for SAK's which I opened with my thumbnail. I've done lots of reading on here and I keep hearing terms like tip up carry vs tip down, spine wack test and over striking, spyderco open etc. I have no idea what that stuff is all about and I recently ordered a para 2. I was going to just open it with my thumb at the hole but apparently there are many other ways to do this.

Any chance there is a youtube video with someone demonstrating and narating all the different ways to open a spyderco? Or a description with pictures or something?

Thanks
 
Whelen Nut said:
I've been a fixed blade guy all my life except for SAK's which I opened with my thumbnail. I've done lots of reading on here and I keep hearing terms like tip up carry vs tip down, spine wack test and over striking, spyderco open etc. I have no idea what that stuff is all about and I recently ordered a para 2. I was going to just open it with my thumb at the hole but apparently there are many other ways to do this.

Any chance there is a youtube video with someone demonstrating and narating all the different ways to open a spyderco? Or a description with pictures or something?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm sure that if you did search around on youtube you could find something. Give it a try. :)
 
Tip up / tip down carry is how it clips to your pocket. Generally, you're clipping the knife in your right hand pocket, blade spine pressed to the rear pocket seam. Depending on your preference, you can have the tip of the knife point either up or down when closed. Many Spyderco folders are pre-drilled so that you can change the pocket clip orientation to left, right, tip-up and tip-down carry.

Spine wack is a test that supposedly tests the lock strength. You open the knife, flip it around and wack it spine first onto a hard surface. A large majority of the folks would consider that abuse.

Over strike is a test that also supposedly tests the lock strength. You open the knife, edge down, this time and slam the front part of the handle on something. This will apply a lot of force in the same direction of a spine whack since you're using the weight and momentum of the blade against the lock mechanism. This is another form of abuse in many people's opinion.

"Spyder-drop" or "Spydie-drop" is a way to deploy a folder by pinching the blade through the hole and flicking the handle down. When the knife opens up, the handle is now resting against your palm.

A slow and deliberate opening with your thumb is the best way to deploy any folder. A fast flicking opening may be fast and impressive, but all you're doing is peening a very hard blade tang against your lock bar interface. You're basically deforming the locking surfaces and wearing out your pivot. It's like buying a new car and swinging the door open with all your might. Something will break eventually, if not immediately. A flick with only your thumb is generally not too bad, but when you flick your wrist at the same time, you're snapping it open way too hard.

The Para 2 is in my opinion, almost a perfect folder. The compression lock will be a bit awkward at first. I pinch the lock bar with my thumb and index finger to disengage the lock while using my other fingers to hold the knife in my hands. The pivot is riding on a bushing so it will close with no effort. Just remember to keep your fingers out of the way. :)
 
I'm new to the forum too but not new to Spyderco knives so.....basically tip up vs. tip down carry is referring to the orientation of the knife when its clipped to you pocket. If your knife is set up for tip up carry the tip of the knife when clipped to you pocket will be facing up and vice versa. A spine wack test is when you grip the handle of the knife and smack the spine of the blade against a hard surface to see if the lock will fail and the knife will fold. Yes there are several ways to open Spyderco knives, you can use your thumb to open the blade (which is what i do) or do what they call a sypdie drop. If your really looking for good videos on Spyderco knives i would recommend going to YouTube and looking up cutlerylover and or nunfancy they both have in depth reviews on many different Spyderco models. Enjoy your new knife.
 
Like myprshe, I'm new to the forum, but not to knives in general.

The advantage that many find with tip up carry (pocket clip near the rear of the knife) is that when you reach in your pocket to extract and deploy your blade, your hand will already be in pretty much the same position it needs to be in to open the knife via the thumbstud/thumbhole/flipper/button etc. All you really have to do, depending on the size of the knife is scoot your hand down a bit to reach the deployment system.

With tip down carry (pocket clip mounted near the pivot), after you reach in to your pocket to grasp the knife, you need to pull it out and pivot it in your hand to be able to open it via the deployment method, generally. Ways to get around this are of course the aforementioned Spydie-drop or a brisk flick of the wrist, depending on which knife you have and how loose your pivot screw is.

While I admit that I do prefer tip-up for the reason I mentioned...the extra half second or less that it takes for me to pivot the knife in my hand is really a moot point, and not a deal breaker for me when I make a purchase. If a knife has the option for tip up carry, I'll take it, of course, but I own several knives with a tip down only carry option that I like just fine.

I actually have a Byrd Cara Cara 2 stainless that I have oriented for left-hand, tip down carry for when I wear a tuxedo for concert performances and whatnot. It rides in my left side interior breast pocket in my jacket. When I reach in to grab it, it comes out of the pocket ready to deploy (thus forgoing the usual pivot motion necessary with tip down carry). Similar to how you would change the cant of a pistol holster depending on where it is placed on your body, I have changed the pocket clip of my knife, if that makes any sense.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference, and how you plan on using your knife. Also, many knife brands that offer various mounting points (Kershaw is often guilty of this, I have found) for the pocket clips will tap the holes such that when the knife is tip down, the knife rides low in the pocket, and when it is oriented for tip up, there is a great deal of handle sticking up out of the pocket. Again...personal preference. I don't usually care about concealing my knives so much as I do not having them get caught on something and come out of the pocket.

Here is the first video in a quick 4 part series on this issue by Cutlerylover on Youtube. I'm sure you can find your way to the others. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJdE8aLW5yk
 
Here's a link to a short vid on Spydiedrop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvuJpiUH4gU

Very popular, and for some reason controversial, method of opening any blade with a "hole".
I never use it and find is fairly pointless, I find the "normal" way of opening quite satisfartory and tactically equal or superior.

You've gotten good explanations of tip up/down carry.
Generally I prefer tip down for the only reason that I feel that my fingers are less likely to encounter a partially open blade in that manor. MANY will disagree with that.

Excellent choice on the Para2. Great knife. dsmegst may be going a tad to far in calling it the perfect folder, but is dang close :D. Certainly an outstanding choice for a first Spydie.
 
The main advantage with tip down carry is that the spydie hole is closer to the hand and not all the way down the pocket, like with tip up. The reason many people carry the knife tip up anyway, is that when you carry the knife in your pant pocket, the knife is usually located very low on your person and it is therefore easier to draw the knife like you would draw a belt knife. However, when carrying the knife in a pocket which is located a little further up, like a jacket pocket or breast pocket, the tip down method is better, since the grip comes more naturally and you can place your thumb on the opening hole the second you grab the knife.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
The main advantage with tip down carry is that the spydie hole is closer to the hand and not all the way down the pocket, like with tip up. The reason many people carry the knife tip up anyway, is that when you carry the knife in your pant pocket, the knife is usually located very low on your person and it is therefore easier to draw the knife like you would draw a belt knife. However, when carrying the knife in a pocket which is located a little further up, like a jacket pocket or breast pocket, the tip down method is better, since the grip comes more naturally and you can place your thumb on the opening hole the second you grab the knife.
Click to expand...

Well put. This is exactly why I prefer tip down when carrying in a jacket pocket. :thumbup:
 
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