Ever Been Surprised (In A Good Way) By A Spyderco's Performance?

M

Mike88

Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
5
Hi guys...

This question doesn't pertain to premeditated torture tests or anything like that. I'm also not implying that folks ever receive nasty surprises from their Spydercos...they've been my favorite brand for years for good reason.

Here's the scenario:

You're going about your business at work, while camping, in a combat zone, etc., and a problem comes up. Your Spyderco knife is the only tool available to resolve the situation. You're convinced that the knife won't be up to the task, but you have to try. And, surprise, the knife comes through for you.

What was the situation and how did your Spyderco perform? Did the knife survive? If so, what condition was it in?

Thanks.
 
In live or die scenarios i use the frn handle of my ladybug to open beer bottles!!! :D
as you can see shes taken it no problem just little scratches on the corner!!!
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I was working with my Dad painting a neighbor's house. Needless to say I had my Salt 1 in pocket as usual. To be honest, I don't use my knives all that much. They usually are used for food prep (slicing apples and such). The only time I really used a knife of mine was when I worked as a temp in a retail store. I emptied the trucks and opened tons of boxes. My supervisor was real cool and allowed me to use my Persistence.

Anyways, my father and I are finishing up the job and he asked me to clean out some of the junk. He brings me into a room and points to a bunch of old, dirty carpet. He explains that he ripped it up and needed to throw it out. Before I can say anything, he puts an old utility knife in my hand and tells me to cut all the carpet up so it will fit into normal garbage bags (he didn't want to drive to the dump to get rid of it).

After I took all the carpet outside, I opened the utility knife and tried to cut up the carpet. Man, what a piece of junk! The thing would barely slice through the stuff and my hand was getting sore from gripping it too hard. I was getting mad that my Dad expected me to do this with such a crappy tool. Then it dawned on me - I had a Krein'd Salt 1 in my pocket!

This was kind of a weird moment. I was happy that I had my Spydie on me but was wary of using it so hard. After all, it was my first Spyderco and we all know the sentimental value of your first one. I shook it off and took my knife out. In a second it was open and I dove right into that old carpet. It never stood a chance. That Salt 1 sliced and sliced until all that carpet was lying in a small heap of 1 foot squares.

The Salt 1's edge had dulled considerably and there were a lot of scratches on its sides. The tip was still there and there was no chipping. I had a stupid smile on my face for the rest of the day, extremely proud that my Spyderco had not only endured some hard work but had performed better than I thought it would. That night, I cleaned it up and sharpened it. It was the first time I ever got one of my knives to whittle hair. A great ending to a great day. :D
 
When I first got my Military, I had no idea it had so much cutting power.
 
One of my first "real" knives was the Police model. I was amazed at how sharp it was out of the box. Close to a razor blade.
 
For me it was the original Calypso Jr. Very basic knife with micarta handles and a flat ground blade in AUS-8. Nice and light....I picked her up since it was on a closeout at a sporting goods store going out of business about ten years ago. What a great cutter!!!!! It opened my eyes to flat ground knives. Up until then the trend was hollow ground exclusively. Wound up getting a couple spares as this was too good a cutter to not have enough to last me a decade. This gem has served me well and since Spyderco has made the Caly versions in G10 and Carbon fiber I have not used my spares. To me the Calypso Jr. has been the best knife I have carried as and EDC. The Paramilitaries are actually even better....just a bit larger than what I normally carry all day at work.
 
Working construction (harnesses and kevlar safety lanyards up on a JLG Lift.) When my partner got his Lanyard snagged in the scissors of the lift and it started to tighten on him and pull him from the basket - Spyder Edge SS Endura went through the lanyard like nothing.

A few years later a delivery driver at the lumberyard we worked at had irreversibly jammed one of the ratchets on the tie down for the truck, alas he didn't have a tool to cut the strap off, and my First Gen plain edge manix was called into play to cut through 8 inches of reinforced nylon webbing which it did just fine.

I've also cut 1/4" galvanized wire rope with a Spyder Edge Rescue...but basically turned it into a Plain edge after that.
 
Three Spydies have been very pleasant surprises:

  • Navigator - tremendous power and cutting ability in a very small, compact package. One of the very best of the best. I wish Sal would bring this one back.
  • Kopa - again, a gentleman's knife...very elegant, very nice, superb fit and finish (mine has the carbon fiber)...and an awesome cutting, slicing machine. This thing begs to work, and work hard.
  • Stretch II - this one is everything everyone else has said about it...a beast of a knife! Large, extremely well-built. Comfortable in every grip. A real slicer!
I love the Spydie hole opening design. Works better for me than all of the other methods/designs. I think Sal and company design some of the best pocket knives in the world. No matter where they are built, they seem to exude quality. Keep up the great work!

AJ
 
A few years ago a buddy of mine and I were fishing for schoolie stripers in the scarborough marsh, the largest salt water marsh on the east coast.
We were about three miles into the marsh and were into the fish quite heavy when we felt a sharp ''Bump!". the gas trolling motor kept running but we started to drift with the current and out going tide.
It was my buddy's boat and he pulled the motor up and determined we had snapped a shear pin. He said "no prob" and lifted the cover of the motor which exposed a paper packet containing 2 pins he had recently purchased.
He pulled one out along with a cotter pin and went to insert the new pin.
He instantly started cursing and announced that the idiot at the parts counter had sold him pins too large for the motor.
I asked him to pass one to me and seeing it was brass, grabbed my frn native and proceeded to shave down the pin till it fit in the keeper hole.
We finished the day and caught many fish. Later that night My buddy reprofiled it a bit on a coarse stone and I finished the job with my sharpmaker. It was once again shaving sharp and we had a great story to re-tell many times over the years. That's my story... Russ
 
Gayle Bradley, cut through 5 cm of Al sheet with zero edge loss.

Military, lived through a home refurb-cutting cardboard, carpet, paint cans and lots of other stuff. Edge was gone, but still cut.

Not really "surprised" but happy that they held up so well.
 
I have many Spydercos, it's what I collect.

I bought a ParaMil a few years back that surprised the heck out of me. Two incidents: (1) was looking for a quick way to remove a sponge mattress from the plastic covering. Using almost no pressure on the ParaMil, I ran it down the centre of the plastic cover. It cut through the plastic, the mattress cover and into the sponge mattress. My wife was not impressed, but all i did was smile like a dumb-ass :) (2) Second case was with same knife. Family came to visit and arrived by aeroplane. Luggage was tied up with cable ties and they were pulled really tight. Got the tip in and cut them no problem, but at one point I actually cut a 1 inch gash in the bag. My bad, followed by another dumb-ass smile.

Oh yes, have another story, different knife, a Delica 4 with ZDP189 steel. Was opening a pack of cable ties but my attention was elsewhere. Slit the bag and ran the blade lightly over the width of my left hand. Saw the red line and the blood following, clenched my fist tight for about 20 minutes and bleeding stopped. Very neat and clean cut, lucky not much pressure involved. Healed nicely too. Taught me new respect for how sharp these knives are!
 
I can say that after carrying my vg10 dragonfly for several months and using it regularly, that i am surprised by how sharp it still is. My everyday cutting tasks are quite demanding and this little gem has held up quite well. Happily surprised about how this little package can take on such demanding cutting tasks.
 
The very first Spyderco knife I bought.

I wasn’t impressed with the ‘plastic’ handle, the strange hole in the blade and the pocket clip (made from FRN and non removable).

The guy in the store told me I could buy it, use it and return it (full refund) if I wasn’t happy with it.

After a week I decided it was a vast improvement over the other knives I owned. This was in the mid nineties. I’ve used the knife a lot and recently polished, sharpened and cleaned it. It’s almost as good as new.

It is has seen mostly light use, but I remember a night when during a storm a window broke. I used the Endura (no other tools were available) to cut a piece of MDF to size, so it would fit into the window frame.

Then I used the knife to prepare a midnight snack and was pleasantly surprised to find it was still pretty sharp.

Rafael
 
About every time I cut something with my SS Cricket/SE I'm amazed by the cutting ability of that little blade:thumbup:
 
spydutch said:
About every time I cut something with my SS Cricket/SE I'm amazed by the cutting ability of that little blade:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Ive EDCd a PE Cricket a lot, and I agree 100%. One of the handiest knives Ive ever used :thumbup:
 
Hello all Spydie Nuts...
Im quite new here(On BF in general), and have done a lot more reading than posting... but thats just my nature I guess. But I had to chime in on this thread...

Spyderco has been bad luck for me... I've fallen in love with everyone I've owned over the years and darned near everyone has been lost or stolen in one way or another!

The one exception was my Manix. Being a large heavy cumbersom blade I don't carry it EDC, or at work and few if any friends have ever requested to borrow my knife "for just a minute"... so it's stayed with for quite some time.

It has earned a place in my hart because of it's brute strength. One time I was camping with my family, and I usually have modified chisel (from an air chisel) packed in my family camping gear to split off small kinling from larger logs purchased prior to camping (yea I was living in the hart of the city.... I know, buying wood chaps my hide too!) but some how it was left behind on this trip!
SO! Not wanting a raging bonfire, and not having much else on hand I opted to use my Manix to baton off chunks of the very dry hard wood log bought from the local "sporting goods" dept.
WOW! Not only did the Manix split wood like fixed blade but did so with out injury to the blade or lock. The lock did actually give way a couple times... but I took the knife apart when we got home, cleaned it out and inspected the lock and you could barley tell the knife was just hammered through hard wood time and time and time again over a full weekend of camping.... It's a marvel of knife that Manix and I won't give it up!
Its now a permanent part of my camping gear due to it's proven strength and ability to retain a remarkable edge and come through in a pinch. It's not going to be splitting wood any time soon... but I know if for some reason it has to... it damn sure will!
Great job on that one Spyderco!
 
I love Spydercos. I think the most surprising thing I've done with one was at the junkyard. My buddy and I were taking out an engine and he was cutting at a hose with his Leek. He was having a bit of a tough time with it, so I whipped out my SE Tenacious and was done in a few seconds. God that's a great knife. I usually have it on me, rarely have to use it, but when I do find the occasion, it's the RIGHT tool for the job.
 
I used ky Gayle Bradley to remove data and phone cables during a remodeling project. When I was done, the knife was still scary Sharp, no chips, no rolled edges, nothing at all. Very impressed, so much so that I bought a couple more as backups.
 
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