Finally chose my first Spyderco....almost.

H

Houlahound

Joined
Aug 2, 2017
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Definately going to be the chaparral, absolutely mind made up......however I have 3 choices, lightweight FRN very budget friendly, carbon fibre which would make it my most expensive knife I ever bought or the sweet looking art knife scales that are over $100 more than the carbon fibre. If I get the last option that is going over the limit I said I would never pay that much for a dang pocket knife. It sure is purdy tho.

What do, is the purdy scale knife worth an $100÷ for the same knife essentially?

Wise heads please help.
 
I have the carbon fiber and the light weight FRN. I prefer the FRN for actual carry and use. I like purdy knives, but not at the cost of practicality. Some of these cost more than I think they are worth to me.

BTW, the Chaparral is a good choice for a first Spyderco.
 
I had the milled ti chappy, but passed it along to a friend who really wanted it.
I prefer the milled ti designs over the other two. Just my personal preference. Super slick, thin and slicey.
Excellent choice.
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
I had the milled ti chappy, but passed it along to a friend who really wanted it.
I prefer the milled ti designs over the other two. Just my personal preference. Super slick, thin and slicey.
Excellent choice.
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I did see the Ti version, I liked it a lot. Thing was like 300% increase on the FRN price, thought that was pushing it too far.
 
DocT said:
I have the carbon fiber and the light weight FRN. I prefer the FRN for actual carry and use. I like purdy knives, but not at the cost of practicality. Some of these cost more than I think they are worth to me.

BTW, the Chaparral is a good choice for a first Spyderco.
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I can't justify this as a practical knife, I can get a para 2 cheaper and it is a practical knife.
 
Reviewers complain the chaparral hurts your thumb to close it because the bar you push is so thin, will find out I guess.

Kinda sad I didn't get a compression like to which was my whole point of trying a Spyderco..oh well, next time.
 
Houlahound said:
Reviewers complain the chaparral hurts your thumb to close it because the bar you push is so thin, will find out I guess.

Kinda sad I didn't get a compression like to which was my whole point of trying a Spyderco..oh well, next time.
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So...which one did you choose?
 
I'd vote for the budget FRN in XHP.

1. I'm cheap, ahem, frugal.
2. I have found CF scales to be slippery sometimes which I don't like. Not sure I have held a CF Chaparral before.
3. I'm not a big custom/fancy scale person. I have never ordered a secondary set of scales for a knife. See #1.
 
I have the lightweight, the Raffir Noble and the stepped Ti Chappys and carry the lightweight the most. I’ve thought hard about grabbing a Sun and Moon or a Birdseye Maple but I’ve held off because I feel like the lightweight is the best version of this knife.
 
If you absolutely know it will be a user, FRN. If you will only admire and cherish it forever, go all out.
 
Houlahound said:
Definately going to be the chaparral, absolutely mind made up......however I have 3 choices, lightweight FRN very budget friendly, carbon fibre which would make it my most expensive knife I ever bought or the sweet looking art knife scales that are over $100 more than the carbon fibre. If I get the last option that is going over the limit I said I would never pay that much for a dang pocket knife. It sure is purdy tho.

What do, is the purdy scale knife worth an $100÷ for the same knife essentially?

Wise heads please help.
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No. I use my knives more than I look at them.
 
I have the raffir noble one, not a really common material and I think it’s pretty awesome looking. Not too grippy though, more for looking at than actually using to be honest. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the versions of this knife.
 
gazz98 said:
I'd vote for the budget FRN in XHP.

1. I'm cheap, ahem, frugal.
2. I have found CF scales to be slippery sometimes which I don't like. Not sure I have held a CF Chaparral before.
3. I'm not a big custom/fancy scale person. I have never ordered a secondary set of scales for a knife. See #1.
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Agree with the frn scales. I don t have a Chaparral, but I find my self using my lightweight frn Manix2 as much as I use my sprint Manix2 with an m390 blade. The frn cost 2/3 as much.
 
Looks like I'm the odd man out. I hate frn. And I have quite a few. My wifes new dragonfly, 2 natives, 2 para 3's and a manix. The manix is the worst off all of them with the frn. Its so flimsy feeling. When open I can squeeze the scales together and almost make them touch. To much flex... I really don't like the platic'y feeling of them and yet I'm still considering a salt model just for fishing purposes....ughh...
 
I bought the frn version roughly 2 months ago, and have tried carrying other folders, but they usually don’t kick it out of my pocket for more than a day or two. I’ve had lots of Spydercos over the years, and it’s easily one of my favorites. It’s like a dragonfly and a native had a baby.
 
I have had three Chaparrals pass through my hands over the years. The FRN is a great choice and you get a lot of knife for the price. Keep in mind it is also the narrowest with the nested liners. The Raffir I had was my second favorite. It had full liners. My only gripe with it was the resin scratches easily. My favorite was the Carbon Fiber laminate version. It has the full liners and the scales had a quilted pattern that provided the perfect amount of grip.

JonesE
 
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