- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 6
I really appreciate being able to test drive entry level knives for a very reasonable price before spending much more money on better blade steel and more expensive manufacturing. Handling a knife in a store or at a show just doesn't give me the feel for a knife that ownership (and every day carry) gives. I decided to try out my first Spyderco knives this year, so I purchased for myself a knife for my first-aid kit (the Finch) and a knife that might be useful for camping (the Tenacious). I think it's great that there is an upgrade path if I like them - the Ladybug for instance for the Finch, or the Manix2 for the Tenacious all look like upgrades that are otherwise very similar.
The Finch proved what I had been suspecting - that the use of the first half inch of the blade for an extension of the handle is genius. I never have much use for a longer knife blade except for some kitchen chores, where I have dedicated kitchen knifes. But I always want more handle. I will keep this in mind on future purchases.
It will probably not replace my lowly Leatherman Micra for every day carry, because although the Finch is a much, much better knife for less weight and bulk, I will miss the scissors for trimming my mustache, the nail cleaner as my pry hook, and the dumb flat philips head screwdriver too much. But at the going rate, you can saturate your environment with the Finch so that you are never without a good tool. Something slightly larger, a Dragonfly perhaps, is likely to be added to my jogging first aid kit to replace the ages-old Trim knife in there. An H-1 blade would be nice for this, so maybe an H-1 Ladybug instead?
The Tenacious will likely replace my current camping knives, where I've been alternating a 30 yr old Boy Scout knife and my Benchmade 690. As much as I like the Benchmade, it's slightly small for my hands, the clip is bothersome when I do woodcraft, and it doesn't have a lanyard hole. I'm not getting another knife without a lanyard hole; I didn't realize how big a deal this would be to me until I went camping with this knife.
The Tenacious solves all of those problems. The clip is movable so that I have confidence I can solve any problems if they arise, the handle is just enough bigger and more ergonomic that I can actually grip the thing, the blade is robust enough to have confidence when using the knife and it has my new lanyard hole requirement.
It's blade is a little bigger than I will probably need though. Only for kitchen chores, where I have dedicated bread and chef's knives already, do I need a very long blade (a hand axe takes care of firewood chores too). On some other threads I've read of some people re-profiling their knives to have the benefit of a good sized handle with a smaller blade. I may experiment with this after I own it a while; this knife was cheap enough that this sort of experimentation seems reasonable. If some of the blades were interchangeable (a Persistence blade in a Tenacious handle, or a Delica blade blade in an Endura handle for instance) it would be cool.
I'm very happy with both purchases and I look forward to upgrades in the future.
The Finch proved what I had been suspecting - that the use of the first half inch of the blade for an extension of the handle is genius. I never have much use for a longer knife blade except for some kitchen chores, where I have dedicated kitchen knifes. But I always want more handle. I will keep this in mind on future purchases.
It will probably not replace my lowly Leatherman Micra for every day carry, because although the Finch is a much, much better knife for less weight and bulk, I will miss the scissors for trimming my mustache, the nail cleaner as my pry hook, and the dumb flat philips head screwdriver too much. But at the going rate, you can saturate your environment with the Finch so that you are never without a good tool. Something slightly larger, a Dragonfly perhaps, is likely to be added to my jogging first aid kit to replace the ages-old Trim knife in there. An H-1 blade would be nice for this, so maybe an H-1 Ladybug instead?
The Tenacious will likely replace my current camping knives, where I've been alternating a 30 yr old Boy Scout knife and my Benchmade 690. As much as I like the Benchmade, it's slightly small for my hands, the clip is bothersome when I do woodcraft, and it doesn't have a lanyard hole. I'm not getting another knife without a lanyard hole; I didn't realize how big a deal this would be to me until I went camping with this knife.
The Tenacious solves all of those problems. The clip is movable so that I have confidence I can solve any problems if they arise, the handle is just enough bigger and more ergonomic that I can actually grip the thing, the blade is robust enough to have confidence when using the knife and it has my new lanyard hole requirement.
It's blade is a little bigger than I will probably need though. Only for kitchen chores, where I have dedicated bread and chef's knives already, do I need a very long blade (a hand axe takes care of firewood chores too). On some other threads I've read of some people re-profiling their knives to have the benefit of a good sized handle with a smaller blade. I may experiment with this after I own it a while; this knife was cheap enough that this sort of experimentation seems reasonable. If some of the blades were interchangeable (a Persistence blade in a Tenacious handle, or a Delica blade blade in an Endura handle for instance) it would be cool.
I'm very happy with both purchases and I look forward to upgrades in the future.