First impression of my C90P Stretch

DavidZ

DavidZ

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Oct 30, 2004
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I just got my new Spyderco on Monday, and thought I would share my early thoughts.
Things I liked:
Beautiful flat grind blade had a nice surface finish.
The "pelican" shaped blade has proven very useful, and came scary sharp.
Handle shape ( Profile, not thickness ) was very comfortable for my extra large hands.
The clip holds the knife very well in my pocket. No chance of losing this one.
The lockup is perfect. No play in any direction
I like the thumb and fore finger serrations for a good grip.
Good carry size. Not to large or to small

Things that I did not like:
The stainless handle is beveled (chamfered) around the entire perimeter. So much so that under the handle, the handle slabs measured only .028 of an inch. This makes this area uncomfortable in use. The knife is thin enough already, no need to bevel it.
The boye detent on the lockbar detracts from the looks, and adds no real value IMO.
The handle had a lot of excess glue around the perimeter of the inlay. Not sure how to remove it, without hurting the bond, or the metal.
The kraton inlay did not fit in the frame very well. On the left side, it is separated by .031 of an inch for a length of .751 of an inch. On the right side it is only separated by .015 of an inch for a length of .354 of an inch.

The Verdict:
An initial disappointment. Would be a good $50.00 knife. To bad I paid 2.5x that much. Hopefully it will grow on me. Time will tell.
I like the Manix I have a lot better.
Anyone else have one??

Dave.
 
I had both the Manix and the Stretch. I liked the Stretch better including its thinness. It seemed like it would be more utility friendly for what I use a knife for.

I traded the Stretch for some other Spyderco models in the long run (sold the Manix). I just couldn't get myself to use it like an FRN model. I guess that I'm sort of cheap. :o One thing about the handle that I didn't like was the sharpness/pointiness of the choil. Made choking up on it a bit uncomfortable. I do think that the blade would be GREAT in a similar FRN handle though. ;)
 
thanks for the mini-review Dave. i must say that the glue-thing and the handle-inlay fitting is quite unacceptable really, for a Spyderco.

little surprised though you mentioned the Boye-dent as un-useful. granted, it may detract from the looks, but i think that dent in the lockbar is one of the best things ever Spyderco did to improve the stabiblity of the front-locker.

good review! :cool:
 
Dave, I'm glad you brought this up. I too was a little disappointed with my build quality of my Stretch. Specificaly the sloppy glue all around the not quite even kraton inlay. I scraped the excess glue off with an exacto. It looks a little better, but small scratches in the SS were unavoidable. It bothers me even more to know that this was not a one time thing. I expect better than this fron my Spydies.

My Spur however, is perfect all around, even inlay and no excess glue at all.
 
I really like the Stretch myself, I had it for sale for a while, but I decided to keep it. I really llike the thinness and lilghtweight of the Stretch.
 
Really? I have gotten 2 of them so far. One that is my numbered collector's piece and it doesn't have any of the glue issue. Kraton is not quite centered but not an easy thing to do. I bought a second one that I had engraved and gave to my best man at my wedding and his looks great with the exception of a scratch that the engravers put in it and swear they didn't do it. It has a great feel and weight and would be a great carry piece but I agree that it is a little steep in the wallet.
 
I amost hate to admit this, but I've bought 3 of them so far. :cool: They've all been perfect. No flaws.

Razz
 
Hi. Thanx for the comments.

We did have problem with the kraton coming out in some pieces. Usually some glitches with a new design.

Then a bit of "overkill" no doubt, with the adhesive. Sorry for that. We think we've got the model about perfect now. It is a very sophisticated and refined dedsign. I've been imnproving the original "Hunter" model for more than 20 years. This is the latest. Hope you enjoy.

It's one of my edc's.

sal
 
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