Have you handled a Spyderco lately?

scdub

scdub

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May 29, 2004
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One of my good friends invited me to his son’s graduation this June. I asked if a knife would be ok/appreciated, and was informed that yes, his kid was known to carry a Spyderco on occasion. I also learned that he was partial to blue.

I drove to my local surplus/knife store, and for the first time in many years spent some time looking through their assortment of Spydercos.

I’ve owned a Chinook 2 and while I like it fine I wasn’t especially amazed by the ergonomics, construction or fit/finish. Looking through these knives however I found them to be of uniformly higher quality than my old Chinook. Both lightweight and G-10 versions were nicely chamfered, the blades ground thin and were very sharp, evenly ground and centered. I was very impressed, and walked out with a nice Native 5 in Spy27 that I understand has since been carried frequently by its new owner.
1988E474-A738-4A9E-88ED-92AA3A788A1A.jpeg

Before gifting it away I showed it to my kid (technically now a man) who also liked it a lot. He mentioned that he frequently didn’t carry the AD-10 I got him years ago due to the weight, so I decided to get him something that would hopefully see more pocket time. Holy smokes is it nice. I liked it so much I decided that my next edc would be a Spyderco, and after much deliberation I’m on the waiting list for the next run of Para 2 Salts. 👍
47C63CAA-5579-4530-A756-3C2C03E63103.jpeg2AC00192-7047-4182-8FD8-43F3DF051865.jpeg
The Ti clip is from “Monkey Man” on Etsy and allows for use of all three screws unlike other brands.


Anyway, if you haven’t driven a Spyderco lately, you should check them out.
 
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scdub said:
One of my good friends invited me to his son’s graduation this June. I asked if a knife would be ok/appreciated, and was informed that yes, his kid was known to carry a Spyderco on occasion. I also learned that he was partial to blue.

I drove to my local surplus/knife store, and for the first time in many years spent some time looking through their assortment of Spydercos.

I’ve owned a Chinook 2 and while I like it fine I wasn’t especially amazed by the ergonomics, construction or fit/finish. Looking through these knives however I found them to be of uniformly higher quality than my old Chinook. Both lightweight and G-10 versions were nicely chamfered, the blades ground thin and were very sharp, evenly ground and centered. I was very impressed, and walked out with a nice Native 5 in Spy27 that I understand has since been carried frequently by its new owner.
View attachment 2665843

Before gifting it away I showed it to my kid (technically now a man) who also liked it a lot. He mentioned that he frequently didn’t carry the AD-10 I got him years ago due to the weight, so I decided to get him something that would hopefully see more pocket time. Holy smokes is it nice. I liked it so much I decided that my next edc would be a Spyderco, and after much deliberation I’m on the waiting list for the next run of Para 2 Salts. 👍
View attachment 2665844View attachment 2665845
The Ti clip is from “Monkey Man” on Etsy and allows for use of all three screws unlike other brands.


Anyway, if you haven’t driven a Spyderco lately, you should check them out.
Click to expand...
I have K390 Endela and VG10 Matriarch. Both are very nice and a joy to carry. Spyderco makes really nice stuff.
 
Spyderco makes up a bulk of my collection for a reason. Latest one I got was a Stretch 2 in K390 and it is an extremely underrated knife, I pretty much stopped carrying my PM2. Lighter, way better ergos, thinner stock and grind, and what is becoming one of my favorite steels. The only thing I carry more than that is the original Gayle Bradley folder, which is in my opinion the best folding knife Spyderco has made. Manix 2 fighting for second place with the Stretch, It's my first US-made Spyderco and I've had it for about 12 years now, been resharpened so many times the blade is actually shorted by a couple MM and the 17 degree bevel I put on it looks like a saber grind at this point. Only retired it because I got a factory second 15V Manix and I've been using that a lot.
 
Spyderco is a weird one for me. They aren't my favorite, but the ones I have kept I really like. I don't look at them as my EDC, but the ones I do carry are carried for a purpose because of what they bring to the table.

They are one of the few brands where I generally prefer them serrated over PE simply because there pattern works so well and the intended uses.

I recently bought a Stretch XL Salt in H2 to be a beach knife, but it has quickly turned into my work knife. The size, lightweight, serration, and the way it shuts off things that would rust most anything else make it perfect for a person who works around wet conditions and chemicals.

I think my absolute favorite, though, is the Civilian model. When I go places where a SD item is prudent but a firearm is impossible or not practical, the Civilian gets the nod. Not only is it a very effective design that purpose driven to get you out of a scrape, it's just such a neat throwback and "of it's time". Single linered, "outdated" super steel, and a little piece of paper warning you not to use it for utility. It wears its lack of hard use design on its sleeve by telling you that it pretty much is only to be used on bad guys trying to do you harm. I just really dig it, and it's one of those knives I have grown comfortable leaning on without having had (thankfully a need to do so.

I do like the way it cuts though, so I quickly bought a monarch as a more robust beater.
 
My current Spydercos:

Nirvana
Shaman S90V CF
Shaman CPM-REX 45 Rosewood
Manix XL S90V CF
Manix 2 CPM-154/S90V CF
Manix 2 4V Marble CF
Native 5 S90V Fluted CF
Native 5 Magnacut Fluted Ti
Native 5 40th Anniversary Damasteel Fluted CF
Yojumbo S90V CF
Subvert 20CV CF
Dragonfly 2 ZDP-189 Nishijin
PITS N690Co Ti
Chaparral Birdseye Maple
Sage 5 CF/G10 (waiting to swap in a REX-121 blade)

I also pre-ordered a Military 2 S90V CF almost a year ago.
 
I think for an honest to god knife, Spyderco is great. I just have come to the mental illness stage in which my knife is my friend as well, and as a friend Spydercos are the weird looking friend who is usually uncomfortable to be around, but they always get the job done.
 
The overwhelming majority of my collection are Spydercos. The in-house designs have many small touches that go overlooked by many users and other makers. It's part of the long development cycle just about every model goes thorough and part of the reason why they don't poop out new models weekly.
 
I carry my Shaman on occasion just because it feels pretty darn nice in the hand. The knife I carried for the longest was always a Spyderco. I had a tenacious in my pocket for well over 10 years on duty and a PM with D2 blade that is still kicking around. Spyderco quality control is top notch and they ergonomic masters.
 
The last several new knives I've purchased this year have all been Spyderco. I just got to a point where I enjoy having truly amazing edges paired with interesting/neat supersteels. Few people do what Spyderco is doing. It's how I discovered the Endela which to me is probably the absolutely perfect example of a quintessential EDC knife. The perfect size, blades are thinly ground*, slim to fit in the pocket, and Spyderco does their K390 (as an example) fantastically so it's held that super sharp edge for the last month of general cutting chores. It's just a perfect knife, so much so that it's almost boring in its perfection. I carry it pretty much every day, even if I'm carrying other large folders just to admire or fondle during a Teams meeting. I already have my eye on other Spydercos I plan to purchase as funds allow, and I've pretty much stopped looking at other companies at the moment, because I don't see anything that interests me. I mean, let me know when someone else is doing a run of knives in REX 121 for $300, you know?

* So it can cut stuff really well, weird right?
 
I've always found it interesting that Spyderco doesn't have a sub forum here, considering the size of it's fan base.
I need to get into a large knife store and check a few out.
I'm sick of getting knives online that have issues, and making excuses to myself to justify keeping a knife that QC should have never let leave.

😒
 
GPyro said:
I've always found it interesting that Spyderco doesn't have a sub forum here, considering the size of it's fan base.
I need to get into a large knife store and check a few out.
I'm sick of getting knives online that have issues, and making excuses to myself to justify keeping a knife that QC should have never let leave.

😒
Click to expand...

Spyderco

'Think about it: All God's critters have knives' Moderated by Sal Glesser, President of Spyderco. Visit their site at http://www.spyderco.com
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Anyways,
 
Spyderco produces very efficient slicing tools in a variety of cool "new" steels. Have been a fan since the mid 90s when I got my first delica.
I am pretty sure that they invented the pocket clip and one hand opening(?). They continue to innovate and are at the forefront of using novel steels in their production.

Pretty much all I buy regarding new knives. I have a Hap 40 Manix in my pocket now that arrived 2 days ago.
My current fav is probably my K390 Endela (have had it for maybe 2 years(?)).

I own quite a few with more to come.
 
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norcalAF said:
The owner of Spyderco is on the forum regularly as well, great company IMO!
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I may have met Sal about 40 years ago.

I was about 12 and at a fair - possibility the State fair in Sacramento or a county fair. I recall that in one of the large barns there was a man doing a presentation about the Sharp Maker Tri-Angle sharpening system. I think he also talked about knives but I’m not certain.

I recall asking him a question or two after his presentation, and then saving up something like $50(!!!) to buy one of the systems for myself. It’s all I used for many years, and I still have the sticks stashed around and use them regularly freehand.

Was that you Sal?? ;)
 
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