Help with Spyderco??!!!!?????

W

Wesp666

Banned
Joined
Aug 6, 2004
Messages
183
I'm thinking of getting a Spyderco Harpy/Merlin from botac.com for $36. Whats everyone think of this knife and what would you get, the serrated or plainedge? Also, what would you reccomend for sharpening a plain edge hawkbill, as a ordinary gatco won't work. P.S. I'm getting this knife because in the summer I'm working on a charter boat in Hawaii, where my switchblade is highly illegal. ;)
 
I like the HArpy better then the merlin, but it's a little more expensive. My adice is wahtever you do don't buy it from botach.
 
Spyderco made their Sharpmaker 204 to handle the weird knives they make like serrated hawkbills. The crock sticks are triangles, and you use the points (which are rounded really) to handle recurved blades that flat or bench stones can't, and to fit within serrations. One will run you about $45-50. The Sharpmaker 204 comes highly reccomended by a majority of people here.
 
Botach earned themselves a reputation for the worst possible customer service. They took orders for items not in stock, charged credit cards on order, not on shipping, and were rude and difficult over the phone when customers tried to get these problems solved.

On the other hand, they've upgraded their operation considerably. I personally never had any trouble with them over about 5 orders, multiple items each order, and the times I had to call, I got the utmost cooperation.

They do have good prices. You can get competitive prices from many major dealers, including One Stop Knife Shop, which supports Bladeforums.
 
Get the stainless steel harpy with the plain edge. It's Hanibal Lector's knife of choice and it cuts like a demon. Looks cool too. The knife was designed for serrations, the plain edge was added afterwards.
 
Stainless doesn't have as good a grip though for working around boats and water.
 
brownshoe said:
Get the stainless steel harpy with the plain edge. It's Hanibal Lector's knife of choice.
Click to expand...
In the book, Lecter has only serrated edged knives (Spyderco Harpy and Civilian).
OTOH, I'd definitely go for a SE G-10 Harpy. The best on a boat. The Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 can handle those serrations OK.
 
I've ordered from Botach many times.I had trouble once.But because of what I hear,I order by phone.This way they can check if its in stock and give you an answer.
 
I say get the Merlin with FRN scales. It has a better grip than the harpy, especially when wet. Definately get the serrated version. You can go longer with out having to resharpen it.
 
Turns out I didn't chose either, I'm going to get a Vaquero Grande with the Kydex sheath. But, thanks for the input anyway!!
 
Had a Merlin in plain. Requires crock stick sharpeners, but it's damn nice. It tends to dig into the thing that you're cutting, and the hawkbill will help you cut things normally won't be easy to do (like a zip tie pulled tight against a steel pole).
SS handles aren't good with wet hands. You'd need to modify it with skateboard tape, but then the FRN isn't all that bad either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top