I was wrong, and so are the others!

K

KnifeGuyinSocal

Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
61
Up until I got my Native II last week and LEARNED how to hold it, I was one of those fools who thought 'Natives are uncomfortable to hold'.

Yes they are!

IF....

You're too dumb to realize, or have never been told that you HAVE to have your index finger in the choil.

Then and ONLY then, they are one of the most comfortable, ergonomic handles I've ever gripped.

I wonder how many others are like me - thinking that Natives are uncomfortable, only because they're holding it incorrectly?

Great design Sal - maybe you should emphasize proper holding techniques so others don't make the same bone-headed mistake I did for years.
 
I find it nearly impossible to hold the darned thing without my index finger going in the choil. seems to do it naturally. design is genius.
 
Yep, with your index finger in the finger choil like it should be the Native is one darn comfortable knife. :thumbup:
 
It's that way with a lot of knives but Spyderco in particular continues to tickle me with most of their designs. The blade on the Native is just right. Length and design. With your finger in the choil and your thumb on the spine near the tip as a depth stop, you can cut cardboard with that thinned out portion of the blade all day long. No need to thin out that gorgeous grind and negate it's stoutness.

You'll hear time and time again that Spydercos have to be used to be appreciated. After awhile I imagine it sounds like hype. But it ain't. I was disappointed when I bought my Endura 3 and my Native and held them in hand. Why are they so light? Plastic? Old fasioned lockback? The Native seemed small. Flash forward to now and I wonder why Spyderco is not a household name.
 
Hi KnifeGuy,

Thanx for the kind words.

We put a lot of thought and refinement into our designs. Mosat is not immediately obvous. Some say, "more than is necessary". "It's just a knife right?"

We find that a few appreciate the effort.

Thanx for being some of the few.

sal
 
I would have to agree with what was said. I can remember when I thought I would never own a Spyderco. But I got one (my first was a Calypso Jr lightweight), and found out that it actually worked. Then I got more, and more. Now I tell people that even though some of the designs may not win beauty contests, when you hold them in your hands it is apparent that they are meant to be used. I like they way they fit my hand, and I like the way the choil is designed. My current two favorites are the UKPK for around town, and the Para for camping/backpacking. Both are very well thought out designs. There are regular threads in which people talk about how certain knives are easy to use, but I have never found one that works better than my Para. Great ergonomics, grippy handle, the compression lock is easiest to operate (for me, compared to my lockbacks, framelocks, axis locks, etc), and it is by far the easiest to open of all the knives I have ever seen. The combination of large opening hole and its position relative to the handle makes it very easy to open.
 
Do you put your index finger in the handle cutout or the blade/handle choil?

sorry, just a little confused.
 
I put my index finger in the blade/handle choil. It just feels natural there. And it allows better blade control because I am choked up on the handle that way. It also means that I have more handle in my hand. Take, for example, a comparison of the Native and the Mini-Grip. Both have similar length handles. When holding the Native with my index finger in the choil, I still have a hand full of handle. But with the mini-Grip, the handle only fills the middle of my palm.
 
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