I'm going to buy my first Spyderco. Your advice?

not so dull said:

I want to buy my very first Spyderco to add to my collection. I don't want to buy something expensive as I'm not familiar with this brand, what if I don't like it? At the same time, the cheapest ones might be of lower quality (or not?), and I don't want to get disappointed.

So, what would be your advice? Thank you.
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I have and have owned many Spydercos. My favorite hands down is the Manix 2. Granted, mine is a limited edition in CTS-XHP steel with aftermarket wood handles. I will say, the lock has to break in, and can be quite stiff at first, but once broken in it is great, and a superior design in my opinion to the axis lock.


My next favorite, and what is probably their most popular knife, is the Paramilitary 2.

I suggest either of those 2 to start. You won't be disappointed.
 
I would add, that while I really like my Enduras, I don't particularly like the handle as much as the Stretch. I love the blade profile, but my first two fingers sorta bunch together on the Endura.

They are still awesome though.

A year or so back, I stopped by a friend's house. She was cutting up a deer she just harvested on the back of her truck.

She is not a knife nut, but hunts often.

She had been using a S90V Benchmade 940, and was sorta grumbling on how poorly it was performing.

She put it down, and grabbed her Endura in VG-10 and finished deboning and cleaning the skull cap with no more issue.

I remember her saying she was pissed that the 940 cost so much but didn't work remotely as well as the cheap Spydie. (They used to be easily bought for just under 60 bucks).
 
while i think the endura and delica are great choices to start with and come in many different variations to choose from, i would also recommend the new spyderco leafjumper, i have one and i feels like it a near perfect edc and is right under $100


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not so dull said:
What is my budget? Hmmm, that's an interesting question! :D
$1,000? No, that's out of reach for now. Let's say, $100 or so. I think I need something really entry-level at the moment. If I buy another expensive knife now the wife will kill me with that very knife :(
I don't have any preference as to the size, but not smaller than 3" I guess.
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Spyderco is my favorite knife brand by far. I have owned 40, sold some, kept the majority over one year. I was really going nuts for a while.

Thing is, I almost got a Tasman Salt, the hawkbill lockback in H1, when what I was really after was a compression lock, which is the first thing that made me fall in love with them, how good that felt, ease of opening and it was just fun. I LOVE Spyderco lockbacks, I carry one half the time. But I wanted the wow factor of the PM2. The lockbacks would not have done it for me at that time.

I would really recommend spending a liiitle more + prowl here and Reddit Knifeswap for models, as I had to stop checking the site as new, well-priced, unique Spydies popped up so often, but, here are some top recs.

For actually floating around $100, new? You can get a Delica in CPM-M4 which I say is probably one of the best deals around, K390 Dragonfly Wharncliffe, badass tool steel in a super effective package for its size. Or just a regular VG-10 Endura/Endela/Delica. The Centofante 3 is pretty gentlemanly, also the Cricket, this is a tiny steel framelock that comes serrated or plain, was the first knife with the Reverse-S shape which may look a bit kooky, but is very effective for opening things, cutting through fiber, it is a very useful shape, easy to sharpen on the Sharpmakker.

For a bit more, the Sage 5, particularly in M4, is a smooth operating, light, small knife that is just A+ EDC. Great construction. My woman's work EDC. The Para 3 is a good one. BD1N is tough, stainless and easy to sharpen. Do not let folks get you to think FRN is cheap plastic, it is better than that, but not all like the feel.

Hope you get a great knife, feel free to specify more of what you're looking for.
 
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At $100ish, I'd say a K390 Delica. If you don't like backlocks, there are other options - esp if you are open to the secondary market.
Liner lock? How about a Positron?
 
Skar said:
For the record, Spyderco backlocks are extremely fidgety.
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The Japanese ones are, the American ones seem to have an integrated lock stick, it is distinctively harder to try to get these to fall shut on you. Like, my Native Chief, an XHP satin blade, will not fall if the lock is depressed, the spine must be pushed. However, my Matriarch 2 or Police 4 simply drop-shut the second the lock is disengaged, and while it does make for easier manipulation, I have got to say it leaves one with more confidence in the strength of the USA ones, even though I carry the Police 4 more.

There are two grains of salt in this observation, one being that I have 12~ Japanese backlocks and just two USAs, and the fact that those models are both linerless, Native Chief and Native 5 LW. This may just be slight fit issues, and I think one could probably polish the locks to improve the action. I may try that.
 
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