Larger Spydercos - Tighe Stick + Mamba

J

jceckrosh

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Mar 2, 2016
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Not a big production knife guy, but I recently picked up a Khalsa for my brother and myself (my first Spyderco, and I assume his as well), and I like it quite a bit. So I was thinking of getting another Spyderco. I was thinking something larger and came across the Tighe Stick and the Mamba (I like trailing point esque knives).

Anyone have any very strong opinions either way? I am not concerned about the size as far as carrying, I carried a CS Large Espada at work for a long time. More concerned about overall functionality - opening, closing, sharpness, etc. Anyone get either of them and love/loathe them? I can pick up the Tighe for well below retail, and the Mamba for below retail as well, just not as discounted as the Tighe.

And I know neither are super practical EDC knives, but I rarely base what I am carrying on a given day on practicality. If I am hunting or working, thats a different story.

Thanks.
 
I have a Spyderco Mamba so I can speak of it a bit. The fit and finish of it is superb, in fact among the best among all folding knives that I have or had (Hinderer, CRK, Reate, ZT, Benchmade, and Spyderco). The carbon fiber pattern and finish is also among the best, possibly including those you can see on high-end custom pieces. The knife is absolutely a great looker: the lines, the trailing blade shape, the handle ergo, and the two-tone finish are all fabulous. The thick ti liners make the knife vault-like.

So what is negative about the knife? Well, these are all well know. There is a small port of the blade that is not sharpened. I know Eric explained why but I am still pissed by that portion of the blade. On such a high-end production knife, a better blade steel (better than s30v) would be expected. Finally, as you OP said, the Mamba is really not a good choice of EDC. It is more like a collector piece or as some folks see, a SD knife.

I knew it would bother me forever if I did not personally try out the knife, so I bought it. But given the variety of folders I have, I don't see I'll ever use it. BTW, I'm trying to give an opinion of mine, not because I am trading my Mamba (will be perfectly cool if it stays with me).
 
Never handled a Mamba.
I picked up a Tighe Stick on closeout and I think it was a good deal. I haven't used mine but I was pleased with the lockup, centering and detent. If you want slick action, you'd probably be better off with the Mamba. The Tighe Stick has a strong lockbar and the location of the opening hole creates a big arc. So for rapid deployment or repeated cycling, it's not the ideal knife. It pockets easily. The tip is very pointy. It has a flat saber grind but it's not especially thick behind the edge.
 
I got a chance to handle both awhile back. Both are collectors knives. The Tighe Stick is a pretty good deal, but I don't like the blade shape personally. The Mamba is huge, but it's exceptional fit and finish. The carbon fiber handle is stunning. The point in the handle poked my hand in the wrong place or I would have got one. The handle is too nice to be grinding on it.
 
Grinds are way too thick for my tastes for using...sold both of mine.

Not models optimized for general use, IMHO.

Having said that...F & F on both were impeccable and the cutlery world would be get boring fast if Sal, Eric, et. al. never evolved the company beyond the Worker, Delica, & Endura...so I support Spyderco's ventures into more exotic models and will continue to buy them...I just may not keep them in my back pocket to open parcels.
 
Mamba - as soon as I saw pictures of that unsharpened portion, I knew it was a knife I’d never spend money on. It would just annoy me too much.

Tighe Stick - bought it on close out and it’s a nice knife to play with. I need to grind off the front part of the spyderhole to form a wave, and tap it for tip up carry. Then it will be an outstanding sd knife.
 
Thanks for the input folks. Mostly confirmed what I already had seen/suspected.

I guess I'm just gonna keep an eye out for very good deals on either. Will have to wait regardless since something else came up I had to have.
 
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