Lil Native Impressions?

Kreyzhorse

Kreyzhorse

Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
2,496
Long lusted after, last night I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Lil Native. I always loved the look of the Native, but I never found the design comfortable in hand. I hope the Lil Native fits my hand a little better but without handling one, I had some reservations and wasn't willing to give it a try.

Last night however, thanks to a fully serrated blade and some help from my dear Old Grand Dad, I finally pulled the trigger. I'm not necessarily a serrated guy, but the combo of 2.5" blade with full serrations really caught my attention.

Should have it in a couple of days, but am curious what are some opinions on the knife from owners? What's the good bad and ugly of the Lil Native?
 
I like it.
If Para3 is too big and Dfly too small Lil Native comes around.

Compression lock on a small knife is great. Action is nice.

Ugly: finger choil touches finger at closing.
So I grinded it down. Now its better.

What are your great bad ugly on it?
 
Interested to hear yours and others thoughts, as this one is on my radar. I'm a fan of smaller knives and love my Dragonflys. I really like the compression locks so combined with the small size of the Lil Native I think It'll be a sweet little EDC.
 
It's a burly little knife. More like a lil Shaman with the compression lock, full steel liners, and chunky blade. I use mine hard. Only problem is the rough G10 under the clip makes it hard to clip to pocket.
 
nickites said:
It's a burly little knife. More like a lil Shaman with the compression lock, full steel liners, and chunky blade. I use mine hard. Only problem is the rough G10 under the clip makes it hard to clip to pocket.
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I saw the rough G10 issue in a review before I pulled the trigger. I'm interested to see the texture of this guy in person.
 
I didn't notice that the G-10 was rough. Wire clip works great and there's no hot spot in hand.
I love my compression lock Lil' Native. It's my only small modern folder. I can get a really firm grip with my medium hand. Ergos allow for versatile positioning. It is a stout little folder.
Only complaint was that mine came very stiff and the pivot wouldn't budge for some reason. But through usage and cycling and lubricating it has broken in nicely. Certainly not a "free dropper" but that's fine with me.
 
I guess I am the odd man out as once I received my lockback version, I sold my compression lock version and haven’t looked back. Just prefer a good lockback to the compression lock, and, With an aftermarket clip the lockback rides much deeper in the pocket than the compression lock wire clip allows. Fantastic that Spyderco gives us so many options with many of their models.
 
rtal said:
I guess I am the odd man out as once I received my lockback version, I sold my compression lock version and haven’t looked back. Just prefer a good lockback to the compression lock, and, With an aftermarket clip the lockback rides much deeper in the pocket than the compression lock wire clip allows. Fantastic that Spyderco gives us so many options with many of their models.
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I'm a big fan of the wire clip. Otherwise I'd probably opt for the lockback too.
 
Just opened mine.

First impressions are it is a little smaller than I thought it would be. That said,it fits my large handed very well.

The G10 does seem to be a little rougher than most G10 Spydercos. Very trippy.

The finish on the blade is almost matte. It's a great finish and would love to see some additional offerings in this finish.

The action is tight and it certainly isn't a free dropper. Not a big deal to me.

Overall, very happy with it. It's certainly going to get some pocket time.
 
I noticed over the weekend, as I finally broke out the shorts, PM2 and PM3 were too big, bulky and kind of heavy for shorts. I tried the Lil Native and found it was perfect for shorts, light weight and flicks well with what I call the coin toss, with your thumb. It definitely has it's place. (I know it's a month later but just found it's place.)
 
Well Eric, you just may have built my last knife ,the lil Native, suits me to a T. great size, fits like a glove ,sturdy,compression lock,g10 and slides into my watch pocket for ease of use. Overall 11 out of 10,Thanks
 
roninair said:
Well Eric, you just may have built my last knife ,the lil Native, suits me to a T. great size, fits like a glove ,sturdy,compression lock,g10 and slides into my watch pocket for ease of use. Overall 11 out of 10,Thanks
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Just 1 thing to add after using and carrying this gem is I wished the back barrel spacer was a little further from the closed blade so I could run a 550 cord around it ,to make a very short lanyard.
 
roninair said:
Just 1 thing to add after using and carrying this gem is I wished the back barrel spacer was a little further from the closed blade so I could run a 550 cord around it ,to make a very short lanyard.
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I actually did that. You just have to tie the lanyard knot kind of tight to the handle and there's no chance the blade will cut through it.
 
I think it's one of the ugliest products they have made to date, but it somehow still made it into my mailbox and then into my pocket. I was so happy to see a design without a finger saw choil and minimal jimping on the spine. It reminds me of the smooth yet secure ergos of the Calypso Jr.
I think it's a great candidate for some custom scales. I haven't carried my Dragonfly ZDP since I got the L'Native. I'll probably end up selling off the Dragonfly now.
 
rtal said:
I guess I am the odd man out as once I received my lockback version, I sold my compression lock version and haven’t looked back. Just prefer a good lockback to the compression lock, and, With an aftermarket clip the lockback rides much deeper in the pocket than the compression lock wire clip allows. Fantastic that Spyderco gives us so many options with many of their models.
Click to expand...

You're not the only one. I initially got the compression lock version. It was good but i like lockback better. Still can do all the one hand opening and closing. Can even flick open just as good as the compression one.

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Spyderco is the master of small knives, and the Lil’ Native is no exception. Mine is the Compression Lock model. It does not swing open and shut as freely as the Paramilitary 2 and Para 3, but that is probably because it has a much shorter and lighter blade. It is a great knife for an office environment. It simply a great knife period for when something smaller is appropriate.
 
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