Lum to Canada - SIGNUP HERE!

I agree that would be a good idea.

Do you guys have the equivalent of delivery confirmation too?
 
ok, Normark has the Salsa now, and he's the last one I've seen anything for the Lum....

Where is the Lum sitting now?
 
How about an update on the Lum? Its been nearly a month since anyone has posted here. I thought each person was going to take no more than a week with it?
 
Actually I think the Lum is 3 days - since it's the "newer sleaker" passaround style. :rolleyes:

FYI, I just got some info about it this afternoon.

Seems there was some sort of problem and it ended up back at the sender.
 
Thanks Dave, I will just patiently wait then until it makes it my way.

Of course that really isnt all that fun to do :(.
 
This was weird. The knife was sent to me, addressed correctly and was never delivered. It looks like no attempt was made to deliver it by the Post Office since there was no card left saying that I could pick up the package at my local postal station. Kisu is going to try again, hopefully with more luck this time.
 
The Lum arrived today. First impressions; feels nice in the hand and the clip doesn't bother me any more than those on most of the other knives I have used. It is lighter than I thought it was going to be and I find the blade shape to be very useful for utility purposes. I have already done some cutting and whittling with it and have found it works well for these jobs.

The neck rig from Normark holds the knife really securely, but it is not easy to get the knife out of. It is almost too darn secure.

More to come after I have had the chance to use the knife more.
 
getting closer... can already feel my wallet geting thinnner...

Kieth, NumberThree, and my turn...
 
I know what you mean about the wallet gettting thinner; I know once I handle this sucker, I'll have to buy one...
 
Thanks for the review, when it gets back I might put some floor tread sticky tape on the handle... :eek:
 
The knife is on its way to numberthree via Express Post. Tracking number 75 497 947 855.

Thanks Dave, for the opportunity to try out this knife. It was much appreciated.
 
getting closer... wallet's already getting thinner.

5 new spydies(4 for me) this week... and the lum chinese is gonna put another dent in the wallet.
 
The Lum arrived today, and I opened it with much anticipation. It's a great looking knife and I was pleasantly surprised that it's the blue handled model; I like the green too, but I already have a Salsa with a green hnadle and was curious what the blue would look like. The blade is definitely an very interesting shape, somehow elegant and utilitarian at the same time. It makes me yearn all the more for a flat-ground Native, since the point and general curves of the Lum's blade are reminiscent of those of the Native. This was my first encounter with VG-10 steel, another aspect of the Lum I was very curious about. While the blade wasn't particulary sharp when I got it, it did not take much effort to get a scary sharp edge on it. I like VG-10! It's easy to sharpen, and after a couple of hours of whittling things, making fuzz sticks, and finally cutting off those xmas tree branches that were too long, it seems to have retained the edge well.

Now for what I don't like about this knife:

Unfortunately, it's typical of Spyderco that their upper end models are very rarely ambidextrous in any way. The Lum, sadly, is no different. The clip is switchable to tip up or down, but for want of 6 simple holes on the other side of the knife, it cannot be switched to left hand carry. Come on guys, spend 2 extra minutes on the drill press, add the 5 bucks to the price of the knife and add 10% to your market share of upper end knives. /rant. Also, the liner lock is righty, but I was able to figure out a reasonable way of operating it safely. The cutout for the lock allows the right hander access to the lock when the knife is open, and the spyderhole when the knife is closed. Opening the knife left handed is slightly more difficult thanks to the lack of a cutout on the other side; the hole is slightly occluded by the grips on that side of the knife, and the clip is somewhat in the path of your thumb's travel as it approaches the hole. There is some minor contact with the lock while my hand is in an operational postion on the knife, so there is some theoretical risk of accidentally disengaging the lock if one were to use this knife left handed.

Normark's neck rig is stellar of course, and seemed to be the right balance of tightness for me. I know Keith found it too tight, but I could just barely pop it out of the sheath with a sharp shake, allowing gravity to drop the knife. This is a good test for a neck rig, since a fall or jump can provide similar conditions when the rig is on your neck, and it's nice to know if you're gonna have steel loose in your shirt. I want a rig to be tight enough to not drop the knife easily and still be able to quickly pull it out without undue effort. A reasonable pull gets it out very nicely, but that's such a subjective thing, it's going to be different for everyone... That being said, I probably wouldn't carry a knife like this around my neck, as I find it's too much fiddling to get the knife out, indexed and open. I prefer to carry less used, but important survival-type knives there, such as my SAK Trailmaster (also in a Normark neck rig). It provides a redundant knife blade, some basic tools, an LED flashlight, a highly effective saw, and a ferro rod, all in a discrete, carry-and-forget package. A folder like the Lum is much faster and more useful directly out of your pocket.

Overall this is a very nice little blade. Strangely, though I was hotly anticipating trying this one out, I am less inclined to buy one now that I've used it. It's just too anti-lefty to be a truly comfortable EDC. The minor annoyances of clip placement, lack of cutout, etc add up to a higher risk of fumbling the knife, or cutting myself accidentally. If it was a bit cheaper, I'd be less picky about the details, but for us Canucks, this thing costs about $200 or more. Still, it's a quality blade which has sold me on VG-10 so far, so I guess Spyderco will see yet more of my business.

Huge thanks to Dave H for making this possible north of the border. And thanks to everyone for their patience so far...

I'll keep it for another couple of days and then send it to Vampyrewolf...
 
numberthree,

Thanks for the review.

armlessbandit, maybe. I guess we could add you to the end after the last person.

I'm tempted to just do a whole new signup for the same knife. Quick question numberthree, how's it holding up? Do you think it might make it through another whole passaround?
 
Originally posted by DaveH
numberthree,

Thanks for the review.

armlessbandit, maybe. I guess we could add you to the end after the last person.

I'm tempted to just do a whole new signup for the same knife. Quick question numberthree, how's it holding up? Do you think it might make it through another whole passaround?
Click to expand...


I'd be in for a new sign up.

John in Boise
 
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