More Matriarch questions?

Cutshaw

Cutshaw

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Did they not sell well? I've become more intrigued with the Civi/Matriarch after my Merlin purchase, but I haven't found any old stock Matriarchs remaining with any dealers.

The Matriarch seems to make a lot of sense due to the <4" blade length that makes it legal in most municipalities in comparison to the Civi. I wonder if we might see a return of a <4" S-style blade.

Apologies in advance, but how do they compare to the CS Vaquero? The 3" or 4" Vaquero might become an option if I continue this train of thought and don't end up finding a Matriarch.

Thanks in advance...
 
The Matriarch was released in limited numbers, and thus you probably won't find them largely stocked at any dealer, since it is not your standard Spyderco production model.

If I'm not mistaken, the Matriarch was originally sold only to Law Enforcement Officers, or something thereof, (or so I read... I think ?).

The only way to find a Matriarch nowadays, much like any discontinued item, is through the secondary market, and dealers whom have resources for acquiring such limited models.
Every now and then, a Matriarch pops up on ebay, both variations in fact, including the standard black FRN Matriarch, and the rarer grey FRN handle variation.
 
matriarchs are becoming a little hard to find right now i havent seen one for sale in a while myself. great knife though.

as far as comparisons to the CS vaquero the CS is well a CS, its "ok" nothing more/nothing less imho, not a spyderco for sure, i really dont like CS's serrations FWIW.
 
Paddling_man,

Your name suggests you are a boater. Canoe or kayak? The Matriarch is a great little SD knife and I wear one around my neck whenever I travel. If you get up to the Indy 1500 Show next weekend, look me up and I'll let you fondle one in person Also might have a line on a couple.
 
Mike - More like a "retired" kayaker than anything. I lived in Knoxville for about 10 years and boated the whole time on the Plateau, Smokies and down on the Ocoee. Living in St. Louis for last five years with a 2 & 5 year old, I don't get much time to paddle anymore but I have used the name in forums for years...

I would love to make it to the Indy show but we will be having my daughter's birthday party next weekend; thanks for the offer. Maybe another chance.

Great looking sheaths!
 
As far as I know, the Matriarch was available anywhere anyplace that wanted them when in production. There was some hype initially about being restricted to LEO, but the knife store I bought it at said that was BS. The reason you can't find them now is they've been out of production for awhile. They sold well initially and close to the MSRP, but were finally discounted out by many at about 65% of the initial price.

I like the knife and believe it's actually more suited for its intended purpose than the civilian given its smaller size and lighter weight.
 
Paddling_man,

Paddled alot in that whole area, still do sometimes - great water. More of a drive from Cincy than Knoxville. Contact me if you're still interested in locating a Matriarch - can help. Merlin actually works pretty well as SD knife and makes an excellnt WW rescue knife.
 
I picked up one of the gray ones on ebay over the summer with the original box, new never used. I heard somewhere that only 500 gray ones were made and only sold in South Africa. The one I have did in fact come from a fellow who had bought it in South Africa years ago.
 
Hi guys,

The Matriarch was created and produced for Spyderco's South African Distributor. The name "Matriarch" is the leader of the elephant herd, always the wisest female in the herd. (Males are expelled from the herd when they begin to "must". a gland secretion above their eyes that indicates they are ready to mate).

We made a 500 piece run in a gray version primarily for the forumites. The black version had more pieces, but still not over 1500. Most went to South Africa.

The knife was built primarily for women as Bruce Wentzel was teaching a SD class that the knife was created for. The Spyderhawk became the next variation on the same theme for the same customer and the same reasons.

Again a 500 pice blue version was made for forumites. The majority of those also went to South Africa.

Hope that helps.

sal
 
Thanks for all of the great info! (And the offer Mike... I may take you up on it!)

Have a great weekend!

Tazman Salt looks nice too. I can't wait to see one "live."
 
In as much as I just love and adore my Civilian; I am going to have to say that even in spite of the FRN handle I do like the Matriarch better. It is just about the perfect size for my hand. It also fits in one of Mike Sastre's sheaths very well. I hope he still has a few left.

Both the Civi and the Matriarch are both great designs. I wish there would have been a Matriarch made with a G-10 handle. Also the 2 Matriarchs I have both have ATS-55 blade steel. Does anyone know if they ever made any Matriarchs in VG-10?

I love the Gray one the best but because of rarity it is a safe queen all the way. JD
 
Well I just got my Tasman PE in yellow, and it now takes an EDC post along with my CF Harpy SE. I love the Tasman so far...
 

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Hey JD,

How's it goin'? They did make a few Matriarchs in VG-10, but the majority I've seen were ATS-55. I've been carrying the grey one since they first came out. Lighter weight makes more sense and your not giving up much in length from the Civilian.

Hawkbill,

I've been waiting for the Tasmans for a long time - got a bunch of the serrateds for my WW people. H1 serrated Absolutly Rocks!! Will I see you at the Novi Show this Spring? Missed you the last couple.
 
Hi Mike!

Yes, I'm hoping to get to the Novi show this time around. The SE Tasmans shipped alongside the PE, and yellow is the way to go for quick ID and retrieval. I ordered all 4 variants (of course) and this one's my fav.

Still must have a SE knife on me, but for common cutting, this blade does very well in the 2 days of testing.
 
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