More Spyderco than Spyderco ?

yog

yog

Joined
Mar 30, 2001
Messages
423
For a long while I've been looking for a medium/large folder that had the blade profile a Calypso and the ruggedness of a G-10 Native. The closest I had got so far was the Lil' Temperance, a really great knife, I've carried it a lot especially where I knew there was going to be some really serious cutting, but at the back of my mind there were some things that could have been done fractionally different to "personalise" it just for me.

For the last couple months I have been carrying the Strider SNG, and my first thought on getting the knife was that it was more Spyderco than a Spyderco. There were so many things about it that I have come to respect and appreciate from the Spyderco line-up, simplistic design, ruggedness, the full flat drop point blade shape (that is also known as leaf shape), traction grooves for the thumb, an opening hole (although would have preffered a rounder spyder hole), and a finger choil between the handle and the blade for choking up on fine cuts (something I wish the Lil' Temperance had). It even looks as though it belongs in the Spyderco line-up.

If Spyderco were considering any more custom collaberations I would ask them to seriously consider giving Mick Strider a call and seeing if they could work out a deal to bring this knife to the masses.
 
It does look like it should be a Spyderco.I would love to have one of these custom knives but there is no way I can afford one.
 
Hi Yog,
Where did you get your hands on the SNG. Does it cut as well as the Spydies in full flat grind? How is the lock up?
Vox.
 
Hi Vox.
I picked it up from Matt-D a dealer who is a regular on the Strider forums over at The Usual Suspects. Not cheep, but I do consider it worth it.

Comparing it to a Spyderco ? Hmmm.
The only handles that come close to it in toughness are the Lil' Temperance, the Gunting and likely the upcoming ATR.
The blade is S30v and is the same thickness as the Millitary and Lil'Temp (4mm), but it feels and cuts like a slimmer knife.
Probably the best description I can give it is, it feels like a cross between the Millitary, the Lil'Temp and the G-10 Native.

The lock-up comes courtesy of a 3nn thick titanium frame lock. I'm not a great fan of the frame lock, and if Spyderco ever did do a custom collaberation I would hope it would change to a compression lock.
I did have some problems with the lock from new. It was over tight, which made achieving lock-up hard, and disengaging even harder. It did go back to the Strider workshop, and now it has fantastic lock-up.
This is part of the reason I would love a Spyderco collaberation. Because there is a lot of hand finishing and they are most definately working knives, I don't think the fit and finish are as good as I have come to expect from Spyderco.

Strider do have a lifetime no questions asked warrenty. Cliff Stamp actually beat one to death during destruction testing once, but he got a brand new one back under warrenty. Although rumour has it there was a less than complementary engraving on the new blade :D
 
The Strider SnG feels very much like the G-10 Natives. Overall, I prefer the blade shape and grind on the SnG to that on the Native.

My main beef on the SnG is that the rear part of the handle design is very wide, which puts it more toward the "hard use" category. I would be just as happy with a leaner "butt" profile, YMMV.

I have to say that when I first picked up the SnG, I immediately though of those G-10 Native and did a mental price comparison.

I doubt Spyderco will ever do another G-10 run on the Natives since they tanked so badly on sales. The Strider SnG will be a better value when the larger version comes out (maybe a year from now??).

Now, if we could get a Ti Salsa with the blade stretched to 3.5 inches, I wouldn't need to get the larger SnG. :)
 
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