My first spydie (NativeIII w/pics)

I

inspira

Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
352
Hi everyone =)

I've been here for a little while and after my M16, Leek, BK10, I've tried out the Byrd Caracara. To be honest I didn't find my Caracara to be as good as everyone else said it to be - I found it heavy and too thick (and plus, they cost more than US 40 dollars equiv here in Aus - so I didn't get as good value as you guys).

I've look at the spyderco products here and there and I've taken the plunge :]
In fact I got to handle two. I bought a Native III from the shop and they gave me a Centofante - so I snuck away with it had a look for an hour and took it back to exchange for what I was supposed to have bought :p

Actually I quite liked the Centofante III, but the thin nature of the blade concerned me - I wanted a decently tough pocketknife to carry.

So anyway the Native III I've been happy with, i got the PS version so far so good. The handle is the most secure I've ever had the chance to hold. Very good, although the serrated thumbramp looks like it would do serious damage to me if I had to stabbed into something hard. Luckily theres a little spot to place your thumb on the side of the knife if you dont like to get hurt.

My biggest gripe at the moment is how hard it is to open the blade. Its pretty stiff at the moment. Any suggestions? I've put some silicone on everything, still pretty stiff. Admittedly my other two pocketknives are almost effortless (carson flipper and speed-safe) But I dont see how people say Spyderco knives open fast.

I'm familiar with the dreaded spyderdrop but even that is very hard to pull off on my Native III. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Gripes aside I love this knife and its easily my favourite folder so far and I'll be using it all the time.

Some pictures I took today - Feel free to use and link to them elsewhere. I have higher quality ones available on request:

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Thanks for reading :)
 
Congrats Inspira! You've made an excellent first Spyderco buy. As for the stiffness, I've found that it gets easier to open the more you use it. And a little oil never hurts.:thumbup:
 
yes. I've just tried to help wear it down a bit.
Applied some metal polish to the inside and worked the angles where the knife opens. Tied a bit of cord to the lanyard hole and put a pen through the spyderhole to make things easier.

I've stopped now but I'm convinced it'll take a lot of openings before it'll be smooth to open.
 
Good choice Inspira - I've had three Native III's pass through my hands and they've all been a bit stiffer than other folders and mine haven't loosened up wth use, I think it's a peculiarity of the model and lubing them hasn't made a huge difference for me.

But there are plenty of plusses - Best ergos of any knife I've used, usefull blade shape, very pocketable yet can act like a big knife when it needs to.
 
My Native III has over 3000 openings and closings and it's still waay too tight. Sal said in a previous thread that they were done that way(really strong spring) on purpose. I really like the knike, but it doesn't get any carry time because it's too hard to open.
 
Great pics, congrats! You've got a strong "little big knife"!
For smoothing the opening you should use a little graphite powder and a lot of opening. (It never be so smooth like the Manix because of the strong spring, but I can live with it.)
 
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