My Life With a Shabaria

Joined
Oct 4, 1998
Messages
1,100
I was wanting to replace my trusty Endura work knife after 10+ years of reliable service, so with a birthday coming up I started dropping hints to the lovely wife about possible choices. Hint #1-another Endura with VG-10 blade or Hint #2-a AFCK with D2 blade. The Big Day comes, much celebrating ensues and out comes the ever popular small rectangular wrapped present. Paper off, aha it's the Spyderco. Knife comes out, whoa, not the Endura, but a Shabaria. Lovely wife, while Internet shopping, saw the Shabaria and thoughtfully upgraded.

First of all I was going to love this knife because my wife took the time to scope it out and pick something she thought I would like. However, I don't really do well with surprises and this was a surprise. It seemed oddly shaped :) and kind of fancy for a work knife. But, when I expressed those feelings she said, "I bought it for you to use, so take it out and use it".

So use it I did. I have been carrying it daily for about a month and a half now and I gotta say that I absolutely love this knife. Typical Spyderco quality. VG-10 blade, micarta handle, dual steel liners, smooth as silk opening, tight lock up, and feels solid without being heavy. Has the really cool Spydie logo on the clip, too. Looks really nice. Another plus is that the back is open so clean up is a snap. A great package all the way around. The handle shape is definitely different, but not at all uncomfortable (in my hands) or hard to get use to. In fact, it provides a very secure grip.

Where this knife really shines, though, is in the blade. Long and thin, slight recurve with a wickedly sharp tip. This badboy is a deluxe slicer. It will out cut every knife I have with the exception of a hawkbill custom with CPM 3V steel and a very thin edge bevel. The VG-10 takes a very good edge and holds it nicely. Resharpens readily, too. A nice combo in a stainless steel.

Buuutt, it's not perfect. A couple of small complaints. The blade/handle shapes don't allow for the opening hole to be fully exposed. A small portion is hidden below the liner. This makes accessing the hole a little more difficult than usual for a Spyderco and also allows for the possibility of riding your thumb along the blade edge if you're not paying attention (but you'll probably only do it once, the blood will alarm your daughter). :) Small complaint number 2-something in the design allows about a 1/4" of metal above the locking notch to stick out while closed. This part kind of digs into my leg when it's clipped in my pocket. It's rounded off, but still catches me. My Wegner does the same thing, but to a lesser degree. Maybe it's just a design flaw with my legs. :) Might not happen to you and not a big deal for me. Lastly, and this isn't a complaint, more of a heads up. The tip is very acute. Good for some things, not good for others. You will not be successful prying with this knife. You will, however, cut cardboard like it's butter. The right tool for the job is all I'm saying.

If you've been thrown off by the appearance of the Shabaria give it another look. Based on an ancient blade style that has lasted this long because it works. Nicely designed by the late Eduard Bradichansky and well executed by Spyderco.

Jack
 
donovan, the Shabaria is one of my favorites too. I have the older version but still consider it to be one of the best cutting knives I own.

Curiously, it doesn't seem that the Shabaria sales are high (at least based on the number of popularity posts on the forums--a non-scientific statistical method). Yet, it's still in the Spyderco catalog. I think Spyderco is keeping the knife in production to give people more time to come around and appreciate the beauty and effectiveness of the Shabaria.

P.S. Your wife is a "keeper." :D
 
I just got a Shabaria and i really like it. The hourglass shape made me think it wouldn't fit the hand well, but it fits like a glove in every position. I love the slight recurve of the blade and the thin blade grind. It is perfect for cutting and the blade does keep a very fine edge. The only flaw in my opinion is the liner lock. It is the poorest liner lock of all my knives. Not only does it fail the spine whack test, but it fails even if you barely tap the spine on anything. It also has more blade play than i would expect from a Spyderco which retails for about 150 dollars. I definitely wouldn't use this knife for any heavy duty job, but it is perfect for my EDC rotation since it is light (about 3 ounces) and rides very low in the pocket. I would recommend this knife if you have a collection and want something new and exciting, but for the price i would rather go with an Emerson Commander (if you dont already have one, buy one now!!!) or a cheaper spyderco like an Endura or a Delica, which would cut just as well and last just as long. Hope this helps.
 
Mine locks up like a vault, 40 ozs., no blade play whatsoever. I believe the pivot is adjustable on the Shabaria, you might want to try that. Otherwise, I would ship it back to Spyderco for a tuneup. I agree that the Delica/Endura models are excellent knives, especially at their price point, but in my experience the Shabaria is in another league as far as cutting ability goes.

Jack
 
donavan, you are absolutely right about the blade play, i adjusted the screw in the back, and the blade locks up really tight now. The only problem is that you can feel the tension when you open and close it...but i guess this is to be expected. I am spoiled by having a Sebbie that locks up tighter than anything and still glides out like there is nothing holding it in place :D . Thanks for the help Jack
 
40 ozs.-you should be able to back off the tension just a little bit and reduce that opening/closing drag. Mine is very smooth (although it has a very solid detente that keeps it reliably closed, another plus for the Shabaria) but still locks up solidly. Try fiddling with it a bit and see if it evens out.

Jack
 
Donovan,
Nice review of a great knife. I have 2 old style. I plan on picking up a new style some day. :)
40 oz,
Send it back to Spyderco. They'll fix it.


Blades
 
I just picked up another Spydie that you really dont hear much about: The Massad Ayoob. It rocks. Good lockup, is a lock-back. nice blade, VG-10. Interesting grip, and the angled blade, but that is supposed to make it easier to use. Will do more on it later, havent even used it yet.
 
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