Native 5 Sprint S90V/CPM154 why so unloved?

V

Va.koi guy

Joined
Sep 3, 2018
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As popular as the Native is, why so little interest in this Sprint run? Even seeing a price reduction at a big dealer. Too many great offerings in 2018?
 
lieferung said:
Without seeing sales numbers how could you know if there's little interest... o_O
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Well, considering how fast sprint runs usually sell out(seriously, many of them are completely gone within the first day or 2 of release), if one has been out awhile and is still in stock, and has even undergone a price reduction to try and move them...that's at least kinda an indication of low interest.
 
There's been a lot of S90V and S110V Natives floating around for a while now and a few in CF scales, so apart from it being laminated I don't know that there's a huge unfilled demand for this type of steel in this model.

Saber grind might also be a turnoff compared to the usual flat (I know it is for me).
 
I recently bought a fluted CF Native 5 S90V Sprint off of the Exchange.

Nice knife which can serve as an excellent EDC, which looks like a gentleman's folder and can be carried to work and/or out at night while dressed up w/o scaring anyone. Problem is that there are many other Spyders (and other brands of knives; many that are much cheaper) that you could use in that way as well.

Wasn't planning on buying it. Just bought it because I liked the look of it and got it for the "right" price in combination w/another knife that I bought from the same seller.
 
Personally, I've never seen the appeal of that particular laminate. But then, I don't see much appeal to the Native either, and saber grind makes strike three. Overall, I give it a yawn.
 
I think the execution of the particular laminate was of greater interest to Spyderco and the steel supplier than it was to the ELU.

I bought one, however. I like the "old school" blade grind on the S90V/CPM154 Native, and did think CPM154 laminated onto a S90V core would be interesting to own. For anyone curious, this particular Native is not as "slicey" as the regular full flat ground models.
 
yablanowitz said:
Personally, I've never seen the appeal of that particular laminate. But then, I don't see much appeal to the Native either, and saber grind makes strike three. Overall, I give it a yawn.
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It's funny how varied opinions can be regarding the same knives.

I would say that the whole Native5 line, in general, is yawn worthy, given the availability of other very similar knives from Spyderco, but the fluted CF Sprint version takes it up a notch, which is one reason why I bought it. The other reason was that it fit in my sub-collection of 3" bladed Spyders that seemed lacking w/o a Native5 in it. LOL!
 
sgt1372 said:
It's funny how varied opinions can be regarding the same knives.

I would say that the whole Native5 line, in general, is yawn worthy, given the availability of other very similar knives from Spyderco, but the fluted CF Sprint version takes it up a notch, which is one reason why I bought it. The other reason was that it fit in my sub-collection of 3" bladed Spyders that seemed lacking w/o a Native5 in it. LOL!
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Hahaha You hit it deadnutz. I completely agree with what you said about differing opinions on the same model. I love reading the reviews of what people like and dislike about a particular model because of all the different point of views. I put the Native off for awhile. It just didn't really stand out with all the awesome ~3" models. Then I grabbed the green smooth handled S90 and was really happy. Picked up the orange Native S90 FRN mostly because I like orange Spydercos and it has really taken up a lot of pocket time. It feels perfect for EDC. So needless to say I been trying to rationalize another Native because of the sale price of S90/CPM 154.
 
Pricey little knife, decent materials.
Maybe would have been in my price range if they hadn't expended all that time and energy installing 9 extra holes.:rolleyes:
 
That Native is a little chunker thanks to liners and saber grind. I prefer the new unlined Native 5 with a full flat grind. I do think that laminate adds a bit of appeal. It won't scratch easily like the more common laminate with 420J2 cladding.
 
It will scratch more easily than unclad S90V, if only a little. The cladding adds little to no corrosion resistance and the appearance is similar enough to add little visual appeal. Just my opinion.
 
Well, it's kind of pointless to be these two steels, S90V is highly stainless and doesn't need to be clad, CPM154 is a very good steel in it's own right and it's performance is generally similar to S90V just a lower level of everything except sharpenability.

It would have made more sense for them to use some exotic carbon/tool steel (cough maxamet) and clad it with CPM154.

Also, I've held it and this guy is HEAVY for it's size (oddly enough), it's CF but is also fully steel lined with a solid steel backspacer. It's a very nice knife and tempting at $180 but I think it would have gone a lot faster if it was not so heavy and had more exciting steel.
 
I agree the cladding offers little, if any practical benefit. It would still add some value to me as a rarity. As far as choosing steels to combine in this fashion, you have to consult the metallurgy experts to learn if they're compatible.
 
I like the saber grind, the steel........love the carbon fiber handles. Not a fan of the steel liner that is sharp and digs into my hand when the knife is open. Wish Spyderco rounded/chamfered the liners so they were not so sharp when mated with the carbon fiber handles. Would make for a much more pleasurable grip. That’s why I prefer the fluted carbon fiber flat ground native version better. No sharp edges digging into my hand because there is no liner.
 
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I am not an expert but could cladding be a cost-saving thing in this case? I suppose it is more difficult to create highly even grinding on s90v (just look at some of the KW ti/cf s90v Militarys) than on cpm154? So by cladding, the cpm154 layer will hide imperfection of grinding on the underlying s90v surface? IDK, am just guessing.
 
sharp_edge sharp_edge I am not an expert too, but the primary grind is made on unhardened steel. Finishing hardened piece of blade will be more time consuming and more difficult on S90V for sure. So yes, in theory it can be little bit easier to grind only the CPM154 part of blade, but on the other side, cladding a blade is also not a cheap process.
 
Maybe, my KC ti/cf s90v millie is pretty clean grind, a little shallow on the ti side. I guess the interest in the clad blade didn't over come the other item's mentioned here.

Thanks forum for shared thoughts and opinions!:)
 
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