Native III FRN vs. Endura; initial impressions.

R

rdelliott

Joined
Oct 30, 2005
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162
So last week I picked up a Native III FRN (plainedge) at Baron Sports in Montreal. I carried the Native instead of my usual (Spyderedge) Endura or Victorinox Rucksack on a "camping" trip with my brother and his kids this weekend, just to get a feel for it. My impressions so far are:

1) Great lockup. Zero blade movement.

2) Opening is stiff; ditto closing. I actually don't mind this.

3) I really do not like the wire clip. I much prefer the flat metal clip on the Endura. It's quite uncomfortable when using the knife, which strikes me as odd in a knife that's "engineered for the human hand". The clip is annoying enough that I may just remove it.

4) The jury is still out on the blade. I'm just not quite used to it is all. It has no glaring issues that I've been able to put my finger on; it's just different. It may be an optical effect; it's not THAT much shorter than the Endura or the Rucksack, it's just that the shape of the blade makes it look stubby, which in turn affects the way I use the knife, maybe more than the actual difference in blade length.

5) The thumb ramp notching is nice (my Endura is an older model and lacks this feature), but it's a little rounded and sparse IMHO. I prefer the more aggressive, squarecut, closely spaced notching on my Grohmann Original Design.

6) I wasn't quite as impressed by the handle ergonomics as I was expecting. This may be because my hands are larger than average. After the Endura the Native III felt a little toylike. I found myself thinking "scale this up to the Endura's size and it'd be fantastic!"

7) I'm not sure that I like the new handle texturing; the old straight texturing on my Endura has worked just fine for me, and I'm also not a fan of the flat, non-textured patches on the Native III.

8) The knife was shaving sharp out of the box, and still is; I'd expect no less from a Spyderco after a few days of light use (I'd used it in food preparation and in whittling marshmallow sticks for the kids over the weekend, and EDC'd it at the office last week).

Overall, I like the Native III a lot, and it's performed very well; the only reason that I am sounding not quite thrilled with it is that the Endura is a very hard act to follow (and that bleeping clip).

Any thoughts? Comments?
 
The Delica/Endura 4 (in my opinion) is way ahead of the old Delica/Endura. Back then, I had declared the Natives (both S30V and VG10) the victor over these old favorites, but the competition is much closer now.

I love finger choils, so, I personally still have a preference for the S30V Native (the VG10 Native is a little too thick for me). I think the blade length difference though is enough to put the Endura and the Native in separate classes, better compared to the Delica. But the VG10 Native does appear noticeably larger than its S30V counterpart.

I am not a big fan of the scales on the VG10 Native visually, but they're some of the grippest I've ever held.
 
Artfully Martial said:
The Delica/Endura 4 (in my opinion) is way ahead of the old Delica/Endura. Back then, I had declared the Natives (both S30V and VG10) the victor over these old favorites, but the competition is much closer now.

I love finger choils, so, I personally still have a preference for the S30V Native (the VG10 Native is a little too thick for me). I think the blade length difference though is enough to put the Endura and the Native in separate classes, better compared to the Delica. But the VG10 Native does appear noticeably larger than its S30V counterpart.

I am not a big fan of the scales on the VG10 Native visually, but they're some of the grippest I've ever held.
Click to expand...

I think I may have to find myself an Endura 4 then. I think that my old Endura is the greatest thing since sliced bread already.

The Native III is the first knife I've owned with a finger choil, so I'm not familiar enough with the feature to comment yet, but it is growing on me.

My interest in the Native started when I heard about the Walmart Natives. Unfortunately, Walmarts up here in the Great White North don't stock'em; they only have a depressingly limited range of Bucks, Gerbers and SAKs. I'll have to check one out the next time I'm south of the border.

And agreed; the scales on my Native are quite grippy; they just didn't inspire as much confidence visually on first glance as did my Endura's.
 
I like the Native III, but mine is also very stiff.A larger size of the Native has been discussed here from time to time,:) but we have not been able to prevail on Sal to make some.:(
 
I had a Native III. My issues were that it just didn't cut like the rest of my Spyders did, and the thick, molded handle made it look like a fish when viewed from the spine. Felt awesome in hand, but could never cut like a Delica, for me.
 
of things to get. I love my Native but would like a grip that's a little more hand filling. And although I've never compared the two side by side, my impression is that VG-10 gives up a little edge retention to S30V but is a little tougher. That would be okay with me. I love the choil and I'd like to give the wire clip a try, as well. I work at a private university and the Endura is just too big for me to take to work.

Frank
 
VG10 and S30V are both fine steels. I use them both often and honestly, I can't tell much difference....if anything, VG10 seems to feel sharper. I think the real distinction to be made is whether you want an American or a Japanese knife. But, for what's worth, virtually all of my EDCs are S30V these days.

Both natives are pretty close in coolness. I prefer the thinness and styling of the S30V (overally, it's a little smaller), but the VG10 is grippier and has a better pocket clip in my opinion. For me, I give it to the S30V. Mostly for looks.
 
I have a Native in S30V, an Endura 3, and an Endura 4. the Endura 4 w/wave is the best spyderco I've ever owned. I like the finger choil, but it's not too big of a deal. If you want a choil and a bigger knife, get either a Stretch or they still have some Spykers.
 
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