Need help loving Spyderco

Making a correction. My zt 0200 has a liner lock not a frame lock. This is the forums, I might get called on that.
 
Balls Deep said:
Tight Frame lock up...
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Balls Deep said:
Making a correction. My zt 0200 has a liner lock not a frame lock. This is the forums, I might get called on that.
Click to expand...

Man, I was gonna bust your balls on that but if you read it technically you said nothing wrong. Could be a liner lock with a tight-frame-lock-up. I like tight frames!

Love the EUG, spent quite some time on Alder St! Oh & 24th. And at Sundance!
 
I was in the same boat as you when I started getting deeper into knives. I saw Spyderco stuff everywhere and I felt that if everyone raved so highly about that brand, then it couldn't possibly be that great. Thinking outside the knife world.... I would compare my view of Spyderco to a company like Under Armor. Today, it seems that Under Armor can do no wrong, just because of the brand name and the fact that EVERYONE has it, when in reality it's the same product as all of the competitors.

Any who, back to knives..... I didn't believe until I got my first Spyderco knife. They really are special knives. I wouldn't classify them as my favorite brand, but I would put them in my top three.
 
JeremiahWeaver09 said:
until you hold one for yourself you wont realize the quality. its hard to tell from just the pictures online.
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I agree with the above quote.

I've never been a Spyderco fan, I didn't like the looks of most of their designs at all- just weren't my style.

UNTIL
I had a buddy who brought some over and once I picked one up my opinion immediately changed.

I only own 4 or 5 and have had no more than 8 of them but their designs have some of the best ergonomics on the market. Gloves or no gloves, big or small hands, they have at least 3 knives for you and they're very well made.
I don't ever check to see what new models they're making or even look for them at shows but I'll never discount their use ability and quality again- they're a top tier brand and deserve that title.
 
Allow me to add something.......

In the past few months Id been straying from spyderco, but this video got me right back on the wagon;)

Just a really solid company all the way around:thumbup:

[video=youtube;mLcTWwh1Cpc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLcTWwh1Cpc[/video]
 
Krissig12 said:
Allow me to add something.......

In the past few months Id been straying from spyderco, but this video got me right back on the wagon;)

Just a really solid company all the way around:thumbup:

[video=youtube;mLcTWwh1Cpc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLcTWwh1Cpc[/video]
Click to expand...

That is pretty inspirational. I can definitely see why it would draw you back. Me, I never left. :)
 
It's been said many times in this thread hold it, buy it, use it. Then watch your bank account slowly dwindle... Great knives built on great principles by a great company. I've owned many through the years, own many now and will, own many more in the future. They are just that good.
 
I've always loved Spydercos initially, especially the Endura, of which I was a really big fan of in the early 90s. But then they all developped vertical blade play over time, like most soft-pinned lockbacks... Some of them are tight in a way that will last, but you have to find a rare one like that among many, and the non-removeable soft steel pins doom these knives to looseness in the long run... So for lockbacks, Spydercos are consistently not really tight, and this goes all the way up to their high-end lockback Civilian...

When the Military first appeared around the mid 90s, I thought the liner lock would forever solve the tightness problems, instead I got what I think is one of the most ill-conceived knife I have ever seen: The handle screws screwed directly into friable G-10 handle slabs holes!!!!!!!!

When I tested disassembly, the screws just tore out the G-10's holes, these of course being utterly devoid of metal to metal contact, and the knife was instantly ruined...

Also its liner lock was thin and not confidence-inspiring: Probably both issues have been improved since, but this is a model that left a further bad taste...

Then I got what I still think is the greatest folding knife design ever (but not really as a user): The Spyderco Civilian. The aluminium handle model I got was vertically tight (I had given written instructions to the "Golden Edge" store staff on how to pick the tightest one out of several they had), but the pivot pin was, as usual, made of some extremely soft metal: I knew I could not ask much of it, but I still successfully improved lateral rigidity with light hammering of that soft pin's extremities (the knife became a bit harder to open, but that eased with oil and over time).

After 4 years the knife developped a slight vertical play (not from use, just opening), and I solved that by sawing a deep centered longitunal notch into the lock bar, and twisting a flat piece of brass into the notch and then down into the lock to improve vertical rigidity: Amazingly, this was completely successful and the knife remained perfectly tight over the next 12 years until I lost it from a jacket pocket while running (to my great chagrin).

I immediately had to get another one, as they were now made with G-10 handles and the horrible soft pivot pin was replaced by a far more serious and much bigger pivot pin machined in hard metal, not some nail-marking white metal tin rod (I'm exaggerating, but only slightly)... Since I knew Spydercos were haphazard about vertical rigidity, I gambled on buying TWO Civilians and getting rid of the looser one...: To my ever lasting joy, one of them was the tighest lockback I have ever seen (fully a match to the best of liner locks), and the other was loose as usual, so I happily sold it, and now greatly enjoy my only folder, having since lost interest in folders in favour of fixed blades... (I prefer the Civilian being a lockback, as the lack of closing tension in liner locks resulted in a serious hand injury for me on a CRKT Apache)

Around 2003 I had got the plain edge bowie version of the Cold Steel "Prolite" range, and I found its sturdy "thumb shelved" liner made it the best liner lock action I had seen then or since. I also found the oval opening hole ergonomically superior to the Spyderco round hole. The knife was generally better in design and construction to most Spydercos I had owned (if a little strange-looking), but for some reason I coud not re-sharpen the deeply curved edge without rolling it in the middle, a peculiar issue maybe due to my free-hand sharpening inexperience... I have bought many Spydercos and found this one Cold Steel folder more useful and impressive, but still prefer the "feel" of the Civilian to anything else, even though it is not really for everyday use (or any use at all other than defense really)...

I remember getting the much-hyped AFCK back in the mid-90s, and that one could unseat the liner lock through handle flexing just by slight squeezing hand pressure: Though I am against typecasting by brand, I don't think I ever got another Benchmade...

Edge-holding wise I found all the Spydercos wearing in a sound way, and fair to sharpen, while Benchmade's ATS-34 had a definite chipping tendency. Cold Steel's Prolites seemed hard to sharpen without getting endless wire edges, though I may better at getting rid of those now...

Gaston
 
Batoning? with a 3-4 inch blade? Hmmm... IDK. As mentioned above, their forte is more for slicing and cutting performance. I love my spydies
 
I came to appreciate Spyderco knives in my 60's. Previous to that I had always been taken aback by what i thought was their odd appearance. Somehow I came across a Delica made from ZDP-189. I was impressed by the hardness of that blade and the full flat grind. I was pleased by that, but what surprised me was the ergonomics of the thumb ramp jimped just right. That odd looking bulge necessitated by the Spyder Hole was functional in multiple ways: not only did it make opening the blade a snap, it provided leverage for blade control. Think about how you use a knife. Much of the time all you need is something sharp to cut string rope, tape whatever. A single edge razor blade would work just fine. But I've always used my knives for more precise work as well. I've found a sharp knife to be superior for making precise cuts of paper. Think "cut and paste" when that was literal. In short, That bump on the spine of the blade provided an ideal place for control. Thin blade, especially at the tip, full flat grind, jumping on the blade. Ideal for the way I have typically used my blades. Not to mention lightweight and pocket friendly.

I've since bought more Spyderco's than I should. Let's see: Delica, Lady Bug, 2 Enduras, 3 Dragonflies, Manix2 XL, Military, Paramilitary 2, Tenacious. Don't forget the fixed blades: Temperance, Enuff, Street Bowie.
 
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