- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
- Messages
- 2,496
I just landed a Q-Ball and while it doesn’t seem overall to be a very popular knife, I wanted to try one out. In my opinion, the Q-Ball is a natural evolution from the Spyderco Dodo. I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of the Dodo but I find the knife more aesthetic than useful. I’ve owned, and sold, both the orange G10 and carbon fiber version. While I enjoy both of them, I didn’t find the hawk bill blade useful so I finally gave up and moved both of them on. Honestly though, I’d love to get a another at some point. It’s a total love hate thing with the Dodo.
Since the Q-Ball seems to be descended either directly or indirectly from the Dodo, an extinct bird by the way, I really wanted to see if Q-Ball evolved enough to survive a bit longer than the extinct Spyderco version.
Here goes my take after owning it for roughly 12 hours.
The blade shape has evolved to a wharncliffe design. The wharncliffe style, while more useful than the hawk bill blade of the Dodo, will still have its detractors who feel that it isn’t as useful as a drop point design. Personally I find the style very useful but I think I’m in the minority on that one. On an evolutionary scale, it is clearly an improvement but still not top of the food chain.
The handle design is more compact and fits into your palm very well. I thought the Dodo excelled in this area as well so let’s call this a push. The G10 is nice and grippy.
The lock is of course the same ball lock. This thing is great overall design but it might have taken a slight step back from the Dodo. The lock is the same, but access to it is a little more difficult. I have large hands and it is a little tough to get my fingers in there to release the ball. Not sure if it’s the thickness of the knife or the routing in the G10, but the lock has definitely taken a small evolutionary step backwards here.
There are also a couple of missed opportunities with the Q-Ball and all of it jimping. First, there is a finger choil which I think is a great addition but some light jimping in the choil would make a world of difference in providing a more secure grip. Same thing on the thumb ramp with is totally smooth. With a knife this small, it would not be out of the question to have jimping along the entire length of the spine of the blade. For detailed work, my index finger rides the spine almost to the tip of the blade. Light jimping would be a nice touch although this isn’t something that I recall seeing on any other knife.
Overall, I think this is a solid step forward in the evolution of the Dodo, er, Q-Ball. It isn’t perfect and it certainly can’t fly just yet, but maybe this version can run a little faster. That alone doesn’t mean it will survive, but maybe it has a better chance at lasting longer than its predecessor. As far as I’m concerned, I think it is a solid useful knife. Time will tell if it stays in my rotation or I move it on to, but it is certainly a step in the right direction in the evolutionary design of this knife.
And yes... without pictures it doesn't exist, I'm looking at you Bigfoot, so let's give a nice round of applause to photobucket.....
Since the Q-Ball seems to be descended either directly or indirectly from the Dodo, an extinct bird by the way, I really wanted to see if Q-Ball evolved enough to survive a bit longer than the extinct Spyderco version.
Here goes my take after owning it for roughly 12 hours.
The blade shape has evolved to a wharncliffe design. The wharncliffe style, while more useful than the hawk bill blade of the Dodo, will still have its detractors who feel that it isn’t as useful as a drop point design. Personally I find the style very useful but I think I’m in the minority on that one. On an evolutionary scale, it is clearly an improvement but still not top of the food chain.
The handle design is more compact and fits into your palm very well. I thought the Dodo excelled in this area as well so let’s call this a push. The G10 is nice and grippy.
The lock is of course the same ball lock. This thing is great overall design but it might have taken a slight step back from the Dodo. The lock is the same, but access to it is a little more difficult. I have large hands and it is a little tough to get my fingers in there to release the ball. Not sure if it’s the thickness of the knife or the routing in the G10, but the lock has definitely taken a small evolutionary step backwards here.
There are also a couple of missed opportunities with the Q-Ball and all of it jimping. First, there is a finger choil which I think is a great addition but some light jimping in the choil would make a world of difference in providing a more secure grip. Same thing on the thumb ramp with is totally smooth. With a knife this small, it would not be out of the question to have jimping along the entire length of the spine of the blade. For detailed work, my index finger rides the spine almost to the tip of the blade. Light jimping would be a nice touch although this isn’t something that I recall seeing on any other knife.
Overall, I think this is a solid step forward in the evolution of the Dodo, er, Q-Ball. It isn’t perfect and it certainly can’t fly just yet, but maybe this version can run a little faster. That alone doesn’t mean it will survive, but maybe it has a better chance at lasting longer than its predecessor. As far as I’m concerned, I think it is a solid useful knife. Time will tell if it stays in my rotation or I move it on to, but it is certainly a step in the right direction in the evolutionary design of this knife.
And yes... without pictures it doesn't exist, I'm looking at you Bigfoot, so let's give a nice round of applause to photobucket.....