So I've been carrying this spyderco balance about every day for 2 months now you see, and I thought it was about time I left a little feedback. I used to carry a mini grip, but I've come to despise the serrations. I take that back, I love the serrations. I despise the fact that having serrations means the plain edge is all the way on the end of the blade (makes for harder control with delicate tasks). But back to the spyderco balance.
I'll expand/ramble in a bit, heres the quick review:
First, the good. Small blade. "Big" handle. Sharp. Incredibly useful blade geometry for everyday indoor tasks. Sturdy lock up. Liner lock is hard to disengage (a pro for me, as I almost lost a finger once using a cheap blade/linerlock).
The bad. The friggen pocket clip. Double "clicks" before its locked. Carbon fiber..meh
I dont think theres much I can tell you about the geometry of the blade or handle you cant see better on youtube, I just want to reinforce it. The downward point of the tip (or upward, depending on what you're doing) is great for cutting strings, ropes, plastics, etc without damaging anything underneath. The tip can be slid behind the material being cut and easily pulled/pushed so that only the flat edge on the back of the knife contacts whatever is underneath (and there is space to leave your thumb on the back of the knife the whole time so you don't lose grip). I work at a shipping and packing store and while there's generally a box cutter nearby, I still find myself unable to reach them quite often. I do a lot of cardboard, tape, paper, and numerous types of plastics cutting and the edge is still very sharp (cant shave with it anymore of course, but not far off).
So yeah, the ergonomics are awesome. On to what prompted me to write this review though. I was working today, mostly packing so a good bit of moving. At one point, I go to reach for my knife -- its not there. For a second I thought I might have set it down so I checked around but specifically remembered clipping it to my pocket. Well, I find it just laying in the middle of the floor in the back room. I could not even tell you how it would have fallen out. I'm sure it got caught on something, but I dont know what, and now I'm worried it might happen again and I would be out a great knife. The clip is way too high for the handle profile, and just doesnt have enough spring strength.
The only other issue I have with this knife is when opening it. I'm not sure if other liner locks are made like this, but there is some extra material around the pivot of the blade that pushes the liner out to keep it from wearing the visible portion of the blade when opening and closing. This is cool, I like it. Except that it produces a fairly substantial "click" and spring type motion when it jumps down off that material, which is maybe 10-15 degrees before the blade ACTUALLY locks. It also produces a good amount of resistance if you try to push it closed past this point. These two things create quite the illusion of a lockup. I'm not saying its likely someone is going to hurt themselves but it just caught my attention (the finger choil on the blade really helps to prevent this even if the blade isnt locked when you go to use it)
Thats about it for now. I'll be carrying this guy until I can justify the funds for the Case I've got my eyes on.
I'll expand/ramble in a bit, heres the quick review:
First, the good. Small blade. "Big" handle. Sharp. Incredibly useful blade geometry for everyday indoor tasks. Sturdy lock up. Liner lock is hard to disengage (a pro for me, as I almost lost a finger once using a cheap blade/linerlock).
The bad. The friggen pocket clip. Double "clicks" before its locked. Carbon fiber..meh
I dont think theres much I can tell you about the geometry of the blade or handle you cant see better on youtube, I just want to reinforce it. The downward point of the tip (or upward, depending on what you're doing) is great for cutting strings, ropes, plastics, etc without damaging anything underneath. The tip can be slid behind the material being cut and easily pulled/pushed so that only the flat edge on the back of the knife contacts whatever is underneath (and there is space to leave your thumb on the back of the knife the whole time so you don't lose grip). I work at a shipping and packing store and while there's generally a box cutter nearby, I still find myself unable to reach them quite often. I do a lot of cardboard, tape, paper, and numerous types of plastics cutting and the edge is still very sharp (cant shave with it anymore of course, but not far off).
So yeah, the ergonomics are awesome. On to what prompted me to write this review though. I was working today, mostly packing so a good bit of moving. At one point, I go to reach for my knife -- its not there. For a second I thought I might have set it down so I checked around but specifically remembered clipping it to my pocket. Well, I find it just laying in the middle of the floor in the back room. I could not even tell you how it would have fallen out. I'm sure it got caught on something, but I dont know what, and now I'm worried it might happen again and I would be out a great knife. The clip is way too high for the handle profile, and just doesnt have enough spring strength.
The only other issue I have with this knife is when opening it. I'm not sure if other liner locks are made like this, but there is some extra material around the pivot of the blade that pushes the liner out to keep it from wearing the visible portion of the blade when opening and closing. This is cool, I like it. Except that it produces a fairly substantial "click" and spring type motion when it jumps down off that material, which is maybe 10-15 degrees before the blade ACTUALLY locks. It also produces a good amount of resistance if you try to push it closed past this point. These two things create quite the illusion of a lockup. I'm not saying its likely someone is going to hurt themselves but it just caught my attention (the finger choil on the blade really helps to prevent this even if the blade isnt locked when you go to use it)
Thats about it for now. I'll be carrying this guy until I can justify the funds for the Case I've got my eyes on.