Rumors/Info on the Gayle Bradley 2 ?

Icky Thump · Jul 5, 2014

Any info or pics yet. Heard,Ti liners, prehaps smaller profile....Release date?...specs? Steel?...Blade profile?

rexromic · Jul 5, 2014

Never heard anything about new GB 2 but would be nice to see it come to life.

TuCrafty · Jul 5, 2014

phillipsted said:
The Blade Show is a real winner this year. Bigger and better than ever - after two days, my legs gave out and I had to retire for some liquid refreshment. As usual, the Spyderco Booth was hopping and the Prototype/Concept case against the wall was full of exciting stuff. I had to stand back a couple of feet because I was in danger of drooling on the case. Seriously though, the Spyder Crew was gracious and informative as always - and you could sense the pride and passion in their work. Thanks for a great show guys!

OK, here are a few tidbits from the Prototype/Concept case. There were perhaps fifty or sixty blades in the case, and I couldn't focus on them all. Like always, they ask that no pictures be taken, but they said that I was free to take notes. Here we go:

GAYLE BRADLEY 2 This is a stunner. Same basic idea as the original GB folder, but kicked up 5 notches. First off titanium liners. Secondly M4 steel. Third - the concept model had a nice grippy carbon fiber with titanium bolsters, but Eric said the production version would have no bolsters (sorry Deacon!). The design has been refined even further from the original. Everything seems a little rounder, thinner and tapered. Not as large as the original, but it fits my hand like a glove. Nicely done, Gayle and Spyderdo! I cant wait for this one to hit the street!

ION A new Brad Southard flipper. Looks a lot like a 2/3-size version of the original flipper about 6 inches open. The concept version had very thin G-10 scales over titanium liners. Eric said the production version would have the titanium liners nested in the G-10 at about the same overall thickness. This is one smooth, sophisticated flipper.

OUROBOROS a Paul Alexander design. About 6 inches open and a slipit. The whole spine of the knife forms a gentle continuous arc, and it has a sizeable choil - giving it a very sleek look.

ONE EYED JACK This is a nice, unassuming little concept from A.T. Barr. It is a G10 liner lock about 5 inches open. The blade is a modified spear-point blade with a thumb ramp reminiscent of the Terzuola slipit. Nicely done it will be on my buy list.

NIRVANA A Peter Rassenti concept. This one is a beast. About 9 inches long open with a large clip-point blade. But the most interesting thing is that the handle is machined out of a single slab of titanium. It is a closed back design, so this knife feels incredibly sturdy in hand. The concept model also had a very interesting texture milled into Ti.

SWEDE A Michael Henningsson design about 5 inches long open. It is a thin liner lock with G10 scales. The most distinguishing feature is that the G10 is cut away at the butt of the knife to expose the lanyard hole, and the entire liner has been milled with facets to give it a jewel-like appearance.

SPLITTER Imagine, if you will, a beefed-up second generation ATR with titanium scales and an integral compression lock. The knife has been designed with a flat relatively broad butt, with the blade and scales forming a single axis up and down the knife. Hence the name, the Splitter. This one may never make it to production, but it is an intriguing piece

STRETCH 3 The prototype of Sals Stretch 3 was in the case and it is a beauty. A lot of subtle refinements to the design, including the talked-about larger choil. This version was in brown G10 and ZDP-189 steel. Sleek.

PIP This Jamie Baily design is hard to describe. It is a small wharnie about 3.5 inches long open. When I first saw it, the thing I though of was what if the Equilibrium and the Mouse had a Love Child? This one also had Kirinite scales, which I bet wouldnt make it to production but looked cute on this thing.

SQUARE HEAD This Darrell Coulton design bore some resemblance to the Dog Tag in that it is a single-scale slipit. But the blade is almost rectangular. Kind of odd, but I was intrigued.

OTHER INTERESTING STUFF:
- Titanium scaled Pingos
- Ti or Steel scaled Squeaks
- New Serge Panchenko Dog Tag colors. Looked like brown G10 or maybe brass
- A couple of tomahawks in the case (!)

TedP

P.S. - Sorry if I made any mistakes in capturing details. For folks at the show, feel free to correct me...

I quoted his whole post as the GB2 wasn't the only thing I found interesting. That's pretty much the only info I've seen or heard. Spyderco didn't allow people to take pictures. The Ion also seems very promising. Spyderco has a lot of great things in the works.

phillipsted · Jul 5, 2014

Thanks for reposting the Blade Show report from the Spyderco Forum, TuCrafty! I was just about to link the original thread, but you saved me the trouble.

The GB2 prototype they had at the Spyderco booth was really really nice. It was significantly more refined than the current version, with curves and rounded edges in all the right places while maintaining the spirit and feel of the original. It also had titanium liners and kept the M4 steel. I'll be buying one or two when they hit the street!

TedP

Jibbles · Jul 5, 2014

M4 steel? Count me in! Very excited to see pics of this thing.

Icky Thump · Jul 5, 2014

Just found the info on Spyders board.

Thanks for posting Crafty

Surfingringo · Jul 5, 2014

Hey Ted, was the blade pretty much the same shape and grind as the original?

Jibbles · Jul 5, 2014

Here's a screenshot of the prototype. Looks good.

ShepardCC · Jul 6, 2014

I saw in there a smaller Southard??? With titanium liners? No titanium frame lock then?

338375 · Jul 6, 2014

Jibbles said:
Here's a screenshot of the prototype. Looks good.

I like that :thumbup:

AF · Jul 6, 2014

That pic is from SHOT 2011 and no one has said if that's similar to the current proto shown at Blade 2014.
The handle shape in the pic appears to be more to my liking.
I'm not a fan of titanium liners. They raise the cost, wear more quickly and don't save that much weight (unless you're talking about a frame lock).

speedseeker · Jul 6, 2014

Anyone know if they recesses the liner/scale to allow for better purchase of the liner lock when closing? Current model has no recessed cutout. The only detractor to this amazing knife in my mind.

Lee48 · Jul 6, 2014

AF said:
...I'm not a fan of titanium liners. They raise the cost, wear more quickly and don't save that much weight (unless you're talking about a frame lock).

Agreed. I notice ZT is now adding steel inserts in the locking bar of their TI framelocks to address the wear issues.

The Gayle Bradley is my favorite Spyderco knife right now. I cannot imagine anything actually improving it for my use. A smaller model with a 3" or slightly less blade would be appealing. Right now, that role is being filled for me by the Sage I.

matt1987 · Jul 6, 2014

I just hope Spyderco fix a couple of things ascetically when the blade is closed...

1. The back of the blade poking out from the handle
2. the thumb hole being partially blocked by the scale

phillipsted · Jul 7, 2014

The model at Blade looked significantly different than this 2011 shot. The blade was similar, but the handle was a lot more refined. I don't think it had the "proud" liners (they were flush with the scale if I recall). The scale was contoured nicely and was rounded in all the right places. I commented at the time that the liner lock was easier to access and easier to unlock than by GB1 - but I don't recall the actual shape of the cutout.

The real benchmark for me was holding it in my hand. I haven't held a knife that felt that natural in my hands for a while - it's ergonomics were almost perfect.

TedP

speedseeker · Jul 7, 2014

Wow. The sounds encouraging. I would certainly be in for one if it exhibits everything philipsted says.

osta.doc · Jul 7, 2014

Anyone hear when the GB2 is supposed to hit the streets?

Icky Thump · Jul 7, 2014

matt1987 said:
I just hope Spyderco fix a couple of things ascetically when the blade is closed...

1. The back of the blade poking out from the handle
2. the thumb hole being partially blocked by the scale

Gayle Bradley stated that he buries the hole slightly to keep the over all width down when closed. Same on the Air as well. I appreciate that on these knives.

The blade tang above the scales when closed always slightly annoyed me as well. Some of my favorite folders have this issue...Small hit however, great knife....would be nice if they addressed it on the newer version, I agree.

matt1987 · Jul 9, 2014

Ickythump said:
Gayle Bradley stated that he buries the hole slightly to keep the over all width down when closed. Same on the Air as well. I appreciate that on these knives.

The blade tang above the scales when closed always slightly annoyed me as well. Some of my favorite folders have this issue...Small hit however, great knife....would be nice if they addressed it on the newer version, I agree.

They could keep the same width and cut a small radius into the handle, like Spyderco does with almost every other frame lock or liner lock knife(Military for example). Plus it would satisfy the people who complain that the liner lock is hard to disengage with gloves. I don't know, the partially covered hole looks weird to me. Those two reasons are why I never bought a Gayle Bradley.

Icky Thump · Jul 9, 2014

matt1987 said:
They could keep the same width and cut a small radius into the handle, like Spyderco does with almost every other frame lock or liner lock knife(Military for example). Plus it would satisfy the people who complain that the liner lock is hard to disengage with gloves. I don't know, the partially covered hole looks weird to me. Those two reasons are why I never bought a Gayle Bradley.

Hard to argue w/ an example like that. That is one of my grail Spyders. Yours is very fine, great color on that.