- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 1,752
The Southard has been on my list for a while, and I've slowly but surely worked my way the list down to where the Southard was pretty much my last "have to try it out" folder.
I don't have a lot of brick/mortar businesses here where I can get specific knives in hand before purchasing, so a lot of times I end up buying and then figuring out whether or not I like the knife and selling/trading if not. The Southard was one of those elusive knives for me.
I'll be honest - I feel like it's really hard to nail down the size/feel of the Southard from just the Internet reviews and comparison pics. The pics and reviews make it out to be huge, but then I've seen it compared to the ZT 0561 and the Southard looks tiny in comparison there. Some comparison pics make it out to be much longer than it is (even when put up next to a knife I own or know) - I think camera angle comes into play there.
I've recently had several experiences where the specs, reviews, and videos from the net just did not do any justice to the actual feel of the knife I was looking at. Some manufacturers seem to measure from random places along the blade, handle, cutting-edge, etc. and I end up with 3 or 4 different sized knives that all claim "3.5 inch blade" yet there are huge differences in pretty much every aspect of the knives.
I've owned (recently sold) a ZT 0561, and I still have a 0801 and a 0566. I've also got numerous Kershaw flippers as well as Benchmade's 300-1 so I kind of felt like I needed a Spyderco flipper - and the Domino seemed a bit too fat to me (plus, I've yet to own a skinny-profiled Spyderco and the Southard design intrigues me). So I'm coming into this unboxing/impression with some pre-conceived notions about flippers (and ball-bearing flippers in particular).
There's also the matter of cost. I don't mind a knife made in Taiwan, but brand-new street-price on this guy is up into Mid-Tech territory for me, so I've been hesitant about buying one unless I could find a decent deal on the secondary market. Not to brag, but I finally found a really good deal on the exchange here (paid $180 for one in LNIB other than a light scuff on the pocket-clip). That puts the knife into "slightly expensive production folder" for me and lowers my expectations from "This thing better cure cancer or I'm going to feel disappointed that I paid this much for a production folder".
My first impressions:
Out of the box, my first thought was "this is way smaller than I thought from specs/reviews". It's also way lighter. However big/long/heavy you think it is, it's smaller - and well lighter.
The blade-stock is very thick as the pics/reviews on the web state, but the shorter profile of the blade/handle seem to negate the chunky-thick scales and blade-stock (and I'm going to be honest, the off-centered scale-side vs. Frame-lock side doesn't bother me a bit - in fact, it kind of makes the knife easier to handle/open/close with the right-hand).
My second thought was "this is not nearly as smooth as my 0801... or several of my other folders including Spydercos without ball-bearings". This actually bothered me quite a bit and I ended up flipping it open/closed about a hundred times before taking it apart and cleaning the innards and putting it back together dry (which didn't seem to change much). Then I fidgeted with the pivot for a bit before finally taking it apart again and greasing with Lucas Assembly Lube (my go-to Lube for pivots) which seems to be making it somewhat smoother. The Southard also doesn't make the metallic "thwack" when it opens or closes - it's very muffled and different sounding than most of my other frame-locks (Ti or Steel). That's (as strange as this is to type) a little disappointing to me.
My limited-understanding of ball-bearings leads me to beleive that the reason for the lack of smoothness vs. say, the 0801 or 0561 is caused by the Southard's concave washers that fit between the bearings and the Ti liner/frame. I don't know why these are here (other than to protect the Ti from wearing?).
I hate the pocket-clip much less in person than I thought I would from the online pics. It's still not great, but it's definitely not as bad as say the clip on the Benchmade Onslaught. I really wish Spyderco had gone with a deep-carry clip here and I will probably seek one out if I can find one that looks good (if not, I may venture into trying to make/mod one of my own).
These few minor gripes aside, this is a terrific EDC knife for those who enjoy the 3.5" folder. It's feature-packed (the only thing I wish it had that it does not is a steel lock-bar insert and that's really more of a kitchen-sink kind of thing than it is a real requirement), and the design is a thing of beauty. I love internal stop-pin designs and I love when lines sort of puzzle-piece together when open and closed perfectly and Brad Southard clearly knows what he's doing. There is also one of the longest/thickest blades imaginable jammed in between these two scales in such a tiny package. I love my Para-2s and I love the choil in most Spydercos, but it is refreshing to have a folder with a great blade-to-handle ratio.
I'm familiar with Spyderco's CTS-204P already, so I know I'm getting my money's worth in this enormous blade, and the fit/finish is top-notch on this guy (no blade-play and I've taking mine apart and adjusted the pivot several times - none of that mattered, bank-vault every time). It is also very ergonomic and the high hollow-grind actually cuts pretty well for everything I've used it on so far.
The lack of jimping on the flipper usually annoys me, but on this Southard, it works well without it since the shape of the flipper comes to a point on the top of the flpper (where your finger comes into contact with it). The 0566 doesn't accomplish this as well and I've seriously thought about adding jimping to that one but it doesn't seem necessary on the Southard.
My Conclusion:
I feel like if Spyderco had gone with a cheaper blade-steel and lost the ball-bearings, this could have been a great $150-$180 folder that would have sold like hot-cakes and most folks wouldn't have cared where it was manufactured. For me personally, the country of origin isn't that important, but the price (no matter where it's made) starts to alienate me as a buyer since it's still a production folder. The secondary market sucked me in though, and this one is worth well more than I paid for it. I can truly see the appeal - had I paid street-NIB prices, I wouldn't have felt like I got ripped off.
I don't have a lot of brick/mortar businesses here where I can get specific knives in hand before purchasing, so a lot of times I end up buying and then figuring out whether or not I like the knife and selling/trading if not. The Southard was one of those elusive knives for me.
I'll be honest - I feel like it's really hard to nail down the size/feel of the Southard from just the Internet reviews and comparison pics. The pics and reviews make it out to be huge, but then I've seen it compared to the ZT 0561 and the Southard looks tiny in comparison there. Some comparison pics make it out to be much longer than it is (even when put up next to a knife I own or know) - I think camera angle comes into play there.
I've recently had several experiences where the specs, reviews, and videos from the net just did not do any justice to the actual feel of the knife I was looking at. Some manufacturers seem to measure from random places along the blade, handle, cutting-edge, etc. and I end up with 3 or 4 different sized knives that all claim "3.5 inch blade" yet there are huge differences in pretty much every aspect of the knives.
I've owned (recently sold) a ZT 0561, and I still have a 0801 and a 0566. I've also got numerous Kershaw flippers as well as Benchmade's 300-1 so I kind of felt like I needed a Spyderco flipper - and the Domino seemed a bit too fat to me (plus, I've yet to own a skinny-profiled Spyderco and the Southard design intrigues me). So I'm coming into this unboxing/impression with some pre-conceived notions about flippers (and ball-bearing flippers in particular).
There's also the matter of cost. I don't mind a knife made in Taiwan, but brand-new street-price on this guy is up into Mid-Tech territory for me, so I've been hesitant about buying one unless I could find a decent deal on the secondary market. Not to brag, but I finally found a really good deal on the exchange here (paid $180 for one in LNIB other than a light scuff on the pocket-clip). That puts the knife into "slightly expensive production folder" for me and lowers my expectations from "This thing better cure cancer or I'm going to feel disappointed that I paid this much for a production folder".
My first impressions:
Out of the box, my first thought was "this is way smaller than I thought from specs/reviews". It's also way lighter. However big/long/heavy you think it is, it's smaller - and well lighter.
The blade-stock is very thick as the pics/reviews on the web state, but the shorter profile of the blade/handle seem to negate the chunky-thick scales and blade-stock (and I'm going to be honest, the off-centered scale-side vs. Frame-lock side doesn't bother me a bit - in fact, it kind of makes the knife easier to handle/open/close with the right-hand).
My second thought was "this is not nearly as smooth as my 0801... or several of my other folders including Spydercos without ball-bearings". This actually bothered me quite a bit and I ended up flipping it open/closed about a hundred times before taking it apart and cleaning the innards and putting it back together dry (which didn't seem to change much). Then I fidgeted with the pivot for a bit before finally taking it apart again and greasing with Lucas Assembly Lube (my go-to Lube for pivots) which seems to be making it somewhat smoother. The Southard also doesn't make the metallic "thwack" when it opens or closes - it's very muffled and different sounding than most of my other frame-locks (Ti or Steel). That's (as strange as this is to type) a little disappointing to me.
My limited-understanding of ball-bearings leads me to beleive that the reason for the lack of smoothness vs. say, the 0801 or 0561 is caused by the Southard's concave washers that fit between the bearings and the Ti liner/frame. I don't know why these are here (other than to protect the Ti from wearing?).
I hate the pocket-clip much less in person than I thought I would from the online pics. It's still not great, but it's definitely not as bad as say the clip on the Benchmade Onslaught. I really wish Spyderco had gone with a deep-carry clip here and I will probably seek one out if I can find one that looks good (if not, I may venture into trying to make/mod one of my own).
These few minor gripes aside, this is a terrific EDC knife for those who enjoy the 3.5" folder. It's feature-packed (the only thing I wish it had that it does not is a steel lock-bar insert and that's really more of a kitchen-sink kind of thing than it is a real requirement), and the design is a thing of beauty. I love internal stop-pin designs and I love when lines sort of puzzle-piece together when open and closed perfectly and Brad Southard clearly knows what he's doing. There is also one of the longest/thickest blades imaginable jammed in between these two scales in such a tiny package. I love my Para-2s and I love the choil in most Spydercos, but it is refreshing to have a folder with a great blade-to-handle ratio.
I'm familiar with Spyderco's CTS-204P already, so I know I'm getting my money's worth in this enormous blade, and the fit/finish is top-notch on this guy (no blade-play and I've taking mine apart and adjusted the pivot several times - none of that mattered, bank-vault every time). It is also very ergonomic and the high hollow-grind actually cuts pretty well for everything I've used it on so far.
The lack of jimping on the flipper usually annoys me, but on this Southard, it works well without it since the shape of the flipper comes to a point on the top of the flpper (where your finger comes into contact with it). The 0566 doesn't accomplish this as well and I've seriously thought about adding jimping to that one but it doesn't seem necessary on the Southard.
My Conclusion:
I feel like if Spyderco had gone with a cheaper blade-steel and lost the ball-bearings, this could have been a great $150-$180 folder that would have sold like hot-cakes and most folks wouldn't have cared where it was manufactured. For me personally, the country of origin isn't that important, but the price (no matter where it's made) starts to alienate me as a buyer since it's still a production folder. The secondary market sucked me in though, and this one is worth well more than I paid for it. I can truly see the appeal - had I paid street-NIB prices, I wouldn't have felt like I got ripped off.
