Spiderco Shaman, should I?

[kreole]

I don't think you actually want bearings in this sort of knife, washers are more robust to dust/dirt. Or Ti handles. Or $100 more on the price. This is tough folder, not a pretty piece of art.

People complain so much about S30V being too low end but Spyderco has it dialed in and it's a solid steel choice.

I hope Spyderco finds a way to cost reduce this knife. I think if they could get it down into PM2/Manix 2 price range it would sell really well.

Agree about the washers in a hard use knife, but I think part of the point is adding them takes more work so increases manufacturing cost.

As for price, you don't need $100 for all those upgrades. For instance, the Vox designed Viper Fortis is similarly sized (3.5" blade) with an M390 blade, and thr ti/g10 version is a couple bucks cheaper at $179. It's also made in Italy, which seems to be a more expensive company to produce knives than the US (even Spydercos knives made in Italy seem extra expensive).

 

[emjay4248]

I am at a total loss as to why well made knives need washers. I have quite a few knives that are on Phosphor Bronze washers and flip as well as the knives I have on bearings. In my opinion if a knife on washers is made well it can rival any bearing knife. The question I have is why does it have to shoot out at hyper speed at all ? The smoothest knives that I have found thus far are the Benchmade Axis lock knives. I am not a big fan of Benchmade knives but I will attest to the fact that their are no knives that can rival a Benchmade Axis lock when it is held open. Most of my better knives on washers can be flicked open Quicker that autos so bearings have become a gimmick to me.