Spyderco D`allara drop point PE brief review

I picked up my D'allara Ball Lock today.

1. Very sharp, did great on paper.

2. The Police is my favorite model of Spyderco. I have it in Stainless, Carbon Fiber and G-10. It is the model that all other Spydercos are compared against. I prefer IWB carry for large EDC knives. This knife would not make it for IWB carry at all, it is a fat little chub of a knife.

3. The blade-to-handle ratio sucks! Too much handle, not enough blade.

4. I like the ball lock idea very much, but there is far too much blade sticking out of the handle when closed. It is for this reason that I did not care for the Manix. Looked great on paper, but did not carry comfortably.

5. As a using knife, it fits the hand wonderfully, although I don't care for the clip attachment method. I have already stripped quite a bit of the black off of the mounting/adjusting point.

6. My favorite EDC is the Benchmade 710, I own 3. The 710 is to me, an 8.5 on a scale of 10. If it had titanium front bolsters it would be a 9.5. With that judgement declared, I give this knife a 7.5. It is too chunky and the blade is too short, that is where the points are lost.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks for the comment Steve - I don't disagree at all.

Thin handles are not necessarily bad ergonimics and when doing fine work (anything from carving trap triggers to making sushi) it's nice to feel the thin extended handle of the Military or Pacific Salt pressing into the heel of the hand, creating a feeling of control. You get none of this with the D'Allara. It's more of a 'grip it and rip it' handle.

A small blade to handle ratio is common to most spydies. It doesn't bother me. Spydies have alsways been asymetric ugly ducklings.

I also feel that overbuilt, solid knives are overkill for 99% of uses. When my bi-polar knifenuttiness swings to 'pure function' I like slim, light handles and a knife that I'm not aware I'm carrying until I need it. When I swing to form, I like something solid and chunky to fulfill my spec-ops man of action fantasies. The D'allara does this while retaining function and not being too threatening. An additional element of the 'form' side of the equation is owning somehting that is solid and looks like it will last a lifetime (Sebenza owners ascribe to this). The D'Allara has this in spades.

I'm reminded of the first time I sat astride a mountain bike - I had the urge to jump it over logs and ride it downstairs, just because I could. The D'Allara creates a similar feeling for me. Hence the 'abuse me' joke in the photgraph....
 
Hi Am, thanx for the review. apreciate.

I'd like to thank you for all of the input. We really appreciate knowing what our customers think of our products. Both the positives and dislikes. A great deal of attention is put into our designs and our constant refinement is the result of this input.

Great test and pics Ming. Thanx much for the effort.

There is always the design challenge of "easy to use" or "easy to carry". The D'Allara is an example of the easy to use, the Endura4, easy to carry.

If you like the concept of "handle to blade ratio" need to be balanced, the Police is still the best although the new Endura4 has that characteristic.

Steve, you and I have maintained this "discussion" for many years. Bob Terzuola is also is a strong proponent of the handle to blade ratio balance (he agrees with you). I can design both, but my personal bend is to form follows function. Handles are for holding, blades are for cutting, function rules ;) .

I believe you and I are comfortable with our "disagreement" over the "looks" value of a knife. You are true to your "eye" and I am true to my "function". Mutual respect is not a problem.

I appreciate being to get the opinions of so knowledgable a group. It helps me serve my customers. The UK Pen Knife and the P'kal folder are two examples of designs that were created from customer request and input.

FYI, the new ball bearing holder/plunger that we're testing on the P'kal folder (Shivworks collaboration http://totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140&page=9) will permit us to use a smaller ball bearing and thus put the ball bearing lock into a knife like the Police Model. The P'kal has the least amount of room available for a lock than any previous design I've worked on.

sal

-------------------------------------------------------------

We are all teachers and we are all students.
 
Thanks, it's fun to test...

this is beginning to sound cliche`, but a mini d`allara would probably work better for me. As I'm sure you're aware, the d`allara is a pretty massive knife. I still favor it to the Griptillian, but it just can't compete in the same class as the minigrip....so a sub 3 inch blade version might be perfect.

And, me personally, I'm all about disporportionate handle to blade ratio. I've got a Dodo and a Para, two of Spyderco's finest examples of that attribute, and they both work well. The more of these the better.
 
:D
Sal Glesser said:
Steve, you and I have maintained this "discussion" for many years. Bob Terzuola is also is a strong proponent of the handle to blade ratio balance (he agrees with you). I can design both, but my personal bend is to form follows function. Handles are for holding, blades are for cutting, function rules ;) .

I believe you and I are comfortable with our "disagreement" over the "looks" value of a knife. You are true to your "eye" and I am true to my "function". Mutual respect is not a problem.
Click to expand...

Heck, Sal,

You KNOW I respect you and what you do. I am also really comfortable with our agreements to disagree. I have always found you to be the ONE single head of a major cutlery company to take the time to listen to everyone that you could, big and small, and make the best decisions for your knives, and company, over all the others.

My "problem" is that I have not purchased a lot of Spydercos that are not easily carried. I thought that they Manix was an anomoly, and had only seen pictures of the D'allara open, not closed. Hard to tell how "carriable" a knife is from pictures.

You have maintained in the past that when you make a "sexy" knife, it is an accident. I don't believe that. I just think you really get off on making as many varied styles of knives that you can with the time that you have.:D

Best, and fondest Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Forgot to say thanks to AM for graciously allowing my to sem-hijack his thread. I figure it's better to keep it it one place so we can collaborate and work up a good document for anyone who is thinking of buying this knife.

2 more things:

1) It's growing on me. This is my favourite blade shape after all. Have adjusted to the weight/bulk when carrying IWB. Love the solid feeling and hey, the lock rocks:)

2) It's VG10 but not as I know it. I took the opportunity to de-animate a carboard box for recycling yesterday and switched my 3 VG10 knives back and forth (D'Allara, Native 3D and Temperance). The edge holding on the D'Allara was significantly better. I started with them all shaving sharp, they have all only ever been touched up so the original bevels were intact. Both Temperance and Native lost shaving sharpness after 15-20 long cuts (it was thick carboard). D'Allara was still shaving sharp after twice that work and more.
 
No need to think me, guys like you do what I'm afraid to with my knives. I pretty much just test ergonomics, action and locks.

As for the VG10, I've owned a lot of knives in my day, including four other VG10 knives and three S30V, and none of them came as close to as sharp as the d`allara....

Might have to smoothen out the edge of the tang, it bites when closed. Not too big a deal though, being tip up and all.

The ball bearing on my d`allara is considerably tougher than on my dodo....this one has no visible scratches, but the dodo's ball bearing is covered with them now.

Spyderco has consistantly the best ergonomics around, however, they also seem to have that bump half way down the handle, like in my para and d`allara...it feels a little awkward....like, does my middle and ring finger need to be elevated that quarter inch? That's the only reason the griptillian beats the d`allara for ergonomics.

Hey sal, how much would it take to replace the dodo's ball bearing down the road?

Still enjoying this one...guess I'd better start saving for an ATR down the road.
 
Great pics, i keep on drooling for the Pikal. I also like the new "wave" you created, will this be on the new Endura's or will it be the bottle cap lifter type?
 
Hey Steve, you goin' to SHOT?

Hi AM, Ball bearings would have to be obtained from Warrantee & Repair.

Hey Mongo man, thanx for the kind words on the P'kal.

The "waved" Endura's & Delicas are integral with the blade (bottle cap lifter type).

sal
 
Artfully Martial said:
....that bump half way down the handle....
Click to expand...

The way I understand ergonomics is that strength and control is influenced by joint angle. Most joints have an optimum angle. In the simple case of the knee and elbow this is 90deg - exactly midrange. In the case of grip it is a little more complex but we can be sure that our grip is weakest at end range, when the fingers are straight, or when the fist is completely clenched (For example most rock climbers will say that their strongest grip is with the hand slightly open).

The reason for the bulge in a handgrip is that our middle fingers are longer than our index and pinky. Even if you are one of those people who's index is longer than your ring finger, holding the handle in a saber grip positions it at a slight angle across your palm, creating an effectively smaller grip for the index finger. So a palm swell is intended to create a better grip for each finger, especially the middle one that needs a fatter section to be closer to optimum joint angle.

That's how I understand it anyway.
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hey Steve, you goin' to SHOT?

sal
Click to expand...

Yup, Sal, I'll be there Friday and Saturday. I'll stop by, see if you have a minute or two.:)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
There I was doing my bi-weekly sand dune commando run when I spied a gnarly old tree root looking at me all strange like. Well, I'm a man of peace but when I'm pushed I push back. Luckily I had my not-so-new D'Allara clipped to my dungarees. I pounced and de-animated the sucker in...oh....20 or 30 chops.

DAllaraChopping.jpg


As you can see by the chips, even a old root is made of pretty hard timber here in Oz. Holding the back of the handle and wrist snapping makes the D'Allara a decent light chopper. After the chopping the lock was a bit loose, no doubt because of a slightly un-snug ball bearing. One wiggle of the blade and it was solid again though. Otherwise no ill-effects.

ps: I'm yet to acome across a situation in the field where it was necessary to chop with a folder and it is not a primary requirement. But nice to know it can....

Two further thoughts:

1) This edge is really performing very well. It holds as good as any knife I own.

2) I was trying to describe the 'look' of this knife, then it came to me - It looks like a tool. It looks very much at home in the shed with the hammers and screwdrivers. That's a step beyond being NKP friendly in my book.
 
Yeah Mate after the chopping there was the tiniest bit of temporary vertical blade blay. The ball bearing was not fully engaged. The act of wriggling the blade to feel for blade play seated it again and the lockup returned to solid. I examined the ball bearing for scarring and I can't see any, even with a jewellers loupe. The wood was very hard so there was a fair bit of impact in the chopping - I figure that must have resonated up the blade and vibrated the ball bearing back slightly. It was only a small bit of play, which is of course noticeable when the lockup is usually so solid - and I can't reproduce it now.
 
I have been playing with this knife for several days after scoring it from my good friend Danzo on BB.

I have passed this knife round the lads at work and the general opinion was that the blade was a lot smaller than the size of the handle would indicate. None of the lads had seen a blade shape quite like it before:rolleyes: Well they are not knife collectors so I can forgive that! Feelings were that the handle was too wide for their liking.

Now from my point of view, I really like the drop point blade, I love it in fact. I like the feel of the handle and as a genuine bushcrafter and knife user, I can really appreciate how this handle will be easy on the hand when using it outside. In fact I took the blade for a little trip to the woods on my day off and this knife really performed!

What I noticed was the large handle was very nice to use for extended periods and the VG10 blade was very very sharp and held its edge a long time.
I liked the extra security of the ball bearing lock and the fact this does not "snap" my fingers like the Axis lock does. This is not a snappy lock at all! The smoothness of this knife in all aspects astonished myself and the lads in work. I have to remind myself this is not an expensive knife in the slightest. It does not look or feel cheap to me, but the lads certainly prefered the "feel" of my Spyderco Military.

However, there were real complaints from the lads about this knife and that was that the lock was unbearably fiddly to unlock in their opinion. I decided to give it a week of use before making my mind up and I have to agree this lock is a very fiddly design for unlocking.

It does not feel natural to unlock. If you use two hands its a bit of a pain to do. One handed is frightening for most. The ball is slippery as an eel to grip and the whole process feels about as unatural to operate as I can imagine.

The great girth of the knife in the pocket is also a pain.

Now I really like Spyderco knives... So I am calling this as I see it. I really don't like the unlocking nature of this ball bearing lock, but I love just about everything else about it. I will continue to EDC this knife and see if it gets any better for me. A great knife with a very strong and secure lock, thats just a bit to fiddly for most people in my opinion.
 
With practice, you'll be able to unlock the knife without too much difficulty which just one finger.

So we all agree--these handles and scales do NOT look cheap relative to most FRN stuff?

I've always wondered if it was in my head.
 
Ming65 said:
You know that honeymoon period when you baby your knife, keeping the edge all pristine and whatnot? Mine lasted about 10 minutes with the D'Allara. I wondered why I had this urge to start beating on this knife sraight away - then I saw the etching on the blade. I'm not sure if you other owners have this on your model or if mine is just a one off.

Abuseme.jpg


Had a long ramble on the beach and through the rivermouth this morning. Found all sorts of excuses to cut things. Hacked through some salt/sand encrusted nylon rope, made a new walking stick and trimmed some boughs overhanging the walking path. She won't shave anymore but will still cut paper.
Click to expand...

That is darn funny :D! My Pacific had that eched on the blade, this is probably why I like it so much :p!
 
I only handled this knife briefly at a store, but I had no trouble with the lock. What I do is seat my thumb all the way against the groove cutout for the lock and slide it back towards the back of the knife. You don't need to actually "grip" the ball bearing. Just make sure your thumb tip is flush with the thumb groove cutout and slide on back. In fact, my concern with the lock in playing with it was that the lock was so easy to disengage. It slides back with very little resistance, at least in the floor demo I handled. Smooth action, like butter.
 
I love the way the knife looks, and feels. I was at the store all ready to buy one then i wiggled the blade back and forth while in the locked position. There is considerable (imo) side to side motion. Is this nothing to be worried about in this design, or did I get a weird one? I got the same motion from both a plain and a serrated blade version. I now have six other spyderco folders with zero side to side play in them so this understandably worried me in this new knife. Somebody let me know if I am just being a worry wort.
 
Side to side play? There is none on mine. It could be that the pivot is slightly loose. That's easily enough remedied.

I played with my D'Allara with leather riggers gloves on last night. One hand opening wasn't affected. One hand closing (as per the method in my earlier photo) was noticeably more awkward but still quite do-able. One hand closing against the leg and two hand closing were not affected. The ball does feel wierd as it doesn't give the sane positive feedback that a lock bar or stud does. But I've adjusted to it ok. YMMV
 
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