Spyderco D'Allara passaround review

TOB9595

TOB9595

Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Messages
2,773
I received the passaround Spydie D'Allara with the good graces of DaveH and Spydies Sal G, Thank you guys.
The specs are at the bottom.

First thought when I opened the box:
WOW!! This sucker's big!!
It is quite a handful.
The handle fit me very well, was quite comfortable and is definitely non-slip!
I flicked it open with the usual Spydie ease.
I liked the fit and feel of the D'Allara in my hand. A very substantial Rescue knife.

The unique, to me, aspect of the knife is the ball bearing lockup. It took a very little to get used to in order to close one handed. Not bad at all.
Impressive lockup to be sure. No play anywhere. A solid piece in the hand.

I did exert a lot of lateral force to see if I could bend or move the blade. Nada...solid as a fixed blade.

The blade ia a massive hunk of beautiful steel.
I've gotten away from an appreciation of serrated blades and this sucker is serrated all the way :)
I would REALLY, Really like this knife if the blade was pe.....sigh

The handle has the deepest, grippiest cuts of any handle I've ever seen.
I didn't like this at all.
I always wondered at some threads where the guy says that the pants would fray or wear with the knife clipped. I thought they were exaggerating in the Knife Knut way. :)
Not so with this handle. It'll wear a pocket down to ribbons in no time. I had several occasions when I thought I had pushed the knife all the way down in my pocket. But I was wrong. It was getting hung up on the traction grooves.
I didn't like the clip placement when I held the D'Allara for heavy carpet cutting.
I would sand the grips and remove the clip if it were mine.
I probably would have no problem with the knife sliding into the phone pocket of my Royal Robbins 511 pants.
It would also have a Plain Edge.

To be fair this knife is designed for Real world heavy rescue. It looks to be able to pry, cut thru metal. Everything a rescue worker needs to do.

The knife can handle most any rescue need I could imagine. It's that nice if it were pe.
I hope some of you fire, police, rescue folk would pipe up if the serrated is very important to your rescue work.
Here are a couple of shots in my hand.
Did I really have to explain that????
dallara1.jpg


dallara2.jpg


The specs
Spyderco D'Allara Rescue
A new rescue model, featuring Spyderco's Ball-bearing Lock System. The handle is black FRN backed by full steel liners and backspacer, for a hefty and solid feel. A reinforced wire pocket clip screws onto either side for both left and right-handers.
Specs
Blade Steel: VG-10
Blade Thickness: 1/8" 3mm
Clip: Heavy-duty wire clip
Diam. Blade Hole: 9/16" 14mm
Edge Type: Full Serration
Handle Material: Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon
Hardness: 59-60
Length Blade: 3 3/16"
Length Closed: 5"
Length Overall: 8"


Thanks again Spyderco for the opportunity to handle this well made USER in real world situations.
And DaveH too
:D
 
Nice pics. Great review. I've been EDCing my D'Allara for a couple of weeks now and it seems to be getting smoother going in and out of the pocket. At first, however, it was a real buzzsaw on the seam of my pocket. The D'Allara is just what the doctor ordered for firemen and other rescue people. The serrated edge is brutal and I love that giant opening hole. I'm also getting accustomed to the wire clip. It is a real innovation, solving at least two problems the solid steel clips suffered from.

By the way, I prefer the SpyderEdge on my Spydies. I wish it was even available on the Kiwi!:eek:
 
Hi TOB, Great review and great pics, thanx. A good example of why the "passaround" concept is valuable for both the ELU and the manufacturer. (Thanx Dave :D ).

Thanx also for the input on the texture. We've been working on that. The mold is being changed to provide a smooth area under the clip.

When we first began making FRN handles in 1990, a major complaint was that the material was too "slippery" and that texture could not be made to be "grippy". We've certainly come a long way in the past 13 years.

The D'Allara is our first ball bearing lock FRN model and one of our first 3D (full body, rather than flat) models. We expect to learn much from this model.

On the Plain edge issue, we've tried to serve a market for plain edge "Rescue" style knives many times over the past 20+ years. The result has always been a very small percentage of the market is interested in a plain edge "Rescue" blade.

The left / right wire clip is also a new development (on the Assists, Native III and D'Allara). It's actually more expensive than the stamped steel clip, but it has less of a tendency to scratch furniture or ?, it's more flexible, grips tightly and is more low profile when carried.

Thanx again for the review.

sal
 
Hi Frank, The ball bearing lock is the first I've used.
It locked up tight as a drum each and every time.
The blade was as rigid as a fixed blade.
I had no feeling or thought that this lock would fail on me.
It took no time at all getting used to in order to open it quickly and easily.

Deployment with gloves would be easy. I don't see it being easy to retract with gloves. I used the point of the pad on my finger to displace the ball.

Now that I think on it :confused:
I see a potential for debris to get into the exposed spring.
You can see in the pic the exposed spring and bearing.
Dang it all. If I thought of it before sending it on I'd have done some messy cutting on a road kill or something to see how the spring reacts to it.

I hope one of the others in the passaround will put it thru some serious rescue scenarios.

I appreciate the comments from all as it gives me a better appreciation for this from a perspective that I don't have in life.

I can see that Sal does pay attention to feedback as he mentioned that they are already modifying the handle behind the clip area to smooth it out some :)
This is very rewarding to me as a user and inveterate passarounder.

I so enjoy these passarounds. :thumbsup:
Tom
 
I recently picked up a D'Allara and I was very impressed also. I will say that the pictures really give a potential user just how solid and thick this knife is compared to other FRN Spydercos, or just about any other folding Spydercos except for the Chinook. I can understand Sal's point about the market for a plain Rescue style knife not being there. I would like to see a 35/65 version similar to the proportions of the serrated Native. That would provide a workign amount of plain edge while retaining the heavy serrations needed for Rescue style cutting.
 
I have very mixed feelings about the ball bearing lock, there are some really good things to like about it, but some that IMHO are not very good at all.

I've had using experience of two knives with BB locks and my assesment was the same on both. The opening is very slick, and it is a really nice design concept that the way the ball and tang is arranged means that any debris that might clog the lock is pushed out of the way as the BB engages. Also the lock up is extremely good, about the best I've seen.
All the negative aspects concern the unlocking of the blade. Both models I experienced had oversized opening holes, which made for easy opening with gloved, but as TOB9595 said the BB lock is just about impossible to close with gloves on. In fact the BB lock is reasonably easy to close (but definately not the easiest), if the hands are un-covered, dry and warm, add in either, gloves, cold, or wet and you could have big problems.

The spring arrangement on the BB lock is very simple, very strong, and looks to be a lot more reliable than the dual springs on Benchmade's Axis lock. However I think Spyderco should bite the bullet and go with a cylinder rather than a ball that protrudes past the scales for easier closing, even if this means coming to an arrangement with Benchmade.
 
TOB (or any recipient of the D'Allara) - would you happen to have the weight on this knife? Can't seem to find it on the web.

Looks to be about 2x the weight of the Delica (1.9oz.)

Thanks, and great pictures. The contouring really shows.
 
The D'Allara is pretty heavy. I would guess 5-7oz. The reason for the weight is the full steel liners and enclosed back. Sal wrote that this was necessary for the knife to have a high lock strength rating.
 
Anthony, while you may be correct on the ounces.
It didn't feel heavy at all.

For a truly non scientific statement.
It felt like a quality lightweight fixed blade, never a thought of "heavy" came to me.
Even while I was cursing it for the grippiness in and out of my pocket.

To repeat my sentiments in the review. I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it were pe :)

Shiden-Kaj sorry no more pics worth posting. I didn't take one from the spine. That would have been informative.
I just have some closed and open in a flat plane with no size reference. DUH!! to me.

PS if you were to contact DaveH in the passaround forum, you might be able to be added to the passaround list.
All it costs is postage to pass it on.
And there is nothing like handling a blade for a few days to appreciate it.
Tom
 
TOB9595,

I'm from the Netherlands, so the passaround is unfortunately no option for me. In a few days I'm going to order a CF Delica PE and and a d'Allara rescue. After reading reviews about the d'Allara and viewing pictures, I was convinced it is a musthave for me. The whole design and the name of the knife and it's connection with the events of 9-11 make it very special. BTW I really like steel liners, like in the Spyderco Meerkat.

Shiden-Kaj
 
There are some good pics of the spine and size comparoison in the passaround forum HERE

Pic is a comparison of a Delica CF with the D'Allara
Tom
 
In spite of my aversion to full serrated knives.
I thought enough of this beauty to buy one.
It's enroute and I will post if it's the newer one with the reduced grip on the clip side.
If not I'll have to work on getting it smoothed out a bit.

Also enroute is a Native III which I beleive to be among the best all round user knives out there.
Maybe I'm confusing this with the Native Lightweight which I so dearly love :)

We'll soon see the difference.
Tom
 
Since I was in on the pass around with this knife, I'll add my $.02 here.

I enjoyed becoming familiar with the knife. It does take a little getting used to the lock, but I was able to operate it smoothly after a day or two. The trick for me on the lock ended up being my thumb nail. I have just enough of a nail to grab that ball, and move it back. In that aspect, it ended up being as smooth as my Benchmade Axis locks. Pull the ball back, and swing the blade out, or in.

I, myself would probably choose to remove the clip altogether, and carry the knife in a sheath. This would eliminate the bulge in the pocket, as well as the potential to tear up my pants. The clip was VERY secure, and I find that I'm liking the new wire clips on Spyderco knives. As Sal said, there is a bit more class with these, and the smoothness of the edges reduces the chance of scratching things.

I say stick with the agressive texturing. I'd like to see it on more knives, actually. I loved the feeling of security when holding the knife. Nothing was going to pull it out of my grip. Plus, the clip almost disappears when holding the knife. The thinness, and roundedness makes the clip melt into the handle and palm, and feel like it's not even there.

I would like to see this lock used on a Native III platform, with the extra grippy texture and 3D contours, as well as the already included wire clip. I don't prefer full serrations, well, actually any serrations, but I know they serve their purpose. With the new innovations used in the D'Allara, I can put together my perfect knife, using different aspects of Spyderco's current designs.

Okay, I know I'm mixing things up, as far as preferences. I do prefer a clip carry knife, but with the size of the D'Allara, I think it's too big for pocket carry. With the change in texture under the clip, I would have no problem carrying a smaller knife in my pocket, though. The D'Allara needs a sheath, in my opinion.

Of course, VG-10 needs no praises, as they have already been sung, so I'll let you all imagine the ultra fine edge, and sharpness of the legendary Spyderco blades.

DD
 
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