Spyderco Frank/Centofonte Pass Around Review

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Feb 3, 2001
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Got the Spydie Frank Centofonte, on Thursday, I was looking forward to using it again. I had one before but the blade snapped at the Spyder Hole, and it’s been in storage for the last 2 years. As soon as I opened the box and saw the knife I remembered how much I liked mine. Although I was a little disappointed that it was a serrated edge, (should’ve paid more attention to the thread) I put it to use right away opening the mail, the blade has a straight edge for the first ¾” of the small 2 ¾” blade. This would not be my choice for an EDC but as a gentleman’s knife it was great. The blade had a small flat spot on the straight part of the blade, but a couple of strokes on my diamond hone and a few strokes on the strop and it was razor sharp again.

I carried and used it throughout the week, the wharncliffe blade was great, it cut boxes, I used it to finish up a carving I was working on, (the needle like point got into all the tight spaces I needed to finish), and even used it to cut some rope that got wrapped around the blades on my mower deck while cutting grass. The ATS 34 blade held up great, and didn’t need any additional touch ups. In fact the more I used it the more I wanted to dig out my original one. When I dug my old one out, that’s when I saw what EDC did to the knife. The rubber insert was peeling off, (Kraton inserts would’ve been better) the aluminum finish didn’t take well to pocket carry, (got scratched, and dinged bouncing against the other stuff in my pocket) a TiN finish would’ve held up better. I tended to carry the knife in my shirt pocket like a pen to preserve the finish for the next person. Still the more I used the pass around the more I wanted to get mine fixed. So now I’m shipping mine off to Spyderco for repair as I ship the pass around to the next person on the list.

Over all for EDC I’d prefer a bigger blade but when mine was still in one piece I carried it every day, so that say something about the knife.

Thanks again for the chance to play and sorry for the real long review.



sfc.jpg
 
T Erdyli: Interesting review.

Also, you say that your Centofonte folder broke at the Spydie hole. Care to comment on that? Like, how?
 
I was slicing some really hard Wisconsin Cheddar that was fresh outa the fridge and I guess the way I pushed the blade I went latterally and it just snapped,(scared the s**t outa me I thought I cut my hand), If you look at the size of the blade in relation to the size of the hole, there's only about 3/8" of material on both sides of the hole. It doesn't take much latteral force to break it. IMHO I think the blade, being ATS 34 was a little to brittle.

Still a great knife though, I contacted Spyderco today and am shipping it out for repair tommorrow, I'll let you know how it goes.
 
yo;) Okay kids;) ;) And this is so weird !! first off T. Erdelyi,is a great dude ,and he hooked me right up ... ! second I got the Knife. And is a beutiful knife . somebody gotta hook me up with one of these please ! what is so incredibly about T. Erdelyi last post is that I work for Boeing,and manage a deep freeze Warehouse for composite material , that we use in not only most of all the Rotor Blades that you see in Afganastan. but we build the CH-47 sponson (fuel cells) and all of the V-22 osprey .And the new commanche RAH-66 . what i am saying is i go into this deep frezee 10 x a day ( i keeep it at a 22 million dollar inventory ) at all times . And it is keep at 15 % - so its cold all the time safety reasons 10 mins tops and you can never go in unless you have a kind of 2 man concept 1 man out why one is in !! guess what knife has been with me in the last 3 years that I have owened this centofante serrated and I go from room temp to -15 in like less than a minute ( I put the big parka on and all that ) but i have used the centofante in that deep frezee for over 3 years now cause it's cutting ability's are so good when it is so cold ! anyway this knife is so knife it's in good hands ;)
 
but can't figure how to post it don't tell me I have to have a remote site and que on that url don't tell me that my blade # is 911 just thought that would be kind of unique anyway any help ;)
 
Thanks Dave ,man that is a big picture !:D
Allen ,if your looking ! it's coming to ya ;)
 
T. Erdelyi, thanks for the great review. Please let us know how your knife repair turns out. I am curious to know if they consider that to be a factory defect.

"really hard Wisconsin Cheddar..." sheesh!
 
Yes they did consider it a factory defect, but the sad part is that it's a dicontinued model, the happy part is they gave me $130 credit to get whatever I want up to $130.
 
Hey T. Erdelyi, that was pretty cool of them !
so what are you going to get,any thoughts ;)
 
Stainless Steel Dragon Fly in ATS 55, and a FRN Handled Dyad Jr. also in ATS 55.

I just spoke with Mike Hayes from their warranty Dept., and he felt bad that they couldn't repair or replace the one I sent him. He was very helpful and responded quickly, the people at Spyderco, are without a doubt, stand-up people, something I'm not used to when dealing with some companies. I would recommend that any one looking for a quality knife, and a company to match buy from Spyderco.
:D
 
As I recall the Centofante is also 1/16" thick, which might make it easier to break. (Not that it should have broken on cheese.)
 
Just recieved the knife again from it's long journey across the US, it was in excellent condition.

This knife will be an treasured addition to my collection, especially considering all the places it's been, and all the hands it's been in.

Dave H. thanks again for giving me the opportunity to replace a knife that was busted, and up until now irreplaceable.

:D
 
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