Spyderco Gayle Bradley: What's the big deal?

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VolundoftheForge

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Jan 3, 2012
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It seems like a lot of people love them, but I don't get it. I feel a pocket knife that rusts when you look at it is kind of a bad thing. I want to like it though, so any reasonings will be appreciated.
 
VolundoftheForge said:
It seems like a lot of people love them, but I don't get it. I feel a pocket knife that rusts when you look at it is kind of a bad thing. I want to like it though, so any reasonings will be appreciated.
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Well, where do we start...

Premium materials.
Exceptional design.
Extremely high build quality.
Extraordinary value.

Hard not to like that one... :thumbup:

CPM-M4 doesn't rust when you look at it...in fact, as far as non-stainless steels go, it is fairly slow to show corrosion. If your GB rusts, you (1) are working on a blue water fishing boat, (2) need to learn to take better care of your tools or (3) should give up carrying knives...even nearly all "stainless steel" blades will show corrosion at one point or another.
 
A couple hundred years of carbon steel pocketknives would show that there are a lot of people that don't mind non-stainless knife blades...even if they are MUCH less corrosion resistant than M4.
 
It's the smoothest knife I've ever experienced, including many of those big name semi-custom/semi-production knives out there (I won't name names b/c I want to keep this about the Spyderco GB). It is the sharpest knife out of the box I've ever experienced. The CPM M4 holds its edge for a VERY long time. The carbon fiber is both gorgeous and utilitarian at the same time. The overall fit and finish are some of the best I've seen on any knife, including knives that cost 3-4 times what the GB does.

As far as the rust goes...I've had mine for over 2 years and carry it often, including the high humidity/high sweat time of summer. I've never had a single spot of rust on it due to the fact that I wipe the blade with Tuf-Glide every couple weeks or so, as needed. The performance of CPM M4 far outweighs the corrosion potential, IMO.
 
The best features for me are the M4 steel and a thin, hollow-ground blade. It's an excellent cutter.

M4 does rust. So you might try M390 stainless steel, which is an excellent steel. The Military M390 will give you exceptional steel and a blade that is also designed to cut extremely well.
 
In my book, the GB is on my top 10 list of best value folders available today. As mentioned already in the above replies, its build quality is on par with knives selling for two to three times as much, the refinements such as polished liner edges, proud liners and superb blade work are equal to the overall build quality too. The consistency from the factory is almost scary. You can expect every one to be like the last one in almost every case. They function as well as knives selling for two - four times as much if you measure function by smooth action, lockup, ease of one handed use, steel performance, heat treat, etc. And to round all that out, for between $140 and $150 you also get the same blade steel used by just about everyone who competes in cutting competitions.

It is really challenging to get all the benefits and features of a Spyderco Gayle Bradley for under $150 anywhere IMHO. To me, the GB is a must have Spyderco.
 
I like mine, as far as rust, I don't use anything as far as tuf-glide or oil or whatever and have used it on food, rinsed it off in the sink wiped it off on my pants (haphazardly, I know I didn't get all the water off) and not even a patina on it so far in about a year of use.
 
I was on the fence about the GB for 6 weeks. I watched every video reveiw , read every written reveiw as i do any knife i buy. I've had it about 2 weeks now and I think it might be my favorite. Gayle Bradley recommends spraying it with silicone lube every other week. It's a great knife you will not be disapointed.
 
It was a bit heavy, wrong handed, and either a little too big or too small for my hands. The blade, however, is great as are the materials. I actually had difficulty getting CPM-M4 to patina.

If you think CPM-M4 rusts when you look at it, you better not try anything in Aoigami Super Blue.
 
I fondled one a few weeks back and I liked it but the ergos were not a good as my PM2 or my ZT0560.
 
Pretty much everything has been covered.

No single thing mentioned makes it a "big deal", but having all of them in one knife is pretty impressive.

The GB is near or at the top of any list of Spyercos when you are talking about overall quality, materials, and f&f.
 
Alann45 said:
Pretty much everything has been covered.

No single thing mentioned makes it a "big deal", but having all of them in one knife is pretty impressive.

The GB is near or at the top of any list of Spyercos when you are talking about overall quality, materials, and f&f.
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Yep, especially at the price.
 
VolundoftheForge said:
The rust when you look at it is what I had heard and why I was worried. I will definitely be considering it now. Thanks.
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I've heard that too, but not from most GB users. Mine gets no more care than my S30V or VG10 blades and I don't even have a patina forming yet. The strong points of the GB for me are the CPM M4 steel, a hollow grind, the strong liner lock, the weight, and the handle ergos. I'm not a big fan of CF or polished SS liners (I want SS liners, just not spit polished), but they're neither here nor there with me... I can take 'em or leave 'em.
 
CPM M4 is one of the best knife steels out there; it has an excellent combination of toughness and edge retention, so much so that it is used in most competition cutters. It is not stainless, but then even what we call "stainless" will corrode in the right conditions, and with almost 5% Cr, M4 is much more stain resistant than regular carbon steel. If you cant handle a little bit of patina you are missing out on some sick performance.
Also the action is super smooth, and the carbon fiber is really light and thin
 
Put it this way, the knife has only one flaw, and to some it's not a flaw. The liner lock bits your thumb and hurts if your one to play with the knife even when your not using it. M4 does not rust like people claim it to because it not stainless, It's CPM built which means water has a hard time soaking into the metal, because such a tight structure. Overall knife is extremely well buit, beautiful and has a extremely tough blade, making it more that enough of a blade to choose when you only carry one.
 
This is a great knife, according to every owner we've heard from. It's pretty large...and VERY heavy-duty. Depends on what you're looking for.
Sonny
 
Flectric said:
It's CPM built which means water has a hard time soaking into the metal, because such a tight structure.
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kreole said:
You mind citing where you heard that? :)
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Well, when you think about it, its not exactly wrong information.
I do believe water has a hard time soaking into cpm metal, because it has a tight structure. If anyone has anything to show that water has an easy time soaking into cpm metal, I sure as hell would like to see it, wouldn't you ? :D
 
I hadn't heard of rust issues but had been wondering what made the GB worth the premium. Thanks fans for vouching for it, I will definitely consider buying.

I was really among those that didn't care for the looks of the Spydercos (that hole!) at first but man I have a bunch of them, and want more, what a company!
 
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