- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
- Messages
- 2,496
The Spyderco McBee. I’m not even sure where to start with this one. It’s well made, well designed, made out of great material and surprisingly has some very good ergonomics. All of that said, damn, it’s small. How small? Closed length is 2.3” with an overall 3.82” length. The blade is a Wharncliffe that is 1.52” long with 1.49” of actual cutting edge.
In full discourse, I pre-ordered this knife and was eagerly awaiting it’s arrival. When I popped it out of the box however, I was pretty disappointed. Knowing it was small is entirely different than holding it and seeing how small it was in my XL hands.
Despite my initial misgivings, I figured I’d carry it for a couple of days before I wrote down my first observations. Here goes:
The materials are top notch. Titanium scales with a CTS-XHP blade steel. Fit and finish are perfect with some nice details like the matching stippling on the pivot screws, the lock bar relief cut out and thumb cut out on the inside of the lock bar.
Overall, visually, it’s a somewhat awkward knife to look at due to the height of the blade and the way it protrudes from the handle in the closed position. That said, it doesn’t look awkward at all in the open position. In fact, I think it is a fantastic looking knife with the blade open.
Now, onto the tiny elephant in the room, this knife is obviously very small. I think Spyderco does the “little big knife” better than anyone and find them incredibly useful. The Techno immediately comes to mind. The Techno is a long sword compared to the McBee. Out of the gate, I wasn’t really sure how useful this knife was going to be. Bushcraft? Hell no. General use EDC? Hell yes. Packages, letters, Cliff Bar wrappers and hacking an apple up, the McBee is certainly up to the task. In fact, despite the diminutive size, in an office environment, I think the McBee is just as versatile as a Para 2. Maybe even a little more so as no one is going to mistake you for Jack the Ripper when you pull it out of your pocket.
The ergonomics are actually very good. Despite the small handle, I can get two fingers on it, my thumb fits into the Spyder Hole and my index finger rides perfectly on the top of the blade. You really have a ton of control gripping it in this way. So far, the McBee seems to be a winner.
While I generally prefer blade length of around 2.5” to 3”, those seem to be the most useful for my needs; I think I could use the McBee without a need for a longer blade. Long term, however, I’m not sure if the McBee will stay in my rotation. It’s a great little knife to be sure, but I think most people, even those who like smaller knifes, will eventually gravitate to something slightly larger, like the Delica.
Time of course will tell and I’ll update this review after some additional pocket time. Will also get some other pictures up later.
Thanks for reading.
In full discourse, I pre-ordered this knife and was eagerly awaiting it’s arrival. When I popped it out of the box however, I was pretty disappointed. Knowing it was small is entirely different than holding it and seeing how small it was in my XL hands.
Despite my initial misgivings, I figured I’d carry it for a couple of days before I wrote down my first observations. Here goes:
The materials are top notch. Titanium scales with a CTS-XHP blade steel. Fit and finish are perfect with some nice details like the matching stippling on the pivot screws, the lock bar relief cut out and thumb cut out on the inside of the lock bar.
Overall, visually, it’s a somewhat awkward knife to look at due to the height of the blade and the way it protrudes from the handle in the closed position. That said, it doesn’t look awkward at all in the open position. In fact, I think it is a fantastic looking knife with the blade open.
Now, onto the tiny elephant in the room, this knife is obviously very small. I think Spyderco does the “little big knife” better than anyone and find them incredibly useful. The Techno immediately comes to mind. The Techno is a long sword compared to the McBee. Out of the gate, I wasn’t really sure how useful this knife was going to be. Bushcraft? Hell no. General use EDC? Hell yes. Packages, letters, Cliff Bar wrappers and hacking an apple up, the McBee is certainly up to the task. In fact, despite the diminutive size, in an office environment, I think the McBee is just as versatile as a Para 2. Maybe even a little more so as no one is going to mistake you for Jack the Ripper when you pull it out of your pocket.
The ergonomics are actually very good. Despite the small handle, I can get two fingers on it, my thumb fits into the Spyder Hole and my index finger rides perfectly on the top of the blade. You really have a ton of control gripping it in this way. So far, the McBee seems to be a winner.
While I generally prefer blade length of around 2.5” to 3”, those seem to be the most useful for my needs; I think I could use the McBee without a need for a longer blade. Long term, however, I’m not sure if the McBee will stay in my rotation. It’s a great little knife to be sure, but I think most people, even those who like smaller knifes, will eventually gravitate to something slightly larger, like the Delica.
Time of course will tell and I’ll update this review after some additional pocket time. Will also get some other pictures up later.
Thanks for reading.
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The screw spacing pattern on the McBee is definitely different than on the Delica. I fear you're going to end up with a clip that doesn't fit.
