Spyderco Native Questions?

J

J. MacDonald

Joined
Jun 8, 2000
Messages
3,140
I was shopping for a birthday gift for my best buddy's 40th birthday. We've been friends for over 20 years and have been each other's best man so I wanted something nice, but cash has been a bit tight lately so I was somewhat limited in budget. He's always been a Spyderco fan and while looking over the incredibly wide selection that Spyderco offers at my favorite local shop I was a bit baffled as to what to get him. This shop does a big business in Benchmade and Spyderco and gets all the limited edition stuff and sells not only the full line from each, but usually will have some specials and old stuff around as well.

I must state that I've never been a Spyderco kind of guy. Their designs just never resonated with me. After fondling probably two dozen knives I finally came upon the Native. It just seemed to have a great balance of strength, ergonomics and good lines. Most of what they had were FRN handled models in various colors. I was about to buy him a Spydercoforums.com 2003 Blue handled limited edition piece but was feeling like I'd like something a little cooler than FRN for handle material when in the bottom of the display case
I spied what looked to be a Native with some blue inlays.

It turns out to be a Limited 1 of 500 (#16) Native that was unlike anything else in the case. All the other Natives were not only FRN, but had rivited pivots (another thing that has always kept me away from Spydies as most of them seem to be made that way). This knife has black G10 scales, which appear to be inlaid with a nice piece of blue Abalone, although the box says Blue Matrix(?). It has a CPM440V blade and a hex screw pivot assembly. It also says made in Golden Co. as opposed to the usual Japanese manufacture of most Spydies. I was impressed and so that's what my bud got for his birthday.

I was intrigued enough with this knife that I think I might have to have one of my own. My first Spydie!

I see that Spyderco has also made a FRN handled version with S30V. In a perfect world I could find one with the G10 scales, hex screw adjustable pivot and an S30V blade. It would be a user so the inlays don't matter much to me. American made would be an added bonus as well. But as far as I know the S30V only comes with FRN.

I'm thinking that I might rather have one just like I got my friend even though it's only got CPM440V. I think I'd enjoy the G10 scales and adjustable pivot more than the FRN and rivited pivot of the S30V model. From what I hear 440V is easy to keep sharp. Maybe the pretty inlay would make it more sheeple friendly.

What do you guys think? What are your experiences with the Native?

John
 
About the only Spydie I carry much these days is my blue Native III in VG-10. The handle is shaped ergonomically, not just flat slabs. You're still stuck with pinned construction, but the wire clip can be placed right or left.
 
jmxcpter

In my opinion, the G-10 Native is one of the best that Spyderco has produced. I don't have one of the inlayed models but I do have 2 of the blue G-10 BladeForums models (one for EDC and one for display). I also have a couple of FRN Natives, a blue FRN Native III and a SS Native II, but the G-10 Natives are my favorite.

They lie flat in the pocket but still have good handle ergonomics (maybe not quite as good as the Native III - but still good). The blade shape and position work very well for an EDC. I'm sure that a search will give you lots more info, including the fact that people are regularly asking Spyderco to do another run of G-10 Natives.

David
 
The only thing that really sucks about 440V is the wire edge while sharpening. If you make the last few passes on the Sharpmaker stones really light, then go directly to some stropping (if you have a serrated edge, try stropping with paracord), you can overcome this problem easily enough. It holds an excellent edge and cuts like mad. I've grown to like my 440v Spydies and sort of regret not getting more while they were readily available.
 
The Native was the first Spyderco I really fell for, but I've liked every variant I've handled, which is most of them. They all have great ergonomics, a versatile blade shape, and feature various high-end steels.

These days I only own one, a blue BF Native III, but that's because my family and friends have ended up with the others. My wife has one in blue G-10 and another with the blue shell inlay.

--Bob Q
 
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