Mine came yesterday. I wanted this knife since I saw it in the 2018 Mid Year catalog that Spyderco released last -- June? I'd been looking at Spyderco knives, but -- sorry guys -- find them a bit clunky looking and unappealing. The Smock looked sleek, and more importantly to me as a lefty, the button lock seemed to be fairly ambidextrous. Despite that I initially wrote it off because it was designed for right side carry only -- a big disappointment for a lefty. But the July update video from Kevin Smock revealed a new ambidextrous clip position -- YES!
I like the knife a lot. The flipper works great, and I can still use the Spydie hole if I want. The button actuation of the compression lock is GREAT! It works well with either hand, and the combination of the very smooth action, flipper tab and button lock makes the Smock about as fun to play with as an Axis lock knife. I haven't been able to put it down. This is taking quite a while to write as I keep picking it up and flipping it open and closed.
The fit and finish on my sample is just beautiful. It's perfectly centered. the blade grind (it's a nice hollow grind) is symmetrical and even along the edge -- it's very sharp out of the box. The lock up is spot on with no blade play at all. The scales have that carbon fiber overlay that has a kind of checkerboard texture (you can see it in some of the photos above) that prevents them from being too slippery -- nice touch. All in all, I very much like the design of the Smock and am completely impressed with the execution.
It does have its quirks:
The cutting edge sits WAY out front of the hand, beyond a pretty long flat spot on the handle under the pivot and the big choil that wraps around the button lock when the blade is closed. Jordan@DLT (above) said it pretty well: the ergonomics are "non traditional". That said, I find the knife to be pretty comfortable in the hand, and haven't used it enough to see any issues.
I am VERY grateful that Spyderco and Kevin Smock decided to include us lefties by making the carry clip ambidextrous, but I imagine this was one of those design compromises that must really bug a custom designer. The original design of the Smock called for the right side only clip to sweep around the lanyard tube, allowing the clip to sit higher on the scale and the knife to sit lower in the pocket. But the last minute change to allow clip placement on both sides probably required the use of a standard clip that would only fit under the lanyard tube, so the knife rides high and the last inch sticks out above the pocket. Lots of people (me included) will be ordering deep carry clips.
In my Fantasy World the solution to ambidextrous clip placement would be to use the original design, but to drill and tap both scales and include an extra mirror image clip with each knife to mount on the left side. Note that this is a FANTASY -- it would have prolonged the production time so much that we'd STILL be waiting, not to mention increasing the cost of the knife. Maybe the next Smock/Spyderco collaboration could design this in from the start -- and while I'm dreaming, I wouldn't mind it if the next knife was a bit smaller.
Quirks aside, I'm very happy with the Spyderco Smock. Beautifully designed and manufactured, it's one of the most interesting and fun knives I've bought recently. I haven't had a chance to do much more than play with it, but I think it will be a fun EDC to have around. And I look forward to further Spyderco collaborations with KS -- the first is a winner!