Spyderco Solo

C

cratz2

Joined
Sep 3, 2004
Messages
54
Hey all. I was wondering what you think about the current Spyderco Solo.

AUS10 steel, G10 stocks. $25 shipped. I'm just looking for something of decent quality a bit smaller than my CRKT M16-03Z and this looks like it might be the ticket.

I must admit, I like the G10 but I've never had an AUS10 knife. The CRKT is AUS8 and has worked well for me. I've also never even handled a Solo.

Are they pretty smooth opening?

Any comments?

SO05_L.jpg


http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=143
 
I have never even seen a Spyderco like that before. No hole? :confused: strange.

Sal designed but made by Solo in Seki. Interesting.



Buy it, it's a Spyderco, if somethings wrong with it they'll take it back. No problem.

I am interested in what other people think of this...
 
I have a few early spydercos made in Seki...
The Sog SF bowie is made in seki...
Seki makers are world class and surpass many American production knives.
 
$25 for G10 and AUS10, from Spyderco? I'm not a big fan of partially serrated blades, but for that price, you really can't go wrong.
 
underaged! said:
I have never even seen a Spyderco like that before. No hole? :confused: strange.
I am interested in what other people think of this...
Click to expand...

This is really not a Spyderco knife in the true sense. "Spyderco is a distributor in the United States of Solo brand cutlery. Solo is made in Seki Japan. More traditional in appearance than most Spyderco models, the SO05 was designed by Sal Glesser and manufactured exclusively for us by Solo."
 
Spyderco is not just a knife manufacturer, they also do engineering and design for other firms. Spyderco knives are either made in SEKI Japan or Colorado. Most high ends are assembled in Golden CO. Most Spyderco knives are assembled from parts made by top firms in Japan. They have to follow very strict tolerances, and the fitting has to be perfect. Other parts are shipped to CO and assembled in the USA. Some parts are made entirely in Golden. This knife is designed by Sal, made out of parts made by prob the same manufacturers of the other Spyderco's models under the same tolerances. But they are NOT Spyderco's! U have to see this as Porsche, they make top quality cars, but they sometimes build parts or engines for other car manufacturers because they can design a part or have the knowhow and staff to make a top notch product. Same principle here. IMHO it will be a very good knife, but it's not a real Spyderco (as in the brand). :)

ps i would not hesitate to buy this knife at al, Sal would never make a connection between crap knives and his name.
 
Seems like the "lobe" opener will provide a good platform for the thumb to manipulate the blade open. Most button lock mechanisms I' ve handled are of the plunger type where it is mounted very close to or is a part of the blade pivot pin. I am curious to know more of this SOLOs locking mechanism.

N2
 
Yeah... I've never been crazy about the combo edge myself, but everything else looks about perfect for my needs. My only other Spyderco is an early stainless Police made in Seki with ATS-55 and though it is too large and too heavy for my tastes, it is still going strong after many years of EMT and firefighter use and abuse.

I'd love to get a ParaMilitary Black C81GBK but Oy! The $$$.

Thanks for the comments so far. I've done some searching on the AUS10 steel. Other than personal preferences and biases (some extremely unfounded) in real world terms, how does Spyderco's AUS10 compare to CRKT's AUS8?
 
And I don't mean to knock the combo edge. Obviously hordes of folks find it useful or else so many Spydercos wouldn't be made with it. But I never have to cut extreme duty items and sharpen regularly so it's somewhat lost on me.
 
I think you'll like the Solo. AUS-10 is a great (and most underrated) steel. AUS-6 and AUS-8 don't come even close to it.
 
I have had one of these Solos for about three years and it is a great knife. It is an absolute steal for $25, and I don't know why Spyderco still has these around at such a great price. It sharpens nicely and holds an edge very well. The button lock is really nice too. Buy it, it is money very well spent.
 
The finish on it looks a bit rough, but with those materials and at that price it sounds like a steal! Can anyone explain how the button lock works and what kind of track record it has?
 
I have this knife. Great steel for the price. The only problem I have is that if you press the button too long while closing the blade, the blade can catch the liner .
 
The button lock is simply a way to activate the liner. one nice thing about his knife is that since it is a button lock, there is no cutaway toa ccess the liner and therefore the owner has no chance of accidentally moving the liner while in use.
 
Well, I received my Solo in today's mail. After I play with it for a few days and see it's strengths and weaknesses, I'll post my comments.

First impression is: pretty freakin cool little knife for the money. And it came out of the box hella sharp!

Whatever that means! :D
 
I ordered one of these the other day when I originally saw this post. I don't care for the position of the button lock and, as mentioned earlier, if you press the button too long, the blade catches on the liner. My biggest complaint is the amount of drag on the hinge. It's impossible to start the blade opening and flick it the rest of the way. There's just too much resistance and opening it is accompanied with a bit of a screeching/scratching noise.

It's not quite what I was expecting but I do like it.. especially for the price.
 
Didn't even know that those are still available for sale. Where did you get it from? Spyderco website?
 
Yes... I ordered directly from Spyderco's website.

I still want to take some pictures and write up a longer review, but in the mean time, the very first time I opened the knife after receiving it, I could not believe how hard it was to open. I've carried a CRKT M16-03Z for almost three years now and it was decent out of the box, but I took it apart, polished the spacers and the connecting parts of steel and have lubricated everying with FP10 three or four times since. No sub $300 knife I've handled has been as nice to open as this particular CRKT.

Anyway, there was considerable resistance. I did put two drops of FP10 around the hinge (without taking anything apart) and worked it back and forth while watching a movie... much better but definately several steps below the worked on CRKT.

For the actual edge of the blade, I was very impressed. It was perfectly smooth with zero flat spots and no roughness. If all $100 knives had this nice of an edge out of the box, the knife world would be a better place. This knife has the combo edge which I'm not crazy about, but generally, I usually only use the 1" or so nearest the tip so in the real world, I'm sure I'll live with it quite nicely.

First of all, the plain portion of the blade was easily shaving sharp. I think it's the sharpest knife I've ever tested. I bought a few straight razors a while back including one with interchangable blades like many barbers/beauty salons use these days. This blade was as sharp as those replacable razors. To say it was shaving sharp would be an understatement.

The G10 stock material was nice though a but uneven. The non-clip side was more smoothly polished than was the clip side. I don't care, but some may. Also, I did take some fine sandpaper to knock off a couple of oh so small peaks.

Overall, for a brand new $25 knife direct from a reputable company, I can't imagine a much better example. I would have liked a completely plain blade, but that's not the knife's fault. I would rather have a traditional liner lock rather than the button lock though a number of folks may prefer the button.
 
Here's a couple pictures... I tried to show the smoothness of the edge, but either my skill or my camera (or most likely both) aren't up to the challenge. In the last picture, you can see how the button-side liner leans in to depress the actual liner lock on the opposite side.

DCP_4509a1.jpg


DCP_4514a1.jpg


DCP_4500a1.jpg
 
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