Spyderco Southard: Excessive Praise and Hype? (Or: Purchase One Now!)

This has evolved into a treatise of Southard knowledge. The OP thanks you for the great thoughts and considerations.

I'll probably pick up a Southard in a few months when the price starts to drop on the exchange or look for a sprint next year. From what I've read, I conclude the Southard appears to be the most affordable and highest quality EDC flipper (for the price) on the market right now.
 
In the final analysis, well engineered framelock/linerlock flippers work just fine. But I have yet to encounter a framelock/linerlock flipper that opens as smoothly as a sealed thrust bearing button-lock flipper does. It's like buttah, man.
 
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dericdesmond said:
Man I really want one of these but I think Ill just buy another USA made PM2 and XL manix and still have enough left over for a case of Beer.
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Fair enough, but that is sort of apples to oranges. We know that Spyderco has set up the PM2 with experimental, lower margins than the rest of the line, and we can assume that the Southard pricing includes some level of royalty for the designer, so you're really talking about polar opposites in terms of pricing structure.
 
I wont dissent and wasnt looking to make comparisons. I do however feel that justification doesnt align with the bradly of which you can buy two for the price of one flipper. Not the same knives I know but man, the #s just seem out of whack at first glance. Still want one though : )
 
We don't have to be too rational about this stuff ;) and reading here for any period time will prove we aren't :eek: :D
 
Just got mine yesterday. It lives up to the hype, outstanding knife.

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dericdesmond said:
I wont dissent and wasnt looking to make comparisons. I do however feel that justification doesnt align with the bradly of which you can buy two for the price of one flipper. Not the same knives I know but man, the #s just seem out of whack at first glance. Still want one though : )
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If you haven't had a chance to handle one,I'll send you mine for a week or so.
 
I've searched the numerous vid's out there but haven't seen one that has it doing any cutting work except some light paper, would one of you guys/gals shoot a short vid showing how well it slices through cardboard? as with a thick spine and narrow blade, just worried it could slow up cutting through that kind of material. Also note if you had reprofiled the bevels or if they are factory type edge settings.

TIA
G2
 
No video, but I broke down a stack of heavy corrugated boxes for the recycle bin using the Southard and a GEC #72 lockback, and the latter easily outperformed the Southard. The thin 1095 blade sailed through the corrugated in nice straight, predictable cuts with negligible drag, while the Southard cuts tended to drift and get hung up in the material over and over again. The blade is just too thick for this kind of cutting unless you're willing to wrestle with the knife and waste a lot of time and energy.

OTOH, when I was finished, the Southard was still pretty close to factory sharp, while the GEC needed a few minutes on the bench stone. As I've said before, the Southard would be just about perfect if the entire knife, and the blade stock in particular, was half the thickness. It's a knife, after all, not a prybar.

SpydieGEC.jpg
 
JTR357 said:
If you haven't had a chance to handle one,I'll send you mine for a week or so.
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You da man John. Will have to pass though. You offering must mean its something to behold,,,,,,must,,,,,, resist, have already bought a dozen knives in 2013 :eek:
 
dericdesmond said:
You da man John. Will have to pass though. You offering must mean its something to behold,,,,,,must,,,,,, resist, have already bought a dozen knives in 2013 :eek:
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If you change your mind let me know.I've got plenty in the rotation.I'm just trying to pay it forward,& I know you're good for it.:thumbup:

eta:sorry to all for taking it off-topic.This should've been done in PM.
 
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I need to issue a partial retraction. In post #123, mkjellgren said " . . . frame and liner locks are the only reasonable choice for flipper knives." He may be right, but not necessarily for the reason he stipulated. The point he was trying to make is that the positive detent frame and liner locks provide is needed to generate sufficient resistance so that, when the resistance is overcome by pressing on the flipper, the blade reliably deploys to its full open and locked position. A far more important point is that the positive detent frame and liner locks provide is necessary to prevent the blade from becoming partially dislodged from the handle when the flipper is carried, thereby exposing the user to a risk of injury. In other words, frame and liner lock flippers are inherently safer to carry than button and Axis lock flippers, and thus may be the "only reasonable choice for flipper knives" unless users employ specific carry methods for their button and Axis lock flippers.

There's a broader discussion and some valuable user experiences here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1027836-Benchmade-300SN-arrived

Hats off to mkjellgren for starting me on a path of discovery. :thumbup:
 
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bld522 said:
I need to issue a partial retraction. In post #123, mkjellgren said " . . . frame and liner locks are the only reasonable choice for flipper knives." He may be right, but not necessarily for the reason he stipulated. The point he was trying to make is that the positive detent frame and liner locks provide is needed to generate sufficient resistance so that, when the resistance is overcome by pressing on the flipper, the blade reliably deploys to its full open and locked position. A far more important point is that the positive detent frame and liner locks provide is necessary to prevent the blade from becoming partially dislodged from the handle when the flipper is carried, thereby exposing the user to a risk of injury. In other words, frame and liner lock flippers are inherently safer to carry than button and Axis lock flippers, and thus may be the "only reasonable choice for flipper knives" unless users employ specific carry methods for their button and Axis lock flippers.

There's a broader discussion and some valuable user experiences here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1027836-Benchmade-300SN-arrived

Hats off to mkjellgren for starting me on a path of discovery. :thumbup:
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Thanks for the kind words. If you'll remember, my main concern with knives like the Brian Tighe button lock flipper in the video you posted was the detent (or lack thereof) and how it functioned not only to build up force to flip open the blade, but also in doing its primary job of keeping the blade shut. I'm not against innovation, in fact quite the opposite, but tends in these types of things tend to be that way for a reason and judging by my personal experience as well as the trends in the industry I think it's safe to say frame and liner locks have the best balance of function and safety when it comes to flipper designs. Something I really would like to see implemented in some production knives however would be Jake Hoback's HRD (Hoback Rolling Detent) system. With the HRD system the ball detent itself rolls freely along the tang so when closed, it acts just as any other detent, but when opening the knife the friction on the tang is significantly reduced. I believe the upcoming ZT 0801 Rexford design uses either the HRD system or something very similar.
 
mkjellgren said:
I think it's safe to say frame and liner locks have the best balance of function and safety when it comes to flipper designs.
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You will get no further argument from me on that point. But I still love my Olson Button-lock Flipper. I'll just keep it clipped tip-up in my pocket with the blade spine against the seam or in a small Sebenza calfskin pouch. That way there's practically no chance of injuring myself when I go to reach for it.
 
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It's a pretty damned good EDC IMHO . . . The pivot adjusts a good amount without any side to side play showing up. Mine came favoring the left just a bit and felt tight so I loosened the pivot screw until she went to center and then she flipped almost like 056x minus the kinetic energy from the blade weight of the ZT. It was a lot of loosening relatively speaking and side to side is still non-existent. The lock-up is superb on mine and the lockbar releases very smoothly.

I've been carrying mine every day since I got her, kicking my DC PM2 out of my pocket. That wasn't an easy task. I am jonsing for the PM2 again right about now but it's been a couple months straight with the Southard which is a long time for me with any knife every day. I'm not typically faithful to any one knife in my pocket for very long before I stray ;)
 
Elgreco said:
Dont know if its been mentioned, but the kershaw rams hawk lock is pretty nice for a flipper.
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That is my favorite flipper. I like the Southard more, but the flipper on the R.A.M. is the best. It is hard to deploy wrong. You would swear it was assisted, but at the same time, it feels unassisted. I think the nature of the lock stores up more potential energy, and when released just flies out. That action with the fact that it is incredibly smooth, and the absolute solid lockup makes it a unique knife, that everyone should check out. Kershaw/ZT should do more with the Hawk Lock for sure.
 
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