Spyderco Southard vs ZT0801 - Your Opinion

I have a Sebenza Insingo and love it. But my first absolute love knife is this:

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As a result, the Southard doesn't interest me at all. Being a big dude, a few ounces is irrelevant to me, though I understand why it might be a big deal for others. For those comparing blade steels, I am confident that there's not anything you could do while using an 0801 that would make you wish you'd had the Southard's blade steel instead.
 
bld522 said:
I'm with you. I love the Ripple. It was my first bearing knife and I still have it in my collection. Still, my Southard seems to get more carry time than my Ripple does. All I can figure is that, for some reason, I like my Southard better. ;) To be honest, I like my Southard as well as some knives in my collection that cost a lot more than it did. The only thing I didn't care for was the brown G-10 scale. But the Southard just LOVES to be pimped, so that was an easy fix.
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that pic you posted above of the Ivory Snake Juma is outstanding. i have seen some of these mods, and like i said, it makes me want to reconsider. good stuff. :thumbup:
 
The 0801 is a better flipper, but everything else goes the Southard's way for me. Admittedly, I am a Spyderco fan overall so take that into consideration. I do have the 0801 and a 0770 CF, so I am not making hollow comparisons. The 0801 is too heavy for what it is, and I don't like that the flipper is the only option to open it. It looks great with no hole or stud, but I like the option of still being able to slowly open it. I don't know exactly what it is, but when I open my drawer to pick my knife out in the morning, the 0801 never calls my name. If I grab it, I usually feel like I should also grab a Spyderco and just carry two. The Southard is not however one of my favorites, so it doesn't get carried a whole lot more. I will keep both for sure (the Southard has an STR clip and a re-grind so I have money in it) and maybe I can warm up to the 0801.
 
the 801 is a nice flipper and better than the southard, out of the box. after changing the scale on mine and tweaking the pivot, it is now the equal of the 801. i also loathed the clip and had to replace it. so i'm in another 100 some on top of the cost of the knife BUT now it is just superlative in every way. if i had to choose one or the other it's the southard easily and my 801 is the CF version. the unequal scale thing bugs me a bit as does the giant cutout but in use, it cuts so well and is so solid. i'd love a 4" version. I may send my 801 for a regrind as that saved my 551 for me and might put the 801 on top.
 
ginaz said:
the 801 is a nice flipper and better than the southard, out of the box. after changing the scale on mine and tweaking the pivot, it is now the equal of the 801. i also loathed the clip and had to replace it. so i'm in another 100 some on top of the cost of the knife BUT now it is just superlative in every way. if i had to choose one or the other it's the southard easily and my 801 is the CF version. the unequal scale thing bugs me a bit as does the giant cutout but in use, it cuts so well and is so solid. i'd love a 4" version. I may send my 801 for a regrind as that saved my 551 for me and might put the 801 on top.
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I'd love to see a pic of that reground 0551, if you get a chance.
 
ginaz said:
I may send my 801 for a regrind as that saved my 551 for me and might put the 801 on top.
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I wasn't aware that Tom was doing regrinds again. I know he had stopped for awhile. He's the best as far as I'm concerned. :thumbup: And here's your image:

uc


PS: To post images from Google drive, put
behind it. :)
 
Quiet said:
As a result, the Southard doesn't interest me at all. Being a big dude, a few ounces is irrelevant to me, though I understand why it might be a big deal for others.
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Thanks for bringing up the weight issue. If I were willing to clip a knife to my pants pocket and let the pants themselves carry the brunt of the weight, I could and would carry bigger, heavier folders. But I work in an office and it's simply not a good idea to advertise to my coworkers that I've got a knife on me, especially one large enough that they might interpret it as a "weapon". I don't own a single knife that's more important to me than keeping my job is. I also don't want to walk around the office all day long feeling as if I've got a brick in my pocket. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, stuck it in a holster and put it on my hip for that very reason. So I carry lightweight knives unclipped, deep in my pocket. And the Southard gives me more knife for the weight than practically any other knife I own.
 
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senorsquare said:
Here are a couple more side by sides:
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Thanks for the pics, senorsquare. The most impressive thing to me in looking at them is, given how similar they are in overall length, the Southard appears to have as much cutting edge as the 0801 and weighs nearly 2 ounces less than it does. IMO, there's something elegant about putting a lot of cutting power into a lightweight package.
 
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bld522 said:
Thanks for bringing up the weight issue. If I were willing to clip a knife to my pants pocket and let the pants themselves carry the brunt of the weight, I could and would carry bigger, heavier folders. But I work in an office and it's simply not a good idea to advertise to my coworkers that I've got a knife on me, especially one large enough that they might interpret it as a "weapon". I don't own a single knife that's more important to me than keeping my job is. I also don't want to walk around the office all day long feeling as if I've got a brick in my pocket. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, stuck it in a holster and put it on my hip for that very reason. So I carry lightweight knives unclipped, deep in my pocket. And the Southard gives me more knife for the weight than practically any other knife I own.
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Well, hey, if it works for you, that's all that matters. I am fortunate in that I'm able to wear nice jeans to work every day with a button-down. I'm in senior management, but we don't interface with customers, so I don't have to worry about it. Every day I have at LEAST the these items in my pockets:

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Most days, I carry the 0801 also*. So, I'm probably carrying a pound and a quarter or so of metal on me at any given time. Duponts are many things, "light" isn't one of 'em.

I'll also confess that if I'm wearing slacks for a meeting or whatever, I'll usually just carry a Spyderco Gayle Bradley in my strong pocket, and my Alox Cadet in my other pocket.






*I love carrying my Insingo, however I carry it in its pocket sheathe so it doesn't get messed up. Therefore I tend to carry another large folder for quick-deployment purposes.
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
If I was going to go for a Southard I would save another $200-ish more and buy the AVO Mid-tech from the man himself. The 0801 is just about the only way you can get anything of Todd Rexford's without spending at least a grand.
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I thought the avo wasn't available yet, is it? The avo looks like everything I wish the spyderco southard would have been!
 
ZT 0801 has a phenomenal flipper action so having flipped that the Southard's smooth action may be a little of a downer. However, Southard has many more pluses: lighter, narrower and a better steel. Some object to Southard's clip, brown G-10 and the lack of a steel lockbar insert for stickiness and wear. ZT 0801 is definitely noticeably heavier.

Right now, there's also the Black Southard which looks better and actually has a slightly snappier flipper action. For me it's easier to keep since I personally don't have to change out the ugly brown G-10.

Soon we'll have the ZT 0801BW which is going to look marvelous. They first coat it all in DLC and then stonewash it. We may also see the 0801BLK which is DLC all over without the stonewashing.

The ZT 0562 and 0562CF should be coming out fairly soon too. For the money 0562CF with CF and M390 at around $200-$240 will be tough to beat. The flipper action is not as snappy as 0801 but not a slouch like 0560 either.
 
Southard inbound. Perhaps I can add a ZT 0801 to the mix later. Thanks to everyone that gave their opinions and experiences.
 
RamZar said:
For the money 0562CF with CF and M390 at around $200-$240 will be tough to beat.
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At 5.5 ounces, the 0562CF will be too heavy for me to carry unclipped. But given that it has the potential to be the knife of the year if not of the decade, it may be impossible to resist.
 
I've handled neither, but prefer the design of the Southard. HOWEVER, if I were to buy one, it would be the 801. I prefer to buy US made items whenever I can. If they ever make a Southard in Golden, I'll be all over it in a heartbeat.
 
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