Spyderco Steel Handled Knives

David Mary

David Mary

pass the mustard - after you cut it
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I always figured, naw, they'd be too slippery for my liking. That was my only reason. Been quite a while since I tought about them but for some reason they entered my mind again recently, and I realized there are a number of ways I could add grip to them in my shop. So I've been thinking to make a post in the WTT section, but before I do, I thought I would ask those of you who have owned, or do own steel handled Spydercos like the Police especially, how do you like it as a user. I have always liked being able to take my scales off for maintenance or just the ability able to adjust pivot tension. Do you find the construction to be a liability in this regard? Thanks!
 
My friend Ian has an old stainless handle Spyderco Police he got from me.
He has used the hell out of that thing. Pivot loosened, put it between two boards and give it a whack, and go to keep going.
One of his favourite utility knives.

I have one as well, and when it got dirty I'd just wash it with hot soapy water, then dry it out good.
 
My first Spyderco was a steel handled Delica. It got used hard, everything from farm work to cleaning wild game. To me, the handle was never a problem. A little more grip/texture would be fine compared to that Delica but I'm also not a huge fan of highly shaped and textured handles, generally.
 
I carried a first gen. Police for many years . My first "tactical " folder , IIRC .

To help make the smooth stainless less slippery , I took an electric engraving tool , and just made random swirly patterns all over the handle .

Wasn't very beautiful , but it worked ! ;)

If you want a very grippy handle , as it comes , try a Spyderco XL Manix 2 . Jimping galore ! :p
 
Some years ago I saw some old Police models I didn't recognize. I didn't recognize them because their prior owner had put truck bed liner on the scales. I thought it a neat solution to the grip issue, but not enough to buy one myself, because I find the all-steel Spydies too heavy for comfortable carry.
 
I have had 2 stainless handled police knives. I carried the first one for 5-6? Years solid. I wish I still had one. Currently I have a stainless delica that doesn't see a lot of pocket time. No issues had with any of them
 
I have a stainless Endura as part of the rotation. I foolishly bought it with the intent of adding a Signet Ring without thinking about the construction. (My father and I had some of the original models back in the 90s, but we never handled any of the stainless, just drooled over magazine ads.) After a fiery two seconds of regret, I realized I still had a saber grind, smooth lock (which I have learned can be swung shut one-handed with proper technique), and handle ergonomics good enough to render the smoothness dilemma largely irrelevant. I carry it probably once a week for the last two years and have cut whatever I needed to (up to and including hard rubber gaskets in muddy conditions) with zero issues. Yes, it is heavy. Yes, you are pretty much stuck with the action as presented. I would speculate that, as the poster above states, it is possible for the pivot to loosen under the right conditions over time (these conditions might have to be a Lynn Thompsonian parade of meat-filled boots, cinderblocks, and Chevy hoods...).
Still a great knife.
 
Much as I appreciate solid all-metal construction -- my Sebbie 21, for instance -- knife designs that combine very tough composites like FRN and G10, with metal inserts where appropriate, are just as sturdy, lighter, and less expensive.
 
I have a screwed togther construction SS Police, and along with all my other police models I love it. I love the length and thinness… but it’s much thinner than any other Police and that combined with the SS handles it’s too thin and slick for me to use at work as an electrician. But like you, I’ve been thinking of modding it to make it more usable. I’ll probably make a G10 show side scale that is also thicker. That way I can keep the SS look in tact on the clip side (the clip helps with grip) and show side can be some other material or even an overlay of something that gives better purchase. It’s really an awesome and solid piece and I really want to make it more a part of my daily carry.
 
David Mary said:
I always figured, naw, they'd be too slippery for my liking. That was my only reason. Been quite a while since I tought about them but for some reason they entered my mind again recently, and I realized there are a number of ways I could add grip to them in my shop. So I've been thinking to make a post in the WTT section, but before I do, I thought I would ask those of you who have owned, or do own steel handled Spydercos like the Police especially, how do you like it as a user. I have always liked being able to take my scales off for maintenance or just the ability able to adjust pivot tension. Do you find the construction to be a liability in this regard? Thanks!
Click to expand...
I carried a Spyderco police in all metal back in the day, the only issue I had with it was the weight and the strange ability to push the knife inside the handle while it was closed and it would shift, but I was more intrigued by it than anything else and would find myself doing it while it was clipped as sort of a fidget release kind of thing. Anyway it was super solid, shine like a diamond at sea during the peak summer months in the sun and definitely was an eye turner, some good some bad went with that. I feel if they made some holes in the handle to cut down on the ounces it would be better, no other complaints, never had grip issues either
 
I had a Navigator II some years ago, great little knife. I like the warm smooth river stone feeling when you pull it out of your pocket. Easy to polish and maintain too. Only drawback is the pinned construction and the weight in my opinion.
 
Just started carrying this S/S Gen 2 Police a couple of days ago.

I prefer the old-school no holes only 1 way clip look & I have no problem hanging on to it.

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I've got a pinned Endura 4 in stainless steel. The handles are a little slick but not as bad as I expected. I choose to rely heavily on the thumb ramp jimping for traction and it's all good!
 
I should say that for me, gripping the knife in the open position is not as much of an issue. But opening and closing I find it to be slick and I can easily fumble
 
DocJD said:
To help make the smooth stainless less slippery , I took an electric engraving tool , and just made random swirly patterns all over the handle .

Wasn't very beautiful , but it worked ! ;)
Click to expand...

I have one of those cheap battery operated engravers that I bought on a whim thinking it would come in handy. I haven't thought of a single use for it yet. You just gave me an idea. Maybe I'll try engraving a grip pattern on the plastic scales one of my EDC Swiss army knives. :p

David Mary said:
I always figured, naw, they'd be too slippery for my liking. That was my only reason. Been quite a while since I tought about them but for some reason they entered my mind again recently, and I realized there are a number of ways I could add grip to them in my shop. So I've been thinking to make a post in the WTT section, but before I do, I thought I would ask those of you who have owned, or do own steel handled Spydercos like the Police especially, how do you like it as a user. I have always liked being able to take my scales off for maintenance or just the ability able to adjust pivot tension. Do you find the construction to be a liability in this regard? Thanks!
Click to expand...
DrubieG__MimicKnives said:
I have a screwed togther construction SS Police, and along with all my other police models I love it. I love the length and thinness… but it’s much thinner than any other Police and that combined with the SS handles it’s too thin and slick for me to use at work as an electrician. But like you, I’ve been thinking of modding it to make it more usable. I’ll probably make a G10 show side scale that is also thicker. That way I can keep the SS look in tact on the clip side (the clip helps with grip) and show side can be some other material or even an overlay of something that gives better purchase. It’s really an awesome and solid piece and I really want to make it more a part of my daily carry.
Click to expand...

I was at the auto parts store recently and I saw a roll of anti-slip grip tape for putting on things like ramps and truck beds, and I thought "this would be perfect for adding to the metal handles of a multitool". I didn't buy it though, so I can't tell you how suitable it is for that. It's black and it has a uniform bumpy pattern and looks like it might have a sort of rubbery feel to it.
 
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I used to have a stainless handle Delica 2. It's not my favorite handle material since it's relatively heavy and slick, but it does slide in and out of the pocket easily and keeps the knife slim. I'd say if you get one, it would make more sense to appreciate it for what it is rather than try to make feel like a different material. It's a good choice to carry with something like dress pants, where a grippy texture even on the show side of the knife will cause visible pilling on the fabric.
 
Guy McVer said:
I have one of those cheap battery operated engravers that I bought on a whim thinking it would come in handy. I haven't thought of a single use for it yet. You just gave me an idea. Maybe I'll try engraving a grip pattern on the plastic scales one of my EDC Swiss army knives. :p
Click to expand...

This turned out not to be effective. It just made the scales feel scratchy and it didn't provide any additional grip. Thankfully I had the good sense to try it on some scrap scales first, so I didn't ruin the ones on my EDC.
 
I dug out my old Police just to photograph it for this thread. It was at the bottom of a box, in the back of my storage room, at the bottom most basement of my house. I bought it in 1984 or 1985. Nearly sliced my hand open while trying to cut through double corrugated cardboard, the heavy type used to pack refrigerators. Thing is too damn slippery for push-pull type cut. Absence of jimping, absence of handle texture and lack of handle egos to lock in my hand all played a factor. My hands get very dry so that was part of the problem too. After posting this I'm tossing the hand slicer back into the box and shoving the box back into the bottom of my basement. Later iterations with textured G-10 scales and jimping were much better.
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