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Spyderco Street Beat Review
Introduction
I received a Spyderco Street Beat fixed blade through a pass around here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/893426-Spyderco-Street-Beat-UKPK-LW-DP. The modified Bowie blade is ground from VG-10 stainless steel and the pinned handle scales are crafted from black Micarta. The MSRP on the Street Beat is $264.95 and our favorite online retailers sell it for about $170. The knife is made in Seki, Japan.
Fred Perrin
Parisian knife maker Fred Perrin designed the Street Beat. Perrin is famous for his La Griffe design and makes his own custom and mid-tech knives. He has also collaborated with Spyderco on other designs like the "PPT" and the namesake “Fred Perrrin,” a 5” bladed big brother to the Street Beat from 2003. The Spyderco Street Beat seems to take its inspiration from Perrin’s “Street Bowie,” as pictured here at www.edcknives.com
Size & Weight
The first thing you may notice about the Spyderco Street Beat is its weight. The knife weighs 3.2 ounces but the way it balances in the hand feels much heavier. The knife is slightly longer than 7 inches overall and the blade is just under 4 inches. It is 4mm thick.
Handle
The Street Beat handle is crafted from black Micarta with a attractive woodgrain-styled pattern. A lanyard hole is drilled at the butt end. (The lanyard you see in some of the pictures in an aftermarket add-on.) In contrast to its flat-handled folders, Spyderco produces its fixed blades with rounded, three-dimensional handles and the Street Beat is no exception. It curves and swells to the palm comfortably. My index finger slides right into the deep choil and the butt end rest against my palm in one of the most controlled cutting grips I have ever felt. Schrade trademarked the “Sharpfinger” name a while back, but I think it is an apt description of what it feels like holding the Street Beat. If not for the great ergonomics, however, I would be concerned about getting a good grip on the Street Beat. The Micarta texture is a little too slick and the handle is a little too small for larger hands.
Blade
The full tang and 4mm thick blade feels very strong - every bit the equal of the ESEE Izula and the like. The modified Bowie shape is flat ground to a keen straight edge from VG-10 stainless steel. VG-10 has earned a reputation as a great all-around steel: corrosion resistant, tough enough for utility use, and capable of taking and holding a keen edge. The Street Beat arrived shaving sharp, as is typical with a Spyderco knife.
The spine has jimping where your thumb rests and a pronounced finger guard ahead of the choil. There is the ubiquitous Spyderhole drilled toward the handle end of the blade. In use, the blade geometry makes for a good (but not great) slicer. My daughter made short work of the Jack-O-Lantern below, but I found myself looking for something thinner when I cut up an orange. The blade seems designed for penetration and general utility.
Sheath
The Street Beat comes with a pancake style black Boltaron sheath. Boltaron is a Kydex alternative. The manufacturer describes it as:
The sheath could be better built. The knife doesn’t fit tightly enough and rattles a bit. The repositionable G clip allows for right-hand or left-hand carry, but I would have liked to see it allow for horizontal or vertical carry, as well. A drainage hole is drilled toward the bottom.
Conclusions
The Street Beat is a great knife. It is well made, ergonomic, and carries very well. I clipped it inside my running shorts and hardly noticed the weight. The knife seems very overpriced, however, compared to sone of Spyderco's other offerings and that of competitors. I'll use it over the next few days and report back. In the meantime, I'd like to offer my thanks to Spyderco for making these knives available, to Frank K. for putting the pass-around together, and for BladeForums for giving us a place to make it happen.
To be continued...
Introduction
I received a Spyderco Street Beat fixed blade through a pass around here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/893426-Spyderco-Street-Beat-UKPK-LW-DP. The modified Bowie blade is ground from VG-10 stainless steel and the pinned handle scales are crafted from black Micarta. The MSRP on the Street Beat is $264.95 and our favorite online retailers sell it for about $170. The knife is made in Seki, Japan.
Fred Perrin
Parisian knife maker Fred Perrin designed the Street Beat. Perrin is famous for his La Griffe design and makes his own custom and mid-tech knives. He has also collaborated with Spyderco on other designs like the "PPT" and the namesake “Fred Perrrin,” a 5” bladed big brother to the Street Beat from 2003. The Spyderco Street Beat seems to take its inspiration from Perrin’s “Street Bowie,” as pictured here at www.edcknives.com
Size & Weight
The first thing you may notice about the Spyderco Street Beat is its weight. The knife weighs 3.2 ounces but the way it balances in the hand feels much heavier. The knife is slightly longer than 7 inches overall and the blade is just under 4 inches. It is 4mm thick.
Handle
The Street Beat handle is crafted from black Micarta with a attractive woodgrain-styled pattern. A lanyard hole is drilled at the butt end. (The lanyard you see in some of the pictures in an aftermarket add-on.) In contrast to its flat-handled folders, Spyderco produces its fixed blades with rounded, three-dimensional handles and the Street Beat is no exception. It curves and swells to the palm comfortably. My index finger slides right into the deep choil and the butt end rest against my palm in one of the most controlled cutting grips I have ever felt. Schrade trademarked the “Sharpfinger” name a while back, but I think it is an apt description of what it feels like holding the Street Beat. If not for the great ergonomics, however, I would be concerned about getting a good grip on the Street Beat. The Micarta texture is a little too slick and the handle is a little too small for larger hands.
Blade
The full tang and 4mm thick blade feels very strong - every bit the equal of the ESEE Izula and the like. The modified Bowie shape is flat ground to a keen straight edge from VG-10 stainless steel. VG-10 has earned a reputation as a great all-around steel: corrosion resistant, tough enough for utility use, and capable of taking and holding a keen edge. The Street Beat arrived shaving sharp, as is typical with a Spyderco knife.
The spine has jimping where your thumb rests and a pronounced finger guard ahead of the choil. There is the ubiquitous Spyderhole drilled toward the handle end of the blade. In use, the blade geometry makes for a good (but not great) slicer. My daughter made short work of the Jack-O-Lantern below, but I found myself looking for something thinner when I cut up an orange. The blade seems designed for penetration and general utility.
Sheath
The Street Beat comes with a pancake style black Boltaron sheath. Boltaron is a Kydex alternative. The manufacturer describes it as:
"...a proprietary, fire retardant, extruded Acrylic/PVC Alloy sheet. Boltaron 4330 offers a UL 94 V-0 rating and meets stringent FAA flammability requirements. Boltaron 4330 combines excellent impact strength, abrasion resistance, rigidity, chemical resistance with superior thermoform ability."
The sheath could be better built. The knife doesn’t fit tightly enough and rattles a bit. The repositionable G clip allows for right-hand or left-hand carry, but I would have liked to see it allow for horizontal or vertical carry, as well. A drainage hole is drilled toward the bottom.
Conclusions
The Street Beat is a great knife. It is well made, ergonomic, and carries very well. I clipped it inside my running shorts and hardly noticed the weight. The knife seems very overpriced, however, compared to sone of Spyderco's other offerings and that of competitors. I'll use it over the next few days and report back. In the meantime, I'd like to offer my thanks to Spyderco for making these knives available, to Frank K. for putting the pass-around together, and for BladeForums for giving us a place to make it happen.
To be continued...
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