- Joined
- Dec 27, 2004
- Messages
- 1,500
Introduction
The Temperance was one of Spyderco's first attempts at the fixed-blade knife. (The first two were versions of a Bob Moran design.) It bears a strong resemblance to the more recent Manix, which I reviewed earlier; since the Manix impressed me greatly, when I saw a passaround of the Temperance (a "twofer" with the Lil' Temperance; see my review elsewhere), I jumped at the chance to try out it's fixed-blade cousin.
The fixed-blade Temperance and its folding complement, the Lil' Temperance, were both released in 2001; they were apparently intended to complement each other, although outside of the leaf-shaped, flat-gound blades, they have little in common.
(Top to bottom: Spyderco Endura, Spyderco Temperance, Spyderco Lil' Temperance, Spyderco Delica.)
First Impressions
The knife was a bit bigger than I expected, about ¾" longer than the Manix. The handle has similar lines to the Manix, but extrapolated into the third dimension as well: it flares wider at the guard and at the pommel to aid retention, and has a nice palm swell on both sides with large dimples for extra grip, along with a deep finger choil and pinky hook.
The blade is like a bigger version of the one on the Manix: 4½" of full-flat-ground, leaf-shaped VG-10 steel, with a large, serrated thumb ramp for extra control.
A Closer Look
Length: 9.6" (244mm)
Blade Length: 4.4" (113mm)
Edge Length: 4.1" (105mm)
Weight: 5.4 oz. (150g)
Handle Material: FRN (Fiber-Reinforced Nylon)
Blade Material: VG-10
(Top to bottom: Cold Steel SRK, Spyderco Temperance, Benchmade 140 Nimravus.)
(Top to bottom: Cold Steel SRK, Spyderco Temperance, Benchmade 140 Nimravus.)
The Temperance comes with a nicely-made Kydex sheath, with a Blade-Tech "Tek-Lok" for attachment. The Tek-Lok is adjustable to a variety of positions, to accomodate attachment to a belt, inside or outside the waistband, horizontal or vertical, even upside-down. Retention is fairly positive, but I'm not sure I would trust it for upside-down carry, since there's no other retention mechanism other than friction. Re-sheathing the Temperance is easy, with the wide mouth of the sheath offering a large target for the tip. The sheath is hardly wider than the Tek-Lok, which is mounted just under the handle swell, so it carries very close to the body with the front edge of the handle down close to the belt.
The handle shape is highly ergonomic, although a bit long for my hands. Every curve seems to fit the hand perfectly, and it feels comfortable in every grip I tried. One unique feature: the pommel has a wide groove for the thumb when used in a reverse grip. The balance point is just behind the finger choil, making it feel very light in the blade.
However, the handle material leaves something to be desired. Although it's textured, the solid FRN is hard, and even in dry hands, feels slick. Throw in some sweat, oil, fat or other fluid, and things get really dicey. One of the newer hard-rubber-like polymers would be an vast improvement; heck, just a more aggressive texture would help.
The blade is simple and sweet, a real cutting machine. I'm a big fan of full-flat-ground blades, such as found on the Manix or Calypso Jr.; this one is just a bigger version of the same. My only complaint: it's too high, relative to the handle. The large thumb ramp is nice, but since the edge is so much higher than the lower guard, it's hard to put much of the blade to use on a flat surface, such as in food prep on a cutting board. If it were up to me, the blade would be about a quarter inch lower, with a less extreme thumb ramp up top, but more blade useable down by the guard. While I was at it, I'd add a choil forward of the guard, to allow "choking up" for detail work, like on the Manix.
In Use
Here in the People's Republic of New Jersey, EDCing a four-and-a-half-inch fixed blade would be a great way to end up in the pokey. So much for wearing it to my corporate job. But, I did try wearing the Temperance around the house in the evenings. It's very light on the belt, and I often forgot it was there. Drawing and re-sheathing were simple and intuitive.
Like the Manix, the Temperance's similar-ground blade cuts very, very well. In the kitchen, I had a hard time using more than half the blade, as mentioned above, but overall it worked well on foodstuffs of all sorts. On thick cardboard, it tended to bind up a bit, again like the Manix, due to the thickness of the blade.
Conclusion
I was interested in the Manix as a camp knife, but I'm not sure if it's sturdy enough for that. The tang is hidden, so I can't tell how strong it is, or how the tang transitions to the blade; and the leaf-shaped blade makes for a fairly thin tip, possibly too thin for batoning. And the balance is too far back for chopping.
So, what is it good for? Well, in those jurisdictions that still acknowledge our right to self-defense, the Temperance would make an excellent EDC. The grip seems well designed for martial bladecraft, and the excellent sheath system and light weight make it easy and comfortable to carry.
Pros: Exceedingly comfortable handle ergonomics, practical and sturdy blade, light weight, good steel, comfortable and flexible carry options.
Cons: Handle not very grippy, no forward choil, guard interferes with some cutting tasks, a bit light for camp use.
The Temperance was one of Spyderco's first attempts at the fixed-blade knife. (The first two were versions of a Bob Moran design.) It bears a strong resemblance to the more recent Manix, which I reviewed earlier; since the Manix impressed me greatly, when I saw a passaround of the Temperance (a "twofer" with the Lil' Temperance; see my review elsewhere), I jumped at the chance to try out it's fixed-blade cousin.
The fixed-blade Temperance and its folding complement, the Lil' Temperance, were both released in 2001; they were apparently intended to complement each other, although outside of the leaf-shaped, flat-gound blades, they have little in common.
(Top to bottom: Spyderco Endura, Spyderco Temperance, Spyderco Lil' Temperance, Spyderco Delica.)
First Impressions
The knife was a bit bigger than I expected, about ¾" longer than the Manix. The handle has similar lines to the Manix, but extrapolated into the third dimension as well: it flares wider at the guard and at the pommel to aid retention, and has a nice palm swell on both sides with large dimples for extra grip, along with a deep finger choil and pinky hook.
The blade is like a bigger version of the one on the Manix: 4½" of full-flat-ground, leaf-shaped VG-10 steel, with a large, serrated thumb ramp for extra control.
A Closer Look
Length: 9.6" (244mm)
Blade Length: 4.4" (113mm)
Edge Length: 4.1" (105mm)
Weight: 5.4 oz. (150g)
Handle Material: FRN (Fiber-Reinforced Nylon)
Blade Material: VG-10
(Top to bottom: Cold Steel SRK, Spyderco Temperance, Benchmade 140 Nimravus.)
(Top to bottom: Cold Steel SRK, Spyderco Temperance, Benchmade 140 Nimravus.)
The Temperance comes with a nicely-made Kydex sheath, with a Blade-Tech "Tek-Lok" for attachment. The Tek-Lok is adjustable to a variety of positions, to accomodate attachment to a belt, inside or outside the waistband, horizontal or vertical, even upside-down. Retention is fairly positive, but I'm not sure I would trust it for upside-down carry, since there's no other retention mechanism other than friction. Re-sheathing the Temperance is easy, with the wide mouth of the sheath offering a large target for the tip. The sheath is hardly wider than the Tek-Lok, which is mounted just under the handle swell, so it carries very close to the body with the front edge of the handle down close to the belt.
The handle shape is highly ergonomic, although a bit long for my hands. Every curve seems to fit the hand perfectly, and it feels comfortable in every grip I tried. One unique feature: the pommel has a wide groove for the thumb when used in a reverse grip. The balance point is just behind the finger choil, making it feel very light in the blade.
However, the handle material leaves something to be desired. Although it's textured, the solid FRN is hard, and even in dry hands, feels slick. Throw in some sweat, oil, fat or other fluid, and things get really dicey. One of the newer hard-rubber-like polymers would be an vast improvement; heck, just a more aggressive texture would help.
The blade is simple and sweet, a real cutting machine. I'm a big fan of full-flat-ground blades, such as found on the Manix or Calypso Jr.; this one is just a bigger version of the same. My only complaint: it's too high, relative to the handle. The large thumb ramp is nice, but since the edge is so much higher than the lower guard, it's hard to put much of the blade to use on a flat surface, such as in food prep on a cutting board. If it were up to me, the blade would be about a quarter inch lower, with a less extreme thumb ramp up top, but more blade useable down by the guard. While I was at it, I'd add a choil forward of the guard, to allow "choking up" for detail work, like on the Manix.
In Use
Here in the People's Republic of New Jersey, EDCing a four-and-a-half-inch fixed blade would be a great way to end up in the pokey. So much for wearing it to my corporate job. But, I did try wearing the Temperance around the house in the evenings. It's very light on the belt, and I often forgot it was there. Drawing and re-sheathing were simple and intuitive.
Like the Manix, the Temperance's similar-ground blade cuts very, very well. In the kitchen, I had a hard time using more than half the blade, as mentioned above, but overall it worked well on foodstuffs of all sorts. On thick cardboard, it tended to bind up a bit, again like the Manix, due to the thickness of the blade.
Conclusion
I was interested in the Manix as a camp knife, but I'm not sure if it's sturdy enough for that. The tang is hidden, so I can't tell how strong it is, or how the tang transitions to the blade; and the leaf-shaped blade makes for a fairly thin tip, possibly too thin for batoning. And the balance is too far back for chopping.
So, what is it good for? Well, in those jurisdictions that still acknowledge our right to self-defense, the Temperance would make an excellent EDC. The grip seems well designed for martial bladecraft, and the excellent sheath system and light weight make it easy and comfortable to carry.
Pros: Exceedingly comfortable handle ergonomics, practical and sturdy blade, light weight, good steel, comfortable and flexible carry options.
Cons: Handle not very grippy, no forward choil, guard interferes with some cutting tasks, a bit light for camp use.