I picked up my Spyderco Tuff in August 2012. It has seen regular use since then.
My use for a heavy duty folder, which this certainly is, range from light EDC tasks to processing deer or clearing styles or scrub. Typically, I use a folder over a fixed blade if discretion and pocketability are required. Predominately this applies to clearing footpaths, styles and cycle tracks. A Rajah I performs these tasks superbly, but pushes the definition of "pocketable" to its limit!
I have intentionally used the Tuff for tasks more appropriate for a fixed blade, for the purpose of evaluation. However, I haven't batonned or pryed with it (not heavily, anyway.) No "destruction testing" has been performed.
Although the factory edge was satisfactory in use, when I came to sharpen it, I found the blade was so thick behind the edge near the tip that the 40deg stones on the Sharpmaker weren't even hitting the edge. I have fixed blades in CPM-3V and I knew that a folder didn't need that thickness in my hands. Accordingly, I carefully thinned the blade and reprofiled the edge. Initially a pure convex edge, later a 40deg microbevel:
Much has been said about the stiffness of the lock and the sharpness of the spydie hole. Personally, neither of these bothered me. I found the knife was OK to deploy and close, both with and without gloves:
Ergonomics:
Some users have found the offset between the choil and thumb-ramp uncomfortable. I find the knife lends itself to three primary grips (so long as a suitable lanyard knot is used...)
Forward grip: the choil works best with a thumb on the spine of the blade, rather than the thumb ramp:
Power grip: the thumb ramp is actually better positioned for this grip, if you want some extra feel or control in a power grip:
Reach grip: I have a chunky lanyard knot which facilitates this grip, which I use with caution for lopping soft/green vegetation (brambles etc.) at full stretch:
Usage:
So, during the summer and autumn months, the knife has been used primarily on foliage related tasks:
Clearing overgrown styles:
The odd bushcrafty task:
This is at the thickest end of the spectrum of media cut:
More typical substrate:
One tough test was 2 days solid hacking, clearing the garden and land of a house that was somewhat neglected; This is the spoil!
Young and old were pressed into service:
The stiffest test was hacking through an enormous patch of brambles that had grown up from bricks and through discarded metal grilles:
Cut a path to get into the brambles:
Then set to work at the base of the stems, trying to avoid the bricks and metal grilles:
Inevitably, the edge clipped some metal and brick. This was the only visible damage:
These tasks also generate plenty of body heat, this pic demonstrates condensed sweat on the blade. No corrosion issues with minimal care so far:
Although the knife is by no means a carver, I did use it for most of the roughing out and shaping of a ladle. This is a good test for hot-spots. Folders typically don't do well in this area (which is why I would normally use an axe, saw and fixed-blade). The Tuff did not disgrace itself, being comparable to most folders with squarish edges.
Continued in Part 2…
My use for a heavy duty folder, which this certainly is, range from light EDC tasks to processing deer or clearing styles or scrub. Typically, I use a folder over a fixed blade if discretion and pocketability are required. Predominately this applies to clearing footpaths, styles and cycle tracks. A Rajah I performs these tasks superbly, but pushes the definition of "pocketable" to its limit!
I have intentionally used the Tuff for tasks more appropriate for a fixed blade, for the purpose of evaluation. However, I haven't batonned or pryed with it (not heavily, anyway.) No "destruction testing" has been performed.
Although the factory edge was satisfactory in use, when I came to sharpen it, I found the blade was so thick behind the edge near the tip that the 40deg stones on the Sharpmaker weren't even hitting the edge. I have fixed blades in CPM-3V and I knew that a folder didn't need that thickness in my hands. Accordingly, I carefully thinned the blade and reprofiled the edge. Initially a pure convex edge, later a 40deg microbevel:
Much has been said about the stiffness of the lock and the sharpness of the spydie hole. Personally, neither of these bothered me. I found the knife was OK to deploy and close, both with and without gloves:
Ergonomics:
Some users have found the offset between the choil and thumb-ramp uncomfortable. I find the knife lends itself to three primary grips (so long as a suitable lanyard knot is used...)
Forward grip: the choil works best with a thumb on the spine of the blade, rather than the thumb ramp:
Power grip: the thumb ramp is actually better positioned for this grip, if you want some extra feel or control in a power grip:
Reach grip: I have a chunky lanyard knot which facilitates this grip, which I use with caution for lopping soft/green vegetation (brambles etc.) at full stretch:
Usage:
So, during the summer and autumn months, the knife has been used primarily on foliage related tasks:
Clearing overgrown styles:
The odd bushcrafty task:
This is at the thickest end of the spectrum of media cut:
More typical substrate:
One tough test was 2 days solid hacking, clearing the garden and land of a house that was somewhat neglected; This is the spoil!
Young and old were pressed into service:
The stiffest test was hacking through an enormous patch of brambles that had grown up from bricks and through discarded metal grilles:
Cut a path to get into the brambles:
Then set to work at the base of the stems, trying to avoid the bricks and metal grilles:
Inevitably, the edge clipped some metal and brick. This was the only visible damage:
These tasks also generate plenty of body heat, this pic demonstrates condensed sweat on the blade. No corrosion issues with minimal care so far:
Although the knife is by no means a carver, I did use it for most of the roughing out and shaping of a ladle. This is a good test for hot-spots. Folders typically don't do well in this area (which is why I would normally use an axe, saw and fixed-blade). The Tuff did not disgrace itself, being comparable to most folders with squarish edges.
Continued in Part 2…
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