Recommendation? Spyderco Watu Owners Input Needed

S

SixtyLion

Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
358
Hey guys,

Hopefully you and your families are healthy and safe. I would really like to get some input from Spyderco Watu owners. I really like this knife and planning getting one later but there is one thing that bothers me. On several photos of closed Spyderco Watu you can see that tiny portion of the blade sticking out through the compression lock cut. So my question is does you finger come into the contact with sharpened portioned of the closed blade? Thank you very and stay safe out there!!!
 
I have this knife and so far I love it. I never could come around to the TRM Atom/Neutron's ergos, but miss those slim slicey blades. This knife and the WE Kitefin have found their way into my collection and bring a similar level of performance to the table for a fair bit less than what you'll pay for a TRM. The Watu is finished excellently, as are most Taichung Spydercos -- it was centered with solid lockup, and a drop shut action right out of the box. Spyderco has been missing for me a little recently, with higher prices and not many things that have really wow'ed me. The Watu is well done, in premium steel, with a performance-oriented blade for a pretty competitive price. Very happy with this knife.

As far as the compression lock -- I've noticed this too, but I can't get the sharpened portion of the blade to contact my finger except when using a ton of force and my pinky finger (even then, I can hardly touch the edge, and can't cut myself). I do feel the unsharpened finger choil as the knife closes, but I haven't come anywhere near cutting myself.
 
BenjaminRush,

Many thank for such prompt and helpful response!!! I agree with you on TRM Atom, I had one it was a great slicer, poor ergos! Though TRM customer support was phenomenal! As for Spyderco knives you got it spot on, I really like their knives but they are stagnating a little bit. Once again thank you for your help and stay safe out there!!!
 
Hi OP, my experience with the Watu is everything BenjaminRush said above. The Watu is fantastic. In regards to your comments about Spyderco stagnating a little bit... Can you explain that to me? I'm curious about your thoughts on how they can improve. Do you think they need to change up some of their base steels or perhaps shift focus onto different designs?
 
I'll echo what the previous posters have written. Love my Chokwe, and the Watu is an improvement in almost every way. Certainly much more EDC friendly due to the pocket clip alone.

As far as the touching the blade while closed, you can certainly touch the unsharpened portion, but I don't worry about hitting the sharpened part at all.
 
Just here to repeat what everyone else has said. The Watu is excellent. Great little slicey blade and no my finger doesn't hit when closing.
 
+1 here - sleeper hit of the year so far, IMO.

I cannot touch the sharpened portion when closed. The nub of the finger choil will hit your finger when closing, but it doesn't seem to bother me here as much as it did on the Shaman - maybe cause the blade is lighter, so less momentum when it swings shut?

I gotta say, though, kudos to the Taichung factory for the work they did on this one. I had a problem with some of their previous models where, if they weren't stonewashed, then a lot of the corners on the blade would end up extremely sharp - the jimping on my first Smock was downright painful. Here, they chamfered all the edges without stonewashing - the Spydiehole has a nice, smooth chamfer running all the way around on both side, and even the part of the lockbar you press to unlock the blade has a nice big chamfer ground in. Very well done!

I just wish it had some light jimping on the thumbramp of the blade, the same as it does have on the finger choil - only thing that would make it better.
 
Mine is enroute...I actually got a 15% off code from a non sponsoring dealer so it was like $155 shipped!
 
Spydergirl88 said:
Hi OP, my experience with the Watu is everything BenjaminRush said above. The Watu is fantastic. In regards to your comments about Spyderco stagnating a little bit... Can you explain that to me? I'm curious about your thoughts on how they can improve. Do you think they need to change up some of their base steels or perhaps shift focus onto different designs?
Click to expand...
Hello there,
Thank you very much for your input! To answer your question about stagnate. I like Spyderco knives a lot and over the years they always performed great. Almost every year I eagerly waited for the Shot Show to see the new products from Spyderco and they constantly delivered the “magic”. Fast forward to 2020 Shot Show, I was a little bit disappointed with the upcoming line-up and the sprint run model Bombshell model missed the mark for me. Maybe they stagnate, maybe my taste went in different direction, or maybe I am just being spoiled :)
As for improvements, it is really hard to tell especially given the situation with global virus outbreak.
I think Watu will bring some of the “magic” back and upcoming Spy Opera is on my to buy list.
I hope this answer your question, my apologies for long rant. Best wishes and safe out there!!!!
 
SixtyLion said:
Hello there,
Thank you very much for your input! To answer your question about stagnate. I like Spyderco knives a lot and over the years they always performed great. Almost every year I eagerly waited for the Shot Show to see the new products from Spyderco and they constantly delivered the “magic”. Fast forward to 2020 Shot Show, I was a little bit disappointed with the upcoming line-up and the sprint run model Bombshell model missed the mark for me. Maybe they stagnate, maybe my taste went in different direction, or maybe I am just being spoiled :)
As for improvements, it is really hard to tell especially given the situation with global virus outbreak.
I think Watu will bring some of the “magic” back and upcoming Spy Opera is on my to buy list.
I hope this answer your question, my apologies for long rant. Best wishes and safe out there!!!!
Click to expand...
I totally understand what you mean. Best wishes to you as well!
 
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