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spyderco?

M

meshmdz

Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
417
i have had the benchmade fever lately. i have 2 benchamde blades, one of which is my trusty 160 tetherknife that i carry with me daily around my neck.. however, i was thinking about getting another blade here soon and i was thinking about stepping into the syderco family.. i have heard that they are one step below benchmade but pretty much the same.. i think that was coming from a bench fan personally. however, i have decided on these blades.. which ones would you pick and why?


also, i was wanting some more info on the sydercos.. are they are tough as the bench line, and as reliable? here are my choices...


http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=221
black cara cara (this is funny b/c my girlfriends name is cara) haha

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=39
scorpius



please dont let the price on these 2 knives dictate your advice.. i know there are knives that dont cost as much that can be as good and reliable as knives that cost more. i like the scorpius because of the look of it and it was created to be an urban tactical knife, whatever that means. both are fine knives and there are a few others that i might end up getting... i know i can get the scropius for less than 80 bucks or there about. i am not spending more than 100 bucks so if ya have a good suggestion for me in the spyderco family, i am all ears. keep in mind, the main duty of this kinfe will be mainly for self defense. i have my benchmade 160 that i use for cutting and everyday chores.. this one will find its place on my person somewhere though. so any good suggestions for a defensive knife by spyderco for under 100 bucks? i know theres gotta be something good out there from spyderco for under 100 bucks. :rolleyes: :cool:
 
Well, of the two you've pointed out, I'd take the Scorpius. The reason is that while the Byrd line are good knives, I wouldn't judge the Spyderco brand based on them. The Scorpius is one of those knives that doesn't look all that comfortable until its in the hand. Nice ergos, and a wickedly thin blade.

Now, for defensive blades that weren't in your choices, but are still below the Benjamin mark, I'd say there are three leading contenders: the Adventura, the Kerambit (discontinued, and on closeout), and the Endura/Delica 4 w/wave.

The Adventura is a very thin knife, but packs a LOT of blade in the handle. It can be brought into the hands fast, as well as Spyder-droped for a flickable opening if needed. Its got SS construction for strength, good steel, and doesn't weigh a ton.

The Kerambit is one I'd suggest if you're into that kind of thing. Its a good blade that will work very well, and you could either modify it with a dremel or zip-tie it to get a wave-like action. It's on closeout as well, so it fits into your budget.

For a purely defensive folder, under $100 in the current lineup (as I personally believe the best defensive folder Spyderco ever made to be the now-long discontinued Massad Ayoob Clipit) I'd go for an Endura/Delica 4 w/wave feature. Which one would depend on your local laws, but this is perhaps the best deal in a defensive folder in its price range right now, period. It has an all-screw construction, few parts, metal liners, great steel, completely ambidextrous, and the wave feature. No more complaining about the chisel grind. Just a straight v-grind with a kick-butt wave already attached. It also has the distinction of being rather cheap out on the net.

That would be my advice to you, and I hope you're able to use it. Please let us know what it is you end up with!
 
jon, also, are sydercos as reliable as say benchmades... i know this may seem like a stupid question but i was just wanting to ask. once again, your response here is great and i thank you for it tenfold! i will make sure to get the endura or delica. i like those 2 the best and you say they are great for defense right... thanks again pal!
 
just different. to be honest i dont think they seem as tough or tactical but they are really. think of the benchmade 710. its just g10 slabs and a premium steel blade. spyderco look a bit childish to me but theyre not atall. its more down to the materials used in the knife, as theyre both using quality stuff and making it well. titanium is titanium and g10 g10 ans long as its made well and both companies are making kinves with these materials properly.

spyderco stuff is generally thinner and not so beefy. try a para military, go to new graham and get it cheap

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=SP81P

this is slighly more than what uyou said but they sell them elsewhere cheaper.
 
Spyderco knives are NOT one step below Benchmade!!! In my opinion they are better then Benchmade, in the fact that there is more consitant better quality in Spyderco knives. The Byrd line is Spyderco's cheaper priced knives. I do not own one, but I have heard good things about them.
 
Spyderco's aren't as beefy, eh? Then I guess you haven't seen the Military, the Manix, the Mini-Manix (which by the way on British Blades, have out cut a Strider & a Sebenza.) and there are many other beefy Spyderco's!! I feel that Spyderco knives ARE better than Benchmade.
 
The Scorpius is ugly as hell.
And the Cara Cara is made in China.
Why, that an easy choice you've put forward.
Take the Scorpius, dude!
 
TheKnifeCollector said:
Spyderco's aren't as beefy, eh? Then I guess you haven't seen the Military, the Manix, the Mini-Manix (which by the way on British Blades, have out cut a Strider & a Sebenza.) and there are many other beefy Spyderco's!! I feel that Spyderco knives ARE better than Benchmade.
Click to expand...

TKC I am going to have to agree with you for the most part. With the exception of BM's Gold Series. However the Gold Series really isn't much better performance wise it is just so cosmetically appealing that I know of no other production knife company who makes presentation grade knives as well as Benchmade does. If you want to be a show off I think the BM Gold Series beats any other company hands down.

But I, like yourself TKC buy most of my knives based on their performance capability and highly speciallized designs and types of knives that no one else makes commercially. I have carried 3 Benchmade knives as EDC knives for extended periods of time and they are great everyday pocketknives. However I find the steel to be much better heat treated from Spyderco than I do Benchmade's. As much as I adore all of my Benchmade Boguszewski Spikes I have to confess that they needed sharpening much more than my big Spyderco Dyad, Burgundy Calypso Jr ZDP-189 or plain edged Merlin has needed in the last 16 months I've been carrying them. So with that being said I have to give Spyderco the edge by quite a bit with the raw performance of the blade steel.

I am mainly a Spyderco collector/user but I do have a few Benchmades that I dearly adore and I can't gripe about their quality but from user standpoint. But from a collector standpoint I have never seen such a variety of unique and intricate designs as Spyderco has come up with in the last 10 years or so. With everything in question being equal with blade steel performance, corrosion resistance and speciallized cutting tools and overall selection I'll go with Spyderco. Now to be totally unbiased I do have to be fair and say that up till now I think Benchmade has made better built fixed blades than Spyderco has up till now but I do think that Spyderco is still relatively new in that arena and I got a feeling that is about to change dramatically. But overall I am on your side on this one. ;)
 
Yeah, I was thinking about the higher end Benchmade stuff after I wrote that. And you are correct. The only Benchmades I have now, are 2 RSK Mini-grips, and I LOVE them.There aren't too many benchmades that speak to me like Spyderco does.
 
I can't speak of MBC blades as I don't have any nor do I buy my knives for that purpose, but I do have a Scorpius and think it is a really good knife, far better than the Byrd line. I wouldn't even call anything form the Byrd line Spyderco. It would be in the same class as the Benchmade Red Line; good relative to the price, but still well below the main lines offered by either Spyderco or Benchmade. As to which company is better? Take your pick. I 've only had 3 Benchmades with one having a significant construction flaw in that they were recalled by BM to be repaired. I've had 25-30 Spydercos without any problems. Someone else could probably tell you just the opposite. I think Spyderco is more innovative in its designs and the owners listen to users more like a Custom maker than a large-scale manufacturer. Good luck.
 
Ditto from me. I bought an FRN/PE Delica and a BM Mini-Grip at about the same time. As of the last week or so, I'm up to 5 BM's (two are red class) but I have 20 or more Spydies (I have 4 Delica 4's:) and would really like to make it 5 with the ZDP one). Relatively immediate future, aside from the ZDP Delica will like be a couple of Endura 4's. I love Spyderco's innovation and utlity and that's one of the key drivers for me - there's always something new to try. My primary use BM's are Mini Griptillians and they probably get equal time to my Delica's - love 'em both the BM's and Spydies.

- gord
 
If you want a knife solely for self-defense, just buy a can of mace instead.
 
I think Spyderco has better blade designs for slicing and cutting, which should be a knife's #1 priority. I own more Spyderco knives than Benchmades, but I always EDC a Benchmade. While I feel I trade away some performance when it comes to slicing and dicing with something like a BM710, I gain one solid knife for it's size (g-10 slabs, dual steel liners), and the AXIS lock which allows for very fast opening and closing of the blade.

The one Spyderco that would come close to the features I'd like for an EDC would be the Para-Military with the compression lock. It's on my list of knives to pick up in the future. As well as a Manix. :) To many knives, not enough money.
 
WadeF said:
I think Spyderco has better blade designs for slicing and cutting, which should be a knife's #1 priority. I own more Spyderco knives than Benchmades, but I always EDC a Benchmade. While I feel I trade away some performance when it comes to slicing and dicing with something like a BM710, I gain one solid knife for it's size (g-10 slabs, dual steel liners), and the AXIS lock which allows for very fast opening and closing of the blade.
Click to expand...

How long have you had that 710 now?
 
Oh boy! Here comes the flaming! You have opened a can of worms now!

IMHO, the knife that works for you and feels good in your hand when cutting for an extended period is the one you want to get.

Both Benchmade and Spyderco make enough different models of knives that you should be able to finding something you like from either company. They are both knife companies that have been in business a long time and have cultivated a, can I say rabid, following because of the high quality of their products and their good customer service. There are many other knife companies just as good as these two.

The unique thing that I see with Spyderco knives is that they are one of the few knife companies that use's "VG-10" steel with radioactive Cobalt in it! Or some kind of Cobalt.

http://www.ajh-knives.com/metals.html



Benchmade is pretty much a US based company. Spyderco is US based but with a major relationship with the Seki Japan knife and steel makers.

Quality is very good for both although I think I have seen more info about the tips of Spydercos pointy models snapping off than I have with Benchmades. That could just be function of the number of knives each company sells and not a true reflection of their strenght.
 
i am trying to figure out what balde to get now.. i like the endure and the delica.. i think those would make great knives for EDC
 
You might not want to rule out the Spyderco Native from Wallmart. Its a lot of knife for the money. You get a good quality blade steel and a reasonable price too. I have 2 of those Natives and love them both. I would take a bit of care when picking you knife from the store. Look for even blade and blade play. I have both Benchmade and spyderco. Love them both. I don't think you can go wrong with one or the other. Spyderco is does make a quality knife.
 
meshmdz said:
jon, also, are sydercos as reliable as say benchmades... i know this may seem like a stupid question but i was just wanting to ask. once again, your response here is great and i thank you for it tenfold! i will make sure to get the endura or delica. i like those 2 the best and you say they are great for defense right... thanks again pal!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm really just trying to help out. I'd say Benchmades and Spydercos are about the same for durability and reliability. Yes, there's the BM Gold line, but you're NOT going to find a Gold line knife for under $100. Its just not going to happen. I had a 710, and while it was a nice knife, I just didn't think it worked well enough for my purposes.

From my standpoint, the thing about a defensive folder is that you have to be able to get the thing open. Under stress. There's nothing more intuitive than either the wave or an opening hole. The stud on the 710 isn't that big, and neither is the access to the Axis bar. Don't get me wrong, if it fits your hands and purposes the 710 is a superb utility knife. For a DEFENSIVE knife, however, you NEED (at least in my mind) to be able to get it open. Waving a knife is NOT that hard, and the wave design built into the Endura/Delica 4's is by most accounts even easier to use than the original EKI designs! Plus, with the wave having a more rounded shape to it your pockets won't be ripped up. Add ALL that to the fact that if you lose/break/ditch the knife you're only out about $50 for the Spyderco, but a lot more for the 710.

Bottom line, in case you just want to skip my other comments, is that for the money I'm not sure you can find a better defensive knife with all the features that the Spyderco Endura/Delica 4's are going to give you.

Hope I haven't muddied the waters TOO much, meshmdz. Good luck in your choice, and again let us know what you end up with!!

**ETA: I use the 710 as an example because a) it was already brought up here, and b) I see a LOT of people recommend it for defensive purposes. I'm not bashing the knife, and don't want to be seen as doing that. Its a fine knife, but not for the purposes meshmdz is looking for IMHO.
 
Hair said:
If you want a knife solely for self-defense, just buy a can of mace instead.
Click to expand...

You know, that's the strange thing about living in Massachusetts. I can carry a knife with almost no problems. It has great utility, and plausible deniability in the eyes of Law Enforcement here. OTOH, possession of mace in the state of Massachusetts without an FID card (and I believe a liscence to carry, though that part of it could be wrong as it depends upon whom you're talking to) is a felony here. Imagine, you could forever lose your right to carry a gun in the future here because of a $20 can of OC spray.

I like the idea of Mace, but why would I risk a felony if I could just carry a knife? The knife gives me a great tool which could be used for defense in an emergency, while the Mace gives me a possible felony and doesn't even make that great of a paperweight. Just something to keep in mind...
 
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