Spyders Best For Survival

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
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I just read a great book on Survival. It was John McCann's book on Building The Perfect Survival Kit. He made mention of 2 Spyders in that book and they were both ones I wouldn't have guessed in 10 years. The first one really floored me when he recommended the old Spydercard :eek: The other one didn't surprise me at all when he had nice things to say about the Endura. And I personally would recommend just about any of the Spyderco FRN handled blades.

I know there are a lot of you here that also frequent the Survival sub-forum here on BF as well as some of the other more popular survival websites. So which Spyders are you all going to depend on the most when faced with a serious situation of "survival"?

And I also want to know which fixed blades and Spyderco sharpening gear you are planning to use as well. Or any of Spyderco's other great products. And please explain why you made that selection.
 
I would figure the Endura would be a good one, although the Spydercard is a little shocking.

Personally, I would probably go with my Stretch II FRN VG-10 PE and my Endura IV SE. I've taken the Stretch on a camp trip and it worked really well, all the way from food prep to making skewers from sticks/twigs. My Military would be another that I would consider, although I would probably favor the Stretch.

Fixed blades would be an Aqua Salt PE and the Bushcraft. Aqua is nice because of H-1 steel, excellent ergonomics, and can sharpen up easily, works really well for food prep. Bushcraft is more obvious as to why I would take it(considering that is what the knife is designed for).

Canis
 
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CanisMajor said:
I would figure the Endura would be a good one, although the Spydercard is a little shocking.

Personally, I would probably go with my Stretch II FRN VG-10 PE and my Endura IV SE. I've taken the Stretch on a camp trip and it worked really well, all the way from food prep to making skewers from sticks/twigs. My Military would be another that I would consider, although I would probably favor the Stretch.

Fixed blades would be an Aqua Salt PE and the Bushcraft. Aqua is nice because of H-1 steel, excellent ergonomics, and can sharpen up easily, works really well for food prep.

Canis
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I just went back to re-read the one on the Spydercard. I think it's the compactness of the folder is what the author liked about it.

There is so much of the book that is really solid, well proven advice that I will surely give him the benefit of the doubt.

Also the book was written way before Spyderco became a hit with H-1 Blade Steel. H-1 to me is a survivalist's dream.

He did say that he preferred fixed blades to folder by a big margin. And for really brutal cutting jobs I have to agree with him.

The one thing that he said at the beginning of the knife chapter was that if he had just one tool he could pick of all tools to survive it would be a knife. That's just how important cutlery is in demanding situations.
 
I would think that a fixed blade hands down would be the choice for a survival situation. In a real survival situation one would need to make shelter, create fire, and food with a knife- wouldnt you agree that would be easier with lets say a hossom than an endura?? I would much prefer a big solid chunk of steel to rely on.
 
If I had to choose two Spydies, well... some might not agree with my choices, but here they are:

1) FRN Native

2) Medium to large Hawkbill - I.E., Tasman/Harpy/Merlin or the Spyderhawk.

The Native because it's a great all around user, plus it could also be made into a pretty good spearhead. Tie it to a good stout pole via the spydiehole and the lanyard hole, and you have a way to keep some critters a bit further away. Not sure how well it would do as an actual throwing spear, but the blade shape is right for it.

The Hawkbill because, well, it is such a super cutting blade. They are just too handy to NOT have one with you.

Just my thoughts, YMMV.
 
1 - BushcraftUK knife - Great ergos, easy to sharlen in the field with smallest of stones, compact, and a tough cutter and can take a batonning with the best of them. The knife can be tied to a fallen limb to act as a spear point and should be tough enough to do most jobs.

2 - Military SE - Tough and proven folder. Great steel, and ergos to boot. The SE can be used as an improvised saw. There is enough PE at the tip to go precision cutting done. There are 2 knives I would trust.
 
They say the knife you have with you is the best survival knife, and the FRN Enduras were light and very easy to carry for their size. Obviously since the Enduras came out, Spyderco has given us a lot of similar options.
 
I'd take a fixed blade too but it's said the best survival knife is the one you have on you so it would be the discontinued Manix for me. Easy to open and close with either hand. Relatively thick blade. One of the stronger locks that Spyderco offers; the amount of metal interfacing of the lockbar and blade tang seems to be more than double that of my Endura. Substantial fingerguard area to prevent slipping of the hand on the blade. Another Spyderco that sounds like it'd work for me isn't out yet: the Tuff.
A Spyderco/Victorinox hybrid Swiss Army Knife would be a dream; I'd have two cutting blades on it made from H-1, one plain, one serrated plus the assorted Victorinox tools.
 
well, let's see... for a WSHTF scenario I think I'd be well enough if I have these on me :cool:
DSCF0077-1.jpg


as for EDC, this is what I currently carry
DSCF0034.jpg
 
Dang brj.. I have that same kit.. the ladybug looks awesome in there. I have a Bencmade Benchmite2 in mine and it works out well, but i like that ladybug
 
I'd go with my Manix 2 for a folder.

In a fixed blade, the Bushcraft would have to be it. Not sure if any of the stainless fixed blades would stand up to continued batoning, so the Bushcraft would have to be it.

Would feel much better packing a Becker BK2 though. It's the fixed blade I keep in my day pack.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Dang brj.. I have that same kit.. the ladybug looks awesome in there. I have a Bencmade Benchmite2 in mine and it works out well, but i like that ladybug
Click to expand...

not a bad option either, but that Ladybug really looks like it belongs there, doesn't she? ;)
 
Duke05 said:
I'd take a fixed blade too but it's said the best survival knife is the one you have on you so it would be the discontinued Manix for me.
A Spyderco/Victorinox hybrid Swiss Army Knife would be a dream; I'd have two cutting blades on it made from H-1, one plain, one serrated plus the assorted Victorinox tools.
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Duke that's interesting that you would bring that up. Because I've thought many times about how interesting it would be for Spyderco & Victorinox to have some sort of a collaboration. Something like a "Swiss Army Spyder" would just be downright cool in my opinion. I own a few of Victorinox's blades and multitools and I will say that for the price they are hard to beat.

I do think that Spyderco's quality is far superior but I still think that a collaboration between the two of them would be very interesting indeed.

It would be most interesting to see a Spyderench hybrid of Spyderco and Victorinox :cool:
 
RevDevil said:
1 - BushcraftUK knife - Great ergos, easy to sharlen in the field with smallest of stones, compact, and a tough cutter and can take a batonning with the best of them. The knife can be tied to a fallen limb to act as a spear point and should be tough enough to do most jobs.

2 - Military SE - Tough and proven folder. Great steel, and ergos to boot. The SE can be used as an improvised saw. There is enough PE at the tip to go precision cutting done. There are 2 knives I would trust.
Click to expand...

Awesome combo. Almost exactly my thoughts except I perfer a PE miltary. For me it's eaiser to sharpen a plain edge.
 
We're not forgetting the Spyderench are we ?? I truly think that multi-tools are much overlooked in the entire survival format. The Spyderench is so unique in the line up of multitools.

One thing I really miss about the C-39 & C-44 Spyderco Dyad models is the versatility you get from a double bladed folder. It behooves me as to why they didn't really get a lot of attention from the survival sector in particular.

As for the gentleman with the Temp 2 and Military model>> It just don't get much better than those 2 models. Spyderco's fixed blades are supreme survival tools.
 
I have a Spydercard. I think I'd rather depend on my Dragonfly. Not as flat, but more compact overall, with a much more comfortable handle.

Also, I could never see myself going into the wild without one of my Enduras. The FFG with the FRN handle would probably be my first choice for hiking.

I also wouldn't want to see myself in a survival situation with just a folder, either. The Rock Salt would probably be a good choice for a non-folder.
 
JD Spydo said:
As for the gentleman with the Temp 2 and Military model>> It just don't get much better than those 2 models.
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my thoughts exactly

I have yet to find a task that my Temp II won't excel at, from food prep to making fuzz sticks, with an assortment of other chores inbetween :thumbup:

the Millie is, well, just a backup 4'' S90V blade that will cut and cut and cut ;)
 
I guess in a kit compact is what its all about. Compact gear to either supplement or temporarily assist in survival. In that case an Endura would be wise.

Smallest tool I would carry and trust is a Bushcraft. Never have been a folder guy.
 
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