Suggestion for next production Native

T

thombrogan

Joined
Nov 16, 2002
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Could the next release of the standard production FRN Native Lightweight have a thinner blade? I'm not asking for a flat ground, G10 scales, M2HS steel, or anything like that, just a thinner blade. The FRN, Boye Dent lockback, and S30V steel are perfect. The hollow grind makes it a thing of beauty and wonder (not to mention easier to sharpen and cut with). I just think, especially with the S30V blade steel, that it'd be that much better at slicing and piercing if it were a little thinner.

Thanks for reading,

Thom
 
I agree...I just bought a new FRN PE Native with the S30V and a little thinner blade would certainly be a plus. Not that I don't love it now ( It's my fav. knife of those I own currently, and my EDC), but a thinner blade...like the delica's, would be nice.
-Kevin
 
Hi Thom. That would require a new habdle mold ($$$$) and I think it would make the blade a little weaker than the general market for this model prefers.

Interesting request though. first time in the 7 or 8 years that we've been making the model that we've had a request for a thinner blade..

sal
 
Wouldn't make a very good prybar :rolleyes: :D

It would be a beautiful slicer - I frequently carry a carbon-steel opinel, blade's maybe a hair over a sixteenth wide and it shines, especially if you have to go through the material, not just do superficial cuts. As it is, the much thicker Delica keeps up and then some. A spydie with a thin blade would be something to wax rhapsodic about.

Add this to the list of connoisseur suggestions that will never see production :) (unless Sal decides to take a long vacation, and give the keys to the forum crazies, myself included :D )
 
A Native with a thinner blade?

As long as Spyderco continues to make the Native in its present form I don't mind variants.
Just don't mess with perfection.

I need to get an S30V version.
 
Sal,

I see what you mean. Three of us want to pay $83.95 or less for something that would cost you so much more and one guy wouldn't mind buying a limited version of it, but not a thinner bladed production Native.

Are you sure I'm the first to ask you to make a thinner-bladed Spyderco Native? With that swedge on top, I think even you wanted it a little thinner. ;)

Ken,

The FRN PE Native with S30V is a beautiful thing. Buy one or beg your family and friends to buy you one.
 
If you haven't looked at the BRK Natives they would change your mind.The blade in them is thinner and it just doesn't work in the design.
 
Since we came this far, I'd like a Native without the swedge, just like the very first models.
 
I find this thread and many others like it to be interesting and enlightening. Everyone likes the Native so much that they have their own "pet ideas" for it. Some want G-10, Micarta, other colors of FRN, tip-up/tip-down carry, thinner blade, flat ground, other steels, etc. It is such a universal design with such broad appeal that it seems that once in a while, someone gets out their Native and says "This is such a nice knife. BUT, it would be just that much better if..." No other knife has seen this much thought put into it. Other popular ideas include a larger/smaller version of something, or maybe another slight variation, but the Native obsession is unique.

I'm not currently a Native owner, but I have owned and used 3 in recent years and loved them all. It just fell out of use when I got my Lil' Temp. However, I recommend them routinely to people who want "just a good little knife." It is nearly perfect for most people in most situations.
 
Yep, the Native "is all that."

Don't forget the MBC Native. :) Not too far out of an idea, since IIRC, both Keating and Janich like THEIR Natives...

I'll second u812's observation that the BRK Native's thinner blade is not very fitting. However, it's mainly the lower quality which may be getting in the way there.

How about the Spyderco "Folding Parer?" :) Put a real thin blade on that one!

I'm waiting for the Spyderco Forum 3D Native with the (grey/blue/?) FRN handle to come out. I want these to sell well so Sal can consider making the "Larger Native." Nope, haven't forgotten about that one! :D

Karl

My Natives:
GIN-1
CPM 440V
BF Blue G-10
AUS10 Stainless
AUS10 Stainless Glasshart Engraved
BRK "1st Gen"
 
Leroys_45,

Actually, the Benchmade 705 and Griptillian series get the same amount of "it's cool, but..." statements that the Native gets on this forum (maybe the Native overpowers them by the virtue of two Spyderco forums).

Safety Guy,

I thought that Native, by it's having an edge, point, and handle, was already an MBC knife.

u812,

I thought that the BRK's were poorly made, which would make the thickness or thinness of their blades a moot point.

Three against the world on a thinner production Native.

Okay, how about a Delica with an integral choil like the Native has?
 
Thom, I'm pretty sure that to earn the MBC title, a knife has to be certified to a certain lock strength, and I don't think the Native is classified as one.

I could be wrong, though. :)

Karl
 
My bad, Safety Guy. I was thinking that any knife is MBC acceptable if it could be used to help keep you alive when confronted with a dedicated, human attacker (or attackers) and/or be used to practice the skills used in martial arts and self-defense.
 
Yeah, you actually have a point there. ;)

Also, Janich and his students (I was one at his Grove City Ohio classes!) use "regular Spydies" for the Martial Blade Craft program as Delica and Endura trainers. So I suppose you could call the Endura and Delica MBC blades. I would think? :)

I really don't know. I thought they had to be part of the "MBC series," and I haven't heard of the Delica/Endura or Native being part of that series, which does include the Gunting, the Chinook, the Ayoob, the Ronin (of course), and I think, the new Dodo(?).

Hmmm. Maybe Sal or Carlos could clear this up...

Karl
 
I'd like to see a higher hollow grind on the Native.
Maybe do the VG-10 blades with the regular
hollow grind, which is quite good as it is, and do a higher hollow grind for the S30V blades.
 
Lots going pn here. Sorry for my lack of posts, I've been lurking as I can, but things are pretty busy here these days.

The Delica with a finger choil is called the Calypso jr.

Raising the grind line on the Native would take away the tip strength which is the result of the grinds meeting at the tip.

The BRK Native is something I guess I'll have to live with. I can say we won't do it again.

When we say MBC at this time, we are referring to the lock strength.
As mentioned, any "sharp pointy thing" can be used for self defense. However the "art form" of Martial Blade Craft requires moves like "passes" in reverse grip that in our opinion would be far safer with a folder if the lock was very strong and reliable. We like 200 Inch/lbs per inch of blade for that "stamp of approval" from Spyderco. We make Endura and Delica trainers which can be used for learning MBC or self defense, but they do not posses an MBC rated lock strength. As the demand increases for "trainer" models of MBC designs, we will add them.

Sorry for the confusion.

sal
 
Sal,

Thanks for clear-up on what Spyderco considers to be an MBC knife. Safety Guy mentioned the lock strength requirement, but I wasn't thinking in terms of Martial Blade Craft as the system you've developed with Mr. Janich, Mr. Keating, and others, but, in rather the more nebulous terms of surviving a dangerous situation and using whatever edged tool was available to do so. My bad.

Also, sorry that mentions of the Native BRK keeps resurfacing like a bad penny. On the plus side, those sorts of experiences are the foundation that good judgement rests upon.

Well, if the Calypso, Jr. comes back in some new form or if the Native Lightweight gets thinned out around the blade, please let me know.

-Thom
 
Hi Thom. It is my belief that MBC will eventually become an Olympic sport like judo & fencing. Michael Janich has already designed a suit that scores "hits" in different parts of the body.

The Calypso jr & Native are the same blade thickness.

sal
 
Please retain the full swedge in the MBC Native.

By MBC Native do we mean the long hoped-for large Native, aka the Native American, the Native Talent, and some even better names Karl has suggested?

I would buy an MBC Native in either size.

Karl has a nice collection of Natives, and a very relevant collection at that.
 
test
New avatar.I figured this would be the place to test it.
 
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