Sypderco Hossom Forester ?

J

JeepinMatt

Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Messages
85
As a Spyderco fan myself, I feel that pretty much everything they put out is amazing. However, I gotta know more about the titled knife? It's awfully expensive and it uses some materials that I'm not an expert about by any means. The blade steel is new to me so I'm looking for some opinions on that too.

But overall, is this knife a collectors piece or a strong and true woods knife, or maybe both?? I'm really looking at this knife in terms of buying it, but I need to justify the price. For that price, there are A LOT of beautiful customs out there, and I also really want a Busse. So where does this leave me? :)

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I had one for about a year when they first came out. Beautiful and quality piece. Tough knife and cut like crazy. The N690 held up well. The only complaint I had was the design of the grip put a hurtin on my hand while chopping. I was offered a good trade for it or I would still have it. I would not hesitate to use as you would any other outdoors knife.
 
It should be nearly indestructible. Mine is the thickness of a quarter where the convex edge meets the flat of the blade. I have a couple of old bowies (Western and Case) the same length that will out-chop and out-slice the Forester, but neither would make as good a crowbar. Maybe I just don't "get it", but to me it is both a poor substitute for an ax and a poor substitute for a knife while trying to be both.
 
I dont like how the sheath holds onto the knife. Just a little bit of tension but no strap.
I have the smallest version, and now I think i wish I had the #3 size instead of #4, the extra thickness and length would have made it a more useful all around knife. The end of the handle can be a little sharp but plenty of space.
It is a beautiful knife, performs just fine but im thinking about selling or trading it.
 
Personally I love the shape and design. Haven't had a chance to handle one, but it's on my long list of Spyderco products to obtain at some point in the next five or so years. ;)
 
I owned all the sizes and ended up just keeping the smaller one. I felt it a good size for general camp (but I rarely due much chopping with my knives).

Very good construction. As has been mentioned the way the sheath holds the knife could be better - a custom Kydex sheath would fix this immediately.
 
I want one. This will replace the Cold Steel Laredo Bowie on my want list.
 
It seems like everyone enjoys or likes the knife, but for some reason isn't passionate about it. I'm not sure I can spend 400.00+ on this badboy. But thanks for the tips.
 
This is likely stating the obvious, but this is a CAMP knife. You're not going to be carrying this one to your local mall or grocery store. It's a big boy. One camp knife ...., like this one, with good steel ..., like this one, should last a lifetime unless you're beating on it 24/7 for years on end. It really is a high quality piece that, at least IMHO, would rival a similar effort in a custom piece from a maker. Produced by a maker ... same steel, all materials being the same, etc .. suspect the cost would be double.

To the above post, it can be had for around $250 plus shipping. Check some of the online stores like KC or NG. $250 and change is a very reasonable price for a knife like this. ... IMHO ..
 
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Razzierb said:
This is likely stating the obvious, but this is a CAMP knife. You're not going to be carrying this one to your local mall or grocery store. It's a big boy. One camp knife ...., like this one, with good steel ..., like this one, should last a lifetime unless you're beating on it 24/7 for years on end. It really is a high quality piece that, at least IMHO, would rival a similar effort in a custom piece from a maker. Produced by a maker ... same steel, all materials being the same, etc .. suspect the cost would be double.

To the above post, it can be had for around $250 plus shipping. Check some of the online stores like KC or NG. $250 and change is a very reasonable price for a knife like this. ... IMHO ..
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I don't plan on taking it with me for the daily run if thats what ya mean. :)

But yeah I'll give some online stores a look, hopefully I can find a Canadian seller. Buying knives from the states is getting tough these days. Sometimes they can get held up at customs for weeks...
 
At least you don't have to worry about it being confiscated as a "gravity knife". I snagged mine on eBay for under $200 US including shipping.

As for how the sheath holds, the handle scales have enough flare and the Kydex has enough tension to hold the knife pretty securely. I wouldn't hang it upside down while running and jumping, but the knife stays put when you invert the sheath.
 
I look at it as a cross between a hatchet and machete. It's fairly thin and light for it's size so it works well hacking at vegetation and other tasks where a quarter inch thick spine or thicker would make it more cumbersome to swing into objects with more give. It can chop, but not as well as a tool dedicated for it. I've found it useful.

Vivi said:
Today I got a chance to test out my new Spyderco Forester. Surprised I haven't seen much of anything posted about it. Very fun knife. Despite it's size it's still a little on the light side for a dedicated chopper. It worked well with lighter, quicker chops than with more powerful strokes. I found the edge slightly thick, making it not bite into the wood as well as it could, but on the positive side there wasn't any edge damage after a day of chopping the toughest seasoned wood I could find. Also did some batoning and prying. It's really fun going at it with this knife. The handle is very comfortable and a literal pleasure to use compared to other choppers I've used. Enough words, here are some photos:

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Overall I'm very pleased with the knife. Only negative things I have to say is I didn't find the default sheath setup 100% comfortable on my right hip because the handle kind of digs into my side, but I could deal with it. I'll play around with different carry positions tonight. Also after about 20 to 30 minutes of chopping the handle started to rattle some. No big deal as it tightened right up when I got home, but it made me realize that some philips screws would work better for me should that happen again in the field. My swiss army knife (Victorinox Locksmith) has flat head and philips but no torx built in. I'll probably use some loc tite on them. Great knife overall, it feels very capable in the hand. Not so much a dedicated hardwood chopper, but a great all around woods tool that can do a little bit of everything. Even has a comfortable grip in the choil for more precise tasks.
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