Temperance 2 Life & Times

LostViking

LostViking

Joined
Jan 1, 2009
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Living with the Temperance 2.

I have been getting acquainted with my Temperance 2. It's starting to grow on me.

So, I thought I would jot down my thoughts, likes and dislikes about the knife and sheaths. Add in a few photos when I can and try to give some of my experiences with the knife to others, who like me may seek them out.

Reason being, I had asked for some info on the Temperance 2 a while back. In truth, I didn't get much response. Maybe most folks are just out there using them and aren't computer guys. Good on them!

I guess you could call it a review. But it won't be like most. Think of it more like a documentary mated to a sit-com, with some caffeine and alcohol mixed in. I don't take myself too seriously. So my ramblings here will follow a similar path.

First the back story. I got on a bit of a Spyderco kick a few years back. I grabbed a used Bushcraft off the For sale section. I liked it so I bought the Temperance 2. I liked it well enough. But it never got put into my rotation. It sat around in the draw for a few years.

Fast forward to this spring. New plan, never wanted to be a knife collector. New policy, "Use it or Lose it" Basically meaning, if it's sitting around. Get it into some else's hands so they can use it. Then use the cash to get a knife I will use, or for stupid stuff like heating oil or electric bills.

I took the Temperance out to get some pictures for the sale thread. But I just couldn't take them. So, I decided to put it to use. I didn't know what to expect. And I was half hoping it would fail badly, so I could sell it and move on. Well, it didn't fail badly. In fact it didn't fail at all.

So, I guess where I started liking it would be a good a place to start this thread. Nothing serious or life threatening (More on this later). Just some fire prep. And messing around by the campfire. These have already been posted here. But it will save what's left of my sanity if they are all in one place.

Oh, one more thing before we set off on this journey. My criteria for knives. I am not much of a spec guy. Mostly because, well, I don't care about specs. For me a knife either does what I need it to do. Or it doesn't. If it does what I need. What difference do specs make? If it doesn't do what I need. The specs don't matter. Because it just doesn't work for me. I leave the tech stuff to the builders.

Here are the specs I know on the Temperance 2.
It's a knife, a fixed blade knife. It has micarta handles, a hole in the blade, and a kydex sheath.

It is made from VG-10 Stainless Steel. VG-10 not long ago, seemed to be highly regarded. Now not so much. Marketing is a powerful tool. Need to sell new miracle steels.

Personally, I love the stuff. I have it on my A-1 (pure, not laminated) I can get that knife stupid sharp and I have beat the sneakers off of it with no ill effects. Plus it don't rust.

I will be adding the optional Spyderco Leather Sheath soon.

OK, that is about all the spec talk you will be hearing from me in this thread. If you need more in depth numbers, google is your friend. Well google is not really your friend, but it can help you find what you are looking for. And a lot of stuff you aren't looking for.

So, here is where I started to use the Temperance 2. From here on out I will refer to it as T2, you know like the Terminator Movie. No resemblance, but much easier to type.


I played around in the wood pile a bit,



I have to admit it does a respectable job on the feathersticks,



And it looks good doing it,



I felt for a first attempt these were acceptable,



I will continue to play with it a little more,



It is kind of a pretty thing,



That is what earned the T2 the right to stay.
 
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So, what's next?

How about food? Food is important right? I need a knife that can help me prepare food.

A knife is a lot like a wife. It becomes sort of a marriage. Choose wisely, and you will be happy. Choose poorly, and you will be miserable. It helps to choose one that likes to do what you like to do.



I like breakfast, it is my most important meal. Without something for breakfast, I have a long miserable slog through the rest of the day.

So let's make breakfast.

Nothing fancy, but I feel if I am going to keep a knife. This is one of those things it really needs to do well. Sure someday I may need to defend myself from roving zombies. But I eat breakfast every single day.

Onions,



Shameless Spam promotion. Think of it more as a spice than a food. A little goes a long way. I used the T2 to poke a few holes in the bottom of the can to break the suction.



Everything sliced or diced. T2 did well with the cheese and English Muffin,



Into the skillet. Another product made from a former miracle steel that fell out of favor. This cast iron skillet is older than I am, and still works like a charm.



Almost there, plate warming, butter melting on the muffins, cheese melting on the omelette, all good.



And just like that, the T2 aces another test with flying colors. And for bonus points, I don't have to worry about the Spam destroying the blade while I eat. All good.


The keenly observant among you will have noticed by now. I spend a fortune on outdoor lighting and cookware.

More to come as I do stuff I deem thread worthy.
LV
 
Nice review and pics Viking ! I agree with you about knives and food - if a knife cannot do food prep well, it falls out of favour quickly.
 
Thanx Viking. Nice review. I designed the T2 for me. I live in the mountains at 10K'. You will like the new leather sheath. the canvas Micarta was difficult to chase down, but I wanted texture without machining or being uncomfortable in use. If you do encounter zombies, you will find penetration to be exceptional....to the hilt. I carved the original handle out of wood until I was satisfied sith the ergos. VG-10 is a good performer with little maintenance. The T2 is a sizable chunk of VG-10. Skeletonized liners for light weight and balance. Pure function with no focus on appearance.

sal
 
When I first got my T2 a few years back, the first thing that came to mind was "now that's a serious chunk-o VG-10". Great in the hand. Thanks Sal. Can we get a Phil Wilson Shelter Cove or Punta Chiavo 7 1/2" to 9" to accompany the T2? :thumbup:
 
I enjoyed my breakfast experience so much. I decided to to take the T2 along for a woods jaunt today too.

A word about the kydex sheath. Don't take my comments as meaning the sheath is not good. Actually I find it quite good. Mine came with a C-Clip. Which I personally find favorable to those big locky things. To me they are just too bulky. The C-Clip has no moving parts to fail and works nicely.

I have the clip oriented for horizontal weak side carry. The knife rides contently there. Easily accessible with either hand but tucked neatly out of the way. The retention is excellent. More than enough, but not too much. The Kydex sheath is certainly not a weak point. I am just a Luddite and like leather. Although this one is growing on me.

After a couple of hours of roaming my northern Adirondack woods. With no particular goal in mind. Just bushwhacking in a big circle to see what was out and about. It decided I had donated enough of my blood to the swarms of black flys that tormented me most of the day. So I bailed and headed for home.

The knife rode on my left hip and all but disappeared. That is a good feature in a knife/sheath combination. I have come to view knives and their sheaths as one system, rather than two separate pieces. They both work in tandem and need to function well together.

The ease with which the T2 can be sheathed and unsheathed is very nice. Add to that the multi position, ambidextrous options, and it is easy to see, some considerable thought went into it.

I was hoping to try Sal's penetration out. But alas, no Zombies were sighted. But, I was hungry again. I managed to hike my way through lunch. So on my way back home I grabbed a bunch of sticks and branches from the top of a cherry tree I had dropped for firewood back in December.

So here are a few "Ugly Fire Burgers" so named because I have been told I build really ugly fires. Mostly because I just grab what I find. But like the Temperance 2, they have some purpose built, design characteristics. Here is a shot of the raw materials I dragged back.


Take note of the slab in the lower right with the twine fluffed up on it. That will be ground zero.

I have been warned that batoning knives through wood can be dangerous. Well they were right. Today, disaster struck. I couldn't believe it. I mean the piece of wood I was batoning was straight grained and no longer than the T2 itself. But it happened.


My baton exploded. It is now in three pieces. Oh, the horror!.



As I stood there in disbelief. I asked?



This was a good baton, it didn't deserve to go like this. Oh well, stomach is rumbling, and the show must go on.


Here you can see that the length of the wood really is no longer than the knife. First I took it down to smaller pieces.



Then I made some of the smaller pieces even smaller,



Finally making some shavings to help get things going. All this from that one little stick of wood and a twig,



Back to the ugly fire. All stacked up and ready for work. It is hideous isn't it? But notice all the channels for air flow.



On goes that slab with the twine. And the shavings get spread around to help with ignition.



Then the tiny sticks get placed on top. With the larger ones at the ready near by. You can still see the twine in the lower right hand corner.



A quick scrape of my ferro rod, and off we go. Well two actually, I missed the first time!



Here is a shot of things taking off nicely.I added the larger sticks once I was sure it was burning well.



One of my favorite things about the ugly fire is. It is pretty much set it and forget it, leaving you free to get other things done. Like food prep, shelter building, or perhaps a cold one. Much like the Temperance 2, the ugly fire is pretty much maintenance free. You can see the fire taking hold down low.



Pretty much rocking and rolling at this point,



I let it rip for a bit, then leveled it out, threw on the grill and tossed on the burgers. I find that if you take a canning jar lid and use it as a mold, it makes a perfect quarter pound burger.



About six minutes in. I flipped them, and added cheese and tossed on the muffins. A good bed of coals provides nice even heat, and keeps the flare ups to a minimum.



The bride opted for some fresh picked basil on hers, I went with just fresh sliced onions.



This is why!



The baton went for a good cause. I love cooking on cherry, it imparts a nice smokey flavor, burns hot and decently long. The Temperance 2 pulls off another nice meal.

And that folks, like they say in the movies is all she wrote for today. Time to reward the T2 for a job well done,
 
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Those burgers look good! Nice write-up and pics. Thanks for sharing. I have thought about adding the T2 for a long time, but something else always comes up.
 
Update,

The leather sheath arrived safe and sound. Plain and simple, but of decent quality. I would say better than I expected based on the price point.

Excellent customer service from Spyderco. Emails sent to show status and I had the sheath fast. Nicely done!

It holds the knife snugly and securely. No rattles, no fear of it falling out. I'm sure it will loosen up a tad and be about perfect.
 
I love my T2. Its one that will always be with me.
I got the leather sheath when they 1st came out and do like it. But since went back to the original sheath.
 
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