The Ion

[martinlutherbling]

There's been very little posted about this really promising sounding knife.
What I know:
Southard design
~6" OAL, ~3" blade
Possible wharncliffe blade, likely s30v
G10 scales
Nestled ti liners

And that's about it. Some people have seen it, but there are no pictures as far as I know. I'm especially curious about handle and blade thickness.
Also, no eta to my knowledge. Spyderco hasn't given one, but does anyone that's been around for a while have an idea of how long it usually takes them to go from trade show prototype to production? Or is that not something with a "typical" timeframe?
There's the question of price too. Again nothing is concrete, but between the s30v, ti liners, and Southard name I'm guessing roughly $180?
The idea of a mini Southard sounds awesome to me. The regular Southard is beautiful and high quality but just barely too big for edc in my opinion. I'm really looking forward to this knife.

 

[Accelerator]

As far as I know, the only info that has leaked out so far is what you have stated above. It seems like no one from Spyderco has made any official comment on this knife. This model is one that highly interests me as my regular Southard has been my primary EDC for over a year now. Sure, I rotate a few other knives, but I consciously need to force them into to rotation. Therefore, a mini-Southard would definitely interest me for being a possible Gentleman's carry type knife.

With regards to lead time from trade show unveil to official roll-out, I am unsure. It seems like the early prototypes show up at the smaller shows first, then are presented at either the SHOT Show or Blade show the following year. Sometime after those shows, they are released for sale. At least this has been the case recently, think Battlestation, Tatanka, Rubicon, etc.

That being said, I am eagerly awaiting more info on this knife and can't wait to see the first pictures of it. The early reports have been quite encouraging.

 

[The Deacon]

Spyderco generally allows at least some photos to be taken of production prototypes. If it was at shows, but no photos were allowed, it may very well still be in the "concept model" stage. If that's the case, then it may never reach production and, if it does, it will still be a year or more from doing so.

 

[Accelerator]

Spyderco generally allows at least some photos to be taken of production prototypes. If it was at shows, but no photos were allowed, it may very well still be in the "concept model" stage. If that's the case, then it may never reach production and, if it does, it will still be a year or more from doing so.

Yes, that's certainly a possibility, but I sure hopes that that's not the case (not reaching production). I pray that this knife makes it into production sooner rather than later.

 

[martinlutherbling]

I definitely hope that's not the case either. Based on what we know so far this knife checks a lot of boxes for me. The deal breaker for me will be the thickness of the blade and handle, hopefully those dimensions receive the 2/3rds scale treatment as well.
I suspect this knife will be moving forward based on a comment I read in the older ion thread, a quote from someone's Blade Show overview. "The concept had g10 scales on titanium liners, but (someone at Spyderco) said the production version will have nested liners".
So while maybe nothing is set in stone yet, it seems at least as if they intend to move forward.

Edit: Forgot to mention, in the last thread someone said that the prototype looked a but like a Southard the Tarsus:

But I for one have my fingers crossed for something more like the Tozer

 

[@LeathermanGX]

Man! I was hoping for a Southard XL. Now we're going the wrong way.

 

[Barman1]

Man! I was hoping for a Southard XL. Now we're going the wrong way.

Same here.
Even the standard sized Southard in my meat hooks is a bit fiddly to get my finger on the flipper.

 

[Molle Ninja]

Tozer with a Spydie hole, flipper, and dice-like steel insert on the lockbar = dream.

 

[Havoc5J]

I would greatly prefer a pointer, Tarsus style tip to the sheepsfoot style like the Tozer. As long as they do that and don't waste blade length on a choil, I'll be all over this one.

 

[hoimin]

The regular Tarsus dimensions from the site where that photo above came from, for reference:

Product Specs
Blade Length 3.125"
Overall Length 7.375"
Weight 5.0 oz

Additional Specs
Liners Titanium
Closed 4.25
Thumb Studs Flipper
Bolsters Titanium
Clip Tip Up Carry
Spacer Titanium
Knife Type Folding Knife , Flipper , Liner Lock , Tip Up Clip
Blade Materials Elmax
Blade Details Drop Point
Handle Materials Blue G-10

I can see this going into production. The original Tarsus prototype had lightning strike CF presentation scales over milled Ti framelock handles. Contoured G10 scales with nested Ti liners vs. that Ti scale + presentation G10 + Ti bolster suggests they're tweaking for cheaper manufacturing. I would expect this knife to be a Taichung model, so CTS-XHP or 204p are steel options as well.

 

[Accelerator]

I hoped that this would get enough interest that it would generate enough discussion to keep it into regular Spyderco conversation.

 

[hoimin]

I had hoped so too. But it is still shrouded in secrecy.

 

[martinlutherbling]

Yeah, unfortunately with so little to go on there's not much to discuss.
Personally I'm hoping for a slim, light, edc oriented slicer rather than the "hard use/tactical" oriented Southard. We shall see

 

[knifewing]

I would be all over a Tarsus-style folder, especially if the blade was 3" or slightly shorter. I've never seen that model before--what a beautiful knife! And an aesthetics question: Why the heck can't Spyderco use a rich darker blue G-10 (like on the Tarsus shown) instead of that (IMO) cheesy-looking Lava blue?

 

[Accelerator]

Any news from this years SHOT show about the Ion?

 

[SpeedHoles]

You have my full attention.


Funny how just about every other reply to the thread disagrees on what they'd like to see.

 

[hoimin]

In case you didn't see it in the Amsterdam Report, here is the Ion revealed.

The ION features a full carbon fiber slightly radiused handle that results in a very light folder for its size. The handle does feature steel liners and I guess the spacer was made from G-10. The flipper worked great on this sample, and it quickly becomes clear why a function opening hole is not needed. The hole in the blade is there solely for trademark purposes. When you look at the exposed locking tab, it might look thin. This part of the linerlock is actually ground down a bit for ease of access. The rest of the linerlock has a full thickness liner. I liked the ergonomic of this little folder a lot, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a production version to give it a good cutting workout. I think this could be a great office folder – classy, light and practical.

Overall Length: 18 cm / 7.09 inches
Blade Length: 8 cm / 3.15 inches
Closed Length: 10 cm / 3.94 inches

I thought I'd pull conversation on the piece out to this thread. It isn't exactly the Tarsus as reported earlier, but it's probably the closest analog in Brad's standard lineup. The ratios look to be the perfect edc, and the carbon fiber instead of G10 dresses up and down nicely while cutting down a lot of weight. The liners appear to be nested full length and skeletonized with holes judging by photo #2.

Brad mentioned on Instagram that the blade might be 0.115" (<1/8") thick, from which I surmise to mean that the knife is ~ 3/8" thick.

 

[SpeedHoles]

Yep, completely different than all the precious chatter hype had anticipated. More simplified in my eyes, but I dig it!

Oh yeah, and hopefully that wire clip makes it to production over something like the spike on the Southard folder.

 

[hoimin]

Anyone else getting a bit of a Strider-vibe on the handle? But way slimmer and curvier. Looks like it'll just melt into the hand.

I assume the backspacer bulge will either be flush with the scales or jimped for a reverse thumb grip.

 

[hoimin]

Actually, the Ion appears to be a baby Tolk.