The P'kal is the future.

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kgriggs8

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I was just looking at this knife and I grow more impressed all the time. This is a knife of the future. It is way ahead of it's time. The P'kal may not sell well but there will be a bunch of knives like it in the future.

The P'kal incorporates some of the best technology in knives. It has a Wave type feature which is something that you have to try to understand how handy this can be. For people that use their knife many times a day like me, it is just so nice to be able to grab your knife and pull it out and it is open!

It has an Axis type lock. The best lock we have is the Axis system, lets be honest here. The P'kal is a BB lock but handles like an Axis. In fact, it may be an improvment, I haven't seen it in person yet.

It has the Spyder hole which is the best out of the thumb stud, wheel, disks ects.

It has a Wharncliff type blade which I like. I think the highly upswept blades are a relic of the past when hunting was a common use for a knife. I have found anything more upswept than a drop point to be a hassle.

I think the P'kal is ushering in a new line of knives that will incorporate many of the best features that we have today. I look forward to seeing more knives with Waves and more knives with Axis type locks.
 
I've been following the P'kal since Spyderco first started discussing it here. It really does look to be the "knife of the future." Of all the new designs, it has been at the top of my list for quite a while.

It may end up as too good/specialized for its own good, but like the Gunting, will be a testament to Spyderco's ingenuity and ongoing work to innovate and bring fresh ideas to the knife world. I am very excited for this design!
 
Now, I'm gonna get flamed left and right for this, but I actually prefere an aggressive thumb stud to the spyderhole any time. I don't know if its my hands, or just what I've gotten used to over the past few years, but its much easier andquicker for me, especially when using a finger (instead of thumb) to open...
 
No flame here, everyone has their prefrences. For me, the spyderhole is by far the eaiest opening mechanism. It is just easy for my thumb to "find" and grab.
 
I thought it was more like a hawkbill blade (slight curve there).

I know it's for SD, but if you make it more utility-like (i.e. less reverse-grip stab oriented), you'd have a very nice knife there!
 
It's been a knife that has generated so much buzz I think it will do well. I see a lot of people are now talking about pikal this, pikal that which will only help boost it sales. I for one am very curious to see how it fiars. Hopefully good as I have seen the Spyderco team have spent lots of time and investment on this. It has to based on it's design and what it's used for. I will be getting one when it comes out.
 
I'm still waiting anxiously. I'll be ordering one the moment they're avaliable. :D In fact i've been putting off other knife purchases so that way i have the $$$ to drop when the P'Kal (Pikal) is ready. :)
 
eyeeatingfish said:
I dont get that knife, specifically the blade shape.
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As I understand it, the P'kal is meant to be used only by practitioners of Pikal/Pakal technique, which uses a reverse grip, edge-in (toward the body)*, and purely for self-defense.

The basic premise is that it is used in a reverse-grip thrusting motion at the target to get maximal power at the expense of control, and then the the chambering motion allows the knife to make a second cut as the blade returns to you.

It's meant for gross motor control, high power, extreme close-quarters defense, using a "stab and rip" motion.

It was designed as a collaboration with several very prominent Pi(a)kal practitioners.

I'm not sure it's really very useful in a traditional skinning or utility fashion.

-j

* I've been seeing some reference to hammer-grip, edge-in as well, but I never got that advanced, so I don't understand it.
 
The thing about the P'kal as I see it is, it is like a concept car or a race car. What I am excited about is not so much the P'kal itself but all the features it has. I would hope to see many of these features on the run of the mill Spydercos in time.

I would like every Spyderco from now on to have a Wave type feature and a BB lock with "wings". These two features would make Spydercos the only choice. The only reason I buy Benchmades once in a while is that the Axis lock is the best lock I have seen. I have an Emerson for the Wave (don't care for the Wave on the Delica and Endura for some reason).

The P'kal is not going to be a best seller for several reasons but that doesn't mean that it won't influence Spyderco's line-up for the better. I'm not bashing the P'kal but it is a specilized knife that is pricey, these things will stop Joe 6-pack from buying one at his local gunshop. In fact, most stores won't care the P'kal I would guess. A knife store would but most knives are bought online and at sporting goods stores not knife only shops.
 
kgriggs8 said:
I would like every Spyderco from now on to have a Wave type feature and a BB lock with "wings". These two features would make Spydercos the only choice. The only reason I buy Benchmades once in a while is that the Axis lock is the best lock I have seen. I have an Emerson for the Wave (don't care for the Wave on the Delica and Endura for some reason).
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That's you. I'm different. I think the Spyderco front lock is the best, easiest to use locking system going. Tried a Axis lock once and was not the least bit impressed. As for waves, I have no interest in carrying for SD, and do not carry my knives clipped in my pocket, so I view them as just an added and totally unnecessary expense. I can understand the benefit to Spyderco of offering a few knives with the ball lock, a few with the wave, and perhaps even a couple with both, but to have all their knives include that set of features might alienate more customers than it would attract. Know it would have that effect on me.
 
"Tried a Axis lock once and was not the least bit impressed. As for waves, I have no interest in carrying for SD, and do not carry my knives clipped in my pocket, so I view them as just an added and totally unnecessary expense. I can understand the benefit to Spyderco of offering a few knives with the ball lock, a few with the wave, and perhaps even a couple with both, but to have all their knives include that set of features might alienate more customers than it would attract. Know it would have that effect on me."

I know they wouldn't offer all of there knives with the same set of features. They know people like different things.

I don't carry for SD really but the Wave is more than for SD. I see no reason an EDC can't be as quick to open and close as possible. The nice thing about the Axis lock is that it can be engaged and flicked open or closed almost instantly. I have a BM921 that I use as my work EDC and I probably use it 20-40 times EVERY day. That Axis lock gets a workout. I have tried to carry Spyderco back locks at work like my Centofante 4 with the zip tie Wave but it is stil slow to close.

There is nothing like having a knife ready to cut instantly and back in your pocket almost as fast. I am so much more likely to use my knife when I know I can just flip it out and flip it closed. I see no reason not to have a fast knife.
 
I want to get my hands on this new caged bb-lock system. The axis lock is my all time favorite lock for kgriggs' reason as well as its addicting fun. I love the wave on my delica for fast openings as well. The combo of wave and axis type lock will make for the fastest knife of all time. I just wish it wasn't an SD oriented knife. I hope to see these features on a utility knife.
 
kgriggs8 said:
I know they wouldn't offer all of there knives with the same set of features. They know people like different things.
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Know that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" but that's certainly an interesting reversal of position from your earlier post -
kgriggs8 said:
I would like every Spyderco from now on to have a Wave type feature and a BB lock with "wings".
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Guess I misunderstood waht you meant by "every". :rolleyes:

kgriggs8 said:
I see no reason an EDC can't be as quick to open and close as possible...

...There is nothing like having a knife ready to cut instantly and back in your pocket almost as fast. I am so much more likely to use my knife when I know I can just flip it out and flip it closed. I see no reason not to have a fast knife.
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Again, it's a case of "different strokes for different folks". Perhaps because I work in an extremely bleating heart liberal infested office environment, I don't consider having an open blade appear out of my pocket "as if by magic" desirable. In fact, I consider it extremely undesirable and counterproductive. Even "off duty" my activities are not of a nature where quickness is of any real benefit. Quite frankly, I'm far more likely to drop something that way. I'm also a cheapskate when it comes to clothing, and see the wave as causing (for me) unnecessary wear on the pocket.

As for locks, I still prefer the front lock, less complicated, less likely to have problems with foreign matter interfering with the spring. I would not, however, expect or suggest Spyderco make ONLY front locks.

But my main point was that nothing appeals to, or will work well for, everyone. We all have different needs, different tastes, different environments and legal constraints to contend with, and different levels of motor skill.
 
The Deacon said:
Know that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" but that's certainly an interesting reversal of position from your earlier post -
Guess I misunderstood waht you meant by "every". :rolleyes:
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Sorry about having to call you out on this one, but I believe that what he would like is different from what he knows will (or won't, in this case) happen.
 
Th232 said:
Sorry about having to call you out on this one, but I believe that what he would like is different from what he knows will (or won't, in this case) happen.
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Thats right. I would love it if all of Spyderco models were made just like I like them. Who wouldn't want every knife to suit them in every different model? I also know that this is impossible. You can't make everyone happy, there will always be strange fellow that doesn't want his knife to open fast and easy. There people out there like "The Deacon" who want their knives to open as slowly as possible, with two hands would be great!:D

I think I found the perfect knife for the The Deacon!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-FRENCH-...8QQihZ014QQcategoryZ43330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Hi Kgriggs,

hmmmmm.

It's a little off topic, but relevant and interesting;

In my 58 years of being a knife hobbyist and 30 years of passionate interest while in the knife industry, I have noticed an interesting behavior pattern.

"Most" peolple that get involved in the knife industry seem to have something that they "like". Whether their level of understanding is "it looks cool" to "The right amount of Vassiliam Carbides, but I'd like a hamaguri edge geometry".

The peculiarity is that most people think that because they like something, most others will agree. I have had more than one design fail in the marketplace despite the fact that "I liked it". It was a hard and long lesson.

Now I say to my staff, "It doesn't matter if you like it, or if I like it, that might help, but it matters most if the customer likes it".

Now I will admit that the comment "I like it" or "I don't like it" shares a personal leaning, and even offers an exchange of ideas and reasons. But that should not be the definitive decision maker in whether or not we invest in a new model.

That's what cusom makers are for and why we need them. :D

Just some thoughts to share.

sal
 
Something I had a chance to share with the Spydie folk at the Eugene show was that they are more innovative than any three other knife companies put together. Innovation is COSTLY! And it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to keep making the effort. Yet Spyderco just keeps pushing every boundary in every direction they can find.

I just opened an email from Benchmade this morning. It was an announcement of their "latest and greatest" innovation, G-10 handle scales on one of their old models, along with a barely modified handle giving it the barest semblance to a pistol grip handle. Yessir we've taken the same old knife with the same old locking system and the same old steel and added G-10to it! I am so underwhelmed.

Now you look at Spyderco's definition of innovation and you find collaborations, steels, handle materials, blade styles, lockstyles and totally different lines of knives.

Will I be buying a P'kal? Oh yeah! Will it become a classic akin to the Military? I doubt it. But it will be another step in the evolution of knife community innovation. And just as has been previously posted, I believe that elements of the P'kal will become standard features in time to come.

ROCK ON SPYDERCO!
 
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