Tropen Thoughts/Reviews?

Coyja said:
Okay, all exposed blade flaw aside... how is this an okay design choice?
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Way to go Spyderco, you Ganzo'd yourself.
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That's ugly. Sheesh
 
Siguy1976 said:
I've been carrying this knife for a couple of weeks now and here are the facts about the exposed edge:

Anyone who has really wide or calloused pinky fingers, or only uses their pocket for this knife will not have a risk of cutting themselves on this knife in pocket. The exposed blade heel is not going to send anyone to the hospital! The risk is of small cuts is to the side or pad of your pinky finger when reaching into your pocket for something other that this knife. When standing, the risk is less, as the exposed edge is about two thirds of the way down the pocket, and most things will be at the bottom. Keys, change, keychain light will lie at the bottom of the pocket UNLESS sitting, crouching, or lying down. Then the pocket contents shift position, as does the knife and exposed blade heel. Throw some bills into the mix and go from relaxed fit pants to slim fit, and you start rolling the dice. Sitting position is where a cut is most likely to happen. The pocket material folds and creases and you have to start forcing your fingers through to the bottom, which is now the side of the pocket where the blade heel is. Try rushing for change with cold fingers and a seat belt on at a toll booth.
As I said earlier, it isn't a deal breaker for me although I do find it irritating because I take care around my own home and workplace to minimize the chance of small, needless injuries. It bothers me that there is even a small chance of cutting myself on a closed knife in my pocket. Liner lock!
I will still cherish and carry it. Cheers
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I still don't think you can cut yourself accidentally w/this knife but, if you stuff that much sh*t in your pocket w/the knife (any knife), you only have yourself to blame if you get cut.
 
I do not know if this model is a danger or not but I wish if the compression lock is used in a model, keep that area assessable. I really like like my Shaman but I hate the fact that the front of the finger choil intrudes in the compression lock area.
 
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The double standards apparent in this thread are really mind boggling. Had this been an unbranded knife on some dealer's shelf and you had no idea who made it, i can almost 100% guarantee that almost 100% of the people on this forum, especially, would find the design of this knife unacceptable.

The amount of coping and justifications given here truly make my head spin. There have been some things produced by spyderco that i bought and regret. There are some things that i knew before even handling i didn't care to own. There have been some slip ups within the QC department that have made me shake my head. There have been low quality features. On the flip side, some of my absolute favorites are still spydercos. Absolutely functional tools that can handle whatever a knife needs to do better than anyone else's knives.

This knife is a failure. Had certain things with the design been properly addressed i have no doubt that it would be good, but they tried throwing on this or that addition that really did ruin the design. Of course there are apologists and people seeking to collect the knife as a safe queen or to flip it after its been discontinued, but anyone wanting a knife to carry and use and maintain as a tool should be looking at this one and shaking their head and giving a solid "no" to spyderco for their choice here.

It just seems like corners were cut and when the problems presented themselves they couldn't take the financial hit to rework the knives to fix the issues like they did with the advocate.

But this is just a knife so it's not worth flipping out about. I definitely won't be buying it and it makes me question spyderco's integrity just a little for trying to justify the several problems this knife obviously has.

I don't really feel sorry for saying this, i hope the issues in this knife don't come up again from spyderco. They have a damned good reputation and little things like this shouldn't tarnish it.
 
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Someone1:

Someone1 said:
But this is just a knife so it's not worth flipping out about.
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Also Someone1:

Someone1 said:
The double standards apparent in this thread are really mind boggling. Had this been an unbranded knife on some dealer's shelf and you had no idea who made it, i can almost 100% guarantee that almost 100% of the people on this forum, especially, would find the design of this knife unacceptable.

The amount of coping and justifications given here truly make my head spin. [SNIP]

This knife is a failure. Had certain things with the design been properly addressed i have no doubt that it would be good, but they tried throwing on this or that addition that really did ruin the design. Of course there are apologists and people seeking to collect the knife as a safe queen or to flip it after its been discontinued, but anyone wanting a knife to carry and use and maintain as a tool should be looking at this one and shaking their head and giving a solid "no" to spyderco for their choice here.

It just seems like corners were cut and when the problems presented themselves they couldn't take the financial hit to rework the knives to fix the issues like they did with the advocate.

[SNIP] I definitely won't be buying it and it makes me question spyderco's integrity just a little for trying to justify the several problems this knife obviously has.

I don't really feel sorry for saying this, i hope the issues in this knife don't come up again from spyderco. They have a damned good reputation and little things like this shouldn't tarnish it.
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U mad, bro?
 
Don’t have one but I’m guessing it’s not a realistic danger, just a perceived one. And that’s where Spyderco may have misjudged. This knife will probably bomb.
 
I just HAD to pull my Tropen out of the safe and put it back in my pocket after reading S Someone1 's comment above.

I just love the rush that comes from facing danger head on. LOL! ;)

Frankly, there's a greater risk of cutting yourself on the fully exposed edge of the blade at the front corner of the choil on the new Smock than the barely exposed edge of a closed Tropen.

I haven't heard anyone complaining about the danger and lack of QC in the Smock yet but most people haven't had a chance to handle one yet. Time will tell.
 
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Mad about what? I didn't buy the knife, the issues are apparent before buying the knife, i wasn't tricked or robbed. I'm entertained by the amount of cope shown here knowing full well how people would judge the knife had someone like WE or Rike designed and manufactured it. I should be asking if you're the one who's mad but it doesn't really matter to me so i don't care enough to ask.

madcap_magician said:
Someone1:



Also Someone1:



U mad, bro?
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Yes Spyderco has a lot of loyal customers and supporters. They are a great company and they make great knives.
So if we display a little bias at times that’s not surprising.
 
I think it is interesting to suppose people.would.be more critical of m hmmm other companies. Obviously that's all.theory, but it's worth a thought. The fact is, it ain't gunna cut me no matter what the brand is, but I would say people being hyper critical of china more than forgiving of spyderco.
 
AF said:
Yes Spyderco has a lot of loyal customers and supporters. They are a great company and they make great knives.
So if we display a little bias at times that’s not surprising.
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Fair enough, i guess. But ask yourself. If every knife spyderco produced had the exact same issues, how long would you remain a fan? I think maybe what, two or three knives into it and i think you probably walk away.

So with that being the case, this isn't a knife that should have been produced. It's not because it's aesthetically unappealing or whatever. It's sloppy. Sure, maybe fitment is okay but you and i and everyone else who's held spyderco knives should know that it's completely unlike spyderco to purposefully produce even a somewhat dangerous tool and not just that but say "meh, we're okay with it." We all should have been taken aback by that mentality from spyderco because it's so unlike them, not jump on the justification bandwagon when doing so would show blatant hypocrisy as soon as judgement comes down on another brand when THEY produce a needlessly dangerous, no matter how slight, tool.
 
S Someone1 You make assumptions about Spyderco's "mentality" that I don't agree with having followed the company and Sal Glesser closely for the past decade.
Spyderco is a company made up of humans who like everyone else makes mistakes. If indeed this design proves as unpopular as you suggest then perhaps Spyderco needs a more democratic process when bringing knives to market where many employees can take a fresh look at something and offer an honest opinion.
That's all just speculation though. I think you're unfair when you imply that Spyderco would knowingly make an unsafe product. Have you experienced or read any report of someone receiving a cut? Again, I'm guessing (having not handled the knife) that the design looks worse than it actually is...which could nonetheless hurt sales.
 
Someone1 said:
Mad about what? I didn't buy the knife, the issues are apparent before buying the knife, i wasn't tricked or robbed. I'm entertained by the amount of cope shown here knowing full well how people would judge the knife had someone like WE or Rike designed and manufactured it. I should be asking if you're the one who's mad but it doesn't really matter to me so i don't care enough to ask.
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Yep, he mad.
 
Just for the record, I have taken the Tropen and gently run a wine cork down into the cut out of the knife longitudinally.
It will cut the cork, try it! Ask yourself if it can do this to a RIGID cork that is much WIDER than your fleshy finger that could squeeze into the cut out more easily, why wouldn't it cut you?
If you don't yet own the Tropen, try clipping any compression lock knife in your pocket. Then see for yourself if your pinky finger could brush through the cut out when getting something else out of the pocket. Try this standing, sitting, crouching and try it with different pants on(relaxed fit, slim fit, different pocket sizes etc.). Realize that if that knife had been the Tropen, with a razor sharp section of S30V in it, you may have just cut yourself. It really is just a matter of time if you EDC the knife and not just admire it in your safe ;)

If I cut myself on any open knife, it is my fault. If I cut myself on a closed pocket knife, where does the blame rest?
 
Siguy1976 said:
Just for the record, I have taken the Tropen and gently run a wine cork down into the cut out of the knife longitudinally.
It will cut the cork, try it! Ask yourself if it can do this to a RIGID cork that is much WIDER than your fleshy finger that could squeeze into the cut out more easily, why wouldn't it cut you?
If you don't yet own the Tropen, try clipping any compression lock knife in your pocket. Then see for yourself if your pinky finger could brush through the cut out when getting something else out of the pocket. Try this standing, sitting, crouching and try it with different pants on(relaxed fit, slim fit, different pocket sizes etc.). Realize that if that knife had been the Tropen, with a razor sharp section of S30V in it, you may have just cut yourself. It really is just a matter of time if you EDC the knife and not just admire it in your safe ;)

If I cut myself on any open knife, it is my fault. If I cut myself on a closed pocket knife, where does the blame rest?
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It's obviously a design flaw and it isn't your fault/being stupid to assume that a closed folding knife isn't going to cut you... after all, that IS one of the big selling points of a folding vs. fixed knife! Sometimes people have to take a step back from their brand loyalty and consider if they would defend such a "feature" if it was on a Benchmade, Kizer, or whatever. People act like criticizing a particular knife model is a personal insult to them or the good people at Spyderco. Maybe they think Sal will send them a free knife when they accumulate enough brownie points ;)
 
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