Which Spydercos are Lined?

On the subject of FRN handled knives, I only ever recall seeing one picture of broken FRN knife. I believe it was a Delica, but it took getting stuck in a Caterpiller tank tread and getting shorn in two--I'm pretty sure almost any knife would have broken.
 
I'm pretty sure Sal told me the FRN versions were stronger than the steel ones. I'm not sure, however, if he meant "FRN with liners" or just plain FRN.
 
The Deacon said:
Makes me wonder if their lawyers told them it might be a bad idea. Or perhaps, it's just one more of those things that would get spun into something negative by self appointed experts. Or, it's just one more of those "fairly easy" tasks, like providing data on Rockwell numbers, overall thickness, etc, that would take someone away from building, packing, and shipping knives.

For all I know the Native could be stronger than the Delica. Ball lock knives tend to be quite strong and do not rely on liners for strength, so I suspect your Poliwog may rate higher than both of them. Or, for all I know, they may all be rated medium duty. I know you feel differently, but to me the actual ratings don't matter as much as the fact that Spyderco makes sure new designs meet certain standards based on their assumptions of how the model will be used.
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Good post Paul. I would agree that the common sense factor would indicate that providing a quantitative scale of lock "strength" would be a bad idea. Those numbers would often get pushed and then natural selection would ensue. I can agree that preparing for emergencies is a good thing too.

In my car, tightly clipped to my seat belt, I have a Spyderco Assist, I also have one tucked into the center console. Why? The carbide glassbreaker available when you squeeze the blade into the knife handle. Another option could be a fixed blade. I just cannot count on any folder to be used as a reiable prybar. This is why I carry a Wonder Bar in my trunk along with a hammer and some other tools. Not trying to change anyone's mind abut anything, just sharing my thoughts.
 
Cynic2701 said:
On the subject of FRN handled knives, I only ever recall seeing one picture of broken FRN knife. I believe it was a Delica, but it took getting stuck in a Caterpiller tank tread and getting shorn in two--I'm pretty sure almost any knife would have broken.
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I remember seeing that one! The only other broken one that comes to my mind is one that got run over by the lawnmower. In both instances, I wouldn't expect many knives to survive.
 
Spectre said:
Hmmm. Not sure how I could be any clearer:
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That is just it, you weren't clear. You said emergency and that can mean aything, right? Including emergency prying? In an emergency, the liners of a knife are not going to help you cut any faster or more accurately. Unless you can exert 700+ lbs of force all at once, 0-700lbs. within 1 second, you probablyare not going to be breaking a knife. Tests have been done with freehanging weight on lockback knives, and they can hold around 600lbs continuously. The words utility and emergency are polar opposites.
 
Nope. I said cutting, and I meant cutting. But opening a package or cutting steak is considerably different than defending yourself with a knife or cutting- notice I said CUTTING- your way out of a wreck.
 
I'd guess cutting yourself out of thick material(probably some metal in a wreck) would include some lateral stress, hence prying?
 
I'm not trying to nitpick, but you seem to be contradicting yourself quite a bit.

You claim to worry about whether or not if a folding knife is "heavy duty", but you say you won't pry or abuse it. If you're worried about strength, buy a fixed blade.

Spectre said:
I would love an H1 Dragonfly, but I believe it is one of the weaker knives Spyderco makes.
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There is a photo floating around on an H1 blade that had been bent at the hole almost at a pretty severe degree. That's saying something about H1. And what exactly would you be doing that would break a 5.5" knife?
Also, there is plenty of replies about the strength of FRN. Here, I did some looking for you, heres the bent H1 blade:
2939kp4.jpg

and here is a thread on a broken Salt 1.

Spectre said:
Hmmm. Not sure how I could be any clearer
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You aren't being clear at all. You are being vague. Accidents/emergencies happen. I always have a prybar in my car, but hey, how do I know it will be there if something arises? I don't. I don't like abusing my knives but my life is more important than what happens to a piece of steel with synthetic handles. RD was spot on.
 
If I had to defend myself with a knife, that's an emergency. If I stabbed someone, that could subject the blade to a great deal more force than the knife would typically encounter. Suggesting "just carry a fixed blade" shows an ignorance of both legality and practicality. Odd, considering that Spyderco makes some of the most practical knives.

I'm really baffled by the attitude some of you seem to have. You would think I am somehow attacking Spyderco, instead of being the staunch supporter I am. :grumpy:

I'm being vague? Exactly which part of "I want to know which Spydercos are strongest, in case I have to use one in an emergency" and "knives are made for cutting" is vague?
 
In the case of Spyderco knives the biggest "issue" with the ratings, IMHO, is that they test only one failure mode. There's still the question of resistance to the blade folding back, from excessive pressure while cutting, accidental disengagement of the lock due to hand placement, side and twisting loads, "bouncing"/"bumping" and, I'm sure, to other potential ways to fail as well. I can understand that failure from steady pressure on the spine may be of importance to some, but it's not the only factor determining reliability.


Spectre said:
I'm really baffled by the attitude some of you seem to have. You would think I am somehow attacking Spyderco, instead of being the staunch supporter I am. :grumpy:

I'm being vague? Exactly which part of "I want to know which Spydercos are strongest, in case I have to use one in an emergency" and "knives are made for cutting" is vague?
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I think it's mostly a case of folks questioning some of your logic. Mainly the way you dismiss all Spyderco liner locks out of hand as unsuitable for SD. Doing so is certainly your right, but it makes your request for empirical data seem meaningless.
 
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