Who has a Shaman?

T

Trailer_Ape

Joined
Jun 22, 2017
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271
I need folks to nit pick one to death. Tell me all the little things you dislike about it. I am seriously considering one and would like to know the downsides, ahead of time.

My AD10 has plenty. I could find many faults with this knife. Not saying I don't like it, it is in my pocket now and has been being carried (at work) every day since I got it BUT there are many things I would change if I could.

So..... please tell me those kind of things that you have discovered about your Shaman. Thanks!
 
I have several.
The plain jane is very, very often in my pocket, sharing the rotation with the BM Loco – I like them wide :)

- It's made in Golden, and not elsewhere!
- Insanely robust, hands down the stoutest Spydie I own. It's heavy, very different design doctrine than PM2 and all these lightweight series for sure
- It's reliable and easy to use even with heavy gloves
- It's a great slicer
- The choil is great, it's as close as you can get from a Strider SMF in term of ergos
- The compression lock is not fidget friendly but works perfectly
- It's one of the best Spyderco ever IMO

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Honestly the only thing that can I can nit pick on is that the scales are little too smooth for my taste but that's really it. Everything else is great if you want a beefy spyderco. Compression lock, steel, fit and finish. It's great
 
I bought one and gifted it away at my first opportunity. I knew going in I probably wouldn't keep it, because I sort of hate the compression lock, but it's a very nice knife. With the totally unnecessary finger choil it has a huge comfy handle, a gorilla could get all his fingers on the knife. Downsides that jump to mind (outside of my hating the compression lock):
  1. The finger choil is IMO silly on knives of any decent size. On a tiny knife like the Dragonfly or CS Tuff Lite, a finger choil lets you turn a too-small knife closed into a usable knife open. On bigger knives I've never found it handy. When I need more control on a big knife I'm usually pinch gripping the blade, and when I actually use finger choils on big knives it's because I'm cutting something tough, going for power, cutting with the part of the edge closest to the handle anyway, so I gain nothing over gripping up on the handle as far as possible and cutting with the closest bit of edge on a finger choil-less knife.
  2. It's a touch heavy for its size, to my taste.
  3. It's made in Golden, so the fit and finish is a bit poor compared to their better Taichung-made knives.
None of those points would have put me off if it didn't have the compression lock, though. Super comfy handle, useful blade shape, and generally lots to love. I preferring it 100% over the popular PM2, incidentally. I may be the only person on the forum that doesn't love the PM2, though. I prefer the Manix 2 LW to both of them (lighter, lock I don't hate, etc.) but I did love the handle on the Shaman, it's super comfy.
 
evilgreg said:
  1. It's made in Golden, so the fit and finish is a bit poor compared to their better Taichung-made knives.
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What finish? it's a 100 % utilitarian knife. No fancy spacer or hardware, just 2 slabs of g10 on steel, a big strong blade and voilà! No bells and whistle on the Shaman, thanks for reminding me that its lack of bling actually my fave feature. And it's really well made, not sure what can be fit more properly?!
 
FullMetalJackass said:
What finish? it's a 100 % utilitarian knife. No fancy spacer or hardware, just 2 slabs of g10 on steel, a big strong blade and voilà! No bells and whistle on the Shaman, thanks for reminding me that its lack of bling actually my fave feature. And it's really well made, not sure what can be fit more properly?!
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Both of mine go back together with no fuss and no need to mess with centering. I think that's pretty damn good tolerances. Can't ask for more than that.
 
FullMetalJackass said:
What finish? it's a 100 % utilitarian knife. No fancy spacer or hardware, just 2 slabs of g10 on steel, a big strong blade and voilà! No bells and whistle on the Shaman, thanks for reminding me that its lack of bling actually my fave feature. And it's really well made, not sure what can be fit more properly?!
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Little things all over, you can hand me a Spyderco knife in the dark and I think I could tell you by touch whether it was made in Golden or Taichung. My Shaman had sharp edges on the inside edges of the handle slabs, for example. Not a big deal, but compared to their higher quality knives you can feel the difference (felt the same way about my PM2s, FWIW).

Different strokes for different folks. I liked the knife, but not enough to keep it. I gifted to a cousin who'd recently lost the Benchmade Rift I gave him years ago and he loves it.

That said, I can't imagine anyone thinking the Golden knives are nearly as well made as the Taichung knives. I'm not a hater, I probably have a few dozen Spyderco knives within arm's reach of me as I write this. I carried an orange S90V Manix 2 LW today, for example, and that knife was made in Golden. It has almost the same amount of sharp edge as the Shaman, a finger choil, weighs two ounces less, and has better steel than the base Shaman model, all while costing much less. But then I prefer lighter knives; if you like 'em chunky I could see preferring something like the Shaman for its beefiness.
 
I dont own one but its because of my nit pick...$200+ for the materials...nothing extraordinary with it...the compression lock has been around on lots of their models, s30v is basically the bottom of the decent steels out there now days...and although nice and contoured, g10 scales...do the nice rounded scales make the price soon much more worth it? I think there's better stuff out there for the price.
 
I was a little disappointed in the aesthetics of the entry level scales. The compression lock pinches sometimes, and makes me think I am getting cut.
Otherwise it is a great knife. I like it better than the Para 2. There are so many good ones.
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They are too slippery and the compression lock is a poor match for the handle design. Don't get me wrong, the compression lock is my favorite lock, I just don't love in on this knife.

These are definitely nitpicks, as I do like the knife regardless.
 
THANK you all VERY MUCH!

This has been extremely informative. All in all, I have decided against one. What was really drawing me to it was (perceived) ease of presentation. The fact that the clip can be placed for tip up or tip down, the clip wasn't huge, and the thumb hole looked easy to access made me think I could find a way to make this knife quicker out the pocket than my AD10 which has FOUR factors, working together, than REALLY complicate the process and increase the likelihood of partial openings under stress. One of you mentioned the Shaman having one of those same factors.

One post that really made me think was the one that referenced the price to material and workmanship ratio. I agree - paying north of 2 bills (what I am seeing them for now) should get you at least a more premium steel, impressive machine work, or (preferrably both).

Leaning towards PASS on it.

Before anyone thinks they have prevented a knife purchase, don't worry. I am still gonna buy more knives, just not this one. I am gonna start a new thread and ask for suggestions based on some criteria.

Thanks guys (and gals if there are any in this thread)
 
My reason for not owning a Shaman was the GB2. Similar size, way better steel and better quality feel all for less $. A Lynch deep carry clip made it perfect.
 
Great thread!

I have considered one of these for quite a while.

I think I will pass and consider another Spyderco instead.
 
Hey bud, I have had two Shamans, and modded then traded one, both the other. Here is my opinion (disclaimer I did not read the thread first). The blade is too short and the tip too stubby to need a choil, so I reground it to a full length cutting edge, and also made it a little pointier. The aesthetics of the Shaman are not nice, they are "stumpy". As robust a knife as it is, it could have been 5% less robust, and 100% better at cutting, and 500% more pretty, so that is what I went for. The inside edges of the G10 were too sharp. The Shaman's kick senselessly invaded the lockbar cutout and got in the way of smooth one handed closing unless you "learned the trick" to it by removing your finger at the last split second. Which drove me bonkers. There was no need for the kick to be designed that way and when I fixed it, it was 1000% better. What else? The G10 was matte finished but still too slippery, especially considering the small size of the handle. Even after all my mods, and after grinding the handle to provide a tiny bit more grip area, the handle was still just too small for me (I EDC a Resilience, and the Tenacious is also a touch too small for my liking).

But the strength of the knife was great, the action and lockup of the compression lock superb, and the s30V was... s30V. ;)

Here is the second Shaman I modded, which I still ended up selling despite thousands of percent (IMO) improvements:

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I probably would have kept it if the front of the handle was shaped more like the resilience and allowed the handle to be brought up right to the cutting edge for maximum leverage in a cut, and a more secure grip with a bit of handle sticking out at the back.

I hope that helps.

Trailer_Ape said:
I need folks to nit pick one to death. Tell me all the little things you dislike about it. I am seriously considering one and would like to know the downsides, ahead of time.

My AD10 has plenty. I could find many faults with this knife. Not saying I don't like it, it is in my pocket now and has been being carried (at work) every day since I got it BUT there are many things I would change if I could.

So..... please tell me those kind of things that you have discovered about your Shaman. Thanks!
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I knew I couldn't resist reading the thread!

FullMetalJackass said:
And it's really well made, not sure what can be fit more properly?!
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Well, it's not a manufacturing fit issue per say, but the choil kick doesn't fit from a design perspective. And seeing you ask the question reminded me that the scales on the back of the handle are like a mm or proud of the back spacer which seemed odd to me.

mwhich50 said:
I was a little disappointed in the aesthetics of the entry level scales. The compression lock pinches sometimes, and makes me think I am getting cut.
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Yes, there's that kick again!

Trailer_Ape said:
All in all, I have decided against one.
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A wise choice I think, especially if you want it to be easy to deploy. Before I textured my scales, it was not a very easy knife to deploy. Better tip down than tip up, though.

Roy Batty said:
If you have an AD10, I’d pass. They’re just too similar for me. Now a native chief or regular native? That’s a different story...
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Seconded on the native chief. I don't own one any more, but when I did, I thought it was fantastic. Very little needs to be done to improve that one. I mod all the knives I buy, including all Spydercos, and on the chief all I did was regrind it thinner behind the edge, and make the handle a bit more neutral (the Sal signature middle finger hump is always uncomfortable for me, whether it's an Endura, a Delica, a Shaman, a Caribbean, a Native Chief or a Police 4).

DMG said:
My reason for not owning a Shaman was the GB2. Similar size, way better steel and better quality feel all for less $. A Lynch deep carry clip made it perfect.
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Liner locks are so much less hassle than compression locks for pure grip security.
 
Trailer_Ape said:
I need folks to nit pick one to death. Tell me all the little things you dislike about it. I am seriously considering one and would like to know the downsides, ahead of time.

My AD10 has plenty. I could find many faults with this knife. Not saying I don't like it, it is in my pocket now and has been being carried (at work) every day since I got it BUT there are many things I would change if I could.

So..... please tell me those kind of things that you have discovered about your Shaman. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Handled a Shaman once, good knife, but I won't be buying one because of the little nub that keeps getting in the way when you try to flick the blade out using the compression bar, then it swings around again and hits you when you close it unless you quickly move your finger out of the way.
Sal said that isn't a defect either it's a feature, a feature I don't want or need, I don't really want to buy a 200+ knife that needs an angle grinder to fix before I can enjoy it. Pretty sure if I ground that stupid nub off i'd void the warranty as well.
Nevermind there's plenty of other Spydercos I love.
 
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