Would've never thought..

[BlueSpartan007]

So last week I was talking to a friend who had just lost his Benchmade. As we discussed how awful that was, I decided it'd give me a chance to be able to expand his options. He might just be the only other person I know who appreciates a good knife, or tool for that matter, and it hasn't been too long since I found out his interest. Keep in mind I didn't say what Benchmade, because he couldn't honestly tell me. Just appreciated the quality. He gave me his price of ballpark $40, in hopes that he could just have something for the time being until he'd (hopefully) have a miraculous discovery of the knife's location.

I gave him a couple usual options for that price point: Rat II, Tenacious, Code 4, etc. Then he asked me if I had anything to spare. So I thought about it, and I ended up letting him borrow my plain edge Tenacious and a Kershaw Volt SS I bought from Cabelas quite a while ago, used a good amount. The only reason I had him borrow the Volt was because he'd wanted to buy a knife from me and I didn't really want to sell my Tenacious, and for a little more variety. But I thought for sure he'd like the Tenacious more.

I get it back the next week, about 5 days of him borrowing them, only to find out he liked the Volt SS if he had to decide. Claiming it "wasn't even close" in terms of how much he liked them. Now part of me can't really blame him. It's an RJ Martin design, what appears and feels like a more solid built, spring assisted feature, etc. But I was sure the Tenacious would take 1st, or AT LEAST be a much closer match up. He even realized it was much sharper than the Kershaw, even after sharpening. Needless to say I sold him the knife. A great knife, I just hadn't really used it anymore.

Anyone else ever experienced a similar situation or are as surprised as me? Maybe it's just a little taste of unbiased opinion, not entirely sure. I guess with my fond appreciation of the Tenacious..

 

[silverds]

I think the Tenacious tastes great but the Volt is less filling. That should surprise the heck out of a lot of people.

 

[BlueSpartan007]

Yeah, it was shocking to me. I used the Volt when I didn't really have anything of more quality, and even with knives of more quality now, the Tenacious sees plenty of pocket time.

 

[HammerHill]

Makes sense to me - the Volt carries and looks better. I'd prefer it as an EDC over the chunky and totally unexceptional Tenacious, too.


I'm always surprised by how popular the Kershaw Leek continues to be, not just to aficionados but to basically anyone who gets their hands on one.

 

[BlueSpartan007]

Makes sense to me - the Volt carries and looks better. I'd prefer it as an EDC over the chunky and totally unexceptional Tenacious, too.


I'm always surprised by how popular the Kershaw Leek continues to be, not just to aficionados but to basically anyone who gets their hands on one.

I'd have to disagree. Not that anyone's preference is wrong, but in my experience, the Tenacious had performed much better. Fills the hand out better, slices/cuts better (and the blade stocks are very similar in size, but full flat grind performed better), jimping is always a plus on most every Spyderco. Not sure how to compare G10 to stainless steel as far as wear goes. The Kershaw isn't all that much slimmer than the Tenacious, although definitely is as far as width goes. But talking performance, which is what he put first, I was rather surprised.

 

[mjpgolf1]

I am for sure surprised, however the fact that he didn't know what Benchmade knife he had, and lost, tells me that he may not be as much of a knife enthusiast as you may think OP. Most novice knife users would probably pick the Volt because of the assisted flipper design, while someone who appreciated a better build quality and the pedigree of Spyderco would more likely go with the Tenacious. When I first got into carrying knives I thought that the Spydercos were just plain ugly. Then as I got deeper I started to appreciate the design enough to give a couple a shot, which just so happened to be a Tenacious and a Delica. After that I fell in love and now as I am much more knowledgable about build quality and different steels and being able to decipher a good value vs a bad value I now recognize Spyderco as one of the top production knife companies and certainly a great value in comparison to other competitors in its price bracket.

 

[Hackenslash]

I give knives as a gift...ALOT. I'm always amazed to find the slender ergos of a Kershaw Assisted Open knife beating out the Spyder Hole. It happens almost all the time, to the point where I no longer gift Spyderco or Byrd knives. When I chose to gift a knife, I almost always choose from the stable of US or China made Kershaws, although more often than not I'm forced to choose between a High Value Kizer and a High Value RealSteel. Face it, a Spyderco has a face only a mother could love...and that face doesn't carry much weight with casual knife users.

 

[sabre cat]

Makes sense to me - the Volt carries and looks better. I'd prefer it as an EDC over the chunky and totally unexceptional Tenacious, too.


I'm always surprised by how popular the Kershaw Leek continues to be, not just to aficionados but to basically anyone who gets their hands on one.

Looks of the Volt do nothing for me. With that being said, it would probably end up in my pocket before the Tenacious.

I used to own a Tenacious and found that I had a love/hate relationship with the thing. Fit my hand perfectly and with the FFG blade it was a slicing machine. The darn thing just took up to much space in my pocket and I found the heat treatment and blade steel lacking for my needs. Beautiful knife for the money though. If Spyderco ever offers the Tenacious with better steel, I am going to have a problem with my wallet.

 

[HammerHill]

I'd have to disagree. Not that anyone's preference is wrong, but in my experience, the Tenacious had performed much better. Fills the hand out better, slices/cuts better (and the blade stocks are very similar in size, but full flat grind performed better), jimping is always a plus on most every Spyderco. Not sure how to compare G10 to stainless steel as far as wear goes. The Kershaw isn't all that much slimmer than the Tenacious, although definitely is as far as width goes. But talking performance, which is what he put first, I was rather surprised.

I find that width is the dimension that matters most for comfortable carry. What use is a clip on a knife when it still occupies the entire pocket?

To better articulate my point, I think the Tenacious is exactly the kind of budget knife that gets grossly overrated by those of us who are 'deep' in the hobby. It has features that 'we' tend to value but that don't always align with mainstream tastes: manual opening, simple reliable construction, FFG, spyderhole. And the Volt, on the other hand, has exactly the kinds of features that 'we' tend to undervalue: fast & reliable assisted opening, sturdy (heavy) feel, classic aesthetics. I can see why an innocent eye would pick the Volt every time. And I'm at a point in my own collecting where I don't disagree.

 

[BlueSpartan007]

I am for sure surprised, however the fact that he didn't know what Benchmade knife he had, and lost, tells me that he may not be as much of a knife enthusiast as you may think OP. Most novice knife users would probably pick the Volt because of the assisted flipper design, while someone who appreciated a better build quality and the pedigree of Spyderco would more likely go with the Tenacious. When I first got into carrying knives I thought that the Spydercos were just plain ugly. Then as I got deeper I started to appreciate the design enough to give a couple a shot, which just so happened to be a Tenacious and a Delica. After that I fell in love and now as I am much more knowledgable about build quality and different steels and being able to decipher a good value vs a bad value I now recognize Spyderco as one of the top production knife companies and certainly a great value in comparison to other competitors in its price bracket.

I give knives as a gift...ALOT. I'm always amazed to find the slender ergos of a Kershaw Assisted Open knife beating out the Spyder Hole. It happens almost all the time, to the point where I no longer gift Spyderco or Byrd knives. When I chose to gift a knife, I almost always choose from the stable of US or China made Kershaws, although more often than not I'm forced to choose between a High Value Kizer and a High Value RealSteel. Face it, a Spyderco has a face only a mother could love...and that face doesn't carry much weight with casual knife users.

Maybe he's not. The thought about an assisted opener makes sense. It's probably the most distinguishable and different factor between them. Funny you both mentioned that too, because assisted openers was ALL I used to by. And I honestly wasn't really even aware of Spyderco until I started my dive into the knife world, but most everyone knows of Kershaw's presence. If he isn't so much a knife guy, which I'm now thinking that to be true, the situation makes a lot more sense. I guess I figured it'd be kind of hard to just stumble across a Benchmade (if it indeed was one, but I think he'd know at least the brand). "Face it, a Spyderco has a face only a mother could love...and that face doesn't carry much weight with casual knife users." Haha, pretty much, Hackenslash.

 

[mqqn]

A lot of people equate weight with quality; the one that weighs more feels more substantial and thus can be perceived as being the better knife.

I notice that with my wife, she tends to like the heavier blades because they seem more quality to her.

Others that are not initiated into the Spyderco family might find the oddly shaped blade and the large hole different from what a knife "should look like" .

We all know how Spyderco knives are form follows function, and they function very well, but it took some experience to figure that out.

You did a good thing for your friend either way, nicely done!

best

mqqn

 

[BlueSpartan007]

Looks of the Volt do nothing for me. With that being said, it would probably end up in my pocket before the Tenacious.

I used to own a Tenacious and found that I had a love/hate relationship with the thing. Fit my hand perfectly and with the FFG blade it was a slicing machine. The darn thing just took up to much space in my pocket and I found the heat treatment and blade steel lacking for my needs. Beautiful knife for the money though. If Spyderco ever offers the Tenacious with better steel, I am going to have a problem with my wallet.

Yeah, maybe the pocket space just isn't as big of a deal to me. I don't think I've ran into any problems with 8Cr13MoV, but I probably haven't put through enough to know either. Have to agree with you on the last thought.

I find that width is the dimension that matters most for comfortable carry. What use is a clip on a knife when it still occupies the entire pocket?

To better articulate my point, I think the Tenacious is exactly the kind of budget knife that gets grossly overrated by those of us who are 'deep' in the hobby. It has features that 'we' tend to value but that don't always align with mainstream tastes: manual opening, simple reliable construction, FFG, spyderhole. And the Volt, on the other hand, has exactly the kinds of features that 'we' tend to undervalue: fast & reliable assisted opening, sturdy (heavy) feel, classic aesthetics. I can see why an innocent eye would pick the Volt every time. And I'm at a point in my own collecting where I don't disagree.

Maybe I just don't care as much for the comfortable carry aspect, and I have realized the pocket space. But for someone that does, I could see that. I can look past it with how much I enjoy the knife. Things are definitely making more sense if he is at that stage. After all, I had the Volt before the Tenacious. I wouldn't say I undervalued the Volt, but the abilities I saw the Tenacious had kind of just threw the Volt out of the loop for me. Volt is definitely a better looking knife, but I think I care less for that in a knife of this price point.

 

[BlueSpartan007]

A lot of people equate weight with quality; the one that weighs more feels more substantial and thus can be perceived as being the better knife.

I notice that with my wife, she tends to like the heavier blades because they seem more quality to her.

Others that are not initiated into the Spyderco family might find the oddly shaped blade and the large hole different from what a knife "should look like" .

We all know how Spyderco knives are form follows function, and they function very well, but it took some experience to figure that out.

You did a good thing for your friend either way, nicely done!

best

mqqn

I know I did with my first purchases. I'd also agree that aesthetics were more on my mind the functionality at such a time. I kind of emphasized the weight factor for that very reason. Thank You! I was pretty happy because I'm thinking he'll appreciate and carry the knife more than I had been. And I had a good run with the knife from every day carry for at least a year after getting it.