Just got her a few hours ago. I'll try to keep it short and to the point.
Positives:
- MIGHTY FINE SHARP. Scary, scary sharp, like my Gunting. Nice, but I've already dulled it slightly on cardboard... I've brushed my finger on my Gunting before and opened up a nice deep bleeder. The high flat grind on the aggressive Wharncliffe pattern gives it a needle-like tip and a knife that slices like there's no tomorrow.
- Grip ergos are extremely comfortable and lock into the hand, either in saber, hammer, or Filipino. It even works reasonably well in kitchen-knife grip.
- Front guard is deep and very protective; rear taper fits well in my middle-smaller hand, but it could be a little taller. As it is now, in saber, only my fingertips actually contact the knife.
- Fit and finish is quite good in general. The G10 is ultra-grippy; the grooves are ultra-grippy (a little painful in extended use, but grippy)
- Did I mention sharp?
Negatives:
- The action was very smooth from closed to 135deg open. Then it bound up something fierce from there to locked open. Added a drop of Militec-1 and worked the action probably 100 times and it's better, but it still gets stiff. This is annoying because the design of the "bolster" area makes your thumb pop out of the SpyderHole; once the blade seizes up in that area, it makes it hard to fully open the blade.
- Lockup is around 75% across the tang. With a fast snap open, it locks up 100% across the tang, almost pushed against the other liner. I would rather the QC would set the lockup more like 25-50%, like on the Gunting and Lil' Temp I have. Is the stop pin eccentric in that it can be rotated to shift the lockup position?
- Irritating laser marks leftover in the traction grooves and inside the SpyderHole. No biggie.
- The tip is REALLY thin and needle-like. Some full power stabs into cardboard didn't do anything to it, but I'm just counting down the days until the tip wedges into something and pops off. I might have pulled the full flat grind down a little just to give a little more stock thickness in the tip and edge.
Sal & folk,
This is a 9.5/10 knife you have here. She goes directly into my EDC. It was a long wait -- I remember the Snody version, and the announcement that Spyderco would do the production version (is it actually 3 years later?!) but it was worth it.
Next up... the meltdown Lil' Temp to replace the green one. Now that I've held the Yo', I prefer the long handle, with the balance in the palm and 3/4/5 fingers, as compared to the thicker, choked-up feel of the LT.
On the other hand, the LT's blade is a lot more diverse and functional. I like the low tip of the Wharnie, but the LT's handle has allowed access to the tip with great ease, unlike many other knives. In addition, the LT's blade is a lightsaber too, and the tip is aggressive, something I appreciate.
Both the LT and Yo are more functional than the Gunting, but that's to be expected. I actually carried the G for a while as a utility knife, but it kept falling out or falling over due to the extremely low clip placement.
I really, REALLY like the Yo's deep front guard. It seems that precious few Spydercos have one of any functionality beyond a "speed bump".
Thank you!!
-jon
Positives:
- MIGHTY FINE SHARP. Scary, scary sharp, like my Gunting. Nice, but I've already dulled it slightly on cardboard... I've brushed my finger on my Gunting before and opened up a nice deep bleeder. The high flat grind on the aggressive Wharncliffe pattern gives it a needle-like tip and a knife that slices like there's no tomorrow.
- Grip ergos are extremely comfortable and lock into the hand, either in saber, hammer, or Filipino. It even works reasonably well in kitchen-knife grip.
- Front guard is deep and very protective; rear taper fits well in my middle-smaller hand, but it could be a little taller. As it is now, in saber, only my fingertips actually contact the knife.
- Fit and finish is quite good in general. The G10 is ultra-grippy; the grooves are ultra-grippy (a little painful in extended use, but grippy)
- Did I mention sharp?
Negatives:
- The action was very smooth from closed to 135deg open. Then it bound up something fierce from there to locked open. Added a drop of Militec-1 and worked the action probably 100 times and it's better, but it still gets stiff. This is annoying because the design of the "bolster" area makes your thumb pop out of the SpyderHole; once the blade seizes up in that area, it makes it hard to fully open the blade.
- Lockup is around 75% across the tang. With a fast snap open, it locks up 100% across the tang, almost pushed against the other liner. I would rather the QC would set the lockup more like 25-50%, like on the Gunting and Lil' Temp I have. Is the stop pin eccentric in that it can be rotated to shift the lockup position?
- Irritating laser marks leftover in the traction grooves and inside the SpyderHole. No biggie.
- The tip is REALLY thin and needle-like. Some full power stabs into cardboard didn't do anything to it, but I'm just counting down the days until the tip wedges into something and pops off. I might have pulled the full flat grind down a little just to give a little more stock thickness in the tip and edge.
Sal & folk,
This is a 9.5/10 knife you have here. She goes directly into my EDC. It was a long wait -- I remember the Snody version, and the announcement that Spyderco would do the production version (is it actually 3 years later?!) but it was worth it.
Next up... the meltdown Lil' Temp to replace the green one. Now that I've held the Yo', I prefer the long handle, with the balance in the palm and 3/4/5 fingers, as compared to the thicker, choked-up feel of the LT.
On the other hand, the LT's blade is a lot more diverse and functional. I like the low tip of the Wharnie, but the LT's handle has allowed access to the tip with great ease, unlike many other knives. In addition, the LT's blade is a lightsaber too, and the tip is aggressive, something I appreciate.
Both the LT and Yo are more functional than the Gunting, but that's to be expected.
I actually carried the G for a while as a utility knife, but it kept falling out or falling over due to the extremely low clip placement.I really, REALLY like the Yo's deep front guard. It seems that precious few Spydercos have one of any functionality beyond a "speed bump".
Thank you!!
-jon
