Best Spyderco work knife

H

Haggenator

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Mar 20, 2015
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I'm a contractor so when I use a knife it gets worked hard. I don't like to worry about caring or scratching the knife. I use a spyderco delica 4 and tenacious.

I think a work knife should be around $50 or less, steel which is easily resharpened, a knife you could drop on the ground, and something you can open and close with one hand.

What else is important for a work knife?

Any other spydercos should be in this list? (I always need another spyderco)
 
I really liked my Sage 2 as a work knife. I don't carry my Sage 3 to work but with it being a more comfortable than the 2 I would. Have like using my Para 2 the last few days and its working well, just possibly too much length, We shall see. My Native was also an excellent work knife.
 
At that price-point, I don't think you're going to beat the two you already have. Although the upcoming byrd Raven in BD-1 is an interesting alternative.
 
The Tenacious is an awesome work/beater knife you can use hard without any qualms whatsoever due to the solid construction and low price, but I take a different mentality a lot of the time though personally. I'm also in construction (We build and maintain cell towers) so I'm using my knives daily for all sorts of tasks, some as mundane as cutting tape off cardboard boxes, and some that are slightly abusive like scraping things off metal etc., and everything in between. I prefer more damage resistant steels at work and better ergonomics for a combination of bare hands and wearing gloves. My two current favourites for using at work are my Schempp Tuff and CruWear Millie because the steels are so resistant to damage. The Millie is a better tower knife because it's lighter, but I prefer the Schempp Tuff ergonomically and overall. The Millie is definitely the better slicer though, but I believe the Tuff is more formidable regarding the more abusive tasks. The Techno is also a knife I carry at work a fair bit, and also my 204P ParaMilitary2, and CruWear Manix.

Also, I've been finding myself pairing a serrated option to augment my PE work EDC choice so that I have serrations for those cutting tasks that benefit from some sawing motion. The Dragonfly Salt SE and my Caly Jr. SE are the two that fill this role most often for me. You could always rock a new super tough knife with a thick blade and extra durable construction, like the Tuff, BattleStation, Vallotton, or Techno...or you could augment your existing choices with a serrated partner for added versatility (H1 in particular is exceptional with serrations and is very tough and damage resistant). Different schools of thought to consider. The Delica is a good knife, but a little thin and short for me personally on a job site, especially while wearing gloves, and steels like CruWear and 3V will be less damaged if you accidentally contact steel or concrete etc. while cutting through a softer medium than ZDP/VG-10/S30V will.




 
For work I am part of a three man crew on Hydrasplit. Our worksite is a gravel mine. We split granite slabs into block for the building industry.

My work Spyderco is a s30v Military. I need my knife to work well in gloved hands. Since sand, dust, and grit gets into everything open construction for flushing out with hot water daily is a must as well.

I don't worry about it's cost, or scratching it up.

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Spydie Stretch. Just about the best user knife out there. Finds it's way into my pocket more than any other knife I own.

rust resistant, large spydie hole (gloved hand opening), lock back (reliability), great jimping, easy to sharpen, open construction for easy cleaning, good cutting edge to blade length ratio, awesome blade length to overall length ratio, full length skeletonized steel liners, great blade shape for cutting, shaped spine allows you to slide your thumb down for a great forward grip, perfect ergos in general, FRN is grippy and keeps the knife very light.

Here's a post I made about the Stretch a couple weeks ago:
mwally said:
Spyderco Stretch.

For a user, its about as good as you can get. While it's simple design & weird blade shape might not be too sexy, it's an outstanding performer. The blade is 3.5" but the OAL is under 8" (and a third of an inch shorter than the Para 2). The simple lock back design, to me, is the best for an EDC knife. I own a couple high-end framelocks and linerlocks, and while they are a joy to operate, I'm always paranoid about using them too much or too hard and blowing thru the life of the lock too quickly.

The blade shape makes it a great slicer, and I love the belly on it. The large Spydie hole makes for very easing opening, and after a few months of use, the knife flies open. It's much easier to open than the Endura that I used to own. The FRN handles are super grippy, and keep the knife very light weight (3.4oz). As do the skeletonized full length stainless liners. It's also very slim and easy to carry.

Best ergo's I've ever felt on a slim knife. The forward finger choil (w/ jimping) allows you to choke up on the knife for detail work. The aggressively shaped spine (although not pretty) is great for sliding the thumb down for detail work (choked up position). Reverse grip, and natural grip positions are both flawless.

For about $80 you can get the knife in VG10. At $100 you can get it in ZDP-189. I went for VG10 knowing that I really like the ease of sharpening. ZDP-189 is probably my favourite steel for a high-end folder, but not necessarily a hard user (I'm a career firefighter and carry this knife everyday at work as a backup to my fixed blade).

Here's an old pic that I thought would be usefull, so you could see a size comparison with the Stretch and my Mini Grip.
2mxrdzp.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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Not in the $50.00 budget, but a Gayle Bradley is tough to beat...
it's a workhorse.
 
I used my native frn for work carry for over a year with no issues what so ever. I'm a commercial/industrial electrician and it got used everyday, some days harder than others. S30v held up great between sharpenings.
 
If you like the Delica I wouldn't hesitate to pick up an Endura. Many for sale on the exchange at good prices. It is bigger and in my experience, more rugged then the Delica and in all other aspects a "better big Delica" and carries easily. IMHO. I EDCd an Endura for 6+years (in the construction trades too) and only gave up on it when I wore out the blade from sharpening.
 
Being in construction as well and putting knives through the grind I used a tenacious and Delica for years! Both amazing valued knives that can take the abuse and perform in every way. You might be able to score a Manix LW on the secondary market which is a great user that I've carried as well for work. Love that blade shape and it's a slicing machine. Easy one handed opening and closing. It's a must own.

^^^^ Endura above suggested is an just an awesome big brother to the Delica !
 
Work knives: Delica and Endura (FRN handle versions), Dragonfly 2, Native 5 light weight and Manix 2 light weight (both a little pricey though). Tenacious and Persistence are both good.
 
An additional thing to look at might be blade thickness. When I worked as a contractor I really enjoyed having an Embassy. This is well beyond the $50 bar, and they have since been discontinued (at least most variants, I think). The auto opening is fast and firm, and it takes a fantastic edge.

But, to actually qualify for your criteria, you have two fantastic blades there. Another might be a Manix, which run <=$100-ish.

Have you thought of the big brother to the Tenacious? I believe it is called the Resilience?
 
3rdGenRigger said:
The Tenacious is an awesome work/beater knife you can use hard without any qualms whatsoever due to the solid construction and low price, but I take a different mentality a lot of the time though personally. I'm also in construction (We build and maintain cell towers) so I'm using my knives daily for all sorts of tasks, some as mundane as cutting tape off cardboard boxes, and some that are slightly abusive like scraping things off metal etc., and everything in between. I prefer more damage resistant steels at work and better ergonomics for a combination of bare hands and wearing gloves. My two current favourites for using at work are my Schempp Tuff and CruWear Millie because the steels are so resistant to damage. The Millie is a better tower knife because it's lighter, but I prefer the Schempp Tuff ergonomically and overall. The Millie is definitely the better slicer though, but I believe the Tuff is more formidable regarding the more abusive tasks. The Techno is also a knife I carry at work a fair bit, and also my 204P ParaMilitary2, and CruWear Manix.

Also, I've been finding myself pairing a serrated option to augment my PE work EDC choice so that I have serrations for those cutting tasks that benefit from some sawing motion. The Dragonfly Salt SE and my Caly Jr. SE are the two that fill this role most often for me. You could always rock a new super tough knife with a thick blade and extra durable construction, like the Tuff, BattleStation, Vallotton, or Techno...or you could augment your existing choices with a serrated partner for added versatility (H1 in particular is exceptional with serrations and is very tough and damage resistant). Different schools of thought to consider. The Delica is a good knife, but a little thin and short for me personally on a job site, especially while wearing gloves, and steels like CruWear and 3V will be less damaged if you accidentally contact steel or concrete etc. while cutting through a softer medium than ZDP/VG-10/S30V will.




Click to expand...


Love the pics.
 
Pacific Salt is my usual use/abuse knife. Takes a beating well, doesn't have to be cleaned to prevent rust and H1 takes abuse very well. One of the few folders I happily loan out since it is easy to resharpen and hard to damage... SE holds an edge much better than PE with H1, but is a bit more difficult to resharpen..
 
Partially serrated Endura is probably the "best" spyderco work knife. Reasonable price, ambi, tip up/down, vg10, enough serrations to be useful, enough plain edge to be precise, stood the test of time being a robust design.
 
I carry an Endura 4 for work but I get to sharpen a lot of Spyderco Stretch and have given it a lot of consideration as my next knife for work. I do insurance restoration, mold, Asbestos, and water mitigation so my knife gets a good workout daily and from just handleing it the stretch seems like it would fill the role of work knife very well.

BA59CAFF-E378-4083-AC1A-51CAFE3AD9F9.jpg
 
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