Black Talon II arrived today. Quick review..

[insta9ves]

Bought mine last month. Makes the Civilian look like a toy and comes in at a little over $100.00

Pocket clip is too tight. I fixed mine by sliding two credit cards under the clip and pulled them back about 45 degrees and held them in place for a few seconds.
The result was a perfect 1/16th gap between clip and handle and the wave function works to perfection.

This knife is nothing like the Civi and is way better.

Highly recommended.
BTW, there is nothing wrong with the blade design and if you cut yourself you are just being careless.

Quick Pick of the Byrd Hawkbill, the Civi and the BT11:

Great pic. It's hard to beat the BT2 in terms of the material and performance. XHP steel, stronger lock and "wave" open feature for a cheaper price. The tip looks strong too. Would be nice to see shot comparison shot on the thickness of the tip.

 

[kindasharp]

The Civilian has the better tip and the spider edge can easily out-cut ALL the competition. If I was cutting carpet and sheetrock, I would pick the CS, as it is more designed for utility purposes, the hacksaw type serrations and robust tip,. The Civilian has only one purpose. Glad you like your knife and I hope it serves you well.

 

[Sky Pilot]

One more. Note that the tip has broken on the Civi despite a lack of use.
The tip on the Civilian is paper thin while the tip on the Black Talon is thin but not as thin and is more robust and sturdy.

 

[DShiflet]

The Civilian has the better tip and the spider edge can easily out-cut ALL the competition. If I was cutting carpet and sheetrock, I would pick the CS, as it is more designed for utility purposes, the hacksaw type serrations and robust tip,. The Civilian has only one purpose. Glad you like your knife and I hope it serves you well.

Wrong on the serrations. Cold Steel's serrations excel at cutting meat, but are actually pretty fragile and NOT ideal for cutting anything else. Spyderco's serrations OTOH are much more utilitarian, only problem is, the Civ isn't a utilitarian knife.

 

[Mr.Tuesday]

So if spyderco's tip is weaker and Cold steel's serrations tend to be more fragile, a plain edge black talon 2 would be the most durable iteration of this style of knife?

 

[Sky Pilot]

Correction. the Spyderco tip is broken and I haven't used it to cut anything.

The BTII is a far better knife in every way.

The Civi feels like a toy in comparison.

No offense to Sal who made it possible for the BTII to come to fruition, but that is one overpriced, overrated knife.

Wish I never dropped $165 on it.

I was disappointed when I got it and had "buyer's remorse"

The opposite of when I got the Black Talon. I immediately noticed that it was a much better built, better quality knife.

I'm thrilled with the Black Talon II

Again, no offense to Sal or Spyderco, but that is my opinion as someone that owns both the Civilian and the BTII

 

[insta9ves]

Correction. the Spyderco tip is broken and I haven't used it to cut anything.

The BTII is a far better knife in every way.

The Civi is like a cheap toy in comparison.

No offense to Sal who made it possible for the BTII to come to fruition, but that is one overpriced, overrated knife.

Wish I never dropped $160 on it.

Ouch. From the last pic you posted, the Civilian tip looks so delicate, almost like paper. I bet you can snap it off by slightly bending it with you finger.
For the price, the BTII really wins in every way. Can't even use "made in USA" argument since both are made outside US. Sorry haters...

 

[Sky Pilot]

One month later, the "honeymoon" period with the BTII hasn't worn off. I really love this knife.
CS really hit this one out of the park. The carpenter steel is top notch and the sharpest knife I've ever got out of the box.
The fit, finish and ergonomics are fantastic. The balance seems to be biased to the front of the blade, giving the user extra "weight" and momentum to use in a defensive mode.
The knife just seems to melt into your hand.
Little things like the tight clip can easily be fixed by pushing to credit cards under the clip and bending it back about 45 degrees, although I do not recommend bending a clip that is screwed in place.
The lock and pivot are tight, but using some Friction Zero Oil that is used on fishing reels makes the lock buttery smooth. Mobile-1 oil works well too.
As for the Pivot, loosen it up a bit, find the "sweet spot" then retighten with some Blue Lock Tite and use more of the Friction Zero Oil or Mobile-1

I used to hate "Wave" openers as I like to have a feel for the blade, but the wave opener on this knife is superbly designed that I trust it completely and it just fly's open instantaneously.

IMO, it is by far the best SD folder as it blows the Civi away in price, quality, functionality, quality, ergonomics and everything else I can think of.

I can't say enough good things about it.

Rarely does a product meet the hype it gets before being released and I was afraid of overestimating this knife before release as I was deeply disappointed with the Civilian.
When I got the BTII, my expectations were far exceeded.

But the Black Talon II has really impressed me.

If you don't have the BTII, and are considering getting one, you won't be disappointed.

I like this knife so much I'm going to eventually buy a PE as well, putting off my planned purchases of other knives.

Unless they bring back the Vaquero 4" in CTS/XHP. I've also been eyeing the Marauder for a while now.

So many knives, not enough money.

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

the spyderco civilian was never meant to be a hard use knife, or an edc knifel. in fact it was pretty much designed to be used once as that tip would break once it hit bone. the knife was created for undercover agents to use to escape life threatening situations, and was meant to be very light and easy to carry and conceal. just by looking at the two knives you can see the civilian has a way sleeker profile with no sharp edges or corners that could potentially snag on anything. i think the civilian is a masterpiece, but if you intend to use it for any EDC type stuff at all you are misusing the knife and the civilian even comes with a tag warning you not to do so. the civilian is perfect for what it is intended for in my opinion.

 

[kakefat]

While I'm not interested in a self defense knife I have to say I love the way they did the wave opener on this one. The little cutout on the spine is much more attractive than the way they usually do it where the spine is straight but just places lower than the spine of the handle. On the ak-47 for instance you just seem to lose some blade the way they did it there. I hope they use this cutout on more knives in the future. Also I hope they make a voyager with a wave since they dont really have any waved options in that class.

 

[Sky Pilot]

the spyderco civilian was never meant to be a hard use knife, or an edc knifel. in fact it was pretty much designed to be used once as that tip would break once it hit bone. the knife was created for undercover agents to use to escape life threatening situations, and was meant to be very light and easy to carry and conceal. just by looking at the two knives you can see the civilian has a way sleeker profile with no sharp edges or corners that could potentially snag on anything. i think the civilian is a masterpiece, but if you intend to use it for any EDC type stuff at all you are misusing the knife and the civilian even comes with a tag warning you not to do so. the civilian is perfect for what it is intended for in my opinion.

Not sure how the tip broke on the Civi as I never used it to cut anything. It is really thin, almost paper thin.

IDK if you've had a chance to compare the two, but IMO, the BT is a far better knife. It also was made for one purpose only.
And yes, to address the post above, the wave opening on the BT is fantastic. I've never been a fan of wave openers as I like to be able to feel the blade being deployed but the BT is one knife that I love the wave opener.

A little bit of practice to get a feel for it and to make it an automatic reflex should the need ever arise, which I hope it never does.
But if so, I have IMO the best SD knife on the market that I know of.

Again, no offense to Spyderco as the design is 25 years old but it should have gotten a makeover at some point other than handle material and blade steel.
The BT is a great piece of work and CS really hit it out of the park with this one.
I may even buy one with a plain edge someday.

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

i dont have a black talon 2 yet, i actually ordered one the other day and it should be here soon. i will also be getting a spyderco matriarch emerson as well, the black version looks awesome.

 

[mwhich50]

Got mine a few days ago. First knife I own that I've been afraid of. If you get one note, the tip goes beyond the bottom of the knife when closing. My finger was in the way. Tiny cut. Extremely deep. No feeling in part of fingertip. Lots of blood. That was Sunday morn. Pics are from today. Awesome knife.

[emoji12]

That's a pretty serious design issue. I am surprised we haven't seen more people reporting accidental cuts on the first day. Thanks for posting!

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

i received my talon 2, it really is a superb knife. however, i think i still like the civilian more just because of its sleeker profile. the talon feels just as good in the hand, but i prefer the aesthetics of the civilian more and i prefer the spyderhole over the thumbplate. and while the blade of the talon is very nice with a thicker tip, i like the way the blade on the civilian looks more. definitly a great version of the spyderco reverse S, which is actually completely different from a hawkbill.

i also have the original black talon and the elusive zytel black talon as well, and i want to get a spyderco matriarch emerson soon. i definitely love the reverse S blade.


here is the zytel talon for anyone who hasnt seen it, i think this knife is a real badass blade, the tip was super thin though just like original black talon

 

[DesertDrifter]

A Better comparison would be the Matriarch II with the Emerson opener on it. The Black Talon II will have a stronger lock and better steel, but the Matriarch will be cheaper overall in price. I believe most would carry these knives for self defense purposes as other blade designs cover more bases in overall usefulness.

 

[ursamajor]

the spyderco civilian was never meant to be a hard use knife, or an edc knifel. in fact it was pretty much designed to be used once as that tip would break once it hit bone. the knife was created for undercover agents to use to escape life threatening situations, and was meant to be very light and easy to carry and conceal. just by looking at the two knives you can see the civilian has a way sleeker profile with no sharp edges or corners that could potentially snag on anything. i think the civilian is a masterpiece, but if you intend to use it for any EDC type stuff at all you are misusing the knife and the civilian even comes with a tag warning you not to do so. the civilian is perfect for what it is intended for in my opinion.

Except one waves, and the other doesn't. Besides, one stab or slice ends the life or death fight like only 0.000000000000000000001% of the time.

Advantage Black Talon II.

 

[Sky Pilot]

No offense, but the Civi is like a cheap toy compared to the BT II, a complete waste of $165.00.
In hindsight, I wouldn't pay $50 for it.
The BT II is a masterpiece compared to the Civi.

Pick up a Civi, then pick up a BT II.

It's like driving a 7th generation Corvette compared to driving a Pinto.

The Civi is a cheap toy and I was extremely disappointed when I opened the package.
Talk about buyer's remorse...

 

[Sky Pilot]

So if spyderco's tip is weaker and Cold steel's serrations tend to be more fragile, a plain edge black talon 2 would be the most durable iteration of this style of knife?

I disagree with the premise of your argument that CS serrations are weaker, especially the CTS-XHP steel.

 

[Mr.Tuesday]

I disagree with the premise of your argument that CS serrations are weaker, especially the CTS-XHP steel.

I've never actually had a serrated cold steel knife so maybe it isn't fair for me to assert anything about their serrations. I was just making an observation based off people's stated experience with them. Which do you think is more durable, plain edge or serration?

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

No offense, but the Civi is like a cheap toy compared to the BT II, a complete waste of $165.00.
In hindsight, I wouldn't pay $50 for it.
The BT II is a masterpiece compared to the Civi.

Pick up a Civi, then pick up a BT II.

It's like driving a 7th generation Corvette compared to driving a Pinto.

The Civi is a cheap toy and I was extremely disappointed when I opened the package.
Talk about buyer's remorse...

i disagree, i carried the talon for a couple weeks and i still prefer the civilian more. its all personal preference. i like the sleeker profile of the civilian a lot more than the talon. the handle of the civilian fills my hand a bit better than the talon. also, i prefer carrying the civilian with the pocket clip set for tip down carry and i like opening it from the tip down position while the talon can only be carried tip up. i also prefer using the thumbhole over the thumbplate.