Brad Southard Flipper Arrived!! Lots of Photos/Video
- Thread starter jackthedog
- Start date
Just got mine last night. This knife is exactly what I have been looking for as an edc. Worth every penny I paid for it. I already modded the clip and will be doing a stonewash on it sometime this week. Well done spyderco, this is the finest production knife I have ever had.
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2011
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- 186
As several others have indicated, the clip isn't perfect. I've only had the knife for one day, but I've found the clip is actually quite, well, pointy, and the bottom edge of the clip is actually fairly sharp. I also found that the angle that the tip of the clip is shaped into just makes it a little awkward. Anyway, following what a few other people have done, I rounded over the tip of the clip, and smoothed over the edges. I think it's improved, but I might take a bit more off yet.
Next step: stone-washing the clip!
Next step: stone-washing the clip!
I completed the stonewash on my clip last night and it turned out great. Totally matches the blade, but contrasts the handle nicely. Then I found a nice peice of gray micarta that could shape up to be a nice cc style scale. Time will tell how that goes, or if it goes. Absolutely love this knife.
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- Nov 18, 2005
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- 7,425
Is there a plated finish on the clip that needs to be removed first, or is the clip just polished natural metal (i.e., not plating or coating)?
Unless you have quick and free access to a blaster, I did the following:
remove clip from knife. Put clip in plastic container with threaded top. Pour 1 cup of small aquarium rocks into container. Spray in some gun oil,wd40, ect. Thread on cap, and wrap in duct tap so it does not come off. Wrap container in bath towel, and tie with string or cord so the towel does not unravel. Put in clothes drier for 45 minutes with NO HEAT. Reverse. Worked pretty darn good and cost a total of 3 dollars.
remove clip from knife. Put clip in plastic container with threaded top. Pour 1 cup of small aquarium rocks into container. Spray in some gun oil,wd40, ect. Thread on cap, and wrap in duct tap so it does not come off. Wrap container in bath towel, and tie with string or cord so the towel does not unravel. Put in clothes drier for 45 minutes with NO HEAT. Reverse. Worked pretty darn good and cost a total of 3 dollars.
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- Nov 18, 2005
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Too clever. 
Yeah, I have a hobby-level blasting setup. Home-cooking stonewash might match better than glass beads, though.
Yeah, I have a hobby-level blasting setup. Home-cooking stonewash might match better than glass beads, though.I got mine today, so I thought I'd share some pics too
(Caly 3, small Sebenza, Southard, large Sebenza, mini-griptilian)
I'm very happy with my purchase (so far, it's brand new). What tipped the scales for me was the steel and the size. It's my first flipper, but it seems to flip fine to me. It can "misfire" but only if you just press the flipper without any oomph at all. The only resistance when opening is coming from the detent ball against the blade. I really like the overtravel stop thingy and that the flipper catches my finger (as opposed to the edge) when the blade falls down when the lockbar is disengaged. It's rock solid in the open position. Zero blade play.
I was worried that it'd be too thick, but it's about the same as the Sebenza. According to my measuring tape the sebenza is about 11,5mm thick without inlays and 13,5mm with inlays. The Southard is 13mm. Also, the pocket clip doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't feel sharp to me.
The only (minor) complaints I have is that the edge is slightly uneven towards the tip and heel. It's going to bug me the first time I re-sharpen it, but it's not really a problem. The lock face on the blade tang looks a bit arc shaped (not flat). Don't know if that will matter. It's kind of hard to "slow open" with the spydie hole, since the detent is pretty strong and the natural grip is to have one finger on the lock bar. Flicking open is easy, though.
(Caly 3, small Sebenza, Southard, large Sebenza, mini-griptilian)
I'm very happy with my purchase (so far, it's brand new). What tipped the scales for me was the steel and the size. It's my first flipper, but it seems to flip fine to me. It can "misfire" but only if you just press the flipper without any oomph at all. The only resistance when opening is coming from the detent ball against the blade. I really like the overtravel stop thingy and that the flipper catches my finger (as opposed to the edge) when the blade falls down when the lockbar is disengaged. It's rock solid in the open position. Zero blade play.
I was worried that it'd be too thick, but it's about the same as the Sebenza. According to my measuring tape the sebenza is about 11,5mm thick without inlays and 13,5mm with inlays. The Southard is 13mm. Also, the pocket clip doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't feel sharp to me.
The only (minor) complaints I have is that the edge is slightly uneven towards the tip and heel. It's going to bug me the first time I re-sharpen it, but it's not really a problem. The lock face on the blade tang looks a bit arc shaped (not flat). Don't know if that will matter. It's kind of hard to "slow open" with the spydie hole, since the detent is pretty strong and the natural grip is to have one finger on the lock bar. Flicking open is easy, though.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2011
- Messages
- 319
Thanks for the photos. The large Sebenza is a good comparison for the Southard.
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2012
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- 1,412
Finally got mine in the mail today! Good news is that this folder is flippen awesome. Bad news is I stabbed my self with my Delica trying to open the box it was in. 2 stitches later and im good
Pictures! Otherwise it did not happen.
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- Sep 5, 2006
- Messages
- 20,593
It's a very deceiving knife, you'd never think it was the same size as the large Sebenza until you see them together. It just has a way of seeming a lot smaller than it is. Very well designed and compact.
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2012
- Messages
- 1,116
I got to fondle one a couple days ago. It is very smooth and quite fun in the hand. From the pictures, I did not like the blade shape, but in person it is an awesome blade. Congrats to everybody that has one.
I'm very happy with my purchase (so far, it's brand new). What tipped the scales for me was the steel and the size. It's my first flipper, but it seems to flip fine to me. It can "misfire" but only if you just press the flipper without any oomph at all. The only resistance when opening is coming from the detent ball against the blade. I really like the overtravel stop thingy and that the flipper catches my finger (as opposed to the edge) when the blade falls down when the lockbar is disengaged. It's rock solid in the open position. Zero blade play.
I was worried that it'd be too thick, but it's about the same as the Sebenza. According to my measuring tape the sebenza is about 11,5mm thick without inlays and 13,5mm with inlays. The Southard is 13mm. Also, the pocket clip doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't feel sharp to me.
The only (minor) complaints I have is that the edge is slightly uneven towards the tip and heel. It's going to bug me the first time I re-sharpen it, but it's not really a problem. The lock face on the blade tang looks a bit arc shaped (not flat). Don't know if that will matter. It's kind of hard to "slow open" with the spydie hole, since the detent is pretty strong and the natural grip is to have one finger on the lock bar. Flicking open is easy, though.
The "arc shaped" blade tang is intentional. It's called a radiused lock face. Lots' of Kershaw/ZT frame lock knives have them, such as the 560 and the Tilt and Spyderco uses it a lot on their frame locks and linerlocks, including the Military. Strider is the main brand people associate with radiused lock faces because they used to have an extreme radius on their knives. You can do the research if you want to understand the logic and arguments behind radiused lock faces and "minimal contact" lock-up (which radiused lockup knives usually employ) versus full contact flat blade tangs, such as Chris Reeve knives. CRK has their lockup figured out and their tolerances are good enough that they can make a knife with a lock-up that mates perfectly with full contact, and then you don't really need to worry about lock wear, lock-rock, etc. But most knife makers can't make their knives that perfect, at least for their price point, so they do other things that fight lock wear and lock-rock. Good knives like Spyderco and ZT with a very mild curve to the blade tang seem to have a good happy medium where they wear slowly and have strong lockup that you shouldn't every have to worry about. You can see for yourself that the Southard has amazing lockup and should stay that way. However, even Strider changed their lockup to CRK style in the past year or so, because the extreme radius they used (even with all of the argument for it) just did not work very well for a very long time, which is why Strider ininfamous for having lock issues, especially lock-rock.
To get back on topic - I am completely in love with my Southard. I've had it on me non-stop for the past week and a half. It's just perfection and truly a knife of the year. I don't get this infatuated with most knives, especially in the price range. Knowing how much I love this thing, I would have paid a lot more for it. Just love it.