My first Spydercos

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sal recommended the Delica, and rightfully so - hump or not that is a near perfect little knife. But if you're that against it, do yourself a favor and get the Native. It's like a Delica but a more solid grip and robust blade, and lacks the hump you so dislike. I've also seen videos of Natives broken in enough to flick, not something I can say of the Delica.
 
metaxasm said:
Don't hate the hump. It makes it eaisier to open and use with gloves.
Click to expand...

The hump viscerally disagrees with me. As an inhabitant of the Pacific Northwet west of the Cascades, I rarely need gloves, but when I do I usually don ragg wool fingerless gloves -- just so I don't have to resort to carrying a hunchbacked knife.
 
5-by-5 said:
I know not of this ugliness of which you speak. Though I fell in love with Spyderco in the early 80's. I have a hard time not berating those that flick their knives. We used to punch punks that flicked our knives.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to learn you are blind. It's nice to know your disability has not prevented you from enjoying knives.

What is your flickophobia about? Does the sound of a blade flick disconcern the unsighted?
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Pteronarcyd,

Welcome and thanx for giving us a try. Of course, as a scientist, you must recognize that you have already fixed the results by limiting your purchase based on appearance, which is wholly unscientific. I often say "Too much eye, not enough brain".

I would suggest that you purchase a Delica 4 plain edge flat grind and use it for a while before coming to any conclusions. After all, you want to include the variables? Considering that most of our knives sold, by far, are the "fugly" models with the "fugly" hump. Which means that most of the opinions of users are based on that for which you don't like the looks.

Just some thoughts to share.

sal
Click to expand...

Sal,

Thanks for touching base.

My two degrees make me a scientist, but I do not subscribe to scientism. A scientist practices science, a methodology; whereas, scientism is a false ideology claiming science to be the only path to knowledge. Thus, I have no problem accepting that my aesthetic sense of beauty won't steer me wrong.

The Delica is one of your fugliest knives, a brutal example of postmodernism. I recoil in horror every time I see a knife reviewer use one in a size comparison. Your suggestion, however, prompted me to look up its specs, although I had to keep a barf bag handy while the knife was on screen. I see the blade is quite thin, but not as thin as my eye-pleasing Chaparral. Argumentum ad populum may be an effective sales pitch, but as one thoroughly steeped in the Anglo-American Enlightenment I don't easily fall for elementary fallacies.

I scanned your offerings for humpless blades. The Manix 2 looks like a good candidate.
 
lieferung said:
Sal recommended the Delica, and rightfully so - hump or not that is a near perfect little knife. But if you're that against it, do yourself a favor and get the Native. It's like a Delica but a more solid grip and robust blade, and lacks the hump you so dislike. I've also seen videos of Natives broken in enough to flick, not something I can say of the Delica.
Click to expand...

The Native 5 is on my wish list. The Manix 2 is higher on the list because of blade lock diversity and a blade substantially longer than the Chaparral.

How does the Sage 5 compare to the Native 5, other than the former having the compression lock, which I'm liking on my Lil' Native?
 
mitch13 said:
You have also to consider the hump & spyderedge together, great cutting ability.
A combo I use often.
Click to expand...

I've sliced some paper with the Lil' Native, and was surprised how well it did. This is the best factory edge I've seen. I've yet to take the Chaparral to paper.

So, I think I can see benefits to the edge, but what, pray tell, might benefits be attributed to the unholy hump?
 
Pteronarcyd said:
The Native 5 is on my wish list. The Manix 2 is higher on the list because of blade lock diversity and a blade substantially longer than the Chaparral.
Click to expand...

Seems like you prefer SMALLER knives (as well as humpless). I'm the opposite. While I have some smaller Spyders, my preference is for the larger ones and I don't mind the hump. If I did, I wouldn't own over 100 Spyders since most of them have one.

Anyway, if you want to expand your horizons and are looking for a knife w/a 4" blade, I'd suggest that you take a look at the new Native Chief which does not have a hump and is one of the sleekest knives (in terms of design) that Spyderco currently makes.

BTW, the Sage, Chaparral and Native are all essentially the same to me but of the. the Native is the only one w/o a hump. I prefer the Native mainly because it is one of the oldest Spyderco knives, offers a much wider variety of models and is a predecessor to the Native Chief. I've got a Gen1 FRN as well as a CF S90V version of the Native in addition to the Native Chief, which are all fine knives.
 
No big secret.
As it's designed for, the hole makes for ease of opening. As i often use spyderedge while gardening, a large hole such as on the Atlantic salt makes for ease of opening & closing, even with gloves. Comapred with thumbstuds, I personally find it handy to clean no grime & moisture retained around thumb studs, although that could be said of flippers.
For me the functionally of a 1 handed opening is met by the spyderhole. I've never had my thumb slip on to blade, as i have happen wirh studs.
So for me that big humback hole & sharp edge, make for a great daily user, also easy to find in a pocket as I don't always use the clip:) & I do like the look.

Have fun finding what suits you, so many to choose from.
Cheers
Mitch
 
sgt1372 said:
Seems like you prefer SMALLER knives (as well as humpless). ... .

...

BTW, the Sage, Chaparral and Native are all essentially the same to me but of the. the Native is the only one w/o a hump. ... .
Click to expand...

If I happen to stray into the city limits of nearby Seattle with a knife having a blade in excess of 3.5 inches, I'd be guilty of carrying a dangerous weapon, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and up to 364 days imprisonment.

I regard my Chaparral as humpless, but taxonomists can and do disagree. The blade spine of the Chaparral is barely raised more above the spine of its tang than on my Benchmade Mini Freek.
 
Pteronarcyd said:
...what, pray tell, might benefits be attributed to the unholy hump?
Click to expand...

I remember being unsure before my first one, but once I'd tried a good hump - wow! - I was sold.

To me, it's not a hump, it's a thumb ramp. Para 2, sabre grip, push thumb into jimped ramp, feel it lock so securely into the hand, that's a real benefit, and more about using it than looking at it.

If you prefer the not-so-much hump on the Manix 2, cool, it's an extremely solid folder with awesome ergonomics, slightly under 3.5", though be aware, it's far more substantial than the Li'l Native and Chaparrel.

But, how do you feel about a good stiff ball-lock?

QP8jmjo.jpg

N2qj1X1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Pteronarcyd said:
I've sliced some paper with the Lil' Native, and was surprised how well it did. This is the best factory edge I've seen. I've yet to take the Chaparral to paper.

So, I think I can see benefits to the edge, but what, pray tell, might benefits be attributed to the unholy hump?
Click to expand...

Paper carving is an important skill at Thanksgiving.:cool:
 
Warning issued for insults.
Pteronarcyd ---

Not meaning to be critical, but I have to ask why are you so shallow in your thinking and impressions about tools? Have you always been like this, a know it all? You seem to be missing some screws when evaluating these things, much to the distain of the many knife users of this forum. Maybe you should have studied engineering when in college?

My suggestion is that you try to use the tool before spouting off about it's various characteristics. The Spyderco folks have more experience with knives and their users than you can ever dream of having.

Here is my EDC knife, one of the many Spyderco knives I have used, and enjoyed using, over many years. Do you think this fellow knows much about knives?

 
Last edited:
Spyderco’s are some of the best knives on the market. Even if someone doesn’t like the looks, the level of quality cannot be overlooked. I have owned numerous knives from different manufacturers and Spyderco is among the best.
 
BTW, regarding the hump: the reduction of material due to Spydie hole, and the reduction of effort when using the knife: both decrease the knife's carbon foot-print. At least that's the consensus of the scientific community; numerous models and available scientific data have shown that the hump has positive impact on Climate Change. Ugly or not, you should try one - you'll help save our planet !
 
Last edited:
ferider said:
BTW, regarding the hump: the reduction of material due to Spydie hole, and the reduction of effort when using the knife: both decrease the knife's carbon foot-print. At least that's the consensus of the scientific community; numerous models and available scientific data have shown that the hump has positive impact on Climate Change. Ugly or not, you should try one - you'll help save our planet !
Click to expand...

I approve of this message. I have a degree in science, so everyone else has to agree too.
 
Pteronarcyd said:
The Native 5 is on my wish list. The Manix 2 is higher on the list because of blade lock diversity and a blade substantially longer than the Chaparral.

How does the Sage 5 compare to the Native 5, other than the former having the compression lock, which I'm liking on my Lil' Native?
Click to expand...
I don't have a Sage, I have seen that its handle is similar to the Native so I'm sure its ergonomics are just as good.

The Manix 2 is a great knife, the lock is quite stiff at first though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top