Recommendation? Native 5 or Tenacious

J. Doyle

J. Doyle

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
7,871
Hey all. I've been looking for a knife to try one of the better stainless steels out. I want something that I can leave in the truck and not worry about it rusting and just to have handy for a backup. I'd like to keep it right at that $100- $140 range.

I think I've narrowed it down to a native 5 in cpm spy27 or the tenacious in cpm s35vn.

The native is a back lock and the tenacious is a liner lock.

I don't have a lock preference either way as long as both are reasonably solid. And I have no experience with either steel.

Anyone care to share their preferences on the two steels and/or lock styles with these two models?
 
Drop bear said:
You wouldn't go h1 or whatever the new version is?
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I'm not sure which one that is.

Sorry, it's been a LOOOONG time since I've paid much attention to production folders.

The last spydercos I owned were a smooth linen micarta calypso jr. and a meerkat. šŸ˜
 
I think it's lc200n, I believe it should come in magnacut soon.
I don't have either of those models.
I do however like the native 5 and will pick one up.
 
J. Doyle said:
I'm not sure which one that is.

Sorry, it's been a LOOOONG time since I've paid much attention to production folders.

The last spydercos I owned were a smooth linen micarta calypso jr. and a meerkat. šŸ˜
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The spyderco salt series is their supposed to never ever rust ever line of knives.

And you can get them in H1 and another steel I can never remember the name of.

 
Well Spy27 and S35VN are very similar, maybe the Spy27 sharpens a bit better.
A Native fits my hand perfectly and is the right EDC size for me, so that is what I would go for, but both are good choices.
 
J. Doyle said:
I think I've narrowed it down to a native 5 in cpm spy27 or the tenacious in cpm s35vn.
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I prefer the back lock over the liner lock. The Native also gives you the finger choil. My only SPY27 is a Mule that I've been using for everything from gardening to kitchen work. It holds an edge nicely, and doesn't damage easily. So yeah, I'd get the Native 5 in SPY27.

HOWEVER... depending on the time frame you're looking at, the Native 5 Salt in MagnaCut will be released some time this year. It could be this week, or maybe it will be just in time for Christmas. The Salt would be my first choice if they were all available today.
 
RustyIron said:
I prefer the back lock over the liner lock. The Native also gives you the finger choil. My only SPY27 is a Mule that I've been using for everything from gardening to kitchen work. It holds an edge nicely, and doesn't damage easily. So yeah, I'd get the Native 5 in SPY27.

HOWEVER... depending on the time frame you're looking at, the Native 5 Salt in MagnaCut will be released some time this year. It could be this week, or maybe it will be just in time for Christmas. The Salt would be my first choice if they were all available today.
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Thanks. That's sort of the direction I was leaning.

The magnacut is a very interesting and tempting option. I wish I knew when that was dropping. The only downside there is the yellow scales. Really not my thing but it's not necessarily a deal breaker.

And it might be hard to wait for it.
 
This is an "apples vs oranges" question to me because IMO they are entirely different knives based on shape, size, feel, etc.

IMO, the Native is the "better" knife. Can't beat the back lock for blade "security" and the Native comes in many handle/blade steel variations. If you can't find a Native that you like in terms of handle material and blade steel, it doesn't exist.

The fact that Spyderco's 1st use of MagnaCut in a Native (Salt) is particuarly intriguing but you can also find a Native in virtually any steel that you like.

I think of the Tenacious as a budget/value knife and that's how Spyderco market's it. I see no reason to buy a more expensive version of the Tenacious using "better" steel (like S35VN) unless you think that the (shape, feel, size, etc. of the) Tenacious just suits you better than the Native.

FWIW, I own only 1 version of the Tenacious (the cheapest one) but I own 8 variations of the Native from Gen 1 thru Gen 5, including a Native 5 G10 S35VN and a Native 5 Ti Fluted PE S35VN.
 
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sgt1372 said:
This is an "apples vs oranges" question to me because IMO they are entirely different knives based on shape, size, feel, etc.

IMO, the Native is the "better" knife. Can't beat the back lock for blade "security" and the Native comes in many handle/blade steel variations. If you can't find a Native that you like in terms of handle material and blade steel, it doesn't exist.

The fact that Spyderco's 1st use of MagnaCut in a Native (Salt) is particuarly intriguing but you can also find a Native in virtually any steel that you like.

I think of the Tenacious as a budget/value knife and that's how Spyderco market's it. I see no reason to buy a more expensive version of the Tenacious using "better" steel (like S35VN) unless you think that the (shape, feel, size, etc. of the) Tenacious just suits you better than the Native.

FWIW, I own only 1 version of the Tenacious (the cheapest one) but I own 8 variations of the Native from Gen 1 thru Gen 5, including a Native 5 G10 S35VN and a Native 5 Ti Fluted PE S35VN.
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Good info here. Thank you.

I've never held either one so I narrowed it down to those two by size, steel types available, personal preference on looks and price.

Leaning heavy to native in spy27 now.

Thanks again for your input.
 
The blade steel and lock type differences both seem like a toss up to me, but of the two I'd lean strongly toward the Tenacious due to it's lack of choil. I had a Native before and just couldn't get over how little cutting edge it had for the size.
 
Random Dan said:
The blade steel and lock type differences both seem like a toss up to me, but of the two I'd lean strongly toward the Tenacious due to it's lack of choil. I had a Native before and just couldn't get over how little cutting edge it had for the size.
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You hit on the single thing that kept me from pulling the trigger instantly. Visually that forward choil doesn't do a lot for me and my first thought was they sacrificed a bit of cutting edge to do that.

But I'm still leaning native heavy because this won't be my primary carry and I've heard so many good things. It does look comfortable.
 
J. Doyle said:
Hey all. I've been looking for a knife to try one of the better stainless steels out. I want something that I can leave in the truck and not worry about it rusting and just to have handy for a backup. I'd like to keep it right at that $100- $140 range.

I think I've narrowed it down to a native 5 in cpm spy27 or the tenacious in cpm s35vn.

The native is a back lock and the tenacious is a liner lock.

I don't have a lock preference either way as long as both are reasonably solid. And I have no experience with either steel.

Anyone care to share their preferences on the two steels and/or lock styles with these two models?
Click to expand...
The Tenacious is made in China. The Native is made in Golden Colorado.
In China they track everything you do with cameras and assign everyone a social credit score and penalize you for anything they consider unloyal or incorrect. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System
I try and avoid anything made in China when possible.
 
Man (most of) you guys were right. I was in a store yesterday that had a huge selection of spydercos so I could handle them in person. They had the tenacious and native 5 both. Just from first glance, the tenacious looked cheaper. And handling it I didn't like the fit to my hand or feel of it either.

The Native however was beautiful. Fit my hand well and seemed really well made and durable. It might be the most solid lockback knife I've personally held.

They didn't have the steel type I'm after so i didn't end up buying one there. I'll have to order it.

But thanks again for everyone's input.
 
The Native is a good choice. The Tenacious certainly isn't bad, but I do like the Native 5, even the lightweight, better. SPY 27 is a fine steel. Honestly any of the steels the Native is currently offered with is good. The lockback on the Native is very nicely made. An MXG deep carry clip is a nice addition if you like that kind of thing.
 
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