Slysz Bowie - for those wondering

Its bigger than I was expecting. I think I am going to have to jump in even though I think its priced higher than most of us expected.
 
No self control :rolleyes:

Man... YOu and me both. I bought a shotgun and a pistol this week and was going to pre order the bowie. But friday I happened upon a Hinder sale. So it looks like I will be waiting till these a bit cheaper.
 
I posted this on the Spyderco Forums earlier today. For those that don't frequent there:

As promised, here are some thoughts and comparison shots. You all have your own opinions about wire clips, jimping, etc. I’ll try to leave my opinion out, which one I like better and instead attempt to just point out the differences, not judge.

I don’t have a Millie to compare it to, but against a PM2 it compares similarly in size and carry. The Bowie and PM2 have drastically different blade shape, but to me carry similarly in the hand. The Bowie’s handle, just forward of the locking surface and right below the pivot is curved and makes almost a false choil, if thats a term. It carrys very nicely.

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The thickness is imperceptibly similar to the PM2. Because of the radiused handle on the Bowie it is thinner than the PM2 at the edges and about the same thickness in the middle. Very difficult to tell with the pic below.

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The Southard has an longer, thinner blade, but the cutting edge length is similar. The handle lengths are similar. As you can tell I replaced my Southard’s clip with a deep carry one. The clip on the Bowie almost disappears the Bowie in the pocket. I like it and wouldn't replace it if I could.

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If you like the size of the Stretch, and you want to try a premium knife without a thumb-ramp, then I’d say this is the knife for you. Very similar feel in the hand to me.

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I remember when I thought Natives and Delicas were big. The Native now feels tiny compared to the Bowie. The Bowie has almost an inch more cutting edge than the Native, and closed, the Bowie feels like it takes up less pocket space. My grip on the Slysz Bowie feels far less choked-up than on the Native.

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Eric hit an ergonomic home run with the Domino, but in order for me to carry it, the leaf-shaped blade requires reservations for me to make space in my pocket. The Bowie is about the same size, but its more rectangular form feels like it takes up far less pocket space. In the hand it is not as comfortable as the Domino, but pretty close. Ill take the trade-off here, and will be far more likely to carry it than the Domnio for this reason.

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Here it is agains the Lion Steel SR1A: Very similar shape, size etc. My SR1 has the most awesome lock-up sound. This Bowie sounds Very similar. I think this is due to the heft/weight in the blade. While other liner and frame locks make a “ker-clink” sound, these two make a very deep “ker-CLUNK” sound. I LIKE it!

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I also chose the GB Folder. The are about the same size and feel, though the GB obviously has the thumb ramp.

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Against the Sage:

I like the the Stonewashed finish on the Bowie and think will hide wear far better than the bead-blasted finish of the Sage.
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Against it’s sibling, the Techno:

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The jimping on the backspaced is much sharper and feels like the teeth on a zip-tie.
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Closed pics:

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Lastly, I think the Chris Reeve Sebenza is feat of engineering and design. I am marveled by the fact I am allowed to take it apart, under warranty, and then when I reassemble it, it is just as smooth as before. My one complaint is that the Small is too small and the Large is slightly too large to be legal (3.5”). This Slysz Bowie is the “just right” size: a hair under 3.5”. It is equally as smooth and I really like the Stonewashed finish as it won’t show the famous Ti snail trails that bead-blasted finishes do. The top of the Bowie blade is rounded and jimped very similarly to the Reeve.

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Obviously I’m very pleased with the knife. I hope it is due to the imperial attributes, and not me just subconsciously trying to justify that this expensive purchase was worth it. It was my most expensive Spyderco to date, but worth the premium to me. It may bump my Southard for a while…
 
I'm kinda meh on this one... Looks pretty cool and all, but there are a few too many negatives for me to drop serious money on it.

The price is, of course, the biggest issue I have with it. If I wanted a Ti frame lock made in Taiwan, I would grab my $140 sage 2. Xhp and the increased size are really the only differences between this and the sage. Plus, I'll bet the ergos are better on the sage anyway

Steel- XHP is great stuff, but at this price range it's kinda lacking. Especially considering that the s110v manix was just over 100 bucks....
But then again, CRKs at 350+ still use s35vn, so...

The Spydie hole is mostly covered on the lock side, so that means no option for middle finger flicking unless you're a lefty, which really sucks

The handle also looks a bit blocky and unrefined to me....

Overall I'm not super excited for this one, but if the price drops enough, I might still grab it at some point
 
Great pics VA4lovrs- thanks for posting them! :thumbup:
 
My Slysz Bowie should be here tomorrow and I too was thinking of comparing it to the CRK Sebenza 21.

Slysz BowieSmall SebenzaLarge Sebenza
Blade Length (inches):3.422.943.625
Blade Thickness (inches):0.1380.1250.125
Blade Steel:CTS-XHPS35VNS35VN
Weight (ounces):4.33.944.7
Street Price:$280$350$410
 
Sorry posted in the wrong thread!
 
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Great photos - thanks!

Ram, thanks for the size comparison with the Sebs.

Eager to see the real thing -- if anyone can make a production folder that compares with Sebs it's Spydie.
 
My Slysz Bowie came in and it's just perfect. It's wider than the Small Sebenza but the flush Spydie hole makes it much narrower than most Spydercos except for like the Southard. It feels very nice and comfortable in the hand and flicks open fast. With matte grey titanium barrel standoffs it will look much nicer. Not quite as smooth s a Sebenza but very nice! The titanium scales are thicker on the Sebenza.

  • Weight: 4.28 ounces
  • Open length: 7.75"
  • Closed length: 4.35"
  • Blade length: 3.42"
  • Blade thickness: 0.134" (at the jimping)
  • Blade thickness: 0.117" (in front of jimping)
  • Edge thickness: 0.020"
  • Blade width: 1.154"
  • Titanium thickness: 0.115"
  • Width closed: 1.4"
  • Overall thickness: 0.442"

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My Slysz Bowie came and I really like it, but I wouldn't call it perfect.

First, thanks, Spyderco, for producing an excellent all-Ti folder!

I like the shape, size and weight. Absolutely great for pocket-EDCing.

Spyderco doesn't make bad knives and this one is certainly very good. But at an MSRP of $500, I wish it had better fit and finish and had smoother opening and closing.

Ti folders inevitably are compared to the gold-standard: Chris Reeve Sebenzas.

The Slysz Bowie is no Seb killer. With its Taichung pedigree, the f&f seems better than my Sages but doesn't quite measure up to my Techno, Domino or Bradley.

Thank you, Spyderco, for making another ti-ti model. I wish you would do the same with the Southard, Domino and Dice.
 
My Gayle Bradley was smooth when I first received it, but over time it has become ridiculously smooth. No doubt the Bowie will continue to smooth out as well. I'd run it dry for a few weeks to allow all of the parts to polish each other, then add a good lubricant.

I wasn't terribly interested in this model at first, but it's now peaking my interest. My only concern is the rumored lock-rock with some of the techno's out there, hopefully this model doesn't have similar problems. In all honesty though, I don't know how pervasive the lock-rock issues actually was in real data.
 
My Gayle Bradley was smooth when I first received it, but over time it has become ridiculously smooth. No doubt the Bowie will continue to smooth out as well. I'd run it dry for a few weeks to allow all of the parts to polish each other, then add a good lubricant.

I wasn't terribly interested in this model at first, but it's now peaking my interest. My only concern is the rumored lock-rock with some of the techno's out there, hopefully this model doesn't have similar problems. In all honesty though, I don't know how pervasive the lock-rock issues actually was in real data.

Never heard of the lock rock on Technos. They have a practically perfect track record.
 
Honestly I am not seeing what the big deal is. It's a nice titanium framelock folder, but it's pretty plain and has a very high street price compared to several similar knives. It's not a Sebenza, with that insane production quality and name cachet. Don't get me wrong, I don't even own a Sebenza, and Spyderco is my favorite brand, but I'm not getting the frenzy over this one.
 
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