Southard blade finish???

Added a poor picture
qqIHbDC.jpg
 
Guess I should be glad that I just have a black DLC Southard. Don't have a Slysz Bowie but will have to check to see if my Positron has a similar finish.
 
The Techno 1 had a similar finish but the Southard had a much higher almost glassy polish.
 
My Southard had that same polished stonewash. Similar to my Techno. I figured that was deliberate because a straight stonewash is not Spyderco's thing. I'd be wady of the one with matte finish.
 
I took a look at my Positron and Hanan and they both have a high polished blade over a dull gray finish like the Southard next to the Hop Orange can in the photo above. I wouldn't call the underlying finish "stonewashed" but I can see how you might call it that.

Both of these knives were designed by Southard and made in Taiwan. I only have a black DLC Southard, so I can't make a comparison w/that model but it would not be surprising (but actually expected) that a G10 Southard would have a blade similar to the ones on the Positron and Hanan.

So, Rusty: If you've got one of those other knives handy, compare it to your Southard to see if the blades match or not. If they do, your Southard should be authentic.

BTW, of the other Spydercos that I've looked so far, only the Shaman (made in Golden) had a blade finish anything like the one on the Positron and Hanan; it had a similar gray "stonewashed" tone but wasn't has highly polished.
 
Last edited:
I’ve seen multiple pictures of Southards with a highly polished stonewash (similar to Rusty’s). The two that I own have a heavier, less reflective stonewash. As someone implied above, I was under the opinion that there was a change somewhere during the production runs.

ETA, it’s also been established that there were some grind variations with the different runs, at least with regards to the ricasso.

Rusty, those pics look legit. Nice knife.
 
Last edited:
4mer_FMF said:
I’ve seen multiple pictures of Southards with a highly polished stonewash (similar to Rusty’s). The two that I own have a heavier, less reflective stonewash. As someone implied above, I was under the opinion that there was a change somewhere during the production runs.

ETA, it’s also been established that there were some grind variations with the different runs, at least with regards to the ricasso.

Rusty, those pics look legit. Nice knife.
Click to expand...
Thanks man.
I’m almost positive it is too.
When a concern is brought up, you tend to doubt yourself a bit tho.
Thanks for the help.
 
I've only handled two fake Southards, one that I bought to compare and the other that someone tried to sell me as real. I have neither, as I traded away the one I bought (to someone that wanted to try a blade mod out on, he knew it was a clone and he wanted it to experiment on) and the other I returned to the seller for a refund.

Both looked very real until you looked quite closely, and both flipped great for what it's worth. Both had no flat section on the pivot screws, so if your has the flat side that's not proof, but a good sign, and similarly on the frame screws:

W11CDHS.jpg


pnWUOLb.jpg


I don't have much from back then, but I have a few quick and dirty pictures that call out the obvious differences. The most obvious thing on both of the fakes I handled were the flat spots I showed above. The extra hole and little metal nubs are trickier, as some real Southards I've purchased were missing the scale nub thing (probably due to them falling out when disassembled) but I've bought a bunch of them second hand. The real blade finish is usually a shiny but not really shiny sort of stonewashed perfection, IMO.
 
evilgreg said:
I've only handled two fake Southards, one that I bought to compare and the other that someone tried to sell me as real. I have neither, as I traded away the one I bought (to someone that wanted to try a blade mod out on, he knew it was a clone and he wanted it to experiment on) and the other I returned to the seller for a refund.

Both looked very real until you looked quite closely, and both flipped great for what it's worth. Both had no flat section on the pivot screws, so if your has the flat side that's not proof, but a good sign, and similarly on the frame screws:

W11CDHS.jpg


pnWUOLb.jpg


I don't have much from back then, but I have a few quick and dirty pictures that call out the obvious differences. The most obvious thing on both of the fakes I handled were the flat spots I showed above. The extra hole and little metal nubs are trickier, as some real Southards I've purchased were missing the scale nub thing (probably due to them falling out when disassembled) but I've bought a bunch of them second hand. The real blade finish is usually a shiny but not really shiny sort of stonewashed perfection, IMO.
Click to expand...
Thanks man.
When I get it back I’ll take it apart and see what it looks like inside.
The pictures are a big help.
Appreciate it.
 
Rusty_shackelford said:
T2ZKJtc.jpg


0J16jK0.jpg


evilgreg evilgreg

seems to jive with your real southard.
Click to expand...

Yup, those photos don't show anything that jumps out at me as wrong at all.

I tried to take some photos of Southard blade finishes before I hit the road this week, but the same blade looked totally different in each picture so I wasn't sure that any of them would make a good example really.
 
4mer_FMF said:
I’ve seen multiple pictures of Southards with a highly polished stonewash (similar to Rusty’s). The two that I own have a heavier, less reflective stonewash. As someone implied above, I was under the opinion that there was a change somewhere during the production runs.

ETA, it’s also been established that there were some grind variations with the different runs, at least with regards to the ricasso.

Rusty, those pics look legit. Nice knife.
Click to expand...

There is significant variation amongst the edges too.

My techno had a similar finish but the Southards had a higher polish over the stonewash.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top