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Spyderco Kiwi 3 Review
I received a Spyderco Kiwi 3 as part of a pass around here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/855649-Bob-Terzuola-Stag-Kiwi-3. Sal Glesser and the fine folks at Spyderco made the knife available and Frank K. organized the pass around.
The Kiwi is an unusual breed of Spyderco knife. Since 2002, the Kiwi series has been issued in limited runs once or twice a year with stainless steel bolsters and a different type of scale inlay for each run. The pass around version has stag inlays. Recent sprint runs have used mother of pearl & abalone (MOPA), jigged bone, and carbon fiber. BladeForum member “The Deacon” displays a kaleidoscopic array of many Kiwi versions on his web page here: http://paulberetta.com/
Another unusual feature of the Kiwi is that it is the one of the few Spyderco folders without a pocket clip. A lanyard hole is pre-drilled, though, and you could carry the knife on a keychain. The guiding mission of the Kiwi is to create a traditional style gentleman’s pocket knife with the ubiquitous Spyderhole and the legendary ergonomics of a Spyderco.
Until recently, the Kiwi was produced as a lock-back design with production outsourced to Japan. The last two Kiwis released, however, have been slip-joint designs known as SLIPITs in the Spyderco vernacular, and were made in China. These changes have brought the prices down. The stag version has an MSRP of $54.95 and an all steel version with no inlays is priced at $29.95. Our favorite online retailers sell the knives for about $35 and $19, respectively. The MSRP on the lock-back mother of pearl & abalone design, in contrast, was $143.97 and the jigged bone design was priced at $99.95.
With a closed length of just 3 5/16” and a weight under 2 oz., most Spyderco Kiwis make for easy pocket carry. The stag version is a little chunkier than the other versions I’ve handled, though. Where the inlay on the MOPA version I owned fit flush, the stag inlays are held in place by two Torx screws on each side and project out enough to double the width of the handle. The stag itself looks a little bland, but with natural materials I would expect some variations and you might find a better looking model.
Dual finger choils on the Kiwi 3 take up a good bit of room on the handle and blade and reduce the cutting edge to just under 2”. If you are accustomed to the typical Spyderco leaf-shaped blade, the narrow, pointy, Wharncliffe blade may surprise you. The Chinese Kiwis use Chinese made 8CR13MoV steel, thought by many to be similar to AUS 8 or perhaps 440c - serviceable steels that are probably a little better at taking an edge than keeping it. The Japanese versions use VG-10. Both versions have the expected Spyderhole, but the stiff back spring and small handle on the stag version doesn’t lend itself to easy one-handed opening. I found I could open it with my right hand without too much fuss, but not with my left hand. Your mileage may vary.
The front choil is designed to help prevent accidental closure of the slip joint. In practice, it works. Between the stiff backspring and the choil, it is hard to close the knife on your fingers. The Kiwi 3 came sharp, as is typical with Spydies. Unfortunately, the blade was off center. Since the knife is pinned together, I couldn’t adjust the pivot to try and realign it. There was also some slight side-to-side blade play.
Who is this knife for? If you love your Spydies, but like your traditionals, too, this might be the best of both worlds. With the included presentation-style box, the Kiwi 3 could be a good gift for someone making the transition from traditional to modern folders. For some of you, however, the Kiwi 3 might seem like a “Franken-Spydie” or something designed by a government committee! I prefer my knives to be made somewhere other than China, but the Kiwi 3 is undeniably a good knife at a good price point from a great American company.
Thanks again to Spyderco and Frank K. for putting the pass-around together and for www.BladeForums.com for giving us a place to make it happen.
I received a Spyderco Kiwi 3 as part of a pass around here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/855649-Bob-Terzuola-Stag-Kiwi-3. Sal Glesser and the fine folks at Spyderco made the knife available and Frank K. organized the pass around.
The Kiwi is an unusual breed of Spyderco knife. Since 2002, the Kiwi series has been issued in limited runs once or twice a year with stainless steel bolsters and a different type of scale inlay for each run. The pass around version has stag inlays. Recent sprint runs have used mother of pearl & abalone (MOPA), jigged bone, and carbon fiber. BladeForum member “The Deacon” displays a kaleidoscopic array of many Kiwi versions on his web page here: http://paulberetta.com/
Another unusual feature of the Kiwi is that it is the one of the few Spyderco folders without a pocket clip. A lanyard hole is pre-drilled, though, and you could carry the knife on a keychain. The guiding mission of the Kiwi is to create a traditional style gentleman’s pocket knife with the ubiquitous Spyderhole and the legendary ergonomics of a Spyderco.
Until recently, the Kiwi was produced as a lock-back design with production outsourced to Japan. The last two Kiwis released, however, have been slip-joint designs known as SLIPITs in the Spyderco vernacular, and were made in China. These changes have brought the prices down. The stag version has an MSRP of $54.95 and an all steel version with no inlays is priced at $29.95. Our favorite online retailers sell the knives for about $35 and $19, respectively. The MSRP on the lock-back mother of pearl & abalone design, in contrast, was $143.97 and the jigged bone design was priced at $99.95.
With a closed length of just 3 5/16” and a weight under 2 oz., most Spyderco Kiwis make for easy pocket carry. The stag version is a little chunkier than the other versions I’ve handled, though. Where the inlay on the MOPA version I owned fit flush, the stag inlays are held in place by two Torx screws on each side and project out enough to double the width of the handle. The stag itself looks a little bland, but with natural materials I would expect some variations and you might find a better looking model.
Dual finger choils on the Kiwi 3 take up a good bit of room on the handle and blade and reduce the cutting edge to just under 2”. If you are accustomed to the typical Spyderco leaf-shaped blade, the narrow, pointy, Wharncliffe blade may surprise you. The Chinese Kiwis use Chinese made 8CR13MoV steel, thought by many to be similar to AUS 8 or perhaps 440c - serviceable steels that are probably a little better at taking an edge than keeping it. The Japanese versions use VG-10. Both versions have the expected Spyderhole, but the stiff back spring and small handle on the stag version doesn’t lend itself to easy one-handed opening. I found I could open it with my right hand without too much fuss, but not with my left hand. Your mileage may vary.
The front choil is designed to help prevent accidental closure of the slip joint. In practice, it works. Between the stiff backspring and the choil, it is hard to close the knife on your fingers. The Kiwi 3 came sharp, as is typical with Spydies. Unfortunately, the blade was off center. Since the knife is pinned together, I couldn’t adjust the pivot to try and realign it. There was also some slight side-to-side blade play.
Who is this knife for? If you love your Spydies, but like your traditionals, too, this might be the best of both worlds. With the included presentation-style box, the Kiwi 3 could be a good gift for someone making the transition from traditional to modern folders. For some of you, however, the Kiwi 3 might seem like a “Franken-Spydie” or something designed by a government committee! I prefer my knives to be made somewhere other than China, but the Kiwi 3 is undeniably a good knife at a good price point from a great American company.
Thanks again to Spyderco and Frank K. for putting the pass-around together and for www.BladeForums.com for giving us a place to make it happen.
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