It's been quite a while since I logged in. I've been in and out of the hospital with various health problems, but I figured I'd get back to 70% of my time here on BladeForums is: knife reviews. I have a lot of backed-up reviews, but today's is kind of special to me. I had the Spyderco Civilian and even used it in self-defense (against a dog) and I was sad when it got stolen. The sprint run of the plain edged Matriarch came and went. Then the Matriarch 2 hit the shelves. That's the subject of this review. The Matriarch 2 is made in Seki City, Japan and sells for around $75 in stores. It weighs 3.5 ounces. Please note that the measurements provided are from my measure, not a website description.
The Handle: The Matriarch 2 has the same handle as the Endura 4, with two changes: the ENDURA 4 molding is replaced with molding that says MATRIARCH 2. Also, the backspacer is molded to shape the contours of the Matriarch's blade. Most noticeably, the space between the pocket clip attachment points is very hollow so the tip can fit inside. The Matriarch 2 is 4-7/8" long when closed and is just under 3/8" thick. The liners are stainless steel and are nested inside the handle scales for thinness. The liners are also skeletonized. The handle scales are black FRN, and have the same "volcano grip" texture as the Endura 4s.
The knife stays open via lockback, and it's positioned mid-way in the handle. Mine was rock solid. In any grip, the knife stays put in your hand. Some molded-in jimping on the handle scales is provided, and it's better than nothing. The entire knife is held together with Torx bits; T-8 for the blade pivot pin screw, T-6 for everything else. The black-coated pocket clip is the standard Spyderco hourglass clip. It can go in any of the four corners, and retention is actually great.
The blade is nicely centered in the handle, although the chisel grind of the tip looks deceiving...
A few people asked where the tip actually passess the handle at. Here it is...
The Blade: What you came to see: that wicked blade shape. First, it's made of VG-10 stainless steel and is 3mm thick. The entire blade length is 3-5/8" long, but only 3-3/8" of that is the cutting edge. The blade is ground on both sides, but like all serrated Spydercos, only the left side is actually sharpened...
(Your eyes don't deceive you; the serrations are slightly angled backwards.)
And the right side...
I was actually surprised to see something missing on this Spyderco. There's no jimping anywhere in the blade! Not on the choil area...
And not on the thumb ramp...
It's not a huge deal. When in a saber grip, my thumb doesn't slip forward, but the jimping is something "standard" on most Spydercos.
The blade rides on phosphor bronze bushings, and they do a great job at letting the blade fly out fast and smooth, but with no blade play. The thumb hole in mine was very sharp, and I needed a file to round it off. It's just a tad smaller than the thumb hole on my Resilience...
For size reference, here's the Matriarch 2 with some of its siblings...
Matriarch 2, Byrd Cara Cara 1, Resilience, Byrd Crossbill G-10.
In all, I think the Matriarch 2 is just great. It's an intimidating looking blade for sure. It was designed for people with very little knife-fighting experience, but it can be used by experts alike. In a reverse grip, edge out, I love it.
For a direct comparison between the Matriarch 2 and the Byrd Crossbill G-10, look below.
EDITed to add:
My Matriarch 2 didn't come with the "this is not a utility knife" tag, but it did come with a nice leaflet explaining the history of the knife.
The Handle: The Matriarch 2 has the same handle as the Endura 4, with two changes: the ENDURA 4 molding is replaced with molding that says MATRIARCH 2. Also, the backspacer is molded to shape the contours of the Matriarch's blade. Most noticeably, the space between the pocket clip attachment points is very hollow so the tip can fit inside. The Matriarch 2 is 4-7/8" long when closed and is just under 3/8" thick. The liners are stainless steel and are nested inside the handle scales for thinness. The liners are also skeletonized. The handle scales are black FRN, and have the same "volcano grip" texture as the Endura 4s.
The knife stays open via lockback, and it's positioned mid-way in the handle. Mine was rock solid. In any grip, the knife stays put in your hand. Some molded-in jimping on the handle scales is provided, and it's better than nothing. The entire knife is held together with Torx bits; T-8 for the blade pivot pin screw, T-6 for everything else. The black-coated pocket clip is the standard Spyderco hourglass clip. It can go in any of the four corners, and retention is actually great.
The blade is nicely centered in the handle, although the chisel grind of the tip looks deceiving...
A few people asked where the tip actually passess the handle at. Here it is...
The Blade: What you came to see: that wicked blade shape. First, it's made of VG-10 stainless steel and is 3mm thick. The entire blade length is 3-5/8" long, but only 3-3/8" of that is the cutting edge. The blade is ground on both sides, but like all serrated Spydercos, only the left side is actually sharpened...
(Your eyes don't deceive you; the serrations are slightly angled backwards.)
And the right side...
I was actually surprised to see something missing on this Spyderco. There's no jimping anywhere in the blade! Not on the choil area...
And not on the thumb ramp...
It's not a huge deal. When in a saber grip, my thumb doesn't slip forward, but the jimping is something "standard" on most Spydercos.
The blade rides on phosphor bronze bushings, and they do a great job at letting the blade fly out fast and smooth, but with no blade play. The thumb hole in mine was very sharp, and I needed a file to round it off. It's just a tad smaller than the thumb hole on my Resilience...
For size reference, here's the Matriarch 2 with some of its siblings...
Matriarch 2, Byrd Cara Cara 1, Resilience, Byrd Crossbill G-10.
In all, I think the Matriarch 2 is just great. It's an intimidating looking blade for sure. It was designed for people with very little knife-fighting experience, but it can be used by experts alike. In a reverse grip, edge out, I love it.
For a direct comparison between the Matriarch 2 and the Byrd Crossbill G-10, look below.
EDITed to add:
My Matriarch 2 didn't come with the "this is not a utility knife" tag, but it did come with a nice leaflet explaining the history of the knife.
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