The new Drunken: A tweaked SpydieChef?

[Glock Guy]

Personally I've only had 2 Spyderco flippers: The Southard & The Domino. Both sucked.

IMHO as far as "production" flippers go, ZT is the top. Period. The action on their knives is astounding, even BEFORE you figure in the low price/high value you're getting from that company.

All that said, I think Spyderco learned a valuable lesson and applied it to BOTH the Paysan and the Drunken:

Stay in your lane!

Spyderco knows they can't make a decent flipper, so they didn't try with these. Instead, they used the bearings to add an extra dose of smooth to an already great deployment method. It's kind of like Emerson did with the Iron Dragon. That is an EXTREMELY smooth, non-flipper (and with just a SINGLE bearing.)

I'm sure the Paysan and Drunken will be uber-smooth, too.

Will either rival a ZT?

No.

And thanks the the fact that the engineers at Spyderco knew enough not to put them in competition with a company that actually knows how to make a flipper, they won't have to.

 

[lieferung]

I'm also glad it's not a flipper. After a brief phase I settled on the Spydie hole as the superior opening method for me, flicking it is so satisfying and intuitive.

 

[SpandexxHotWife]

Personally I've only had 2 Spyderco flippers: The Southard & The Domino. Both sucked.

As far as "production" flippers go, ZT is the top. Period. The action on their knives is astounding, even BEFORE you figure in the low price/high value you're getting from that company.

All that said, I think Spyderco learned a valuable lesson and applied it to BOTH the Paysan and the Drunken:

Stay in your lane!

Spyderco knows they can't make a decent flipper, so they didn't try with these. Instead, they used the bearings to add an extra dose of smooth to an already great deployment method. It's kind of like Emerson did with the Iron Dragon. That is an EXTREMELY smooth, non-flipper (and with just a SINGLE bearing.)

I'm sure the Paysan and Drunken will be uber-smooth, too.

Will either rival a ZT?

No.

And thanks the the fact that the engineers at Spyderco knew enough not to put them in competition with a company that actually knows how to make a flipper, they won't have to.

“Spyderco Learn a lesson” got to say we the buyers should learn a lesson with the amount of crappy flippers they put out we buy them can’t sell fast enough. The part that chaps my spandex ass is they had the opportunity to make it right with all of us and instead the charge double. Nope not rolling the dice this knife will have to be out for quite some time to prove itself. Love the look but spyderco flippers they owed us a better deal than this.

 

[M. Johnwell]

“Spyderco Learn a lesson” got to say we the buyers should learn a lesson with the amount of crappy flippers they put out we buy them can’t sell fast enough. The part that chaps my spandex ass is they had the opportunity to make it right with all of us and instead the charge double. Nope not rolling the dice this knife will have to be out for quite some time to prove itself. Love the look but spyderco flippers they owed us a better deal than this.

It’s not a flipper though? I’m kind of missing the comparison you’re making.

If you want a less expensive Spyderco flipper with the improved bearing design I believe there are several which have it in place including the mantra 3 and the updated advocate. The mantra 3 is actually cheaper than the original 1 and 2, albeit without titanium.

The drunken is pretty much a manufacturing showpiece from what I can tell, and is priced as such.

For what it’s worth, I had a mantra 1 with the original bearing system. It wasn’t as smooth as the companies which only make flippers, but it was still pretty fun. Plus it actually was thin enough to cut stuff.

 

[Danke42]

“Spyderco Learn a lesson” got to say we the buyers should learn a lesson with the amount of crappy flippers they put out we buy them can’t sell fast enough. The part that chaps my spandex ass is they had the opportunity to make it right with all of us and instead the charge double. Nope not rolling the dice this knife will have to be out for quite some time to prove itself. Love the look but spyderco flippers they owed us a better deal than this.

The knives work fine. The flip open and they cut stuff. Maybe you're in the wrong place? Respectfully of course but maybe go fishing elsewhere.

I know we're all one big happy family here but don't mistake kindness for weakness

 

[SpandexxHotWife]

Kindness for weakness? I’m referring to knives your not liking that someone doesn’t agree with your thought pattern on a knife and you get aggressive ?

Scared of a woman’s perspective ? Spyderco has it’s crap and it’s gems just like most lines.

I see just a weak pathetic person

 

[lieferung]

I bought a ZT0450 LNIB and it was not only chunky but it had a crap factory edge. I sold it and bought a used regrind ZT0450 that was thinner behind the edge and actually cut.

All of my Spyderco blades were shaving sharp straight from the factory.

 

[sharp_edge]

Personally I've only had 2 Spyderco flippers: The Southard & The Domino. Both sucked.

As far as "production" flippers go, ZT is the top. Period. The action on their knives is astounding, even BEFORE you figure in the low price/high value you're getting from that company.

All that said, I think Spyderco learned a valuable lesson and applied it to BOTH the Paysan and the Drunken:

Stay in your lane!

Spyderco knows they can't make a decent flipper, so they didn't try with these. Instead, they used the bearings to add an extra dose of smooth to an already great deployment method. It's kind of like Emerson did with the Iron Dragon. That is an EXTREMELY smooth, non-flipper (and with just a SINGLE bearing.)

I'm sure the Paysan and Drunken will be uber-smooth, too.

Will either rival a ZT?

No.

And thanks the the fact that the engineers at Spyderco knew enough not to put them in competition with a company that actually knows how to make a flipper, they won't have to.

Not arguing with you about other things you said in this post, but your claiming that ZT is the top of production flippers PERIOD is at best just your opinion. Try a Reate and then rethink about that claim. I am sure other people with experience of brands like Shirogorov can chime in as well.

 

[ScooterG]

Kindness for weakness? I’m referring to knives your not liking that someone doesn’t agree with your thought pattern on a knife and you get aggressive ?

Scared of a woman’s perspective ? Spyderco has it’s crap and it’s gems just like most lines.

I see just a weak pathetic person

 

[Glock Guy]

Not arguing with you about other things you said in this post, but your claiming that ZT is the top of production flippers PERIOD is at best just your opinion. Try a Reate and then rethink about that claim. I am sure other people with experience of brands like Shirogorov can chime in as well.

True, that was just my opinion.

However I’ve owned 2 Reates and stand by my opinion that ZT makes a better flipper.

I also said production flipper, which is NOT what I would consider a Shiro. To me a Shiro is a mid-tech.

 

[knarfeng]

Talk about the knife and not one another.

 

[Danke42]

This being the first Sinkevitch Spyderco mash up I suspect it'll be out of the park . Anyone who doesn't want to buy is free to but I'll put my chips on more folks wanting and not being able to find one vs. anyone getting one and being let down.

 

[AF]

I haven't tried any of Spyderco's gen 2 flippers with the updated bearing assembly. They appear to be an improvement.
They don't seem to want to use a super strong detent. Instead they're opting for a balanced opening that works well with both the opening hole and the flipper.
If you watch Eric demo the Amalgam you'll see what I mean.
As far as ZT making the best production flipper? Nope. WE and Reate are better.

 

[SpandexxHotWife]

I bought a ZT0450 LNIB and it was not only chunky but it had a crap factory edge. I sold it and bought a used regrind ZT0450 that was thinner behind the edge and actually cut.

All of my Spyderco blades were shaving sharp straight from the factory.[/QU

I haven't tried any of Spyderco's gen 2 flippers with the updated bearing assembly. They appear to be an improvement.
They don't seem to want to use a super strong detent. Instead they're opting for a balanced opening that works well with both the opening hole and the flipper.
If you watch Eric demo the Amalgam you'll see what I mean.
As far as ZT making the best production flipper? Nope. WE and Reate are better.

i love REATE knives not so much a fan of WE knives they look to space age to me lack a refined look for what I like. But great price point. Like ZT for flipping but my favorite so far is Koenig they really pay attention to small details so many ch come out Nicks YouTube explains them well. The Russians get it right as well.Spyderco the new model is almost the look of a flipper but not one obviously. Just wish Spyderco made up all the crap flippers to us by making an affordable one. Also the drunken looks like a Spyderco Chef and a ZT had a baby then charged twice as much. Wish it looked more original for 400 plus dollars

 

[lieferung]

It's a Sinkevich design, the ZT's he designed are based on his customs so really the Drunken is just a Sinkevich designed spydie. I agree the price is tool high but a premium product is what they were going for I guess.

Can't say I'm hoping for a decent flipper from Spyderco, I love the Spydie hole. It's like a thumbstud but better.

 

[Sharp Guy]

I haven't tried any of Spyderco's gen 2 flippers with the updated bearing assembly. They appear to be an improvement.

I have a Advocate with the new bearings. The action's smooth, the detent's fairly strong and it flips great. It doesn't fire quite as hard as my 0450 but I wouldn't expect it to if I still want to open with the Spydie hole.

They don't seem to want to use a super strong detent. Instead they're opting for a balanced opening that works well with both the opening hole and the flipper.
If you watch Eric demo the Amalgam you'll see what I mean.

I've mentioned this before. It makes perfect sense that they'd want a balance between opening methods. I have non-flipper spydies that have a noticeably stronger detent than most of flipper models I have. I can open those non-flippers just fine. I have no problem flipping my Mantra and Sliverax. They actually flip decent and Spydie flick even better. But if they had a little stronger detent the flipping action would be much improved and they could still be opened by using the thumb hole.

I got lucky when I bought my Southard on clearance last fall. I asked the dealer to pick me one with a strong detent and they didn't disappoint. It fires pretty hard. Problem is the detent's so strong that it's difficult to open via the thumbhole. I can jam my thumb in there and flick it open but there's no way I can roll the blade out slowly.

So there's definitely a balance point between opening methods and I imagine that's kind of difficult to maintain consistently while keeping the price reasonable.

 

[lieferung]

I have a Advocate with the new bearings. The action's smooth, the detent's fairly strong and it flips great. It doesn't fire quite as hard as my 0450 but I wouldn't expect it to if I still want to open with the Spydie hole.



I've mentioned this before. It makes perfect sense that they'd want a balance between opening methods. I have non-flipper spydies that have a noticeably stronger detent than most of flipper models I have. I can open those non-flippers just fine. I have no problem flipping my Mantra and Sliverax. They actually flip decent and Spydie flick even better. But if they had a little stronger detent the flipping action would be much improved and they could still be opened by using the thumb hole.

I got lucky when I bought my Southard on clearance last fall. I asked the dealer to pick me one with a strong detent and they didn't disappoint. It fires pretty hard. Problem is the detent's so strong that it's difficult to open via the thumbhole. I can jam my thumb in there and flick it open but there's no way I can roll the blade out slowly.

So there's definitely a balance point between opening methods and I imagine that's kind of difficult to maintain consistently while keeping the price reasonable.

I don't think the Southard was designed to be opened via spydie hole.

 

[Sharp Guy]

I don't think the Southard was designed to be opened via spydie hole.

Well that would explain why I have issues using the hole! Haha!

I didn't think the hole was meant to be used either but I mentioned this to a couple guys over in the Spyderco Forum and they said they can open theirs up via the Spydie hole no problem. It also doesn't make sense that they'd use a larger hole and have a cut out in the scale to access that hole. Although the cut out does make a nice groove for your index finger when holding and using the knife. So maybe it's there strictly for ergonomics?

Regardless, it has a stronger detent than any of my of other Spydies and it flips great because of it.

 

[bearfacedkiller]

I suppose the cutout on the Southard could just be there for lockbar access but it sure looks like it was made to give access to the hole to me. I have zero problems opening mine with the hole and have even contemplated grinding the flipper off. In the end I don’t really like the knife so it has spent its whole life in a box and I never bothered.

Mine doesn’t have a strong detent but it is as smooth as glass. It flips just fine. It may not “fire” the way flipper fans like though. I haven’t had a Taichung Spyderco yet with a strong detent.

 

[neffarious]

My positron fires pretty hard. Not ZT hard, but harder than, say, a Skyline.