native 3 (worth the money)??

[tahomazz]

im looking into the native three any opinions or stories on this knife?

[The General]

I thought you started a thread called Rip Off about the Native?

Do you have an agenda or something? :rolleyes:

Its a great knife.

[tahomazz]

i did but then i got a sage and manix for a steal! so now that i found i need dealer(thanks whoever told me to get a new one) im interested again

[The General]

Its a great blade shape and good steel at a very good price point. Decent lock up, easy to carry and many consider the Native a true classic along with the Military, Delica and Endura. I certainly do.

I own three Native knives and have used a Native 3. I can find no niggles worth mentioning considering its price.

Just a friendly bit of advice, when you are asking questions, its a good idea to provide a bit of background. Look at all your previous posts and then think, what would others think?

You are new here and perhaps you can see why I asked what I asked? I did not want to come over as hostile.

Seriously, if you are interested, try and hold one in your hand. Thats what sold me originally on the pattern.

[tahomazz]

thanks ya i am i didnt realize how many other posts there were

[jabba359]

I thought you started a thread called Rip Off about the Native?

In his defense, $120 for a Native 3 is a rip off in my book.

While I like my Native (carried it yesterday), I think that the Sage has a lot of the same characteristics, but in a slightly more refined package. I do prefer the back/mid lock of the Native to the Sage's liner lock, but the handle on the Sage is much more comfortable and doesn't obstruct the hole when closed (not a big deal to me, but thought I'd mention it FWIW). I also love the swedge on the Native's blade. If you can pick one up for a decent price and you love your Sage, then I think the Native would appeal to you.

Pictured below is the Sage, Native, and Caly 3. The Sage seems to be the offspring of an illicit love affair between the Native and Caly 3. I love my Caly 3 and really like my Native, but the Sage seems to capture the best parts of both knives. So in my book, the Native, while cheaper, is still a slight step backwards in design from the Sage.

[gbelleh]

The Native 3 shows up quite often on the buy/sell/trade forums. Keep an eye out. I got one a couple weeks ago for $35 shipped.

[dsmegst]

Hi,

The Native 3 is pretty interesting. The blade is VG-10, hollow ground. The handle shape is fatter and more rounded (I'm sure you've seen photos) and that shape really lets you get a firm grip on it.

There are no sharp edges and the contours encourage a comfortable grip. The clip does not dig into your hands and wire clips are my favorite style.

There are no steel liners in this knife but the thicker handle is very stiff and stable. The grip pattern is similar to the Delica/Endura. Very grippy (compared to the S30v Native) but there are flattened patches for your fingers for comfort.

The jimping is subtle but still functional. It's not as aggressive as the S30v Native though. The finger choil is slightly wider and more rounded on the Native III so it's more comfortable also. There's a lot of attention to ergonomic details on this knife.

So I find the Native III to be the better knife in hand but the slimmer profile of the S30v Native is more comfortable to carry in the pocket. That's what it comes down to for me, better knife while in use vs slightly easier to carry in the pocket. It's your choice.

[RIOT]

if i carried a Native it would be the Native 3, i like the handle and the clip much more than any other Native produced.

My opinion would be different if the CF Native came in anything but plain edge.

[Evil D]

Seriously, if you are interested, try and hold one in your hand. Thats what sold me originally on the pattern.

Same here. It was my first Spyderco knife, and it was the gateway knife that got me into the technical side and quality of a knife, and taught me that there's more to a knife than just looking fancy or having some silly gimmick like assisted open, etc. To this day it's still one of my favorite knives..i can't wait for the new one to hit the market and i really wish i would've got a carbon fiber Native 4.

Oh, and recently i got to play with a carbon fiber Sage, and i must say that knife was spectacular. I'm not a big fan of liner locks but i could live with it for that knife. It was very very nice and felt awesome in hand.

[The Deacon]

To me, the biggest difference between the C78 and C41 is the handle. The thinner handle allows the C41 Native to be carried more discreetly, while the thicker orthopedic handle of the C78 Native III is more comfortable if you have a lot of cutting to do. Other differences would be the steel and the clip.