(pics coming soon cuz I know that will be the first request!)
Alternative title to this thread could have been: Its easier to spydie drop a Honeybee than it is a Tuff.
-but figured Tuff might get cut off on the main page, and its really the model I wanted to talk about.
SO... I just got my Tuff in from Howes. CC# 35. (whoever you are, thanks for not buying your knife so I could score one early). Here are some initial thoughts on this purpose built model. First off: the title to this thread is no lie, I really did break my thumbnail trying to deploy the Tuff for the first time. It was previously broken about three years ago, and there has been a crack there ever since. But upon trying to put pressure on the inside of the :spyder: hole (as I do hundreds of times a week on many different spyders) It cracked right down the middle, and took a chunk off one side.
(now I know its less the knife's fault, more of my own {and the 200 year old 12 foot tall door I slammed it in several years ago}, and unless your nail is already cracked, I dont suspect you will have an issure. It just takes a TON of force to open the knife, and thats with a decently loose pivot)
One way to look at it: this knife has the best detent of any knife I have ever owned. I believe the strength required to open this knife is down to the ULTRA powerful framelock (*with steel insert - had not been able to see that previously), needed for this model to live up to its name. Its funny, all these super beefy framelocks nowadays are makeing my sebenza's feel light and dainty. With this one, its so tough, an over travel is really, truely not necessary. It would be nice to have something like a redundant rotoblock, but you would have to be He-Man push this lock bar a mm past where the lock disengages. The steel insert is just on the leading edge of the framelock (as opposed to some models that have an insert that covers the whole lock bar face). Its an interesting way to do it. Its like a liner lock interface, with all the strength of a Ti lockbar behind it.
The old 'thumb it all the way open' is the only method realistically you could use to open the tuff. Spydie drops, ARE easier on a honeybee, inspite of the it's weight; and Im pretty sure if it had an emerson wave on it, you would be more likely to tear your pants off than open the blade to full deployment... Fine by me, although it may take some getting used to. In fact, I find that i prefer to grab the machined out ridge running along the spine of the knife, closer to the tip, to open this knife easier. You may be thinking pffff... thats not necessary! But I assure you, the force required to open this thing from the deployment hole is substantial.
Intially the ergonomics really bothered me, and its because of one reason. The over sized choil. Its my first Shemp knife, and I know his designs famously have an over sized choil, but Im pretty sure I dont like that. There is jimping on the choil of the Tuff, that for me, is completely unreachable unless I really contort my grip, or even put two fingers on the choil. Neither of these things are very comfortable, so I stopped trying to reach for the jimping. It INSTANTLY became a VERY comfortable design. My pointer finger is absolutely no where near the beginning of the jimping which says one of two things to me: 1- Its there just in case of slipage forward 2 - Its unnecessasary and we could have had another half inch of blade. Also, it moves the place where you cut out another inch, changing the fulcrum on your wrist to where there is more force out further on the blade. I think this is not ideal for long term use.
Personally I preferred the pre production prototype to the final as far as looks go, but I can see why they changed to a less agressive texture on the Ti/clip side. The g10 is sort of an interesting texture though. feels almost like nylon weave. Pretty cool...
The Tuff is easily the most solid, tank like folder I have ever come across, including offerings from ZT and some other pocket tanks. The oversized machined pivot is really cool, and the lock up is beyond bank vault. The hard use folder is sort of a niche position, because do any of us REALLY need one? I mean, if Im knowingly going to be doing something very knife-centric that could involve very tough cutting chores, I bring a fixed blade and Im sure many of you are like me. I guess the point with the tuff is, now you dont have to? Its as close to a folding fixed blade as Ive ever seen...
So... I tried to flick open m Tuff, and just broke my thumbnail lol
I agree with everything you said, but I had to open with both hands because I thought it was jammed. I have every Schempp knife spyderco made except the Kris, they all felt like they were made for my hand except for the Tuff, that aside I'm sure I will get more familiar with it this week. I love the knife, quite excited to see what it can do!
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austinguy23
- Member
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:52 pm
Some impressions of the Tuff so far...
I was pretty disappointed with the look of the dimples when the prototype pictures were released. But, I knew I was going to get the Tuff anyway just to complete my Spyderco Schempp collection. Now that I finally have it in hand, I'm starting to "get it." The edges of the dimples on the Ti side are sharper than I expected, and really do offer good traction. The dimples of the G-10 side seem shallower, and are less noticeable.
As others have said, it is quite difficult to open. The detent is stronger than any knife I've ever owned, and disengaging the lock also takes deliberate effort. The choil placement doesn't bother me at all. Ergonomically, I like the Tuff. The fuller is a very interesting feature. It's cut shallower than it looks in pictures, and the edges are nicely rounded, so the fuller shouldn't get in the way, or catch on what you're cutting.
It also has some very nice design features and refinements. It's very rounded all the way around when closed, so there's nothing to catch on clothing or tear up pockets. The clip is nice and strong, but contacts a smooth surface on the frame, so the knife slides easily in and out of the pocket. It's built like a tank and lock up is incredibly solid. The lock bar has a steel insert that is very solidly anchored in place, and also serves as an overtravel stop.
3V is a new steel for me. I'm not a steel expert, but I'm sure it will more than handle any cutting task I could ever imagine. If I have one criticism, it's that the jimping on the thumb ramp could be more aggressive. The thumb doesn't quite lock into place like the sharp jimping on the Military or Para 2, etc.
Overall, the Tuff is an extremely well thought out, beautifully crafted beast of a knife. I still need to get over the looks of it, but I'm well on my way. The Tuff is definitely unique and different. That alone makes me like it. I'll definitely be carrying and using it.
I was pretty disappointed with the look of the dimples when the prototype pictures were released. But, I knew I was going to get the Tuff anyway just to complete my Spyderco Schempp collection. Now that I finally have it in hand, I'm starting to "get it." The edges of the dimples on the Ti side are sharper than I expected, and really do offer good traction. The dimples of the G-10 side seem shallower, and are less noticeable.
As others have said, it is quite difficult to open. The detent is stronger than any knife I've ever owned, and disengaging the lock also takes deliberate effort. The choil placement doesn't bother me at all. Ergonomically, I like the Tuff. The fuller is a very interesting feature. It's cut shallower than it looks in pictures, and the edges are nicely rounded, so the fuller shouldn't get in the way, or catch on what you're cutting.
It also has some very nice design features and refinements. It's very rounded all the way around when closed, so there's nothing to catch on clothing or tear up pockets. The clip is nice and strong, but contacts a smooth surface on the frame, so the knife slides easily in and out of the pocket. It's built like a tank and lock up is incredibly solid. The lock bar has a steel insert that is very solidly anchored in place, and also serves as an overtravel stop.
3V is a new steel for me. I'm not a steel expert, but I'm sure it will more than handle any cutting task I could ever imagine. If I have one criticism, it's that the jimping on the thumb ramp could be more aggressive. The thumb doesn't quite lock into place like the sharp jimping on the Military or Para 2, etc.
Overall, the Tuff is an extremely well thought out, beautifully crafted beast of a knife. I still need to get over the looks of it, but I'm well on my way. The Tuff is definitely unique and different. That alone makes me like it. I'll definitely be carrying and using it.
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