Spyderco Forums

Liquid Cobra wrote:Excellent video. Not many YouTube videos with a rock lobster comparison! Pretty impressive cutting test as well. What do you think will be your main uses of the blade?

All my uses are pretty much general EDC stuff or cutting cardboard at work. I'm a little cautious about a 3mm blade this long but the tip is plenty stout out enough to not worry about breaking it unless you dropped it or something like that. This would make a great back pocket knife so I'll probably carry it next to my wallet.

And yeah it would be downright nasty in full SE...

Back pocket? Isn't that uncomfortable?

Liquid Cobra wrote:Back pocket? Isn't that uncomfortable?

Nah, I've carried my Police 3 in my back pocket. It's thin enough that you don't notice it, but you notice the extra weight.

Liquid Cobra wrote:Back pocket? Isn't that uncomfortable?

You don't carry it loose, you clip it to the outside edge of your pocket like you would the outside edge of your front pocket, so it's not directly under your butt when you sit down. Right now I carry my multi tool there and my wallet sits right next to it. The Ulize being so thin (like the Police) would be excellent for that spot. I can tell you already, the Ulize is definitely going to bottom out on some pockets. I'm wearing some cargo shorts right now, and when I shop for pants/shorts I'm real picky about pocket depth for this reason, and I remember buying these shorts because they had nice deep pockets...well the Ulize bottoms out in them. It's not enough that it won't still clip securely, but if these shorts were on the deeper end of the spectrum, then there are a lot of shorts out there that it won't clip into very well. Another good option would be in your waste band at about 4 oclock.

How do you carry all your money without deep pockets? :)

Donut wrote:How do you carry all your money without deep pockets? :)

That's what tube socks are for :D

Donut wrote:How do you carry all your money without deep pockets? :)

Pfffff I have a knife habit. I don't have any money lol.

just got mine in and i have to say a very nice knife. very very tight lock up. i barely notice any lock rock or anything. this knife was one my radar but not high priority. I'm very glad to have it though. Thanks Spyderco. This will be in my pocket tommorrow probably my carpenter pocket knife. I like this knife a lot more than i thought i would. I'll try to use it exclusively for the next few weeks

If Legolas had a folding knife, it would be that. Very sleek and kind of elven.

Nice pics and video David, congrats on a great prize from Spyderco for your calendar entry! That's awesome that you get to try out a knife that may have never tempted you enough to purchase, but sometimes those end up being the best finds of all.

It'd be great if you could throw up a comparison pic with your big Spydies like the Military, Vallotton, etc. so we can stare and compare! Cool tat, BTW. Cheers, Paul :)

Pockets wrote:If Legolas had a folding knife, it would be that. Very sleek and kind of elven.

An elven Doberman!

Congrats EvilD! Really cool to hear your opinion on something you would have passed over!
-GT

Looked at this aesthetically not keen it could've been great with better more elaborate scales.
I find myself being drawn to the Szabo recently it was a toss up between that and the Butch Vallotton initially .
But since then I keep going back but its like $300 here and idk people have commented the scales are too thin .
I've seen some lighting strike CF on a des horn custom thicker cf works much better .
But congrats on your prize D and nice ink btw .

Liquid Cobra wrote:Back pocket? Isn't that uncomfortable?

This is really funny for me!

I carry strictly in the back pocket! It is the most comfortable! :) Can't stand a clipped knife in my front pocket where I have to reach for other stuff. (Mostly carry a Vic upfront.) I have to admit that I am one of the few who carries strictly tip-down. And nothing else in that (right) back pocket. My Maxpedition Micro Wallet is in my left back pocket.

This is what you get when you are EDC'ing Millies for five years :)



David asked me to post this pic here, so here you go! :)

Bladekeeper wrote:Looked at this aesthetically not keen it could've been great with better more elaborate scales.
I find myself being drawn to the Szabo recently it was a toss up between that and the Butch Vallotton initially .
But since then I keep going back but its like $300 here and idk people have commented the scales are too thin .
I've seen some lighting strike CF on a des horn custom thicker cf works much better .
But congrats on your prize D and nice ink btw .

I'm a bit torn on the elaborate scales thing. It would look 100% better with carbon fiber scales or something flashier, since the design is anything but conservative. But, I do appreciate the thinness of the scales because that's sort of the point, big knife that carries very easily just like the original Police. Ergonomics wise, I'm sure thicker scales would make it fill the hand more, but honestly the more I hold this knife the more the ergonomics win me over. The scales have a really generous bevel around the edge which gives it a rounded feeling despite being so thin overall. The only thing I really notice that stands out in the grip is the clip...which makes me feel like this knife would be a great candidate for sheath carry if you're the type who doesn't mind a sheath on your belt.

I'm also really impressed with the design of the blade. It's a lot more than a "pretty face". It would be easy to throw a recurve edge on any blade and call it versatile, but when you start looking at things like the blade angle, and how the angle works along with the lines of the recurve, and then you see how attention was paid towards centering the point up with the pivot, and the fact that if you hold the handle even with the horizon, the blade is oriented in such a way that you have a nice belly at the front of the blade that makes cutting board style cuts very easy. At the same time, the point is low enough that you don't have to raise the handle way up in order to make a cut with the tip like you would an exacto knife.

I've also come to the conclusion that this Ulize has come with the sharpest factory edge I've ever experienced. It has officially trumped my ZDP Caly 3, which to me is a big deal. This edge rivals the best edges that I've put on myself. It will easily fillet hair, push cut phone book paper, tree top arm hair, you name it. Looking at the bevel, there's a weird machined looking texture to it which really makes me curious about how they cut the bevel on these knives, since they're almost perfectly the same width the length of the blade and on both sides. Whichever factory in Seki did these knives really has it down to a science...I'm super impressed with the overall grind and sharpening of this blade, it is flawless.

As far as fit and finish goes, the only thing I've been able to nit pick and find is something that is pretty much unavoidable with back locks so it's pretty trivial...which is how the lock bar doesn't sit flush with the scales in open position. This of course is due to the amount of wear adjustment that the lock is given to the tang, so over time with wear it will sit more flush with everything else, and it does sit pretty flush when the blade is closed. I will say though, the lines of the back spring and liners are nowhere near as perfect and clean as my Native 5...that knife you can't even see where the liners end and the back spring begins except for a slight difference in the color of the steel itself. On the Ulize you can see some lines between the two pretty easily.

Another little detail that I've noticed that I liked, was how the back spring has been cut out on the inside to mirror the shape of the belly on the tip of the blade, to allow the blade to nest closer inside the handle. It's an insignificant detail really, but to me it shows how even the little insignificant things were considered and well thought out. I get the feeling that every effort was made to allow the blade to close as much into the handle as possible in an effort to make the overall knife as narrow as possible in your pocket.

Overall, this is one of those really unique knives that will get overlooked by most people. That's the nature of things that are very unique...they only appeal to people who appreciate uniqueness. It's right in the same group as the Rock Lobster and other knives that don't fit the cookie cutter mold that most knives fit into these days. It has a real form following function feel to it that gives a quirky look and feel, but it's tough to argue how good it feels in my hand. I still haven't used it for anything yet but I plan to put it to use either today or tomorrow at work. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's considering buying a Police, as I think it will end up being much more versatile in use than the Police, and it shares a lot of the same qualities like cutting edge length and thinness, while also gaining a 4 way clip (which I'm considering switching to tip down carry, just because it's so dang long).

Oh and thanks jeru! Great pic! I'm not sure if my wallet will fit next to a knife in jeans...they fit just fine in my cargo khakies though.

Evil D wrote: Oh and thanks jeru! Great pic! I'm not sure if my wallet will fit next to a knife in jeans...they fit just fine in my cargo khakies though.

That's what I said: I carry "nothing else in that (right) back pocket. My Maxpedition Micro Wallet is in my left back pocket." You're welcome!

Congrats! Nice Knife, I'm jealous of you winning :) .

I can't watch the video from work, but I'll look at it when I get home -- I'll be sure to listen for your pronunciation of Ulize too! :D

Thats a great looking knife. I'm not a huge fan of the re-curve, but it looks great on that model.
Thanks for the video !

Well it just dawned on me why they had to go with the clip with the lanyard hole. The pivots crew is domed so that hole has to be there to allow the a crews to poke through..

Ok after receiving the Ulize and using it for basic EDC tasks for the past two days and carrying it I wanted to give my review. I will be making a video as well but I wanted to get my thoughts out there on this knife.

First of all, thank you again to Spyderco for hosting the calender contest and for offering this amazing prize.

Ok, now on to the review.

First impressions when I took the knife out of the box was shock. I guess I didn't realize how large the knife was and specifically how long the blade was. Up until this knife, my largest folder was the endura and I was blown away to see that this knife boasts a 1/2" longer blade than the endura. When picking it up I was also blown away at how light the knife is considering its size. This is a knife I would have NEVER purchased without handling it but now that I've had it in my hands I think more people should pick this one up!




The handles are slim and feature medium texture fairly grippy black g10. The G10 is radiused very neatly and the screws are well countersunk leaving a very streamlined feel to the handles. The liners are pretty extensively skeletonized cutting back on the over all weight. With the handle being thin it allows for very comfortable carry for such a large knife and the pocket clip can be positioned for tip-up/tip-down right or left hand carry. The back spacer is all machined stainless steel with no obvious seams leaving a very classy and polished fit and finish. The handle is also very long allowing the user to grip it more towards the back adding even more reach to the already long blade.

The blade shape is very organic in appearance but loaded with function. The tip is super fine for detail work and the up-swept belly distal to the recurve is beautiful and functional especially for "slash" style cutting. The hollow grind is very well executed and once again adds to the organic sweep to the blade giving it an elegant, yet imposing look. The gimping top side of the blade is perfectly cut in spyderco fashion and allows for excellent purchase although i can't help but wish there was a forward choil for your index finger for more detailed work.

The action of the knife is extremely smooth and gives off a very satisfying "snap" when the lock engages. The back lock has the prefect amount of tension so that it is easy to close but one should not worry about accidentally disengaging the lock during use. Out of box there was absolutely NO blade play front to back or side to side and after a few openings the action became smooth and fluid.

Now on to a few things I don't like....

The handles are slim which I like but it almost seems too slim for comfort. After come cardboard cutting I did notice some hot spots (for my hands which are relatively large) especially where the outside of my index finger meets the finger guard. The pocket clip is rather boring and for such an organically curved knife I can't help but want for a more unique clip shape. Also the clip has a hole for a lanyard hole but there is no lanyard hole in the knife. Having no lanyard hole does not bother me, but I can't help but wonder why spyderco used this clip design with the hole cut out. And as previously mentioned I wish there was a forward choil more directly below the spine gimping because with my thumb on the gimping is when my index finger feels the most uncomfortable. I find that for me when I grip the knife more towards the back of the handle with my thumb positioned behind the gimping I am much more comfortable in use. And last, I feel that the spyder hole is just slightly too small for a knife this size and could have benefited from being just a millimeter or two larger.

Over all, i love this knife. I am proud to own it and it will definitely be getting a lot of pocket time. One thing I am not looking forward to is sharpening it as I hate sharpening recurved blades.

Here is a picture of the pocket clip and the hole I was talking about.



And a just for fun size comparison shot: Delica, Endura, and Bug