Thoughts on the Cat G10 as a travel companion

[Doc Dan]

Hi folks,

What prompted this review was a recent post regarding a gentleman who lost his knife because he accidentally carried it into the airport. I have accidentally done this, but, as there was a FEDEX/DHL/UPS or Post Office in the airport, I was able to mail the knife safely home. I need a good knife that will not let me down. It needs to be fairly small, but not too small. It needs to be inexpensive so if people at the airport decide they want to make a present of it to themselves, I am not out a lot of money. After looking around, I decided upon a Spyderco Cat G10, and here is why:

This knife is inexpensive. It costs in the $40 range. It is small, being the same closed size as the Pingo (very slightly thicker, though). The blade is about ¼ inch longer than the Pingo. I wanted 2.4 or 2.5 inches as that size is legal in most places. The knife is built like a tank. It is the mini Humvee of the knife world. It has steel liners (only one liner is partially skeletonized). It has a very large pivot pin, which is a great thing. It uses pillar construction and has fantastic G10 scales. They are not so abrasive as to abrade a pocket or pants. Yet, they have enough texture to give a sure grip. The blade is of 440C which is a very nice choice. Remember, this steel used to be the go to steel for custom knife makers and is the steel that made Buck Knife’s reputation.

The blade is thick for a small knife, being the same apparent thickness as the Pingo. The full flat ground drop point blade holds an edge very well and is easy to sharpen, even if you do not have your fancy sharpening system with you while traveling. The detent is good and strong. One of the reasons I usually do not like liner locks is that they can and do come open in one's pocket. Ouch! The detent on this knife is pretty tough to overcome. Good!

The fit and finish on my example is near flawless. I wish my Taiwan made Chaparral were this nice. The liners have been nicely de-burred and de-horned. All sharp edges (except the blade’s cutting edge!) have been smoothed out; even the thumb hole. My Taiwan made Chaparral has sharp edges all over. The G10 is perfect and the edges rounded off. There are no unwanted hotspots or sharp edges. Someone put a bit of extra effort in this. The only flaw (minor) is the polishing on one side of the blade, beneath the thumb hole has a stepped down appearance, but the other side is perfect. You can’t feel it but you can see it. The blade polishing is otherwise a very nice satin finish that is well executed. This polish is far better than my Chaparral.

The knife uses a liner lock that locks up very tight. There is zero blade play. The spring catches about 1/3 of the tang. The centering is also perfect on the blade and when holding it, using the finger choil, I can get all four of my large, thick fingers on the handle; 3 ½ if I don’t squeeze them together.

The wire pocket clip causes the knife to ride deep in the pocket and it can be swapped around for right or left hand use. I took mine off because I want something that fits in my pocket like a traditional pocket knife. Even though it is a relatively thick knife, being thicker than a svelte Dragonfly, and the same as a Pingo, It rides easily down in my pocket.

This knife is one of the few that pass my toilet paper cutting test for sharpness. I hold toilet paper, two-ply, in my hand and try to feather off strips. The back 1/3 of the blade would not do this, but the front 2/3 did it easily. Out of my knives, only my Caly3, G10 DF, and a Kershaw Field Knife I recently bought would do this from the factory. I am impressed. I have cut garden hose sections, a lot of those very tough plastic packs things are packaged in these days, rope and cord, and cardboard. It has held up very well and cut through these things like a light saber, while holding the edge a respectably long time. O, and yes, it cuts apples really well.

This is the perfect knife for traveling. It is tough enough to handle most chores, and small enough to be useful on a daily basis. If I lose it I have not lost a knife I cannot afford to replace. Also, it is ruggedly constructed so that if I need a knife while stranded in the boonies (a distinct possibility here) this knife should be able to handle it. The fit and finish of this knife is so good it rivals the best I have seen from Spyderco, regardless of price. I would be proud if this were the only Spyderco I owned.

[Leon]

I recently traveled to Dominican Republic with my Cat G-10 and couldnt be happier with my choice

[glbpro]

Great write up, always good to read something positive about one of Spyderco's creations. I almost bought a Cat recently, but decided against it because there was no thumb ramp jimping, and went with a Centofante 3 instead.

I presume you put the Cat in your check in baggage and do not carry it with you onto the airplane yes? :eek:

PS: Sorry if you have been asked before, but whereabouts in Southeast asia are you, Doc?

[Doc Dan]

Hi Bruno,

My Cat has very good jimping on the thumb ramp and on the choil. It really locks the knife into place.

[eric m.]

The Cat is one of my favorite "little" knives! The Cat G10 of mine does not have the jimping, but my CF Cat does! Great little knife for $40! :)

[TomAiello]

I use the Pingo as a travel knife because it's non locking and I occasionally have to travel to jurisdictions that don't allow lockers.

[glbpro]

The Cat G10 of mine does not have the jimping, but my CF Cat does!

The cat I saw was the G10 variety - how strange that this version has no jimping but the CF one does... Anyway, I shall definitely take a look the next time a cat passes through here.

[A-Ro]

Anyone ever have any issues with the blade material?

[eric m.]

Spyderco 440C is a very good blade steel, just a little behind the times for alot of folks!

[Doc Dan]

My Cat, made CM, is the G10 version and it has good jimping. Probably (my opinion) it is the older ones that do not have jimping.

As to the blade material, Benchmade, Lion Steel, Down Under, Canal Street, Entrek, and a lot of other high end knife companies use 440C. It is a very good steel. It is a good, tough (tougher than 154CM) stainless (more so than 154CM) steel. It will not hold an edge quite as long as 154CM (in my experience) but stands up very well to use. Don't think of this as the regular 440 (A,B). It was made for jet engines. If it is heat treated correctly it is a good all around choice IMO.

[phillipsted]

The other nice thing about the Cat/Chicago design is that it is easy to modify. I've got a Cat on the bench right now and am fitting a new set of scales for it. Using a nice piece of black walnut from my Brother-in-Law.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of 440C. The best thing I can say about it is that it is better than AUS-6... :cool:

TedP