Hoping for some suggestions for those that own

tk59194 · #1

Hello,
several months ago I purchased my first Spyderco (SAGE 1) and as all of you warned, I was bitten and forever ruined. Fast forward and I now own a few more, my latest being a paramilitary 2, which I love. Well I have the itch again and cannot decide between the Gayle Bradley, The Domino, or the Techno. I've read reviews on all 3 and I am sure that any one of these I pick will not be a bad choice, but I thought i would see what you guys would do. I use my knives daily for multiple tasks such as opening boxes, food prep (lunch time), cutting paracord, and other general day to day stuff. They all seem to be about the same price point, but at the current time funds will only allow for 1. So, if you could have only 1......

tk59194 · #2

Excellent, thank you... Just the kind of advise I was looking for. I was thinking the Techno might be a bit small. I like to use my folders to assist with cutting food during lunch (ie. apples, oranges, steak, vegitables.) Not so good when the blade is too short and you end up with food at the pivot of the knife. I may eliminate the Techno from my choices and consider a stretch. Thanks again.

bearfacedkiller · #3

I have a sage3 and a para2 and love them both. I don't have any of the knives you are looking at but of the three the GB is the one I want. The m4 is a big seller for me. I will own that knife someday! I'm sure they are all nice and they all seem to get great reviews. The M4 should patina if you use it on food if that matters to you either way. My M4 mule began to devolpe a patina after one granny smith apple.

FCM415 · #4

Great choices, there are some of the best that Spyderco offers. I own all three. For your tasks which is standard day to day EDC, the Domino would be a great fit JUST like your Sage1...In a way these are similar so maybe hold off on it for now...You want to have variety.

The Techno also will do, and I regard it as a mini Sebenza or better yet a capable small Seb replacement. The quality is that good, if you are content with 2.5 inches for EDC get it sooner rather than later but if I were you I'd pick it up later down the road as I prefer a bigger folder.

Now, the GB... You gotta get it... So get it now! It can be overkill for your stated tasks and is bulkier compared to the other two (just comparatively) but that's the thing, they're all capable performers might as well start with an M4 steel tank that came out first.

The beauty is, you can get these for good prices and they are regarded highly enough that if you so decide to let them go, they resell for a minimal loss... Get all three, not confusing at all...Good luck!

gbelleh · #5

You really can't go wrong with any of those, but for the uses you mentioned, I would recommend the Gayle Bradley or Domino. It just comes down to personal preference.

The Techno is amazing, but probably a little small for food prep.

wrdwrght · #6

Bradley, without hesitation. M4.

tk59194 · #7

Thank you guys for helping me to make my decision. Gayle Bradley it is. I have been carrying the PM2 ever since I bought it. Fantastic knife. Extremely sharp. While I love the knife and it suits all my needs, I really prefer a knife with a little more heft and weight to it. While some people like a nice light weight easy to carry knife, I like to know that the knife is in my pocket. I am in the military and have pockets all over my uniform. I recently lost my sage 1 (which was clipped inside my pocket). I immediately re ordered the sage 1, but started thinking that had the knife been a little more beefy/weighty I would have known it was missing a little sooner and maybe been able to find it. From what I hear, the GB definitely has some weight to it. Gonna order it today. from all that I have read, it is one of those must have Spydercos. Eventually I will own the Techno and the Domino, but today the GB wins. Thanks to all for the feedback.

jackknifeh · #8

tk59194 wrote:Thank you guys for helping me to make my decision. Gayle Bradley it is. I have been carrying the PM2 ever since I bought it. Fantastic knife. Extremely sharp. While I love the knife and it suits all my needs, I really prefer a knife with a little more heft and weight to it. While some people like a nice light weight easy to carry knife, I like to know that the knife is in my pocket. I am in the military and have pockets all over my uniform. I recently lost my sage 1 (which was clipped inside my pocket). I immediately re ordered the sage 1, but started thinking that had the knife been a little more beefy/weighty I would have known it was missing a little sooner and maybe been able to find it. From what I hear, the GB definitely has some weight to it. Gonna order it today. from all that I have read, it is one of those must have Spydercos. Eventually I will own the Techno and the Domino, but today the GB wins. Thanks to all for the feedback.

Got here a bit late to recommend the GB so instead I'll say, good choice. :) I have bought and sold a bunch of knives in the past 5 years or so and now have a set of 10-15 that it looks like I'll be hanging on to. The GB (I mean Bradley Folder :) ) is one of the keepers. THe knife is as strong a folder as I've used. The M4 is as good a steel as I have seen. Lots of area in these two areas for personal preference Iguess. Enjoy the knife when you get it. Don't know your preference but it is a bit big for me to carry clipped in my pocket. I carry it in a belt pouch so I took the clip off. If I use it and don't put it in my sheath I just drop it in my pocket. Don't know about the regs on carrying a belt shieth in uniform. I was in the AF for 13 years and could carry one in fatigues but I think it would have been frowned upon if I showed up at work in blues (AF dress color) with a knife on my belt. :) You said many pockets so Iassume you are in fatigues daily.

If you use your knives try to get over the "new" as soon as you can or you won't be able to enjoy the capabilities of the GB. :) A week ago I cut down 6 banana trees with my GB. Wife had been on me to get rid of them so as a joke to myself I decided to cut on one when outside with my grandson. It is almost always on my belt (or my Sage4). I cut them all down with it. They were very soft I found. And when I stabbed one water (or something :eek :) squirted out all over. I guess this is how banana trees are. A machete would be a better tool but the GB did the job. :) I got done, took my knife inside, rinsed it under warm water and dish soap while moving the blade back and forth. Then I used a hair drier for about a minute. Then I applied a couple drops of oil. Back in the pouch. I love the knife much more now that I'm not worried about getting it dirty or scratched. CF is a tough material.

GB or Sage4 is my favorite larger knives. Smaller knives? Manbug or Dragonfly, can't decide (so I keep both). Also have a Super Blue D'fly on pre-order. :D

Jack

Evil D · #9

I don't own all 3 but I've handled all 3. If I were in your shoes and didn't own anything but a Sage 1 and Para 2, I would probably go with the Gayle Bradley. It's a much more stout knife than the other two and more up to the task of harder use, it has a non stainless steel which will give you a new experience (and a very awesome steel at that), and for me it just stands out as being more different than the others and for me variety is important. Next I would get the Domino, and last I would get anything but the Techno because I'm just not into stumpy knives lol.

Surfingringo · #10

Gayle Bradley, no contest. Enjoy!

ohcyclist · #11

I own the Gayle Bradley and the Domino and given you own the sage I think the choice is easy. Gayle Bradley.

Only way I would go domino is if you wanted the limited run blue weave carbon fiber Domino that is currently still available a few places. That will go away while the GB is widely available.

tk59194 · #12

Jack, thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely plan to use the knife emmediately. Ever since I lost my Sage I have removed all the pocket clips from my knives. They now ride safely in the bottom of my pocket. Have you noticed a natural patina on the M4 since you've owned it? I like to cut food with my knives so I am hoping the GB will develop a nice patina in time.

jackknifeh · #13

tk59194 wrote:Jack, thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely plan to use the knife emmediately. Ever since I lost my Sage I have removed all the pocket clips from my knives. They now ride safely in the bottom of my pocket. Have you noticed a natural patina on the M4 since you've owned it? I like to cut food with my knives so I am hoping the GB will develop a nice patina in time.

From other people's reports it seems M4 patinas but not as fast as other non-stainless steels. When I got my GB I immediately applied Tuf-Glide which is a great anti-corrosion product. Works with a tuf-cloth. I applied it every time I cleaned the blade for about a year. Then I decided to force a patina. I tried mustard, vinegar, sticking it inside a potatoe and leaving it all night. Nothing worked. This was because the Tuf-glide/cloth protected it. A couple of months ago I tried to force a patina again. I had not used tuf-glide for a few months and got a nice patina on the blade soaking it in vinegar over night. I removed it and wiped the blade off every half hour or so while I was awake. Supposedly, air along with whatever is really forcing the patina speeds up the process. So a natural patina forming should happen if you don't use anything on the blade. I'd keep the pivot oiled to make the blade smooth as well as protect the blade tang (where you can't see it) from corrosion. Here's something that may be important about the tang. I took my GB apart to patina the blade so the patina was all over it. When I put it back together I found the smoothness was not as smooth. I had to use a very good lube (Nano-oil) and adjust the pivot to get it back the way it had always been. One of the smoothest knives I've owned. You're gonna love yours. :) Also, while disassembling the knife VOIDS THE WARRANTY it is super easy to get back together. Anyone can do it. That may be important when you may (hopefully not) be away from a nice clean kitchen sink for long periods of time and need to really clean the knife.

My feeling about the warranty is if something hasn't gone wrong with the GB after a month or two there will never be anything wrong with it that would be covered by the warranty anyway. So the only damage that could be done would be by the person disassembling and reassembling it. And it's too easy to not screw up.

Jack

Jack

tk59194 · #14

Jack thanks again for good advice.

tk59194 · #15

So, they Gayle Bradley was ordered yesterday and will arrive tomorrow. Super Stoked. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the spyder bit me again today and I placed another order for the Spyderco Super Blue Stretch. I'm addicted. Not sure what I am going to tell the wife yet. Yikes!!!

Surfingringo · #16

Tell her you need a sharpmaker with the diamond rods...because you do.

.

tk59194 · #17

I have the sharpmaker already. Guess I'll be asking for diamond rods for my birthday in May.