Pass around of my Spyderco C160 Foundry!

[Shakyamuni]

Oops, just came in here to PM my details and find out I'm too late. Oh well, congrats Therealtwitch.

[ManixFan]

Oops, just came in here to PM my details and find out I'm too late. Oh well, congrats Therealtwitch.

I thought that you might have given it up on purpose so that you could see the pic of the Apache.

Hopefully it is a real one and not a RC model :D

If it is, then I look forward to some nice photo's of a Spyderco with the Apache ....perhaps sitting on top of one of the guns? :eek:

[Therealtwitch]

It will be real! But the apache only has one gun. My co-worker said I need to rubber band it to the barrel so it will be the first apache bayonet

[GoldenSpydie]

It will be real! But the apache only has one gun. My co-worker said I need to rubber band it to the barrel so it will be the first apache bayonet

That's a good idea! I can't wait to see your pictures.

[GoldenSpydie]

The mailing label has been printed, and the Foundry will ship to RadioactiveSpyder today!

[bearfacedkiller]

I can't wait to get a variety of feedback on this knife. It has so much belly. I love the blade shape.

[GoldenSpydie]

Tracking shows delivered. Let us know how you like it, RadioactiveSpyder! :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

RadioactiveSpyder’s Visit with the Spyderco Foundry: Day 1

Hello all, I’m glad that the forum is back up and operating smoothly because it gives me a chance to give you my first impressions of the Spyderco Foundry and share some pictures. I am the lucky first recipient of GoldenSpydie’s generous pass-around of this somewhat rare find (made even more so by recent news that Spyderco may not be producing this knife for sale to the general public), and I’m glad to have the chance to play with it over the long Labor Day weekend. I actually had the chance to purchase this knife before GS did, and I'll let you know at the end of my visit with it whether I think it I made a good choice on passing on it.

Anyway, this is what I got in the mail yesterday afternoon, a nicely and securely packed wooden box with this beauty inside:




Here's a few more pics of the knife itself, and then I'll give you some impressions and side by side comparisons with other knives (this will be pic heavy, so I'll have to split it into multiple posts). I also apologize for not giving this knife proper photographic treatment, I have deepening respect for the true photogs who post their amazing pics on this forum (Mr. Blonde, etc.), getting decent lighting is a true pain!





More images coming...

[RadioactiveSpyder]

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Here are my impressions the first few minutes out of the box:
1. The Foundry is heavy! Being so accustomed to the lightweights in my regular EDCs like the Caly 3.5, Domino and of course the LW S110V Manix 2 (which may actually be lighter than some feathers), the Foundry felt almost like I had picked up two knives at once. I will try to get it onto a scale – I can’t seem to find any official published weight for it online. It does feel very solid in hand, but I would imagine it would drag your looser-fitting pants and shorts riding in pocket for general EDC use (similar to the Bradley Folder).
2. The Foundry is super skinny! It’s ATR kind of skinny. Here’s some shots with a SS ATR and a CPM Cruwear Manix 2/Domino for reference. The SS scales are basically the thickness of the thinner Ti liners on the G10/Ti side of the Southard or Domino. The RIL was very easy to operate and locked up securely (what else would you expect? :)).

[RadioactiveSpyder]

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Impressions continued...

3. The Foundry is somewhat smaller than I thought it would be. This feeling actually happens quite a bit for me with a new Spyderco (I was surprised how small the Worker sprint was for example). It’s a fraction smaller than the Domino and Manix 2 (which leads me to my next comment #4) and on par with the Delica. The Paramilitary 2 is there for size comparison...



And with a Military and Caly 3.5:



4. It certainly appears to have Manix/Domino DNA in it. Upon looking at and holding the Foundry for the first time, I immediately thought of the handle shape of the Domino. You can certainly see similarities when they’re placed side by side. The beauty of that of course is that family of Spydercos have just wonderful ergonomics in hand, but slim to carry in the pocket they are not.

5. The Foundry is equipped with the longest wire clip I’ve seen Spyderco use. Here’s a picture of it next to the standard deep-carry wire clip used by the Caly series and many others. The Foundry clip is very stout, resting nicely right above the lock bar mechanism, although some give is noticeable by the fact there’s some wear on the scale already where the clip contacts it. There’s certainly no issue with getting it into and out of the pocket easily, especially if you’re used to this clip style. The nice smooth scales help with that as well.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

It seems as thought the new forum software or Photobucket is cropping my pics when they're displayed.
Impressions continued...

6. The Foundry has a giant, kick-butt CTS-XHP Manbug blade! I’m sure that others can find other similar blade shapes to the Foundry, but it sure looks like a Manbug blade on some serious ‘roids to me. Looking at upcoming Spyderco releases, it also seems very similar to the Martin Slysz Bowie and the Farid K2.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Final impression for tonight... (Man, this was tiring! I took 100 pics of this thing today, finishing up literally when my phone died.)

7. Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert should have one of these knives. Every time I look at the Carpenter logo on the Foundry handle...


I’m reminded of this:


That's it for me tonight folks, it's super late! Cheers, Radioactive :)
P.S. Thanks again GoldenSpydie!!!

[3rdGenRigger]

Great review! I can't wait to see what everyone else makes of it (Or of what you furthermore make of it if you're not done yet...either way :)).

[Johnnie1801]

For some reason the blade shape reminds me a bit of a Tenacious

[ManixFan]

I'm not seeing any of the images posted in Radioactive's review......all I see is the word "image". Is anyone able to see the images?

Later Edit: Never mind, they loaded the next time I logged in. Nice pics!

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Thanks guys, at least for some folks including myself, there's an issue seeing full size images with the new forum software. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon, they only need to add one line of code!

[GoldenSpydie]

Thanks!

You managed to get all of the angles that I failed to. Nice job!

It is indeed a pocket anchor--I belive that it measured 5.25 ounces.

And man, it sure does look like a giant Manbug, and the handle is definitely Domino-inspired. So maybe it should be the Manino?

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Thanks GS! Frustrated that at least I can't see the pics at full size, I've dumped the set into a public Dropbox folder that can be viewed here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntleh315wivd ... TEPia?dl=0

Cheers, Radioactive :)