New Models Dropped: Meerkat, Baby Jess Horn, Manix Composite

[farnorthdan]

I'm happy to report my Jess Horn came today and its perfect, must have gotten lucky, centered, not gritty at all, even grinds and blade drops when disengaged, I like it.

[bouhunter]

That's interesting. Glad you got a good knife. I think I could have hung a Manix G10 from the tip of that thing and it wouldn't have dropped.....

[Doc Dan]

I've decided to return the BJH

I'm returning mine too. The biggest issue is there is some kind of "catch" in the back lock mechanism, it's difficult to operate and there is a noticeable "click" when you overcome whatever is catching in it. Even then it's incredibly hard to push down the back lock to close the blade. In addition the action is very stiff and somewhat gritty compared to any Spyderco I've owned. The overall quality is just not up to par for Spyderco. It's going back. Even acknowledging paying somewhat of a premium for a sprint, this is no where near the quality one should see for 100.00+, especially in a knife that size. I know the blade steel is different, but the fit, finish and action are better in my 45.00 Cat.

I have never, never regretted buying my Cat 440C. It is one of my better quality knives, believe it or not.

[jdw]

I've decided to return the BJH

I'm returning mine too. The biggest issue is there is some kind of "catch" in the back lock mechanism, it's difficult to operate and there is a noticeable "click" when you overcome whatever is catching in it. Even then it's incredibly hard to push down the back lock to close the blade. In addition the action is very stiff and somewhat gritty compared to any Spyderco I've owned. The overall quality is just not up to par for Spyderco. It's going back. Even acknowledging paying somewhat of a premium for a sprint, this is no where near the quality one should see for 100.00+, especially in a knife that size. I know the blade steel is different, but the fit, finish and action are better in my 45.00 Cat.

I have never, never regretted buying my Cat 440C. It is one of my better quality knives, believe it or not.

I will third that. I have used my 440c Cat extensively. I have beat the livin' heck out of it and it sharpens up and keeps going. AND...it makes a fantastic pumpkin carving knife at Halloween.

[bpahk]

I'm happy to report my Jess Horn came today and its perfect, must have gotten lucky, centered, not gritty at all, even grinds and blade drops when disengaged, I like it.

I got mine today too and the finish on it is overall excellent with smooth action. The lanyard hole however was, not so good. Rough cut g10 with edges not lined up with lanyard tube. Doesn't bother me enough to return, but it is a little disappointing when it costs almost $100.

[SG89]

I'm happy to report my Jess Horn came today and its perfect, must have gotten lucky, centered, not gritty at all, even grinds and blade drops when disengaged, I like it.

I got mine today too and the finish on it is overall excellent with smooth action. The lanyard hole however was, not so good. Rough cut g10 with edges not lined up with lanyard tube. Doesn't bother me enough to return, but it is a little disappointing when it costs almost $100.
IMG_5771.JPG

that's what mine looked like

[jujigatame]

The QC issues such as ones described so far on the Baby Horn sprint are disappointing hear about but honestly not surprising for me. Speaking very generally here, I think that when an old pattern comes back for a short run after a long time off it is more prone to have these things happen. It's still very early for this knife out in the hands of users so the rate of good to less-than-good is yet to be realized. I would never believe that the factory wants to make a knife of underwhelming quality but from my perspective, which is nowhere within the knifemaking industry, I just have to wonder about certain factors. None of what follows is presented as an excuse; just thoughts about the possible why.

This pattern hasn't been made in 20+ years. It was linerless micarta with pinned construction. Now it is lined G10 with a screw pivot. Has the factory where the sprint is made forgotten how to make a knife? No, but I submit they may be out of practice on this knife specifically.

The nature of a sprint run is that you're only making X-hundred pieces for this batch and that's it. Could it possibly be done again later with some change to designate it as a separate sprint? Yeah, but we're not talking about a PM2 or Manix 2 so I consider it quite unlikely. With that in mind, the rate at which you can absorb (not ship) knives that are borderline on quality while still meeting production timelines on a low volume knife you're probably never making again could be difficult to manage.

If the walk and talk is solid I can live with most other things. G10 flakes can be filed off. The fact that the lanyard holes between liners and scales aren't an exact match won't impact me. Everyone has to make their own judgment as to what is acceptable for the price paid and I don't fault anyone who chooses to return a knife they aren't happy with. All of that said, I'm very much looking forward to getting one. I still wish it was hollow ground with a swedge though. :D

[SG89]

My sprint worker is absolutely perfect.

[bouhunter]

My sprint worker is absolutely perfect.

Good point. So is mine

Now that I think about it the fit and finish on my Byrd Robin are as good or better than that BJH. And the action and locking mechanism are better.

[SG89]

My sprint worker is absolutely perfect.

Good point. So is mine

Now that I think about it the fit and finish on my Byrd Robin are as good or better than that BJH. And the action and locking mechanism are better.

I was just about to say that the Byrd finch2 is a better value than the BJH.

[jujigatame]

Just got shipping notice on my Baby Horn, we'll see how it turns out.

[archangel]

I haven't been able to purchase any new :spyder: in a while. I hate this. It needed to change. :rolleyes:

I'm gonna move the Dragonfly Hap40 out of my silly rule collection. Instead I pulled the trigger on a meerkat. :) I'm very curious to play with the locking mechanism. It in unique, and that is very cool. I have a feeling the Meerkat will become a (small) collector's item some day.

The dragonfly is a cool little knife, but it's in the regular lineup. I'm pretty sure it will be used for further sprints with new steels in the future. It is actually the smallest size I consider to be useful, especially because of the clip. I'll snatch another one later, maybe in G-10 or so. That would be another win for me personally.

Right now I'm VERY MUCH looking forward to the Meerkat!! :)

[PineChaos]

Received my BJH a few days ago. It's perfect, and I'm very relieved. Really some of the best work I've seen out of Moki in many years.

[bouhunter]

I haven't been able to purchase any new :spyder: in a while. I hate this. It needed to change. :rolleyes:

I'm gonna move the Dragonfly Hap40 out of my silly rule collection. Instead I pulled the trigger on a meerkat. :) I'm very curious to play with the locking mechanism. It in unique, and that is very cool. I have a feeling the Meerkat will become a (small) collector's item some day.

The dragonfly is a cool little knife, but it's in the regular lineup. I'm pretty sure it will be used for further sprints with new steels in the future. It is actually the smallest size I consider to be useful, especially because of the clip. I'll snatch another one later, maybe in G-10 or so. That would be another win for me personally.

Right now I'm VERY MUCH looking forward to the Meerkat!! :)

You're gonna like the Meercat. :)

[bouhunter]

Received my BJH a few days ago. It's perfect, and I'm very relieved. Really some of the best work I've seen out of Moki in many years.

Glad you got a good knife. I'm by no means a huge collector but do own 30 Spydies old and new. Love every single one, but must say I was happy the day I mailed that BJH back.......

[bouhunter]

Great picture :)

[jujigatame]

The Baby Horn is here and I am happy with it. I love the slim pointy nature of the design. Almost as keen a tip as the Des Horn.


Baby Jess Horn by Nate E, on Flickr

The finishing on the inside edge of the lanyard hole on the G10, where the scales contact the backspacer/liners is rough looking, like the G10 chipped out a bit during drilling. Aesthetically it's less than what I expect from Spyderco but taken against the whole of the knife it's a small issue. The lanyard hole diameter is not the same between the scales and the liners/backpsacer so they don't sit perfectly flush to each other looking through the hole. Again, it's less than what I expect but it doesn't take away from the knife on a practical usage perspective.

The action was a bit stiff out of the box. I picked some gunk out around the pivot and wiped off the tang where it runs against the lockbar. After that I added a few drops of Tufglide and that smoothed things out some. I feel it will wear in more over time. The lock release is not sticky or hard and the amount of force to release the lock is fine to me.

The finishing on the rest of the knife is very nice and the edges around the knife are clean but not crisp to the point of sharp (which Taichung knives tend to be in my experience). The relief cut in the leading part of the liners is a nice little detail.


Baby Horn liner relief 1 by Nate E, on Flickr


Baby Horn liner relief 2 by Nate E, on Flickr

Here's the Horn with other smaller Spyders. Seems perfectly at home and I'm pleased to have this pattern in my stable. :D


Baby Horn group by Nate E, on Flickr

[PineChaos]

The Baby Horn is here and I am happy with it. I love the slim pointy nature of the design. Almost as keen a tip as the Des Horn.

The finishing on the inside edge of the lanyard hole on the G10, where the scales contact the backspacer/liners is rough looking, like the G10 chipped out a bit during drilling. Aesthetically it's less than what I expect from Spyderco but taken against the whole of the knife it's a small issue. The lanyard hole diameter is not the same between the scales and the liners/backpsacer so they don't sit perfectly flush to each other looking through the hole. Again, it's less than what I expect but it doesn't take away from the knife on a practical usage perspective.

The action was a bit stiff out of the box. I picked some gunk out around the pivot and wiped off the tang where it runs against the lockbar. After that I added a few drops of Tufglide and that smoothed things out some. I feel it will wear in more over time. The lock release is not sticky or hard and the amount of force to release the lock is fine to me.

The finishing on the rest of the knife is very nice and the edges around the knife are clean but not crisp to the point of sharp (which Taichung knives tend to be in my experience). The relief cut in the leading part of the liners is a nice little detail.

Hmm, that is a little disappointing to see such a variance in quality control for what I'd assume to be the same batch of knives. From the Moki Spydercos I've seen, the relief cut in the liners is sometimes a sign that they messed up somewhere else in the construction of the knife, like the blade tang thickness.

When I said mine is perfect I really meant it, but it seems like the majority of them have typical Moki issues.

[jujigatame]

Interesting. My blade tang is right on the 0.90" quoted in Spyderco.com's specs.


Baby Horn stock thickness by Nate E, on Flickr

What do your liners measure at? My knife has liners of 3/64" at full thickness, milled down to 1/32" up at the pivot end. Granted, that's measuring with a rule in one hand and the knife in the other instead of with a micrometer but I feel the numbers are accurate.

Edited to add: Looks like we have the same taste in tabletop finishes.

[archangel]

Un-frickn-believable. I ordered my Meerkat on August 8th, it was shipped out the day after and arrived in Germany on the 14th. So far so slow. I have still not received it. Frickn customs office at the airport took more than 10 days to process it to the frickn local customs office, where I will probably be able to pick it up tomorrow or the day after. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Not to mention that it took me like 40 minutes on the phone talking mostly to dull operators (except for the last one who actually helped) to find out it finally arrived at the local c office last Friday, cause the online tracking machines stupidly tell me that it has been delivered, just not to me. :mad:

This sucks. :mad: It just sucks. :mad: