New Guy Intro
-
- Member
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:44 am
New Guy Intro
Hey all,
Been lurking for a while but picked up my first Spyderco and decided I'd register and say hi.
Got a Lil Native over the weekend and have been messing around with it nonstop since it came in. I'm pretty jacked about it! I have a couple of Kershaws, shuffle (great knife) and entropy (crap), and a CRKT drifter (another great knife), but my son was just born and my wife decided to get the Lil Native for me for my first Father’s Day gift.
I love the ergonomics of the knife, and in my opinion the shorter blade with the finger choil is absolutely the way to go. If I need a stronger grip I can choke up with a 4 finger grip using my index finger on the choil, or if I’m doing something more detailed I like to use a 3 finger grip with my middle finger on the choil and index finger on the back of the blade.
The only downside is that I’m left handed and the compression lock is obviously better suited to a righty, though it’s still certainly usable one handed. It would be nice if there was a little bit of knurling or a fingernail nick on the pad of the comp lock to make one handed closing easier for us lefties, but no worries.
The other question I had is about sharpness. I’m new to this and don’t have any experience with steels other than 8CR13MOV, so bear with me if this is a dumb question. The knife was sharp when I took it out of the box, but I went ahead and gave it a few swipes on the fine stones of the sharpmaker which got it to shaving sharp. I cut up some fruit and broke down a couple of boxes and noticed that afterwards it was still sharp, but wouldn’t shave. Is this pretty par for the course for S30V? Will harder steels like ZDP-189/S110V/Maxamet hold a shaving sharp edge for any length of time, or is that level of acuteness just not going to last for long regardless of blade steel?
Thanks everyone!
-Eric
Been lurking for a while but picked up my first Spyderco and decided I'd register and say hi.
Got a Lil Native over the weekend and have been messing around with it nonstop since it came in. I'm pretty jacked about it! I have a couple of Kershaws, shuffle (great knife) and entropy (crap), and a CRKT drifter (another great knife), but my son was just born and my wife decided to get the Lil Native for me for my first Father’s Day gift.
I love the ergonomics of the knife, and in my opinion the shorter blade with the finger choil is absolutely the way to go. If I need a stronger grip I can choke up with a 4 finger grip using my index finger on the choil, or if I’m doing something more detailed I like to use a 3 finger grip with my middle finger on the choil and index finger on the back of the blade.
The only downside is that I’m left handed and the compression lock is obviously better suited to a righty, though it’s still certainly usable one handed. It would be nice if there was a little bit of knurling or a fingernail nick on the pad of the comp lock to make one handed closing easier for us lefties, but no worries.
The other question I had is about sharpness. I’m new to this and don’t have any experience with steels other than 8CR13MOV, so bear with me if this is a dumb question. The knife was sharp when I took it out of the box, but I went ahead and gave it a few swipes on the fine stones of the sharpmaker which got it to shaving sharp. I cut up some fruit and broke down a couple of boxes and noticed that afterwards it was still sharp, but wouldn’t shave. Is this pretty par for the course for S30V? Will harder steels like ZDP-189/S110V/Maxamet hold a shaving sharp edge for any length of time, or is that level of acuteness just not going to last for long regardless of blade steel?
Thanks everyone!
-Eric
Re: New Guy Intro
Hello and welcome to the Spyderco forums!
The Lil Native's a pretty cool knife although I don't have one, I went for the full-size Native myself (serrated black-coated version) when I was first getting into Spyderco and it's still my favorite knife so far. Larger knives are my jam, the full-size Native is about the smallest I like to carry before I start getting frustrated by the lack of blade length. I agree about the awesomeness of choils :) So convenient to be able to choke up on a knife and do real fine detail work on whatever you're cutting.
Doesn't the Lil Native come in a backlock version? That's ambidextrous, maybe look into one of those if you want something that's easier to close left-handed.
I don't know much about steel types, although from what I've seen, Maxamet will probably hold its shaving-sharp edge for longer than pretty much anything else.
The Lil Native's a pretty cool knife although I don't have one, I went for the full-size Native myself (serrated black-coated version) when I was first getting into Spyderco and it's still my favorite knife so far. Larger knives are my jam, the full-size Native is about the smallest I like to carry before I start getting frustrated by the lack of blade length. I agree about the awesomeness of choils :) So convenient to be able to choke up on a knife and do real fine detail work on whatever you're cutting.
Doesn't the Lil Native come in a backlock version? That's ambidextrous, maybe look into one of those if you want something that's easier to close left-handed.
I don't know much about steel types, although from what I've seen, Maxamet will probably hold its shaving-sharp edge for longer than pretty much anything else.
- Mr Blonde
- Member
- Posts: 7658
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
- Location: The Netherlands, Europe, Earth
- Contact:
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome to the forums! I also recently got a Lil' Native Backlock and I like it a lot. As a lefty, I can confirm that the backlock version is very lefty-friendly, much moreso than a compression lock in such a small folder.
- curlyhairedboy
- Member
- Posts: 2621
- Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2016 11:01 am
- Location: Southern New England
Re: New Guy Intro
Hi there!SurprisinglySquare wrote: ↑Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:43 pmHey all,
Been lurking for a while but picked up my first Spyderco and decided I'd register and say hi.
Got a Lil Native over the weekend and have been messing around with it nonstop since it came in. I'm pretty jacked about it! I have a couple of Kershaws, shuffle (great knife) and entropy (crap), and a CRKT drifter (another great knife), but my son was just born and my wife decided to get the Lil Native for me for my first Father’s Day gift.
I love the ergonomics of the knife, and in my opinion the shorter blade with the finger choil is absolutely the way to go. If I need a stronger grip I can choke up with a 4 finger grip using my index finger on the choil, or if I’m doing something more detailed I like to use a 3 finger grip with my middle finger on the choil and index finger on the back of the blade.
The only downside is that I’m left handed and the compression lock is obviously better suited to a righty, though it’s still certainly usable one handed. It would be nice if there was a little bit of knurling or a fingernail nick on the pad of the comp lock to make one handed closing easier for us lefties, but no worries.
The other question I had is about sharpness. I’m new to this and don’t have any experience with steels other than 8CR13MOV, so bear with me if this is a dumb question. The knife was sharp when I took it out of the box, but I went ahead and gave it a few swipes on the fine stones of the sharpmaker which got it to shaving sharp. I cut up some fruit and broke down a couple of boxes and noticed that afterwards it was still sharp, but wouldn’t shave. Is this pretty par for the course for S30V? Will harder steels like ZDP-189/S110V/Maxamet hold a shaving sharp edge for any length of time, or is that level of acuteness just not going to last for long regardless of blade steel?
Thanks everyone!
-Eric
The bolded activity is one of the biggest reasons why wear-resistant blade steels are so popular. Cardboard generally has a lot of abrasives in it, and most steels will lose their shaving edge rather quickly when cutting it. However, the more abrasion resistant steels will retain a sharp 'working' edge while less abrasion resistant steels will continue to dull. Something crazy like Maxamet may hold its shaving edge longer than most.
Different steels are designed for different applications. Fortunately, Spyderco gives us a wealth of different steels to try!
EDC Rotation: PITS, Damasteel Urban, Shaman, Ikuchi, Amalgam, CruCarta Shaman, Sage 5 LW, Serrated Caribbean Sheepsfoot CQI, XHP Shaman, M4/Micarta Shaman, 15v Shaman
Fixed Blades: Proficient, Magnacut Mule
Special and Sentimental: Southard, Squarehead LW, Ouroboros, Calendar Para 3 LW, 40th Anniversary Native, Ti Native, Calendar Watu, Tanto PM2
Would like to own again: CQI Caribbean Sheepsfoot PE, Watu
Wishlist: Magnacut, Shaman Sprints!
Fixed Blades: Proficient, Magnacut Mule
Special and Sentimental: Southard, Squarehead LW, Ouroboros, Calendar Para 3 LW, 40th Anniversary Native, Ti Native, Calendar Watu, Tanto PM2
Would like to own again: CQI Caribbean Sheepsfoot PE, Watu
Wishlist: Magnacut, Shaman Sprints!
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome, and congrats on the baby!
Have: old S30V Native, HAP40 Endura, ZDP DF2, S110V Manix LW, Cru-wear Para 3, SE H1 DF2, S90V Native 5, K390 Urban, SE Pac Salt, P.I.T.S., XHP Manix LW, SB Caly 3, B70P, PMA11, K03, Kapara, REX 45 Military, 154CM Manix LW, Swick, AEB-L Urban, KC Cruwear Manix, M390 PM2, Mantra 2, CruCarta Shaman, M390 Manix, K390 Police 4, S90V Manix LW, Rex 45 Manix LW, 20CV Manix, Rex 45 Lil’Native, Shaman, C208GP, Cruwear Manix, Cruwear Manix, M4 Chief, Z-max!!!
Want: SPY27, K490, Swick 5.
Want: SPY27, K490, Swick 5.
- MichaelScott
- Member
- Posts: 3008
- Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:42 am
- Location: Southern Colorado
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome. Congratulations on becoming a father. Nothing like it.
Overheard at the end of the ice age, “We’ve been having such unnatural weather.”
http://acehotel.blog
Team Innovation
http://acehotel.blog
Team Innovation
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome fellow lil native fan and new parent!
Spydergirl88
3 Nats, 1 Chap, 1 Sham, 1 Urb
3 Nats, 1 Chap, 1 Sham, 1 Urb
-
- Member
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2016 6:42 am
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome and congratulations on fatherhood.
-
- Member
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:01 pm
- Location: Missouri, USA
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome to the forum Eric, and congratulations! My wife and I became new parents recently as well - baby boy. Coincidentally, his name is Eric too. :)
As far as your question about steels, my (limited) experience (FWIW) has been that no steel will hold a shaving sharp edge for very long when cutting things like cardboard.
This has been my experience with Maxamet as well as CPM S110V. They do hold a shaving edge longer, but not that much longer. It seems to me that where these steels really shine is in holding a just-under-shaving-sharp edge for a very long time.
I will add however that sharpening style and skill have a lot to do with edge holding, and while I can get my knives sharp I'm not a professional.
This has been my experience anyway; yours may vary considerably.
As far as your question about steels, my (limited) experience (FWIW) has been that no steel will hold a shaving sharp edge for very long when cutting things like cardboard.
This has been my experience with Maxamet as well as CPM S110V. They do hold a shaving edge longer, but not that much longer. It seems to me that where these steels really shine is in holding a just-under-shaving-sharp edge for a very long time.
I will add however that sharpening style and skill have a lot to do with edge holding, and while I can get my knives sharp I'm not a professional.
This has been my experience anyway; yours may vary considerably.
- Connor
"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome to you, fellow recent ex-lurker!
Compression lock should break in over time, at which point it should flip open pretty easily if you use your thumb to decompress the lock and flick the wrist (whether opening or closing). It takes some practice for those of us who carry on the left, but I hope you learn to love it as I have!
Compression lock should break in over time, at which point it should flip open pretty easily if you use your thumb to decompress the lock and flick the wrist (whether opening or closing). It takes some practice for those of us who carry on the left, but I hope you learn to love it as I have!
Re: New Guy Intro
Welcome to the forum! :)
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin