Spyderco Forums

I’m not that much of a knife person, but I am interested in owning a Spyderco, I don’t want to repeatedly spend money on knives so I want a good one that will last.
Criteria:

~100$ (PM2 too expensive, Tenatious too cheap)

Blade length <3in (legal reasons)

Made in Japan or USA

EDC/camping

Fast, satisfying deployment and retraction

(ENDURA AND DELICA HANDLES LOOK UGLY TO ME, native handle is considerable)

Manix 2 Light Weight

alcyone

Eli Chaps wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:17 am

Manix 2 Light Weight

I second this one. I have the Manix 2 LW with BD1 steel and it is strictly my camping knife, along with my machete. Out of my 10 Spyderco knives, that's the one I chose for this job.

I honestly think if I only used one single knife I would sharpen the blade away before I reached 10 years. If not it would be so thick it would at least need a regrind.

S110V UKPK. It doesn’t lock but it meets most of your requests.

Duffdevil666 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 26, 2018 6:00 pm

I’m not that much of a knife person, but I am interested in owning a Spyderco, I don’t want to repeatedly spend money on knives so I want a good one that will last.
Criteria:

~100$ (PM2 too expensive, Tenatious too cheap)

Blade length <3in (legal reasons)

Made in Japan or USA

EDC/camping

Fast, satisfying deployment and retraction

(ENDURA AND DELICA HANDLES LOOK UGLY TO ME, native handle is considerable)

Good knives aren't cheap and cheap knives ain't good. Open your wallet and get a Shaman PE or Serrated. It's a beast. :)

Pm2's go for $100-110 all the time online. The build quality is acceptable if you're expecting it to last 10+ years. I can't say the same for many knives in that price range. I'd still recommend it. I like my CS Recon 1, which is strong and has the tri-ad lock, which only locks up more strongly as it wears. CS also did their CTS XHP extremely well. But spyderco's build quality is absolutely superior. Treat any knife well and it can last.

Also remember part of a knife lasting that long is not sharpening it away. Try not to remove steel unnecessarily, otherwise in 10 years you'll have a tactical folding toothpick made of premium steel.

npad69 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:21 am

alcyone

Yes.

I would go with a stainless Delica. VG10 is relatively easy to sharpen and it remains a dang fine and affordable steel. The stainless scales would hold up the whole time and that would solve the not liking FRN issue. My 2 cents.

I would wait for a sale or coupon code and seek out a para 3 or a native 5.

How about a chaparral lightweight?

allhatnocattle wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:08 am

I would wait for a sale or coupon code and seek out a para 3 or a native 5.

I think this is your answer and 4th of July is right around the corner. eBay might have a coupon.

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:05 am

I would go with a stainless Delica. VG10 is relatively easy to sharpen and it remains a dang fine and affordable steel. The stainless scales would hold up the whole time and that would solve the not liking FRN issue. My 2 cents.

I second the Delica. I use mine for whittling and it only needs a quick honing every third session. I haven't chipped/rolled/otherwise buggered the VG-10 edge (yet). Very easy to care for and slices/carves well. Just no prying or batonning and it'll last.

Knife Center also has a special edition wood delica in hap40 steel. It's currently out of the OPs posted price range but if you love wood it's a unique option.

Also; Isn't the 4th coming up soon?

I'm sure there will be plenty of sales around if you want to size up to PM2, Native, or Shaman. I find holding each knife more or less seals the deal... and you'll eventually buy them all...

I'd suggest the Chaparral. If you don't like the FRN, you can get the Carbon Fiber handle, although it may push your budget slightly (retail is normally around $120), but if you can get it with an eBay 15% off coupon you should be right around $100.



The Chaparral Lightweight (FRN) is going to be in your price range, blade length and it's a fantastic carry knife. I own way too many knives (over 100 spyderco's) and if I had to pick three Spyderco knives to keep, it would be one of them.



Other options to consider in your situation might be the UK Penknife in BD1n (cheaper, friendly for most jurisdictions, but non locking), the Dragonfly (might be a bit small if it's your only knife), or the Native (the lightweight would be in your price range). If you're keeping the knife for a decade as your primary every day carry, I'd also consider putting in some more money and upgrading to s110v (in either the native or UKPK).


I think the Manix 2 LW is going to be too large. It's my all time favorite Spyderco platform, but if you're worried about blade length restrictions I don't think it's the right choice for you.


Whatever you do, definitely have a look at the Chaparral.

I’d recommend tracking down a serrated Salt 1

My choice would be Rhino but it’s a bit more at $130. I would second what others have said, Native 5 LW, if you can go up to $120 you could get S110V steel, otherwise you can easily get one sub $100. There’s also Para 3 for ~$130 or if you go previously owned ~$100. Excited to hear what you decide on!

Edit: Didn’t see the Japan/USA requirement, rules out my Rhino pick.

I would definitely recommend the native series. It’s my favorite knife from any company, not just spyderco. Perfect size for me. Not too big, not too small. Pockets well. Ambidextrous. Tons of blade steel options.
Given your price point, I should add that my frn s90v franken-spydie, is my most used of all my natives. And cutlery shoppe has an exclusive orange frn s90v satin for just under $100.

SF Native wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:19 am

allhatnocattle wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:08 am

I would wait for a sale or coupon code and seek out a para 3 or a native 5.

I think this is your answer and 4th of July is right around the corner. eBay might have a coupon.

I'll third this. Would meet all your parameters. The nice thing about the Golden G10 models is that there's a ton of aftermarket options out there. So you can have the base model serve you well for a handful of years, then update scales or clip later on and feel like you have a new knife.

As i said, any knife will last if cared for. But if you're really planning on using the knife a lot AND have it last that long, you may want to look more at the blade steel. VG-10 is great for all around use, but you'll be sharpening it fairly often if you use it constantly. It's also not the most forgiving when you make a mistake and hit a nail or staple. If you're the type of user that can't stand chips and rolls and always feels the need to sharpen them out, you could have a small blade in 5 years. And the delica has a fairly small blade to begin with.

Again, this is only IF you are going to be using the heck out of the knife. If you are, you may benefit from extra edge retention or toughness. Most people will insist that VG-10 is more than adequate, so just take my opinion with a grain of salt. Selecting the right blade steel is part of selecting the right tool for the job.

Many people have knives that last 10+ years, but for most of them it is one of many knives in a rotation. You seem to be looking for ONE knife to essentially permanently edc which is why i mention this.