Urban LW Coyote—realistic look

[ZrowsN1s]

Thanks guys, much appreciated! :D

Jpm2 beat me to it...

You can see it's shorter and rounded off on the K390

So I was just looking at my Urban and noticed this (the tip sticking up just a hair when closed). Not sure if I did this on my last sharpening (I don't think I took off that much of the tip) or if it was always like this and I just didn't notice before.

Either way I need to lower the tip a little. I know others have done this, where's the best spot to remove metal from? I figure I can just use one of my sharpening stones. Advice?

Right here, but find the exact spot of contact with sharpie or something and use the stone on just that spot.

[Doc Dan]

So I was just looking at my Urban and noticed this (the tip sticking up just a hair when closed). Not sure if I did this on my last sharpening (I don't think I took off that much of the tip) or if it was always like this and I just didn't notice before.

Either way I need to lower the tip a little. I know others have done this, where's the best spot to remove metal from? I figure I can just use one of my sharpening stones. Advice?

That is a serious issue. Perhaps you need to contact Spyderco.

[ZrowsN1s]

So I was just looking at my Urban and noticed this (the tip sticking up just a hair when closed). Not sure if I did this on my last sharpening (I don't think I took off that much of the tip) or if it was always like this and I just didn't notice before.

Either way I need to lower the tip a little. I know others have done this, where's the best spot to remove metal from? I figure I can just use one of my sharpening stones. Advice?

That is a serious issue. Perhaps you need to contact Spyderco.

perhaps. I think I can fix it though. If I'm wrong, well it's an inexpensive knife :D

[Doc Dan]

Edit: I checked both Urbans against The chaparral light weight. The coyote Urban is exactly the same length in cutting edge as the chaparral. The k390 is a frog hair longer in cutting edge.

I picked up a K390 Urban today and can confirm the blade is longer than the AEB-L Urban.

What's really impressive at least on the one I received, is how thin it's ground. I measured it at .012" behind the edge! My Chap LW measures .020". Both measured with the factory edges.

I totally respect that you like thicker blade stock, but with all respect: Your believe that a (small) knife thinner than 3mm stock (as for example the Chaparral with 2mm) had to be "babied" or "would not stand up to use" makes me - again with all respect - think you probably never tested a 2mm blade in real use? I did, and really hard, its up to any even harder knife task. 3mm is fine and more comfortable to put a finger on the spine, but not necessary at all in a smaller knife and reduces slicing ability by a lot.

I compared the Urban K390 to the Chap LW with some pine wood I had laying around and the Chap was able to make much finer cuts than the Urban. Cutting cardboard I would say the Chap is a tad more slicey over the length of the blade because the Urban is thicker at the heel. The Urban is actually thinner at the tip than the Chap so the Urban is still quite the slicer in material than separates as it's cut, but yes I agree the Chap is overall the 'slicier ' of the two.

I don't do much hard use in my regular use, but regardless of blade stock thickness I would choose the Chap over the Urban because it has a locking blade. Regarding blade stock the Chap is thicker (very slightly) at the tip so may win there too, although steel type (and task) will probably have more of an effect than geometry but I'm just guessing here.

Overall they're both really nice knives and the Urban for about 1/3 less is a great choice for someone that doesn't need or for legal reasons can't have a locking knife.

Would you measure you Urban and post your results in tge measurements thread?

[bbturbodad]

Sure, I can take some measurements this afternoon. How are we measuring blade length...longest or shortest number?

[Doc Dan]

Sure, I can take some measurements this afternoon. How are we measuring blade length...longest or shortest number?

Scale to tip

Here is the thread. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=84505

[ZrowsN1s]

Look I want to say upfront I Love the Urban and plan on buying the next sprint what ever it may be. The size, the slip joint, the ergos, deep carry clip. All great. I would have zero complaints about this knife except for 2 things now.

First issue was the tip of the knife sat high in the handle. I didn't even notice at first but after one sharpening the tip stuck up about a millimeter above the handle.

I decided to fix the problem myself by taking a little off the finger choil. Easy enough. It's fixed, and cosmetically really no worse for wear. On an expensive knife I'd have sent it back, but this knife is (relatively) inexpensive and it is meant to be a user, so I just fixed it.....
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.
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Right after I fixed it, I cleaned and oiled it. The action was really starting to smooth out nicely. So nice I thought I'd do a few reverse grip ringfinger opens. And that's when I realized part of the Spyderhole was sharp.....

98% of the spyderhole was smooth, but there is a small rough spot that is decently sharp.

Again this is something that I can fix. I will use the corner of a sharpmaker rod to smooth out the sharp part of the Spyderhole.
.
.
........Bottom line.
AEB-L I'm loving, the Urban I am loving, having to fix two factory quality control issues on a new knife... I am not loving. Particularly when both issues involve potentially cutting myself. I've seen that the other Urban runs didn't have these issues. So I'm willing to chalk this up to an honest oversight. But I would hope that this gets mentioned to the factory in Maniago.

[bbturbodad]

Ouch!

I just looked and mine has a little rough spot too. Doesn't look as bad as yours but yeah Maniago was a little sloppy on this batch.

[ZrowsN1s]

Ouch!

I just looked and mine has a little rough spot too. Doesn't look as bad as yours but yeah Maniago was a little sloppy on this batch.

And your rough spot doesn't look like it has a sharp edge. Maybe I was just unlucky. Thankfully the CF Shaman I just got from NewGraham came with complimentary bandaids in a little dispenser with the store logo on it. How did they know? :D

[Doc Dan]

Yeah it’s obvious that Maniago did not really care enough about this knife to do as good of a job as they have on the other models of light weights. It’s not the worst but they could’ve done better and should have done better.

[UrbanMoose]

Just wanted to chime in here; I think bbturbodad hit the nail on the head referring to the durable, solid feel of the 3mm stock gives the Urban being appealing to users (like me) who are limited to this size knife as a primary edc. We want a knife that doesn't need to be babied...

Doc said it best: "the blade stock is thick enough so it can stand up to use, but it is ground thin enough that it is a really good slicer. Sal must’ve had on his genius When he designed this."

I totally respect that you like thicker blade stock, but with all respect: Your believe that a (small) knife thinner than 3mm stock (as for example the Chaparral with 2mm) had to be "babied" or "would not stand up to use" makes me - again with all respect - think you probably never tested a 2mm blade in real use? I did, and really hard, its up to any even harder knife task. 3mm is fine and more comfortable to put a finger on the spine, but not necessary at all in a smaller knife and reduces slicing ability by a lot.

With due respect, to clarify; 'babied' is a term intended to be linked to the confidence inspired (or not) by the perceived solidity of the knife. I did not say that a 2mm blade would not stand up to 'real use'. I will not be cutting my way through a car door with an Urban (or any other knife) any time soon. I do think that I use my Urban with more confidence and less delicacy then when using a SAK (for example). This is due to the thicker blade stock. For most tasks the slicing gains of a 1mm thinner blade are negligible imho compared to the increased confidence (therefore carefree enjoyment) that extra mm inspires. Hence why 3mm over 2mm for one's main edc. Is this not the case with many modern edc knives?

With all due respect, in my role as Forest School Leader, I teach knife skills to bunches of 5-12yr old children, and we/they use Moras with 2.5mm thick blades all the time (I do predominately use a 4mm thick custom bushcrafter myself) so am well aware of how tough a thin blade can be in 'real use'. I sometimes find it surprising just how much abuse a Mora can take (kids eh?) :rolleyes:

You can also make do with a razor blade as a cutting tool in a pinch, but I with due respect, I wouldn't want to edc one just because it is more slicey than my Urban... It is not lack of using a 2mm blade that predisposes me to a thicker blade for my primary knife. It is the fact that it is my primary knife.The Dragonfly is an awesome little knife but if I could carry a locking folder for edc, I'd rather carry a sturdier knife (even though prying a door frame is not the reason for the preference).

The Chaparral seems a cool knife, and I wouldn't change it. Same goes for the Urban. Those that want a thinner slippit can get a UKPK LW, but I think they feel flimsy in comparison to the Urban. Ymmv

[Doc Dan]

Image coming....slight snafu

[Wartstein]

Just wanted to chime in here; I think bbturbodad hit the nail on the head referring to the durable, solid feel of the 3mm stock gives the Urban being appealing to users (like me) who are limited to this size knife as a primary edc. We want a knife that doesn't need to be babied...

Doc said it best: "the blade stock is thick enough so it can stand up to use, but it is ground thin enough that it is a really good slicer. Sal must’ve had on his genius When he designed this."

I totally respect that you like thicker blade stock, but with all respect: Your believe that a (small) knife thinner than 3mm stock (as for example the Chaparral with 2mm) had to be "babied" or "would not stand up to use" makes me - again with all respect - think you probably never tested a 2mm blade in real use? I did, and really hard, its up to any even harder knife task. 3mm is fine and more comfortable to put a finger on the spine, but not necessary at all in a smaller knife and reduces slicing ability by a lot.

With due respect, to clarify; 'babied' is a term intended to be linked to the confidence inspired (or not) by the perceived solidity of the knife. I did not say that a 2mm blade would not stand up to 'real use'. I will not be cutting my way through a car door with an Urban (or any other knife) any time soon. I do think that I use my Urban with more confidence and less delicacy then when using a SAK (for example). This is due to the thicker blade stock. For most tasks the slicing gains of a 1mm thinner blade are negligible imho compared to the increased confidence (therefore carefree enjoyment) that extra mm inspires. Hence why 3mm over 2mm for one's main edc. Is this not the case with many modern edc knives?

With all due respect, in my role as Forest School Leader, I teach knife skills to bunches of 5-12yr old children, and we/they use Moras with 2.5mm thick blades all the time (I do predominately use a 4mm thick custom bushcrafter myself) so am well aware of how tough a thin blade can be in 'real use'. I sometimes find it surprising just how much abuse a Mora can take (kids eh?) :rolleyes:

You can also make do with a razor blade as a cutting tool in a pinch, but I with due respect, I wouldn't want to edc one just because it is more slicey than my Urban... It is not lack of using a 2mm blade that predisposes me to a thicker blade for my primary knife. It is the fact that it is my primary knife.The Dragonfly is an awesome little knife but if I could carry a locking folder for edc, I'd rather carry a sturdier knife (even though prying a door frame is not the reason for the preference).

The Chaparral seems a cool knife, and I wouldn't change it. Same goes for the Urban. Those that want a thinner slippit can get a UKPK LW, but I think they feel flimsy in comparison to the Urban. Ymmv

Thanks for your very detailled and friendly reply! Good points, and I clearly can see that you know what you're talking about.

And that you sure also do know, what a thin blade can do and still take. But some people don't, they think a 2mm knife would be too weak generally, while at least in a short blade this slicey thinness works amazing and is stronger than many think... I myself had to test the Chap quite hard before I got "converted"..

[UrbanMoose]

All cool, and fair point. I'm just jealous of you guys who can carry such a broad range of competent choices. The modern slipjoint market is somewhat limited. The Urban is a design classic. And its girth is part of its charm. Loving those handle scales on that Chap though. Love to see an Urban wearing those :D

[UrbanMoose]

Oops. Double post :o

[UrbanMoose]

Blast. Again :rolleyes: :o

[Doc Dan]

When I want a locking knife my first choice is the chaparral (Delica second) because I’m usually doing city things these days and not rural things. When I want a slip joint my first choice is going to be the urban light weight every time. Is the right size and I like the robustness of the blade. Both of these hit the right size sweet spot for me.

[Cambertree]

The Urban has a stouter feel to me than the Dragonfly, CF Chaparral or LW UKPK.

I've used them all as a working knife, and my preference is for the Urban. If I need a lock, I go to a Dragonfly.

[JRinFL]

So I was just looking at my Urban and noticed this (the tip sticking up just a hair when closed). Not sure if I did this on my last sharpening (I don't think I took off that much of the tip) or if it was always like this and I just didn't notice before.

Either way I need to lower the tip a little. I know others have done this, where's the best spot to remove metal from? I figure I can just use one of my sharpening stones. Advice?

That one looks like it missed at least two steps during manufacturing. I love mine, but had it been like yours I would have to return it the dealer or use Spyderco’s warranty service. I don’t believe Spyderco would want that one out in the wild as it does not represent their quality.

[ZrowsN1s]

So I was just looking at my Urban and noticed this (the tip sticking up just a hair when closed). Not sure if I did this on my last sharpening (I don't think I took off that much of the tip) or if it was always like this and I just didn't notice before.

Either way I need to lower the tip a little. I know others have done this, where's the best spot to remove metal from? I figure I can just use one of my sharpening stones. Advice?

That one looks like it missed at least two steps during manufacturing. I love mine, but had it been like yours I would have to return it the dealer or use Spyderco’s warranty service. I don’t believe Spyderco would want that one out in the wild as it does not represent their quality.

Maybe if I'd noticed the tip issue BEFORE I reprofiled, I might have sent it back. But it was a PITA to get in the first place (my first one was either lost or stolen in the mail), I didn't want to pay shipping or go through the hassle again. And I fixed both issues. I sincerely hope Maniago does better fit and finish wise next time, I posted the pics so they'd know. But this time I'm just going to roll with it.