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I get that we don't get many options in 4v, but 4v on short stubby guy sold out surprisingly quick

Otoh, didn't realize it was dragonfly small, kinda into it

I was worried looking at my clock at 8:30 last night after receiving "Out for delivery by 8pm" notice yesterday morning. 9:30 pm rolls around and wouldn't you know it.. out on my mail-slot, click, click, click. Through came my package from good St. Nick's.

Just want to pile on with the praise for them with how well this drop went. Literally could not have been smoother as a customer.

My specimen is really nice. It may be the smoothest DLC Native (Lil' or standard) out of the box I have ever received. I gave my SO the DLC S30V comp version last xmas and feel like it took till March to get to this ones action. The only gripe I have with Lil' Native in general is that flimsy wire clip. Hoping St. Nick's has a 4V run of the Lil' Lockbacks in queue so I can get a proper spoon clip.

This is my first new knife of 2019, so it is really nice to have both the dealer and fine folks in Golden exceed expectations. Thank you very much Santa & Spyderco.

KnickKnackCity wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:01 pm

The only gripe I have with Lil' Native in general is that flimsy wire clip.

Good to hear from you Walter! Kind of surprised by your comment about the clip. Mine has the stiffest wire clip I've ever had on any knife. It seems much stronger than the ones on my Dragonflies. I'm sure it's the same clip but it's gonna need a little tweak to be able to put it in my pocket. I've never had to do that with any of my DFs.

GarageBoy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:45 pm

I get that we don't get many options in 4v, but 4v on short stubby guy sold out surprisingly quick

Which is why I will continue to shout from the rooftops that we need some CPM-3V folders. Before 2018Q2 there were no 4V folders, and plenty of vocal folk on here said 4V AND 3V had no place in a folder. Well, it seems the market thinks otherwise. The 4V Para 3 commands the highest prices outside of the REC exclusive and this one sold out in 2 minutes. And not only was it a 4V folder, but a TINY 4V folder when so many people say it only is good for huge fixed blades like the Province. :rolleyes: Wanna guess how quickly the PM2 and Shaman sell out??? :D Bravo St Nick's! Now, how about alternating the Red G10/DLC 4V with some White G10/DLC 3V??? If anyone is going to do it you can!!

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:08 pm

Hey Patrick. Good to be back :) Unfortunately not for long. I found myself with a few free minutes between projects last week and browsed the forum for the first time in a long while. After catching up on RamZars compendium and seeing this one on deck, I couldn't resist.

I have had the issue for years now of wire clips arriving strong only to get bent out of shape soon thereafter. Like yours, mine is also very stiff, tight to the scale, and appears to be securely nestled in the G10 slots. I have been burned by this before. Not sure if it's my pants, how I draw or clip back in, or just my day-to-day activities that do it, but the wire clips always become a never ending battle to get snug again. I will have to tighten the S30V Lil' Native after about every 3 or 4 days carry. Its gotten to the point that the only wire clips I have in my collection anymore are the Autonomy & Assist. Autonomy lives in my snowboarding pack and the Assist is in my sunglasses holder in my truck, so neither gets clip use.

Secondary to providing superior pocket clipping, I just plain think the spoon looks better on most knives. Hopefully this line is strong enough one day to warrant both clip types on the comp and lockback.

Trp2080 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:18 pm

Woodpuppy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:18 pm

I’d like to see a pic of this lil native and an urban. I bet they’re fairly close.

Thank you!

.

DLT has after market clips to replace the wire clips. I have not actually used one so I am not sure how well they work.

Very nice knife. Time will tell if it's going to be a keeper or not. Right now I'm enjoying it - it is my first Lil Native, first CPM 4V, first DLC, first compression lock.
I am impressed with the solid construction. It's a heavy little knife if you're used to FRN but I kinda like the extra weight and solidity. It inspires more confidence than a LW Dragonfly for example. One feels that this little knife can take it as well as dish it out.
Part of that confidence comes also from the top tier ergonomics of the design. It's more hand filling than the Dfly (for me) and is somewhat less blade heavy due to the extra weight of the liners and G-10.

Another small plus is that with the compression lock there is no vertical blade play, which, although I have gotten used to it in backlocks, is something that still bugs me from time to time.

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:06 am

Very nice knife. Time will tell if it's going to be a keeper or not. Right now I'm enjoying it - it is my first Lil Native, first CPM 4V, first DLC, first compression lock.
I am impressed with the solid construction. It's a heavy little knife if you're used to FRN but I kinda like the extra weight and solidity. It inspires more confidence than a LW Dragonfly for example. One feels that this little knife can take it as well as dish it out.
Part of that confidence comes also from the top tier ergonomics of the design. It's more hand filling than the Dfly (for me) and is somewhat less blade heavy due to the extra weight of the liners and G-10.

Another small plus is that with the compression lock there is no vertical blade play, which, although I have gotten used to in backlocks, is something that still bugs me from time to time.

I agree completely on the lil native. I can't believe that I just discovered it. As for your sig line.....What if I would rather find my way to the Mother?,

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:56 am

I agree completely on the lil native. I can't believe that I just discovered it. As for your sig line.....What if I would rather find my way to the Mother?,

Sorry, I can't help you with that. :)

Thank you for a kind response.

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:05 am

I was unaware these existed. I'd much rather sooner try one of these than drill out my own holes. Thanks for the heads up.

St. Nick's: Hopefully you already have the Lockback run lined up. If not, last Friday should be proof that the Lil' Native is a winner.

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:05 am

DLT has after market clips to replace the wire clips. I have not actually used one so I am not sure how well they work.

Sixty-four, ninety-nine + S&H ... oof.

bagsnatcher wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:32 am

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:05 am

DLT has after market clips to replace the wire clips. I have not actually used one so I am not sure how well they work.

Sixty-four, ninety-nine + S&H ... oof.

Yeah. It's why I haven't used one.....

bagsnatcher wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:32 am

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:05 am

DLT has after market clips to replace the wire clips. I have not actually used one so I am not sure how well they work.

Sixty-four, ninety-nine + S&H ... oof.

I spend a lot of money on knives but I refuse to pay that for a clip. Not even sure I'd pay half that

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 9:47 am

bagsnatcher wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:32 am

jdw wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:05 am

DLT has after market clips to replace the wire clips. I have not actually used one so I am not sure how well they work.

Sixty-four, ninety-nine + S&H ... oof.

I spend a lot of money on knives but I refuse to pay that for a clip. Not even sure I'd pay half that

I hear you bud.

I've been holding off on the lil native as I typically carry a dragonfly for a lightweight summer knife with shorts. I figured this sprint was a good opportunity to finally give the lil native a shot at filling the small knife role of the dragonfly. Here's my thoughts on comparing the two little knives.

I like both backlocks and compression locks. The compression lock on my Shaman is great, a fast lock that gets your fingers out of the way... and it's fun. I also really like the Spyderco design theory of a properly positioned lock and flat spot to protect your fingers when closing a back-lock one handed- this is a brilliant design though not as fun as the compression lock. Thanks to that design with the dragonfly I can maintain a sturdy grip on the knife while starting the process of closing it. With the lil native, I feel a little uneasy operating the compression lock because of it's short handle size, I feel like I'm pinching it rather than holding it.

My primary complaint with the dragonfly is the wire clip seems too low on the handle for a small knife, I've had the knife come out of my pocket with lightweight shorts, I now carry the dragonflies clipped in the waistband or on a carabiner pocket dangler. I would prefer a solid clip such as the Salt1 clip or Native salt clip with lanyard hole integrated in the design. The Lil Native has the clip closer to the end, so it addresses the clip positioning issues of the dragonfly but removes the option of a lanyard.

Another issue I have with the dragonfly is the handle design, I'd prefer it had more depth so my second and third finger could more easily contact the handle with my forefinger on the choil. I don't really understand why the dragonfly doesn't have a scaled down delica/endura handle design. This is completely fixed with the Lil Native, excellent grip, exactly like the full Native.

That said, I own a Shaman and Native so I'm familiar with the ergos and I generally prefer the flat spine of these two over my PM2/Endura/Delica. With the reduced grip on the dragonfly/lil native, I feel like the presence of the hump on the dragonfly inspires more confidence with forward pressure/thrusting than the Lil Native, both gripping it with and without the choil.

Obviously the Lil Native is a little thicker overall, a little heavier and has a thicker blade. These aspects of comparison aren't of great concern to me- I carry thicker knives regularly and I've never broken a dragonfly blade. Overall, I like attributes of both but I'm probably going to stick to carrying the Dragonfly. If Spyderco releases a Salt variant of the backlock Lil Native with a strong non-wire clip and a lanyard hole I'll probably revisit the Lil Native.

Looks like they did make collector's club versions of these after all. KeithKevinKen just posted a vid about his, and said that unlike normal, the CC got theirs after the public did.