Spyderco Forums

Ramzar’s list reminds me that my 2019 has been far more excessive than usual. :o

My Natives grew in number and variation (M4, S90V, and Cruwear Shamans; Native Chief; Lil’Native midlock; masterpieces all).

My K390 options increased (PM2; disco’d Police4 backup; speaking of backups, I also got two more Pacific Salts, now disco’d, and gave one to my daughter), and I further indulged my steel curiosity with two new ones (20CV Manix2; AEB-L Urban).

I got the straight-spine Stretch to see if it really is an alternative for people who want a non-handed self-closing PM2 lightweight. Given the shape of its edge, I think its more a four-way Lil’ Millie mid-lock, but for all that, no threat to the Stretch’s “normal” blade shape.

I got my first fixed-blade Spydies, and Salts they are (LC200N WaterWay and H1 Enuff).

Having acquired my first Delica4 last year, I had to confirm that the Endura4 is just as good. It is.

Finally, my bowl of tiny Spydies beckoned for another, so I got a Roadie. Might get a few more for stocking-stuffers.

A lot of madness with just a hint of method.

Definitely expanded my "collection". Knives were sold, but more were purchased. Glad to have k390, 4V, and Maxamet (tomorrow unfortunately, arriving late). Finally snagged a titanium military and a bada** manix XL. Even after losing a Shaman and a Pacific salt ($250 down the toilet), it was a good year.

I've been trying lots of models, looking for something that checks all of the boxes. Thus, my year was way too busy and expensive in terms of Spyderco purchases:

154CM Manix 2 LW,
KW 204p PM2 (sold),
Swick,
Supergold Delica,
back lock Lil'Native,
AEB-L Urban,
HAP40 Stretch (sold),
smooth G10 Cruwear Manix 2,
Cruwear Military (sold),
DLT M390 PM2,
Cruwear Delica (sold),
CPM 4V Lil'Native (sold),
Mantra 2,
Cruwear & Micarta Shaman,
M390 Para 3 LW,
M390 Manix 2

I bought many, sold some, and need to sell some more. Of these 2019 purchases:
-The 154CM Manix LW was a great yard work knife.
-The AEB-L Urban reminded me that basic steels are still cool.
-I used the red DLT PM2 the most.
-I enjoyed the Crucarta Shaman the most.
-The Mantra 2 isn't as awesome as I'd hoped due to lockstick, small-framelock-ergos, and the flimsy wire clip.
-The Para 3 LW model is too forward heavy, so it's also not as awesome as I'd hoped.
-I was too late to pickup a Police 4 due to unwarranted hesitation.

Overall, the Police 4 is my biggest purchasing regret, but I wouldn't carry such a big knife as often as I'd like anyway. I do have a Rex 45 Military to console me for now, so I'll manage.

My biggest knife regret was that I messed up the free-hand sharpening of my PM2 a couple of months ago. It was really irritating, and I don't want to risk doing that to light users and pricey pieces, so I purchased a Hapstone V7 to help keep some of my bevels perfect. Keeping consistent/known angles (esp when going really acute) can also help me compare and harness different steels' potentials better.

My greatest knife success this year was snagging two Crucarta Shamans (before realizing they'd be so hard to get) and then being able to help out someone who wasnt able to find one.

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For 2020:

I need to resist the urge, but the Swick 5 is already on my mind.

I would like to try more K390 or any Maxamet.

I hope Spyderco decides to bring us some K490, SRS-15, Vanax SC, and some other interesting steels.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 11:42 am

after losing a Shaman and a Pacific salt ($250 down the toilet)

That is definitely a place where you shouldn't play with your knives :p

Turned out to be a year of Spyderco divestment. I shrank my collection considerably. I'm down to less than 10 Spydies. Still love the brand. I just wanted to downsize and simplify.

So out of nowhere in April, I bought my first spyderco ever, a PM2 s30v. Then went on a tear and bought 12 more in 7 different steels. I never was into knives and thought I would never buy a knife over $50 and have a couple around $180. I even branched out and picked up a benchmade and ZT to see what else was out there. I am enjoying this new knife hobby and they're kind of like matchbox cars for big boys. Oh yeah I am curious as to how and where you guys sell off your unwanted knives. I'd like to let a few go too.....

juggler wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 1:17 pm

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 11:42 am

after losing a Shaman and a Pacific salt ($250 down the toilet)

That is definitely a place where you shouldn't play with your knives :p

If by play you mean carry and use them, then I agree?

Maybe?

I have been selling off all my knives over the last 2 years. My goal was to have 3. 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large folding knife. And that was going to be a dragonfly, a delica and an Endura (pacific salt). I made it down to 5 spydies? and now I’m back up to 12 or so. Bought 4 hawkbills, a manix 2 lw (bd1n), a chinook 4 and a CF/Ti s90v military. I don’t carry anything but spyderco. I’ve been spoiled by the hole :eek: SAKs don’t count. That’s a given. Everybody should always have at least one SAK on em.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:22 pm

juggler wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 1:17 pm

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 11:42 am

after losing a Shaman and a Pacific salt ($250 down the toilet)

That is definitely a place where you shouldn't play with your knives :p

If by play you mean carry and use them, then I agree?

Maybe?

Some people play with their phones on the toilet... some people play with... knives. Errr... Yeah... knives! Just be careful

I entered this year with one Spyderco, an Endura 4. I'm leaving it with a Bug, Delica 4, Dragonfly, Autonomy, and PM2. I had a Jumpmaster for awhile too.

For me, I had a heavy year on the knife front.

CPM Cruwear Military from BBS
Lil Native SE compression lock
Native 5 maxamet
Delica 4 CPM Cruwear
Native 5 CPM Cruwear
Endela SE VG-10
Endura 4 ZDP-189

CRK Sebenza 21 Insingo Micarta.

Problem is waiting for K390 Delica and Endela and ZDP-189 Endela. That should do it for a while.

I've tried to slow down on purchases and be more selective over the last few years.

I also like to use a knife for a while and through multiple resharpenings before deciding what I think of it.

That means I usually have a few knives queued up from previous years waiting to be used.

Also I've been using diamond and CBN abrasives to reprofile some of my older knives and give them another run.

If I like a knife, I can use it almost exclusively for six months or a year or more, like the Police 4.

I had a second honeymoon with the Gayle Bradley 1 and really clicked with it. It was the weight that held me back, before.

Also the Cruwear PM2 and Caribbean leaf PE were pocket hogs for a lot of the year.

Loved the AEB-L Urban.

Spent a bit more time posting on the forum this year, and made some cool new friends in online and offline chat.

This seemed like a red letter year for quality learning about our hobby. I've been enjoying Larrin's articles, Thescienceofsharp blog, and BBB/Deadboxhero's and Michael Christy's Youtube vids in particular. Still miss Cliff Stamp here.

Thanks to everyone here for making this forum the interesting and great place that it is. :)

That dyed scales looks so amazing !!! Might give it a try as soon as I take it apart for some reason !

Cowboyfromhell wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:00 pm

Oh yeah I am curious as to how and where you guys sell off your unwanted knives. I'd like to let a few go too.....

Bladeforums (annual subscription required) or eBay

ABX2011 wrote:

Cowboyfromhell wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:00 pm

Oh yeah I am curious as to how and where you guys sell off your unwanted knives. I'd like to let a few go too.....

Bladeforums (annual subscription required) or eBay

If its a custom, or rare, or desireable discontinued knife blade hq will buy it from you at a "fair" price. But there is no telling how fair that price is. Also a gamble on whether or not they would want it.

geronm042 wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2019 8:15 am

That dyed scales looks so amazing !!! Might give it a try as soon as I take it apart for some reason !

Thanks! I have to admit, I just dropped the whole knives intact into the dye. There's a little residue on the steel after, but it cleans off ok. I wouldn't do it with tool steels or carbon steels, of course.

So far 2019 has had deep valleys and high peaks..
I was (am) trying to get over the passing of my beloved uncle last year and was looking forward to The Amsterdam meet early March, the meet was great, but i got a phone call in my hotel room the morning after the meet that my mother has passed.. The rest of the spring and up to mid summer was spent sorting out her estate, and i don't think i actually looked what i got in the goodie bag in Amsterdam until late May.
Knife wise it has been a good year, found some nice vintage Spydies and managed to get current production and sprints i wanted.
A definite peak of the year this far was my Colorado trip, spent two weeks driving around CO and topped it off by a visit to SFO where i got to say hi to Eric, Joyce and Kristi (among others none mentioned, none forgotten)
Just hoping nothing more bad will happen for the last trembling weeks of 2019.

2019 will go down as the year that I bought more Spyderco knives than any other year. But it is also the year where I sold or gifted away more Spyderco knives. I think I've finally settled on the Spyderco folder designs & steels that I like.

Prior to this year, I was still searching for the designs that really fit both my functional needs & my aesthetic sensibilities. In 2019, I finally settled on the Native, Dragonfly, Delica (and its rustproof kissing cousin the Salt), and the UK Penknife as the cornerstones of my modest Spyderco collection. I tried out the latest Para Military 2/Para 3 models this year (as I do every year) & the Para 3 Lightweight almost won me over (I carried it near-exclusively for over 3 months) but ultimately, I realized that the PM2/Para 3 designs just aren't for me. I also tried out the Tenacious family of knives & its design offshoots in the Alcyone/Polestar but in the end, I only kept the Alcyone & Polestar. I also tried out the Sage line but while I recognize their craftsmanship, they just didn't grab me.

There's still room in my knife drawer for some more idiosyncratic designs, though, as this year, I bought the Introvert, the Karahawk, the Yojimbo 2, and the Q Ball—the first three have earned a permanent spot in my EDC knife rotation while the jury's still out on the Q Ball, as I've only had it for a week. As far as Spyderco fixed-blades go, the notable additions are the Waterway & the Ronin 2.

One of the best and most significant knife-related things I've done this year has nothing to do with a particular knife at all: I finally officially joined this forum after years of lurking.

For 2020, the one knife I am most looking forward to is the Swick 5. I think I might actually be done with buying new fixed-blades for a while once I get me hands on that, as the Swick 5 seemingly has everything I want in an EDC fixed-blade. I also have some degree of interest in the Siren.

All in all, it'a been a good "knife year" for me (but not for my wallet)—I learned a lot, cut a lot, and shared my enthusiasm for knives with a whole lot of people. Thanks to everyone at Spyderco & this forum for helping to make it the year that it was.

Larry_Mott wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:22 am

So far 2019 has had deep valleys and high peaks..
I was (am) trying to get over the passing of my beloved uncle last year and was looking forward to The Amsterdam meet early March, the meet was great, but i got a phone call in my hotel room the morning after the meet that my mother has passed.. The rest of the spring and up to mid summer was spent sorting out her estate, and i don't think i actually looked what i got in the goodie bag in Amsterdam until late May.
Knife wise it has been a good year, found some nice vintage Spydies and managed to get current production and sprints i wanted.
A definite peak of the year this far was my Colorado trip, spent two weeks driving around CO and topped it off by a visit to SFO where i got to say hi to Eric, Joyce and Kristi (among others none mentioned, none forgotten)
Just hoping nothing more bad will happen for the last trembling weeks of 2019.

I'm so sorry for your loss - there's little in life that's more painful than the death of a parent, on so many levels. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Man 2019 definitely has been a "growing year".

Like a lot of folks here I also thinned out my collection, I really only wanted to keep what I loved and actually used.
I made some excellent trades on the side through the FB forum, and made a couple of people happy which always makes me he happy.
Surprisingly, most of my purchases this year have been from other makers. I did cash out when the Maxamet pm2 dropped but to be honest I haven't even put that baby to work. I did purchase the cutlery shoppe para 3 and I finally know what all the fuss is about, I love that thing.

I put my Sharpmaker through the ringer and used it on multiple blades / even a couple of my coworkers knives as well. I have a new found appreciation for sharpening and metallurgy. I realized I love button locks thanks to the Smock, and my now most coveted knife the Spartan Blades Pallas.
All in all it has been a good year, though I do find that I participate less in these forum and I have more self control on impulse purchases. But I did
splurge on a UTX-70 CA Red / DE from Microtech... and I have to keep myself from going for the new blue Exocet.

Spyderco is still number one in my book just for the quality and diversity of their products. I look forward to what 2020 will bring and I know they are going to absolutely kill it. Hopefully I will be able to score a Micarta Shaman during the next wave.