Spyderco Forums

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 9:39 am

Mine is K390, which is a steel that Spyderco uses, and that's not widely used in fixed blades, so it might be a good fit to make the collaboration sell (but at a higher price point).

CPM 154 might be a good option for a lower price point. Or even s30v, which Phil seems to have giving his blessing to, and which Spyderco uses extensively.

The partial tang is actually a really nice feature. The balance is amazing, and the knife feels super light in the hand.

Not sure if we can get a partial tang in production knife, wonder if it is worth doing or the price would be way higher as with sceletonized full tang. I have made one knife with partial tang and it if very nice, nice balance and you can get nice contrast between scales and the spacer.
K390 or 10V would be my choice, I like my K390 Police very much.

Garage boy: I had Bow River, and I think it is solid general purpose slicer. Don't expect to baton wood or pry something with these knives, they really excell in what a knife has to do, slicing and cutting.

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:55 am

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 9:39 am

Mine is K390, which is a steel that Spyderco uses, and that's not widely used in fixed blades, so it might be a good fit to make the collaboration sell (but at a higher price point).

CPM 154 might be a good option for a lower price point. Or even s30v, which Phil seems to have giving his blessing to, and which Spyderco uses extensively.

The partial tang is actually a really nice feature. The balance is amazing, and the knife feels super light in the hand.

Not sure if we can get a partial tang in production knife, wonder if it is worth doing or the price would be way higher as with sceletonized full tang. I have made one knife with partial tang and it if very nice, nice balance and you can get nice contrast between scales and the spacer.
K390 or 10V would be my choice, I like my K390 Police very much.

Garage boy: I had Bow River, and I think it is solid general purpose slicer. Don't expect to baton wood or pry something with these knives, they really excell in what a knife has to do, slicing and cutting.

K390 would really make my Spydie senses tingle. I know companies have been making tail tang knives for decades so I see no reason partial tangs would be impossible.

Since we are discussing the Smoke Creek model....would you like to see one with the finger choil or without it? I saw pictures of this model with and without it, so what do you think?

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:43 am

Since we are discussing the Smoke Creek model....would you like to see one with the finger choil or without it? I saw pictures of this model with and without it, so what do you think?

I would prefer the finger choil like in the photo I shared, however it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

GarageBoy wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:41 am

How do the bow river/sprig/south fork work as general purpose knives, or are they more fish and game knives?

The Southfork works well in the kitchen. I thinned out the 0.025” factory BTE thickness and have been running it with a microbevel off the brown SM rods. It’s not a kitchen knife obviously, but it’s very comfortable and handles well, and you can change grips very easily and smoothly. I’m getting used to the slight trailing point.

I read a reference to one of Phil’s customs being about 0.008” BTE.

I’d use it as a general knife, although as Pancake said, they’re optimised to be high performance slicers. It’s not designed to be a do-everything knife, but if you use it sensibly, I think it would perform well in different roles to what it was specifically made for.

I wouldn’t chop kindling or pry at joints, or try to baton it through a deer thorax, but any hunter worth their salt will have different techniques or tools to do those jobs

Quick pic from this afternoon:



Salting cucumbers to cure, before rinsing and adding Korean chilli flakes, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar and soy to snack on with a cold beer. :)

Regarding the Smoke Creek, I’d like to see a partial tang, for the superior balance and lightness, and I also like the finger choil.

I agree with Pancake - K390 or 10V would be my first choices too.

xceptnl wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:40 am

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:43 am

Since we are discussing the Smoke Creek model....would you like to see one with the finger choil or without it? I saw pictures of this model with and without it, so what do you think?

I would prefer the finger choil like in the photo I shared, however it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Me too.

Oh my, every single post in this thread is sparkling a little chance that we may have Smoke Creek in the future :D

GarageBoy wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:41 am

How do the bow river/sprig/south fork work as general purpose knives, or are they more fish and game knives?

I've used the Spyderco South Fork, Spyderco Sprig and custom B&T (the model the Sprig was patterned on) as kitchen knives with great success.

My Smoke Creek is _mostly_ a general purpose outdoors knife. It spends a lot more time on other chores than on fish and game.

First off - I will get one, no matter what the knife - style or steel.

I have used the Southfork, Sprig, and Bow River. The finger choil ergonomics never quite worked for me - I much prefer the Bow River. A Smoke Creek might be perfect (especially without the choil), since the other patterns have already been used?

And I prefer the idea of a "Phil approved" steel - so something like cpm-154 makes sense. It helps too that the steel has already been used in the Respect. That said, I would prefer k390. The partial tangs are awesome - and might help drop the price a bit - less steel to machine or waste per blade.

Something like this: This is a favorite of mine, in k390.

The partial tang really does make for a nice balance on a longer blade, but I'm sure it'll make a shorter knife like the Smoke Creek an almost dream. This is the custom I picked up from Mastiff many years ago. He had it made special by Phil to focus on slicing performance. I love it in the kitchen and at camp. It's been so long I can't even recall what the BTE measurement is.

Hey foofie and xceptnl! Those two are reall pretties!

xceptnl wrote: . This is the custom I picked up from Mastiff many years ago. He had it made special by Phil to focus on slicing performance. I love it in the kitchen and at camp. It's been so long I can't even recall what the BTE measurement is.

Does this model has a name? It looks awesome.

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:11 pm

Hey foofie and xceptnl! Those two are reall pretties!

xceptnl wrote: . This is the custom I picked up from Mastiff many years ago. He had it made special by Phil to focus on slicing performance. I love it in the kitchen and at camp. It's been so long I can't even recall what the BTE measurement is.

Does this model has a name? It looks awesome.

It is the Coyote Meadow.

xceptnl wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 6:10 am

It is the Coyote Meadow.

That is also very nice, also a nice candidate for collaboration model.
But the Smoke Creek....hmm

My opinion is Spyderco makes knives in excellent rarefied steels in large batches. Phil Wilson makes knives in excellent rarefied steels in small batches.

Spyderco should make a couple of Phil Wilson's knives, using his or similar steels, and roll them out in large batches. Spyderco can make the knives affordable. Affordable, not cheap.

I'm hardly, "loaded." But if the knives were available they make great gifts to friends and family.

If the knives are not sprint runs, it gives me time to save, as I do for a Mother's Day gift or something special for Christmas.

I look forward to a large knife in K390, S110V, S90V, 15V, Rex121, etc.

Naperville wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:03 am

Spyderco should make a couple of Phil Wilson's knives, using his or similar steels, and roll them out in large batches. Spyderco can make the knives affordable. Affordable, not cheap.

Wise words.
Like, if I am going to buy 1, max 2 knives per year, I want something a bit special. So Smoke Creek in CPM 10V, S90V is a good candidate for this kind of purchase.

Hi Pancake, the knife in the photo with the veggies is actually a South Fork. Hard to see it has a rounded butt and the angle makes the blade look longer than actual. The Coyote Meadow is a trailing point but with a stick tang stacked handle and machined brass finger guard. Phil

Phil Wilson wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:30 am

Hi Pancake, the knife in the photo with the veggies is actually a South Fork. Hard to see it has a rounded butt and the angle makes the blade look longer than actual. The Coyote Meadow is a trailing point but with a stick tang stacked handle and machined brass finger guard. Phil

I stand corrected. The tailhook handle always caused me to be confused about the model. This is the one Ankerson tested.

Always nice to see maker itself come to forum :D
I hope that we sparkled enough interest to make a new collaboration model :D

Not interested in made in China. When quality matters make it in Taiwan or Golden

I think the Smoke Creek w/ Choil would be great, and use the CPM154/10V Laminate that Crucible supposedly made for Mr. Wilson!