Siren

[Surfingringo]

I'm jealous of that Ono you hooked.

Good eatin!

I’m up north at this very moment because I heard they were biting. Stay tuned!

[Kodiak PA]

I love virtually everything about the Siren except one thing: When gripped hard the back lock easily disengages and though this really doesn't affect function it is irritating since there is some blade movement. Does anyone else experience this? Theoretically if you stab into something with a hard grip and the knife does disengage from the lock it could close on you. With downward pressure there is no risk.

I love the look, steel, design and I have lots of respect for designer. I experienced this with an Endura in the past but was wondering as a knife snob I'm making a too big of deal about this.

Thanks,

[Sumdumguy]

I'm jealous of that Ono you hooked.

Good eatin!

I’m up north at this very moment because I heard they were biting. Stay tuned!

Heck yea! That's got to be my favorite fish, both to catch and to eat.

[wrdwrght]

My Siren has just landed. Some quick observations:

- Drop-shutty, with just enough ricasso to save the day, if I remember to keep my index finger firmly into the oversized guard.

- Fantastically grippy for the wet.

- Thicker tip than the Chief but with same edge-length.

- Supremely negative blade-angle disguised in handle’s shape.

Well done, Lance. Thank you both for the design, and for making the context of the design so well-known to us. And, thank you Spyderco, both for the well-judged opportunity you give designers, and for the exceptional fit-and-finish.

[Wartstein]

My Siren has just landed. Some quick observations:

- Drop-shutty, with just enough ricasso to save the day, if I remember to keep my index finger firmly into the oversized guard.

- Fantastically grippy for the wet.

- Thicker tip than the Chief but with same edge-length.

- Supremely negative blade-angle disguised in handle’s shape.

Well done, Lance. Thank you both for the design, and for making the context of the design so well-known to us. And, thank you Spyderco, both for the well-judged opportunity you give designers, and for the customarily great fit-and-finish.

I really have to get one. I´d even prefer it in FRN, but as many people rightfully are pointing out again and again: If a "first" G10 model of a version does not get purchased enough, there is no chance of an FRN model to come to life eventually.

[Red]

Every model with textured g10 should have this level of grip in my opinion.

I agree. After carrying mine for a couple of months, the G-10 edginess has smoothed out and now it's just the right amount of texture.

Exactly. It’s good to see it on the yojumbo. Let’s hope the trend catches on.

Agreed, my YoJumbo is by far the best Spyderco I have as far as grip. They nailed it. Its just Perfect!!!

[PeaceInOurTime]

I love virtually everything about the Siren except one thing: When gripped hard the back lock easily disengages and though this really doesn't affect function it is irritating since there is some blade movement. Does anyone else experience this? Theoretically if you stab into something with a hard grip and the knife does disengage from the lock it could close on you. With downward pressure there is no risk.

I love the look, steel, design and I have lots of respect for designer. I experienced this with an Endura in the past but was wondering as a knife snob I'm making a too big of deal about this.

Thanks,

I think I remember hearing a few reports of people's grip disengaging back locks. I am curious because I've been unable to repeat that problem. Would you be able to describe or post a picture of the grip you are using?

[vivi]

I've been thinking about ordering one all year, but haven't had a chance to handle one yet. My only reservation is the handle looks like it might be just a hair on the small side for me.



Could someone tell me how long this area of the grip is?

[mb1]

Every model with textured g10 should have this level of grip in my opinion.

I agree. After carrying mine for a couple of months, the G-10 edginess has smoothed out and now it's just the right amount of texture.

Exactly. It’s good to see it on the yojumbo. Let’s hope the trend catches on.

Is the Yojumbo the same G10 as the Siren? I am loving the Yojumbo, and part of the reason is that textured G10 is fantastic.

[wrdwrght]

I've been thinking about ordering one all year, but haven't had a chance to handle one yet. My only reservation is the handle looks like it might be just a hair on the small side for me.



Could someone tell me how long this area of the grip is?

3.42” or 8.7 cm, by my reckoning.

[Surfingringo]

Hey Vivi, you have large hands if I’m not mistaken? Your full four fingers will probably not completely fit writhin the red marks but I think the handle will still be comfortable for you. I made prototypes in many different sizes and that handle shape is still quite comfortable even when the pinkie is past the bump. I actually use that grip quite often when cleaning fish and it is completely comfortable for me. You’ll have to decide for yourself but I’d hate to see you write the design off for that reason because I don’t really think it will be an issue for you. There were a few of you guys on the forum that I thought about when designing the Siren and you were one of them. I always thought that it would be a knife you would appreciate.

Edit: I tell ya what, send me a DM with your address and I’ll send you one. If you like it, keep it and do something nice for somebody else down the road. If it doesn’t work for you, sell it and do something for your favorite charity?

[soulspy]

I love virtually everything about the Siren except one thing: When gripped hard the back lock easily disengages and though this really doesn't affect function it is irritating since there is some blade movement. Does anyone else experience this? Theoretically if you stab into something with a hard grip and the knife does disengage from the lock it could close on you. With downward pressure there is no risk.

I love the look, steel, design and I have lots of respect for designer. I experienced this with an Endura in the past but was wondering as a knife snob I'm making a too big of deal about this.

Thanks,

I feel this too. It's slightly unnerving, but I'm convinced it is not close to releasing the lock. My first Spydercos were all rescue blades with a backlock, but they all had the Boye cutout (I think they called it). I have read Sal's thoughts on not using it, but feeling the lock disengage has me wondering if there's not some happy medium between Boye/No Boye.

[gundamaniac]

I just got my Siren in today, and it's fantastic! The blade has a very nice point and subtle belly and is ground nice and thin from some decently robust stock, the backlock is very refined and smooth, and the ergos....oh my those ergos. The hooked front of the handle just hugs my index finger and is great insurance against slipping up onto the blade, and at flared back of the handle fills the space under my ring finger and pinky so nicely. The ergos are right up my alley. Lance, you did a fantastic job.

As for the lock, my hands aren't strong enough to budge the lockbar much in hammer grip and I typically saber grip in use anyway.

Amalgam for scale, since it's always in my pocket anyway.

[JohnAPA]

I use mine in the kitchen a lot as a paring knife. It's easy to clean and stays sharp.

[Xplorer]

I've been thinking about ordering one all year, but haven't had a chance to handle one yet. My only reservation is the handle looks like it might be just a hair on the small side for me.



Could someone tell me how long this area of the grip is?

Measurements can vary a little I suppose, but it should be 89mm. Long before the Siren had a name, I referred to it as the LC89 in my shop because out of the ten sizes Lance evaluated, the size he went with had a primary handle measurement (basically the space between those red lines) of 89mm.

[VooDooChild]

Mine came in yesterday and I took it to work. I might post some pics later but here are some initial impressions.

1. Its awesome
2. I love the agressive texture. This is the grippiest knife I have ever handled. I dont love how many more shorts I will probably have to buy.
3. The action is amazing. The backlock is perfect. I think Golden makes the best backlocks on the planet and this is no exception.
4. There is barely enough unsharpened section to pull off the one hand backlock drop close. It works, but you cant be careless, at all. But, since the backlock is so good, you could engage and disengage the lock quickly enough to cause it to only close a fraction of the way before it gets close to your finger. You can do this with the native 5, native chief, and manix backlock as well.
5. The ergos are awesome. I was suprised, as I usually dont like the handle to be very "tall" in the pinky area, but this thing is great. Also it makes sense why the handle is shaped that way considering the knifes intended uses.
6. It was suprisingly not at the level of sharpness I have come to expect from Spyderco. Its still paper slicing, but it is not as sharp as just about every other Spyderco factory edge I have. This is ok, lc200n sharpens like a dream so I can easily get it to really sharp if I want.
7. Theres no way a hard grip or hammer grip is going to fully disengage the lock. I hard gripped this thing in about every way I could think of and at worst I could only get a very minor disengagement of the lockbar, not enough to make it close. I just couldnt hard grip it in any way that forced enough of the meat of my hand into the lockbar cutout that caused it to close, even though I was trying to do it on purpose.
I cant promise it wont happen, but it seems as though it wont happen for me.
Ill try a few more times later and see if I can make some weird grip, that I would probably never use, disengage it. But I dont think this should be a worry if you are considering it.
8. Clip is fine.
9. Love the small amount of color.

Thats about it for now.

[vivi]

Hey Vivi, you have large hands if I’m not mistaken? Your full four fingers will probably not completely fit writhin the red marks but I think the handle will still be comfortable for you. I made prototypes in many different sizes and that handle shape is still quite comfortable even when the pinkie is past the bump. I actually use that grip quite often when cleaning fish and it is completely comfortable for me. You’ll have to decide for yourself but I’d hate to see you write the design off for that reason because I don’t really think it will be an issue for you. There were a few of you guys on the forum that I thought about when designing the Siren and you were one of them. I always thought that it would be a knife you would appreciate.

Edit: I tell ya what, send me a DM with your address and I’ll send you one. If you like it, keep it and do something nice for somebody else down the road. If it doesn’t work for you, sell it and do something for your favorite charity?

Lance, that's an incredibly kind offer! I'd feel better if I could send you some road biking supplies or something. I'll take it to private messages.

As far as the handle goes I could see it being comfortable even if my pinky doesn't fall within those red lines. I have an LT Wright Frontier Valley that I use with a similar grip.

I think my palms are a bit on the wide side. This picture makes my Victorinox Tinker look wider than it does to me in person:



I'll get my hands on one and I'll make a video detailing my thoughts on it. I just grabbed a new laptop so I'm going to start editing knife videos again soon.

[JohnAPA]

I love mine.

[skeeg11]

Heaven forbid that a serrated Siren should come to pass. Would be a travesty should it displace Vivi's beloved serrated Pac Salt as his primary EDC. Who am I kidding? Did I just reference in the singular? I suspect that Vivi has at least a half a dozen serrated Pac Salts. That would make it a travesty times 6+.

I have been campaigning for a serrated Siren to the point of sounding like a broken record. It would be ever so much more effective if Vivi took the helm in this regard so I look forward to his evaluation of the currently available PE version.

Still can't get over the smoothness and precision of this Golden lock back.

[Surfingringo]

I want to leave some feedback here after using my Siren everyday for months. I have noticed that one thing that has been a bit polarizing about the design is the heavier g10 texture. Some folks love it and others are scared it will be a “pocket shredder”. The texture was indeed chosen to provide better grip in wet, bloody, sweaty or slippery conditions. The slightly higher points and lower recesses of this g10 offers more overall surface area and more space to drain fluid along with higher points to maintain contact with the hand. It does indeed work much better than standard g10 at providing grip in wet conditions.

What I can tell you after several months of use and carry though is that the texture calms down a LOT very quickly. I haven’t done any type of sanding or smoothing to mine but it is now MUCH smoother than it was when new. Kind of the same way that regular g10 smooths out with use. The difference is, even though this g10 smooths out you are still left with those much larger recesses that still make the handle much grippier in wet conditions. I have been carrying the Siren exclusively for months now and have not had any issues with pocket or waistband wear. I honestly don’t feel like this is ANY more abrasive to clothing than regular g10. Based on my experience with it at this point I would actually like to see Spyderco use it on more designs.

Note: I know that this is my design so my objectivity might be clouded when discussing it. For that reason I try to refrain from leaving the kinds of Performance opinions and observations that I have left over the years on other designs like the Pacific Salt. I feel obliged to mention this though because it is a completely objective observation on the material itself. Can anyone else who has carried and used their Siren regularly offer their observations on this?