Help Me spend my money...Southard or Advocate

[Signalman1]

Hey guys still looking for the perfect folding knife and so far my Spyderco's have been nice but each one of my knives has one little thing wrong with it...so I am still looking and these two are the latest ones. I have come to realize I want a knife handle at least 4.25" long and a blade under 3.5" and I also want a narrow blade with little to no thumb ramp. Maybe I am asking to much...but here is what I have so far:
L>R: Shaman, Kapara, Sage 5 and just got my Mantra 2


So what do you guys suggest between these two or is there some thing else I should be looking at ?

Thanks for your advice on this.

Signalman1

[TkoK83Spy]

Manix 2!

[p_atrick]

I visited the SFO a couple of years ago. The staff was kind enough to let me handle all sorts of knives. Once I held the Advocate, I just couldn't put it down. Very comfortable in handle, I liked the flipping action. I used to own a Southard. I prefer the Advocate, but not by much. Sorry I can't help you out all that much.

[Sumdumguy]

I love the Advocate. I vote that one.

I want to get another and chop the flipper off. Then it would be perfect.

[VooDooChild]

By your dimensions a pm2 would be perfect.

BUT, theres a big difference between handle length, and grip area.

Also stretch 2

[JuPaul]

I had an Advocate for a bit. It's a really beautiful knife, but wasn't for me, largely because I thought the cutout to access the lockbar was too small, and the lockbar itself was kinda painful to disengage. I've never owned a Southard, but wish I did. I love the single g10 scale. I've read that it's not the greatest flipper, though, but I think that largely depends on what you expect from a flipper.

Edit to add: the Southard is a bit over your 3.5" blade limit, though. Also, can I throw in another vote for a Manix 2?!

[skeeg11]

Seems that the Mantra 2 most likely fills your criteria although the handle is a mite shy of 4.25" Take the edge down to 30 degrees inclusive and I think it will spend the most time in your pocket ready to tackle most applications.

[dan31]

If you can’t decide, a stretch 2 FRN ZDP-189.

Between the two the Advocate.

[murphjd25]

Advocate!

[embry386]

You can always grind a blade shorter. How about pick a knife based on the handle ergonomics and the other aspects you want, and then shorten the blade to your liking, if necessary?

Got no advice about the Southard-vs-Advocate question, just wanted to point out that knife mods are a thing that is possible, and making a blade shorter is probably one of the simpler mods.

[Larry_Mott]

Advocate, easily. Someone wrote "it depends on what you expect from a flipper"
Well, i expect it to deploy dependably, which my Southard don't..

[curlyhairedboy]

Advocate, if only because it has a lockbar insert...

[Sumdumguy]

Well, Signalman...

I think you made me convince myself to get another Advocate. This time, I'm going to take the flipper off.

[Surfingringo]

Advocate wins by a long shot for ergonomics...at least in my hand.

[Evil D]

I'm a big fan of the Southard, at one time it was in my top 3. I haven't owned an Advocate but it's not hard to see from pics that it'll slice better than the Southard. So, if you're looking for higher performance I'd say get the Advocate, if you like chunky tank knives go with the Southard.

[Signalman1]

Thanks everybody I was leaning toward the Advocate to start with. So many of these knives I am finding/looking at are older models and some are discontinued. I feel like I am late to the game as I check out all the different knives Spyderco made...some of them are real gems. Thanks for your advice on this.

Signalman1

[Sharp Guy]

Advocate, easily. Someone wrote "it depends on what you expect from a flipper"
Well, i expect it to deploy dependably, which my Southard don't..

Mine flips great. So they're not all like that. I can certainly understand your disappointment though

[emanuel]

Oh man, I wouldn't wanna be you... such a hard choice! I would say get the Advocate, never owned or held one, but I remember people praising it as being the smoothest Spyderco flipper, while I've seen a few Southard threads with issues here and there.

[koenigsegg]

Advocate out of these two. They should make a slightly smaller native chief with blade stock thickness of the Police

[ChapnDu]

So cool when spending money on different cool accessories. I prefer the Southard.