Astute First Impressions

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
SG89
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Astute First Impressions

#1

Post by SG89 »

Just got the Astute delivered. Here's some pictures and first impressions.

The fit and finish is very nice for the price. It's on par with the Clipitool Standard and Rescue. No chips in the g10, blade is centered, no sharp edges on the liners, liners and g10 fitment is perfect. Lockup is 50 percent, and solid as can be. The factory clip has a lanyard hole in it but the lanyard hole in the scales is nowhere close to the clip. *I forgot this is for tip-up carry to allow for pivot screw access- thanks Pstone*

Upon disassembly, the Astute revealed PB washers. All of the screws had the perfect amount of loctite (blue for the pivot screw, orange for the clip screws). Super easy to disassemble thanks to that. The detent ball was a dark color... Perhaps ceramic? Not sure.

I love that a really nice design is available in the value line. I feel like this knife makes up for the original "value-priced" Rhino that never got to be released. Thank you Spyderco for continuing to create new designs in the value line that have great utility and in the case of the Astute- beauty as well.

The clip screw pattern is that of the Clipitool Standard and some older Seki designs. PM2 clips don't fit and neither do Lynch clips unless you want to rock 1 screw like I am lol. I tried several MXG 2 screw spyderco clips and even a benchmade compatible clip and they are not quite wide enough.

I took comparison pictures with the Victorinox Cadet as I figured someone would be more likely to carry a Cadet instead of a Pioneer with the Astute. I don't have a Delica and the Worker was the most comparable size wise to the Astute in my Spydie drawer.

Factory edge sliced paper well enough. I'll probably touch it up on the sharpmaker later today. Overall, I would recommend this knife to anyone, especially those looking for a slimmer value line alternative to the wider Tenacious or Efficient.

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Last edited by SG89 on Mon Aug 10, 2020 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cabfrank
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#2

Post by cabfrank »

Thanks for your impressions. I really do like the looks of the Astute, and of course, it is a very nice price.
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PStone
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#3

Post by PStone »

Great initial review Spidergirl88! And nice pics too! That looks like a whole lotta blade for its size. Definitely on my radar now. I bet the clip has a hole for pivot clearance in case of tip down carry, rather than lanyard acces though.
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Red
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#4

Post by Red »

Thanks for the great review. I have been eyeing those.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#5

Post by StuntZombie »

That looks better than I expected. And the fact it's right around the same size as the Worker makes it even more attractive. Thanks for the review!
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SG89
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#6

Post by SG89 »

PStone wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:44 pm
Great initial review Spidergirl88! And nice pics too! That looks like a whole lotta blade for its size. Definitely on my radar now. I bet the clip has a hole for pivot clearance in case of tip down carry, rather than lanyard acces though.
Good point. I always forget about tip-down peeps
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#7

Post by JuPaul »

I'm definitely getting one of these - the lines are so nice that I'll break my bkack g10 rule. ;) Maybe eventually we'll see some color options.
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Oloung1
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#8

Post by Oloung1 »

Good review. I appreciate the size comparison pics, it's nice to see new knives paired up.
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cabfrank
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#9

Post by cabfrank »

The design and the blade really look great.
By the way, Spydergirl, you don't have a Delica? 😵 I'm astonished.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#10

Post by SG89 »

cabfrank wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:04 pm
The design and the blade really look great.
By the way, Spydergirl, you don't have a Delica? 😵 I'm astonished.
I've owned several, but not any currently. 🙃
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#11

Post by abbazaba »

Thanks for the impressions and pics! Still waiting for mine to ship and good to know about the clip.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#12

Post by Liquid Cobra »

This is the first knife from the value line that I will likely purchase in a long time. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#13

Post by Evil D »

Man these edge-to-handle designs are amazing. I wish more designs like this came out of Golden.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#14

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Evil D wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:35 pm
Man these edge-to-handle designs are amazing. I wish more designs like this came out of Golden.
Perfect for a liner lock, no problem with one hand closing. I like the swell in the handle, I'm tempted too. Great beater knife!
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#15

Post by ladybug93 »

this looks like an excellent second knife for my kids.
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current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#16

Post by cabfrank »

Spydergirl88 wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:33 pm
cabfrank wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:04 pm
The design and the blade really look great.
By the way, Spydergirl, you don't have a Delica? 😵 I'm astonished.
I've owned several, but not any currently. 🙃
I don't have one either. That puts us in the very small minority. I consider my Salt 1 very close though.
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ladybug93
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#17

Post by ladybug93 »

cabfrank wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:21 pm
Spydergirl88 wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:33 pm
cabfrank wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:04 pm
The design and the blade really look great.
By the way, Spydergirl, you don't have a Delica? 😵 I'm astonished.
I've owned several, but not any currently. 🙃
I don't have one either. That puts us in the very small minority. I consider my Salt 1 very close though.
i had a delica for a couple days recently. it wasn't for me. the rock jumper looks like a perfect answer to what i didn't like about the delica though. i can't wait for it to be a salt.
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#18

Post by Pancake »

Evil D wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:35 pm
Man these edge-to-handle designs are amazing. I wish more designs like this came out of Golden.
Right?
Tenacious, Persistence, Resilience and others really have all the blade that you can squeeze into the handle. The no finger choil designs are really nice.
I hope that one day we get similar knife from Golden as well.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#19

Post by PStone »

Spydergirl88 wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:52 pm
PStone wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 12:44 pm
Great initial review Spidergirl88! And nice pics too! That looks like a whole lotta blade for its size. Definitely on my radar now. I bet the clip has a hole for pivot clearance in case of tip down carry, rather than lanyard acces though.
Good point. I always forget about tip-down peeps
I carry a few tip down. Resilience is one. That’s what made me think of it.
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Re: Astute First Impressions

#20

Post by SG89 »

More pics: Image
Image
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