CQI Shabaria ?

[malice]

Hi folks,

I was carrying my Shabaria today.
Which is a beautifully slender knife, but with surprising strength in the stab and a very "biting" edge profile.
As a graceful edc as well as an SD knife it excels.

And it made me wonder, considering the more than two decades since it's inception, what would be the possible CQI's on this beauty ?



Personally I would say:

Steel: LC200N
Good toughness, low worry factor, pretty good sharpenability which is important because of that recurve + Spyderco uses it already (which may keep price down + guarantees good heat treatment)
(I'm basing my info on : https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/05/20/ ... ery-knife/)

Lock: switch to compression lock, thus the slight cutout at the spydiehole can be bilateral, not only improving grip, but also rendering it more lefty friendly.

Handle: Linerless G10 (using the techniques used on the Para 3 LW) or else a nested liner. 4 way clip. No lanyard hole in order to optimally position the clip. ( Lanyard if wanted to be tied around most distal stand off )

What do you guys think ?
Would that be an improvement, and would you buy it were it a reality ?

[spoonrobot]

Liner lock is more lefty friendly than comp lock, for this model. Only thing it needs is drilling for left handed pocket clip.

Personally I think a Shabaria 2 would be a big seller. Add a CBBL (plenty of space), nested liners, full SE option, LC200N FFG blade - oh man that would be a real beast of a knife.

[Doc Dan]

I think a nifty new take on a different lock, like a button lock or bolt lock, would be good.

[JRinFL]

CQI does not entail a redesign to a different lock type. That would be in essence a whole new knife that looks similar to the original.
Even a simple sprint run would surprise me as I have not heard of anyone requesting it in 20 years. I could be wrong about that, however. I just don't remember anyone asking.

[Mushroom]

CQI does not entail a redesign to a different lock type. That would be in essence a whole new knife that looks similar to the original.
Even a simple sprint run would surprise me as I have not heard of anyone requesting it in 20 years. I could be wrong about that, however. I just don't remember anyone asking.

I agree, this would be more than CQI. I would question if the model is popular enough to justify redesigning it.

There was a sprint run from 2018. I believe it is the one the OP posted, with Gray G10 and VG10 steel. Seemed like it was mostly a collector piece.

[JRinFL]

Thanks, I fully and completely forgot about the Sprint run.

[Dan In MI]

I would question if the model is popular enough to justify redesigning it.

I concur. But with or without the slight changes suggested, I would likely buy a new one. That unique design would stand out on display!

[malice]

There was a sprint run from 2018. I believe it is the one the OP posted, with Gray G10 and VG10 steel. Seemed like it was mostly a collector piece.

Correct.
I believe the original run was somewhere up to 2003 ? With a carbon fiber sprint somewhere in 2013 ?
But don't hold me to that.

And I agree, that maybe it's more than CQI.

So maybe call it Shabaria 2

And I get why it could be a risk to redesign, from a financial point of view.

On the other hand, it has sooo much potential.

[malice]

So which lock would you guys say is best, if you want to keep it sleek, secure but ambidextrous ?

Bolt, button or CBBL ?
Eventough it seems the least lefty friendly, I would still say button.

[JD Spydo]

I've owned 3 of those Shabaria models over the years and I could never fall in love with them because I never could get comfortable with the grip. My hand just seems to be a bit large for it to fit properly.

The Shabaria has always interested me however because as far as I know they never made one in full SE. And I can't for the life of me understand why Spyderco doesn't make at least one or two of their great "recurve" models in Spyderedge.

The Shabaria to me is more eye candy than it is a practical user blade. Also if you can find one NIB it would be a nice investment over time I'm sure. Because models out of that era ( The Golden Era of Spyders 1998-2004) all seem to be winners in the collector category.

[BornIn1500]

Lock: switch to compression lock, thus the slight cutout at the spydiehole can be bilateral, not only improving grip, but also rendering it more lefty friendly.

With that large empty space along the spine of the handle, how can a compression lock fit into this design? :confused: I think it's impossible

[spoonrobot]

The Shabaria has always interested me however because as far as I know they never made one in full SE. And I can't for the life of me understand why Spyderco doesn't make at least one or two of their great "recurve" models in Spyderedge.

Am I misremembering or is the issue that full SE is difficult or not possible, with blades that have a negative edge angle along their full length? IIRC this came up with the Szabo folder and it's recurve?

[JD Spydo]

Lock: switch to compression lock, thus the slight cutout at the spydiehole can be bilateral, not only improving grip, but also rendering it more lefty friendly.

With that large empty space along the spine of the handle, how can a compression lock fit into this design? :confused: I think it's impossible

Yeah I agree with that.. I don't see how it would be possible to implement a compression lock on the Shabaria model.

Like I've said in the past I've yet to ever have any of Spyderco's locking systems ever fail on me. Even though a lot of people look down their noses at "liner locks" I've never even had any of those fail on me either.

[JD Spydo]

The Shabaria has always interested me however because as far as I know they never made one in full SE. And I can't for the life of me understand why Spyderco doesn't make at least one or two of their great "recurve" models in Spyderedge.

Am I misremembering or is the issue that full SE is difficult or not possible, with blades that have a negative edge angle along their full length? IIRC this came up with the Szabo folder and it's recurve?

You may have something there "SR". However I've never heard anyone from the Great Spyder Factory officially make that statement that I can remember and I've been here for a while. Or maybe it might just be too labor intensive for them to make any significant profit doing it.

I do wish that in instances like this that you could send the model into Spyderco and have them put serrations on models that you can't normally get in SE.

I've just know in my gut that the ULIZE model would be like a small chain saw in Spyderedge if we could ever get that. Because "Recurves" are always at an "Angle Of Attack" when using them. But I can see why they would be far more difficult to grind teeth on.

[malice]

The Shabaria has always interested me however because as far as I know they never made one in full SE. And I can't for the life of me understand why Spyderco doesn't make at least one or two of their great "recurve" models in Spyderedge.

Am I misremembering or is the issue that full SE is difficult or not possible, with blades that have a negative edge angle along their full length? IIRC this came up with the Szabo folder and it's recurve?

You may have something there "SR". However I've never heard anyone from the Great Spyder Factory officially make that statement that I can remember and I've been here for a while. Or maybe it might just be too labor intensive for them to make any significant profit doing it.

I do wish that in instances like this that you could send the model into Spyderco and have them put serrations on models that you can't normally get in SE.

I've just know in my gut that the ULIZE model would be like a small chain saw in Spyderedge if we could ever get that. Because "Recurves" are always at an "Angle Of Attack" when using them. But I can see why they would be far more difficult to grind teeth on.

Doesn't the whole civilian/matriarch family have a negative edge angle at one point on the other edge ?

Because those are known chainsaw like serrated blades.

And when it comes to the button/compression lock, I'm actually pretty certain it could work, but the leaf spring would need to be at a more oblique angle.

[spoonrobot]

The Shabaria has always interested me however because as far as I know they never made one in full SE. And I can't for the life of me understand why Spyderco doesn't make at least one or two of their great "recurve" models in Spyderedge.

Am I misremembering or is the issue that full SE is difficult or not possible, with blades that have a negative edge angle along their full length? IIRC this came up with the Szabo folder and it's recurve?

You may have something there "SR". However I've never heard anyone from the Great Spyder Factory officially make that statement that I can remember and I've been here for a while. Or maybe it might just be too labor intensive for them to make any significant profit doing it.

I do wish that in instances like this that you could send the model into Spyderco and have them put serrations on models that you can't normally get in SE.

I've just know in my gut that the ULIZE model would be like a small chain saw in Spyderedge if we could ever get that. Because "Recurves" are always at an "Angle Of Attack" when using them. But I can see why they would be far more difficult to grind teeth on.

Doesn't the whole civilian/matriarch family have a negative edge angle at one point on the other edge ?

Because those are known chainsaw like serrated blades.

And when it comes to the button/compression lock, I'm actually pretty certain it could work, but the leaf spring would need to be at a more oblique angle.

That's a good point, I must be misremembering.

[w3tnz]

The carbon fiber sprint was one of my first spyderco knives, I remember at the time being kind of scared of it because the handle was so thin and slippery and the blade was probably the sharpest and pointiest thing I’d ever seen. I sold it on as my attention drew to more practical models, I didn’t consider buying the last g10 sprint but still find the knife very aesthetically pleasing.
As for cqi I think it would be best to leave the model as is, out of respect for the designer, I think a sprint with a peel ply carbon fibre handle and coated blade would be cool though.

[Sumdumguy]

I have always wanted a Shabaria, for the blade shape. I would definitely buy one if it was a compression lock. I wonder how a R.I.L would work on such a thin(short?) grip area.

As it stands, I have always considered it. But, the liner lock just doesn't float my boat. Maybe one day.

A CBBL would definitely not get my money. Eww...



On a side note, R.I.P. Eduard Bradichansky... Such a senseless end to a great engineer/designer.

[Cl1ff]

I like the design mostly for the recurve.
Because of that it would probably interest me in whatever CQI variant could theoretically come out.

[malice]

BTW, did a bit of doodling, basing myself on my para's and internet images, because I don't have a smock (yet).



Purple are the mechanical parts.
I drew a straight cut spring and an elongated Z-cut spring alternative.
If I'm not mistaken the button needs about a 50% overlap with the leaf spring.

Green dotted lines are the furthest my hand comes up the handle in hammer and sabre grip.

Do you think it could work ?