, the respectful and constructive atmosphere of this place and how Sal, Kristie and Mike create and keep an eye on just that.And I start to miss all of you folks too.
Last but not least I want to thank all the people who sent me pms or mails asking where I´ve been and how I am doing - really appreciate that and will reply to each of you individually of course!)
/ If one would ask me "What was the most significant (and probably to be expected) Spyderco-related thing for you in the five month you've been away?":
Well, I´d reply it has to be how indispensable the Stretch 2 XL SE has become for me - just my perfect by-default-EDC knife and for me one of the best knife designs ever, not "just" by Sal, but overall (and as always :THANKS, Dan, "The Giant" for so generously gifting this gem to me! My dedicated thread on this is more than overdue (I had one almost ready, but then lost all the pics I made for it
)I don´t read or see too much about this (FRN, LW) model, so let me just give it a quick shoutout and encourage all of you to think about getting one!
As usual I tested and used this model extensively, some points / pros coming from this experience and might help:
- It´s amazingly light, but I never found it TOO light, or the handle having too much flex. Actually no noticeable flex in regular and even harder use, though of course one could deliberately provoke more flex in this handle than in a (linered) Endura for example
- The SE pattern is perfect in my book. Very shallow and "non aggressive", probably even better than on my Endela SE (and that´s saying something).
And as I always say: People who are not too crazy about VG10 or its edge retention: Try this steel in SE! While VG10 is probably "just decent" in PE, it is actually great in SE in my experience.
- The tip is extremely useful, but yes, also very fine (especially in SE). Differently to how I do with my Enduras, I tend to be a bit careful with the Stretch SE tip.
- Ergos.... well, it is a Stretch, right?
So the ergos are amazing imo, especially choked up on the choil. Gripped behind the choil I find it perfect WHEN using the thumb ramp. In a hammer grip the front part of the handle is maybe a tad too narrow, but still very good.- All in all this knife does even better what people always say about the Millie: It might seem a bit large at first glance, but carry it for a short period of time and it becomes just the perfect and not too big size (for me anyway, this is "regular size" in my classification).
(Old pic)
Welcome back!
So happy to hear from you again , yes I missed my friend ! Dan
's in 14 different steels
