Preffering Stainless

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
WyoJon
Member
Posts: 251
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:03 am

Preffering Stainless

#1

Post by WyoJon »

After buying my first police stainless, I was wondering how many people actually prefer stainless spydercos for users? Im an FRN guy. Just wanted one stainless for ny collection. Solid knife, really nice, but its not frn.
User avatar
jmj3esq
Member
Posts: 318
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:58 am
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: Preffering Stainless

#2

Post by jmj3esq »

I prefer titanium but I get what you're saying. I love the heft and feel of solid SS or titanium. It beats the light and weak feel of the FRN handles. I prefer titanium as it doesn't scratch and mar as easily as steel. I currently carry a Delica Titanium with Damascus blade. So beautiful!
User avatar
Jim Malone
Member
Posts: 1333
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 5:31 pm
Location: Absurdistan E.U.

Re: Preffering Stainless

#3

Post by Jim Malone »

I used to carry a Police model in uniform but opted back to the Endura because it just became too slick to use when wet.

The SS does give knives a nice heft and feels very strong. But they get scratched real fast. They are perfect as a presentation gift because of their ease of engraving.
WyoJon
Member
Posts: 251
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:03 am

Re: Preffering Stainless

#4

Post by WyoJon »

Jim Malone wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:26 am
I used to carry a Police model in uniform but opted back to the Endura because it just became too slick to use when wet.

The SS does give knives a nice heft and feels very strong. But they get scratched real fast. They are perfect as a presentation gift because of their ease of engraving.
Was there ever law enforcement agencies or trainers encouraging police to carry this knife on duty? I could see where it could be used well in a fight.

Dont mind the scratching, the slippery is what scares me. Im thinking about stippling mine with a digrinder and a small burr. Im an frn guy through and through but wanted one iconic stainless model
Michael Janich
Member
Posts: 2982
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Longmont, CO USA
Contact:

Re: Preffering Stainless

#5

Post by Michael Janich »

I've worked many trade shows for the law enforcement community and have had countless seasoned officers walk up to the booth, reach into their pocket, and produce a well-carried classic Police Model. That design is truly iconic and many old-school trainers did specifically recommend them to rookie cops.

With that said, the stainless handles are somewhat slippery during serious use--or if you tried to use the knife defensively. When I trained the Denver-based Air Marshall group in the early 2000's, they were very fond of the Police Model (even though their actual issue knife was a Rescue Junior). In most cases, they regarded it not as a potential weapon for use on a plane, but for personal protection when they had layovers in sketchy destinations that did not allow them to carry their sidearm around town.

Once we started training in high-speed, one-handed deployment, the slickness and tip-down-only configuration of the Police Model quickly manifested themselves as limitations of the design for defensive use. One Air Marshall asked me if I could fix those problems. I took his Police Model, drilled and tapped it for tip-up carry, and added a panel of rubber tread tape (the stuff you stick to your shower floor so you don't slip) to the obverse side of the handle. With those mods, he could carry tip-up, draw the knife quickly, and immediately flow into a one-handed opening without adjusting his grip. He was ecstatic.

Unfortunately, I then taught him how to do an inertial opening for even greater speed. He was a big, biscuit-eating boy and, once he got the inertial opening down, would do it with great enthusiasm. I warned him to throttle back on his wrist snap, but he didn't listen. Within a week, he had done so many hard openings he'd peened the face of the lock bar and compromised the lock function. He handed me his knife with a sad face and asked me to fix it. I explained that I couldn't and gifted him an Endura Lightweight to replace it (and so his live blade would match his trainer). When I tried to hand his Police Model back to him, he sheepishly told me to keep it as a "teaching aid" for other overly enthusiastic students. I've still got it in the small, but proud, Police Model subsection of my collection.

Rubber tread tape is still a great grip solution for stainless-handled models. It is very grippy, but much less abrasive than "wing-walk" or skateboard tape--the old-school "tactical" solution.

Stay safe,

Mike
User avatar
Doc Dan
Member
Posts: 14754
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:25 am
Location: In a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.

Re: Preffering Stainless

#6

Post by Doc Dan »

Stipling can be done and there are tapes for grip, but the FRN with bi-directional texturing will always be better as far as grip goes. I prefer FRN or G10 in a knife I am going to use.
I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! (John Adams regarding the White House)

Follow the Christ, the King,
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King--
Else, wherefore born?" (Tennyson)



NRA Life Member
Spydernation 0050
User avatar
elena86
Member
Posts: 3763
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 6:59 am
Location: Somewhere in Europe

Re: Preffering Stainless

#7

Post by elena86 »

I own countless SS spydies but my SS SE old school Police is my all time beloved. It's the knife that caught me in the spydervortex.I applied some transparent grip tape on the handle of my most used one

Image
Marius

" A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it "
( Rabindranath Tagore )

Proud member of the old school spyderedge nation :bug-white-red
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Preffering Stainless

#8

Post by Evil D »

Three knives I think everyone should at least handle that could change some perceptions:


1. Military 1. The liner lock is great and they make such a great sound when locking open.

2. Native 5 Lightweight. The combination of great back lock action in a FRN linerless handle may surprise you just how good it can be. They're shockingly light weight but still sturdy.

3. Stainless handled Police. Because it's like operating a nice bolt action rifle, the actual is smooth as silk and they lock up with authority. Mine has no flex and no wiggle in the pivot, it's a joy to handle.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
aicolainen
Member
Posts: 1788
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:08 am
Location: Norway

Re: Preffering Stainless

#9

Post by aicolainen »

Prefer. No.
But it's more complicated than that.
I just got my first SS in the form of a Harpy SE. It might be the only knife I've bought without a realistic prospect of seeing any use. On paper it's almost the perfect combination of everything I don't need, but I still have my reasons. Believe it or not, it was actually a well planned acquisition.
Upon receiving it I was very impressed. Everything is tight and feels very well built. And while I usually shy away from heavier knives, I'm a big proponent of thin knives. This thing is thin!

It was intended to possibly be my only SS knife, and it might still be, but I now find myself looking for ways to implement SS in a way that will actually see some carry. I struggle to come up with a combination of knife and use case that is somewhat realistic, but if I continue to try I'm sure something will come up eventually.
User avatar
Wartstein
Member
Posts: 15041
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:06 am
Location: Salzburg, Austria, Europe

Re: Preffering Stainless

#10

Post by Wartstein »

WyoJon wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:35 am
After buying my first police stainless, I was wondering how many people actually prefer stainless spydercos for users? Im an FRN guy. Just wanted one stainless for ny collection. Solid knife, really nice, but its not frn.

I am an FRN guy too and could not say that I prefer the stainless Spydercos for users (to be clear: My only one ever is an SS Endura):

- Too slick in hand in outdoor use
- Very thin in hand, so it tends to "roll" and "shift" more in harder use
- The completely scewless and even "visible pin - less" construction of mine makes it harder to clean and adjust, again especially aftetr muddy, dirty outdoor use (mine is an older model, the only screws and screwholes are for the clip, you can´t even see a pin (or screw) for the pivot
- A bit heavy in lighter garment pockets or also iwb in shorts

Now, why I still really like my ss Endura and would never part from it (some of the following points ironically were cons above, but are pros in the context of having one ss Spydie at hand for certain scenarios)

- Due to the weight it makes for a pretty good no spin throwing knife... :smirk (of course NOT meant for that, neither the steel, nor the construction! But I just can´t help...)
- Very thin in pocket, so in thicker garment pockets actually a very good carry
- Cool looks with the "no screw" handle of mine (except for clip screw holes)
- I absolutely love how the handle gets scratched up and by that each piece gets a really individual knife, shows "life" and a "story" with a distinct "scratch pattern"
- The ss handle also feels more "alive" than other materials: Very warm(ed) up righting after drawing the knife out of the pocket (actually kind of a "handwarmer" for a short (!) time in winter, gets cold pretty soon though, just "reacts" more to the world
- It is cool to have a knife that basically has only metal parts (don´t know if it even has washers, but if so, they´d be phosphor bronce. Almost only metal)
- Mine is an old model, that still has an hollow sabre grind (and not "just" sabre grind like the newer ones). Though pretty low, that hollow grind cuts very well in certain tasks!

Pics from back when mine was still very new and shiny..

1.) My hometown in the backdrop
2.) With my no spin throwers (in fact ONE of my no spin throwers occasionally)
3.) In use with a Stretch 1

Image

Image[

Image
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
ykspydiefan
Member
Posts: 489
Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 9:28 pm

Re: Preffering Stainless

#11

Post by ykspydiefan »

In my region, it has warmed up to -28c today. Although, I am not outside setting snares for snowshoe hare every day, when I do, I need a knife that won't freeze and stick to my hand. I have not checked the stats, but we spend much of our year well below freezing and that is the one thing a stainless steel or any other metal scale is not good at handling.

I own one aluminum scale knife from another brand and I like the slimness, rigidity, and hefty, so SS is not out of the question for me, just hard for me to usefully implement.
Spyderco: Tenacious G10, Waterway, Para 3 Spy27, Pacific Salt H1, In the Mule Team Stable(Z-Max, Z-Wear, S45VN, Magnacut, SRS13/SUS405, M398, Aeb-l, 15v)
User avatar
Manixguy@1994
Member
Posts: 12417
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 12:12 pm
Location: Central Illinois
Contact:

Re: Preffering Stainless

#12

Post by Manixguy@1994 »

I only have a Adventura in Stainless , but I am waiting for the new screw construction in stainless. I hope it will be released soon , personally have no problem with stainless . MG2
MNOSD 0002 / Do more than is required of you . Patton
Nothing makes earth so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.
Henry David Thoreau
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4059
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Preffering Stainless

#13

Post by ChrisinHove »

ykspydiefan wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:03 am

…it has warmed up to -28c today. …
I had to read that twice! :flushed
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Preffering Stainless

#14

Post by James Y »

I like stainless handles, and used to carry my Police and Harpy models a lot. Not much anymore, though.

The main things I like about the SS handles, besides their thinness, is that they clip very tightly to the pocket, with very little wear to the pocket material.

Jim
User avatar
Wartstein
Member
Posts: 15041
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:06 am
Location: Salzburg, Austria, Europe

Re: Preffering Stainless

#15

Post by Wartstein »

James Y wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:33 am
I like stainless handles, and used to carry my Police and Harpy models a lot. Not much anymore, though.

The main things I like about the SS handles, besides their thinness, is that they clip very tightly to the pocket, without much or any wear to the pocket material.

Jim

Good point, and actually not irrelevant.

MY pants always get shredded in the right pocket area, cause I draw my Spydies so often and frequently (a lot more often than I had to just for real use, tbh... :grimace ). If I only carried my SS Endura, this would be a lot less of an issue.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
User avatar
Wartstein
Member
Posts: 15041
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:06 am
Location: Salzburg, Austria, Europe

Re: Preffering Stainless

#16

Post by Wartstein »

ykspydiefan wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:03 am
In my region, it has warmed up to -28c today. Although, I am not outside setting snares for snowshoe hare every day, when I do, I need a knife that won't freeze and stick to my hand. ....

As I said in my previous post, the funny thing is:

If I draw my SS Endura out of my (warm) pocket on a cold day just for one or two quick cuts, it actually acts a bit as a hand WARMER, since the metal takes up the heat from the pocket much better than FRN or G10.
This changes rapidly of course, and in just somewhat prolongued use the handle gets cold.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
Coastal
Member
Posts: 1214
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:14 pm
Location: Galveston Island

Re: Preffering Stainless

#17

Post by Coastal »

I like the look and feel of a stainless knife, but I haven't carried one since the 90s. My first Spydie was a C01 Worker; my 2nd was a Police. I carried both a lot, until I got my first carbon-fiber handled knife, a Michael Walker, and my first G-10 handled knife, a Bob Terzuola. Since then I can't say I've carried, or even used, either one.

Hoping to rekindle the fire, I decided to try an Uptern. Unfortunately, it's one of the most poorly made knives I own, so I doubt it'll see any use.
User avatar
wrdwrght
Member
Posts: 5078
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:35 am

Re: Preffering Stainless

#18

Post by wrdwrght »

I don’t prefer stainlesss (or even Ti) handles, but I have recently acquired several vintage ones: two Workers, a Co-Pilot, and a Harpy.

I have no doubt I’d like a stainless Police but for its uncertain grip (I do love my G10 P4).

I regard my Harpy as the best stainless Spydie I own, because grip is not a worry for me when I energetically pull-cut its hawkbill. The Worker’s splinter-picker nature with its assiduous rather than energetic application makes slipperiness a non-issue for me. Neither is the Co-Pilot a worry because the ergos of its handle lock my hand into the grip regardless of grip-material.

For maximum grip, nothing beats FRN in my experience, but maximum grip is not something I always need. Generally, G10 suits me more, mostly for the cleaner look of it. I do like simple lines and surfaces.

But I do think the FRN Lil’Temp3 LW is a significantly more important knife than its “heavier” G10 prototype/brother, which I think Sal meant it to be.
Last edited by wrdwrght on Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-Marc (pocketing an M4 Sage5 today)

“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
User avatar
p_atrick
Member
Posts: 1536
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:35 pm
Location: Boston Area

Re: Preffering Stainless

#19

Post by p_atrick »

Michael Janich wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:38 am
I've worked many trade shows for the law enforcement community...
Thanks Mr. Janich for the great story. That's several you have shared lately. Maybe we need to have a thread where we collect this great insight similar to Sal's "Talking Story" thread.
JoshLikesSekiCityKnives
Member
Posts: 183
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:04 am

Re: Preffering Stainless

#20

Post by JoshLikesSekiCityKnives »

I would not recommend stainless for a.grease.environment such as automotive repair. My main issue with stainless handles pertain to frigid weather. As stainless is very unforgiving to hands in cold environments.
It sure is hefty and strong though. I own 2 stainless handle knives.
Post Reply