Hi, Folks –
I haven’t posted here in a looong time (had to set up a new account), but I’ve got a nagging question that I hope the Spyder cognoscenti can help me with.
I picked up a Raffir Noble Chaparral from an authorized dealer when they came out several months ago, and while I absolutely adore the design of the knife, I had the slight disappointment of getting a bit of a “dud” when it comes to the figuring of the RN covers. It’s not a big deal for me; in fact the clip side of the knife is strikingly beautiful…it’s just that the presentation side is just about the plainest example of Raffir Noble that I’ve ever seen. Obviously the functionality of the knife is not affected one whit, but over the months I’ve often toyed with the idea of getting another RN-handled knife in hopes of getting a “prettier” one.
So, when Massdrop recently offered a deal for a Raffir Noble Chaparral along with a sharpening stone, I figured it would be worth taking a chance on this handle material again. When the new Chap arrived a couple of weeks ago I was delighted to find that it had beautifully figured scales on both sides. However, I also noticed a slight change in the construction of the new knife versus my older one. On my first Chap, the two screws (?) on the spine of the handle securing the lock bar are under the translucent scale material but do not pierce it; on the newer knife, the fasteners go all the way through the Raffir Noble, leaving the heads visible on either side (just like the fasteners at the pivot and butt). It’s essentially the same construction style as the FRN Chaparral.
This doesn’t really bother me, but it’s not quite as “clean” of a look as the prior configuration. However, the more I thought about it, I began to be concerned about whether this was just a normal evolution of Spyderco’s design/manufacturing process, or (and I think the chances of this are pretty remote) the knife might possibly be a counterfeit. The Raffir Noble Chaparral seems an unlikely candidate for a knock-off, but none of the on-line imagery I’ve seen for these knives show this same configuration. I’m probably worrying over nothing, but I’d thought I’d check in to see if the smart folks here could shed any light on the subject. Any thoughts?