Short Version: This specialty knife designed for filet use makes a surprisingly competent EDC. My experience with the Catcherman over the summer of 2024 begs the question of how well a utility oriented Spyderco design built with similar materials to the same size would perform?
Long Version:
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Preface
I've been pretty blessed with my wishes from Spyderco. Over the years I've.....
- Modded a Native 1 handle to the current Native handle shape (Spyderco got the same idea)
- Asked for a Swick Salt (They entered production recently)
- Back when the PM2 came out, I said the Military needs all the same changes the Para had from gen 1 to 2 (larger choil, 4 way clip, and switch it to comp lock). Military 2 is precisely that.
- Asked for another run of Spyderhawks (Happened 6 years ago)
- And finally, I asked for the Catcherman to come back 7 years ago
That's one of the reasons I've stuck around here so long.
It may take a few years, but I've noticed that when people seriously ask for something here, Spyderco will listen. My list doesn't even mention things like the Temperance and Ayoob making a come back, the Dodo getting additional runs, or the countless CQI changes implemented over the decades.
Maybe it was coincidence every time I asked for it and we saw it years later, but it's still a neat feeling knowing users here can influence Spydercos future.
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Motivation
I'm no Lance. I've gone fishing a few times before, and I've cleaned plenty of sea bass etc. on the job (chef), but I've never been an avid fisherman. I've had my Catcherman for a few months now and it hasn't been used on fish yet.
So why was I so interested in this model?
Size & weight.
The Pacific Salt (Same size as the Endura) forms the bottom end of my EDC rotation.
While others are mulling whether a Delica is too big for the work place, I have no issues rocking a 5.5" blade Voyager XL as an EDC where I live.
So my size preferences are based solely on what works best for me as an EDC, and I've found something around the Police (4.2" blade) to Szabo folder (4.6" blade) works best for my needs strictly in terms of blade length.
Food prep? How many 3" knives are in your kitchen? Longer is better for slicing bread, cutting up fruit, slicing steaks etc.
Breaking down cardboard? Longer blades let me stack the layers and cut them at the same time.
General utility? Longer blades work more efficiently for me, slicing objects in single cuts that smaller knives would require multiple passes. Whether I'm cutting ribeyes or rope, longer blades let me work faster.
Pocket machete? Length = superior performance here too. Hacking away stray briar branches works better with a Police than Dragonfly.
So on and so forth.
For the majority of my uses, longer blades work better. They're way more versatile, they hold an edge longer than smaller blades, the extra reach can be beneficial in different situations, etc.
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Ergonomics
When figuring out the optimal pocket knife size for ourselves, there's also hand size to consider.
My palm is wider than a Delica or mini Manix, and almost as wide as an Endura:
my hand VS a Pacific Salt 1
Here's how the Catcherman, Voyager XL, Police 3 and Pacific Salt look in my grip, for perspective:
While everyone else is fawning over the 87th Para 3 sprint, asking when we can get a mini mini manix or a mini native chief, I want to see Spyderco move in the opposite direction. Szabo folder lightweight. Tatanka Salt. Pacific Salt XL.
The Pacific Salt has been my one and done for a while now. If I had to pick one folder to carry for the rest of my life, a PE Pacific Salt 1 would be my choice.
BUT, that's because Spyderco doesn't make a bigger EDC oriented Salt knife.
Here is the Catcherman & Pacific VS some other larger Spydercos I own. I prefer the overall design of the Military, Police, Szabo folder etc. in many ways, largely due to their size and ergonomics.
Some of you may have noticed me talking about Cold Steel more in recent years. Why? They make 5-6" bladed folders while most companies top out at about 4". I love their XL folders, because they actually feel XL. Here is the Catcherman compared to my two favorite CS folders:
Unfortunately, these models have drawbacks over Spydercos. Thumbstud instead of hole, soft steels with worse edge retention, no salt options, worse clips, etc. But they fill a niche other companies don't.
Despite being my most carried model, I'd take the Pacific out of that rotation if Spyderco made an XL version of it.
For now, the Catcherman is the closest thing I can buy to a Pacific Salt XL.
Another nice thing about the Catcherman, is the thicker handle.
(both ends of the catcherman compared to a Pacific Salt 1)
I've come to realize I prefer thicker handles. They're much more comfortable in use, and not much harder to carry. It's an ergonomic difference I appreciate when comparing, say, gen 1 C95 Manix folders to gen 2, or a Cold Steel Voyager to an Endura.
I think Spyderco prioritizes carry comfort a bit too much in this respect, vs in hand comfort. Thicker scales would be nice to see across their line.
I especially wish to see knives built thick & light.At least as thick as the original C95. If anyone here handled the second gen Cold Steel Voyagers, that's what I'm after in this context. Thick plastic handles that are stiff and palm filling, while remaining lightweight and linerless.
One interesting detail is the lock release is 2mm thick, despite a 1mm blade thickness. There are washers integrated into the one piece handle design, each about .5mm thick, to make up the difference:
I'd imagine that makes unlocking the knife more comfortable vs a 1mm lock bar, and stronger too.
Another aspect of ergonomics I appreciate about the Catcherman is the lack of a thumb ramp and jimping:
I'm not a fan of either, which makes it tough being a Spyderco fan. Most their models offer both.
Thumb ramps are the #1 culpirt in making knives feel bad in my grip. Having larger than average hands with long thumbs mean they always feel positioned about a half inch too close to the rest of my hand.
As a result, most Spydercos make my thumb feel cramped if I utilize the ramp.
Here's my kids Dragonfly held with my thumb where it feels comfortable VS where the design forces it, to illustrate what I mean:
The Dragonfly feels like holding a pair of tweezers with the way it stacks the index and thumb fingers. I prefer a grip closer to say, a hammer:
Now lets look at my grip with my thumb extended on the top:
That is my hands natural position when using a knife with this grip.
Look at the distance between my thumb and index finger.
Compare that finger placement to where classic Spyderco designs like the Caly Jr, Para 1 & 3, Dodo and Delica, which force a stacked grip like the Dragonfly more than the shallow thumb ramp of the Catcherman.
So for a knife designed as a filet knife of all things, I found A LOT to like about the ergonomics of this knife. The contouring, the thickening near the pivot, shallow thumb ramp, lack of jimping, etc.
Grip security is also high between the texture and the handle shape, which is key given the intended design.
While we're discussing the handle, take a look at the aggressive contouring:
I love it. It makes the knife feel much better than the blockier G10 scale style.
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Carry
Despite being larger than a Pacific Salt, it's also lighter! Mostly due to 1mm stock VS 3mm, but the full flat grind also helps keep it trim.
Now, I don't always prioritize weight these days. If I'm just doing errands in town or heading to work, I don't mind carrying a 5.2oz Manix XL or even an 8oz Cold Steel Recon XL. In fact the Recon XL is my most carried folder that isn't a Spyderco - more on why later.
But there are many days where lightweight is exactly what I want in a knife. I'm very active. I'm always on my feet at work, and take part in many sports and outdoor activities. If I'm going for a run I'm not carrying an 8oz Cold Steel, that's for sure.
I also live somewhere that gets temperate weather year round. So being active is a 365 day thing for me. We have shorts weather most the year and don't get snow.
Anyone that spends a lot of time in running shorts, board shorts and similar, knows how bad it feels having a knife flopping around in those types of flimsy pockets. So I go IWB with my pocket knives much of the time. Through experience I've found carrying knives over 5oz starts to feel bad when carrying IWB in running shorts. So I'd usually default to the tiny Pacific Salt on days I was clothed this way.
The Catcherman, with it's 1mm thick blade and FRN handle, offers me the length I want in an EDC, while also being the lightest folder in my rotation. This unique combination of traits is why I requested a sprint for so many years.
My biggest concern when I bought my Catcherman was definitely the clip.
I was worried the integral clip would be...well, bad. I've had bad experiences with them in the 90's with other companies, and grew quite biased against them.
Thankfully I've been happy with the clip on the Catcherman so far.
Here's a comparison between my Pacific 1 clip and Catcherman.
The tension is much higher than I experienced with other brands back in the 90's. It doesn't hold quite as well as Spydercos regular spoon clips, but it's about 80% the retention as a Pacific Salt, which is good enough for me.
Despite the overall length it's very comfortable clipped IWB in shorts. Here it is clipped to my GO LANCE! shorts and bike jersey pocket, though whatever knife I carry goes in my revelate viscacha when I cycle.
I've carried it in everything from thick work carhartts to IWB in swim trunks at the beach, and I haven't had a single issue with carry and retention, I'm pleased to report.
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Blade
Now lets talk blade performance.
The first things everyone always asks me when they find out I EDC a Catcherman are:
- What about the thin tip?
- What about blade flex?
Yes, the tip is thin. Here it is compared to several folders:
VS a Pacific Salt 1 Saber Grind
VS a Police 3
VS a Cold Steel Voyager XL Clip Point
VS a Military 1 DLC
It that hasn't ever been an issue for me. I can't think of a time where I needed to do something with the tip of my Catcherman and it wasn't up to the task.
If you look at the photo VS the Police 3, the difference isn't drastic. I've used the **** out of that Police, which was purchased as soon as New Graham got their first batch of Police 3's. I've never had a problem with the tip on it either, after over 15 years of use.
Looking at photos I obviously haven't snapped the tip off my Catcherman after EDCing it most days this summer. I don't make a habit of prying with my knives....especially folders. If you do, maybe this isn't the model for you.
Now if I knew I'd be doing some heavy duty tip work, this obviously wouldn't be my first choice. If I needed to drill holes in a plastic 55 gallon drum and only had a selection of knives with me and no other tools, this would not be my first choice.
As far as blade flex, I don't know why anyone even brings this up. Yes, it's a folding filet knife, filet knives are designed to flex, and this one is no exception.
It can flex during use. So what?
There's no performance downside for me. The blade flexes some when I whittle, but it can still rock out a feather stick just fine. I don't know why this bothers people.
The Catcherman has zero issues doing basic wood carving to point a stick, make feather sticks or construct a trap
It might flex a bit when piercing thicker materials, but again this has never been an issue for me during use.
The steel, LC200N, should be familiar to most of you at this point. I'm a big fan of the steel. It's one of my favorites. For me it has been 100% rust proof, very easy to sharpen, pretty tough and I appreciate that Spyderco can offer it in full flat grind compared to H1/H2.
The Catcherman has performed as expected when it comes to steel performance. Zero rust. Very easy to sharpen. No chips or rolls, even after chopping into wood some. Pretty good edge retention with how I've sharpened it - not quite up to S30V sharpened the same way, but better than H1 Pacifics, AUS8 Recon XL's or CTSBD1 Voyagers.
I've been touching up the edge with a medium sharpmaker rod for the serrations, and a DMT Coarse for the plain edged portion. Just like with H1 I find the edge holding increases a very noticeable amount when I I give the knife a coarser finish VS a really polished edge. I also prefer the way the coarser edge grabs and bites into plastics, synthetic ropes etc. VS polished edges.
For the most part, the thin stock is a blessing. Compared to my saber ground Pacific Salt 1's, I definitely notice it gliding through cardboard more easily. I'm still running factory edge angles on the plain edge portion too, I haven't dropped the edge angle like I typically do.
Even against tall full flat ground Spydercos like a Manix XL, there's definitely less drag going through thicker materials. Doing something like cutting up a honeydew, night and day difference. The Catcherman really shines on certain materials, and cutting with it has been a pleasure with respect to geometry.
There's really only one use, that admittedly isn't too common for me, where I find it to be a big drawback.
Pocket machete duty.
In this video you can see the Catcherman works poorly on this pine that fell across a bike path. It's way too light to penetrate wood with a light chopping motion, very inefficient. It does well on briars and other less dense plants as those just require a sharp edge and a wrist flick, but performance comes to a quick halt on woodier bits. It also feels like the folder would eventually break from this sort of use - it's clearly outside the scope of its design. Pacific Salts not only chop more efficiently despite their smaller size, but they feel much sturdier employed in this fashion.
Compare to this video of my Recon XL and the difference is dramatic. The Recon is heavier, stiffer, has a more forward balance, and a handle more suitable for this sort of work. XL Recons and Voyagers make very good pocket machetes, and can tolerate this sort of work for years without developing issues with the lock or cutting edge.
(Here we see the balance point is further back than most folder designs, which also contributes to poor performance here)
I know some grouchy old dude is going to be thinking "RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB" but hey, I don't make a habit of carrying a machete when I go cycling, running, disc golfing etc. I do carry a pocket knife. I've come into these situations enough that it affects what I decide to carry when I do these activities. The catcherman gets left behind in favor of something with a little more mass and stiffness when I anticipate this sort of situation. Something like a C95 Manix does much better.
So while weighing a mere 2.5oz and having a laser thin blade is wonderful most the time, there is one niche use where it's a hindrance.
For typical EDC use I consider the Police 3 blade shape to be ideal. It's about as close as you can get to a wharncliffe while having just enough belly to be functional for slicing materials on a flat surface. It's the best compromise between the ideal utility blade (wharnie) and the versatility of a drop point.
The Catcherman has a much more upswept design, that while it often works worse when cutting things held in my left hand, it works wonderfully on a cutting board.
Comparing the knuckle clearance and useable cutting edge between the two models on a flat surface, the Catcherman has an obvious advantage.
So the blade shape is worse for slicing cardboard in my off hand, but better for slicing a NY Strip or cutting leather for crafts.
Normally I'm not wild about carrying upswept blades for EDC, and reserve them for meat processing at work. The Catchermans handle situates the knife at a negative angle, which helps give the user better control over the tip compared to straighter handled upswept blades. The blade has performed better than expected as an EDC with regards to the blade shape, largely because of that negative dip.
(One can see the tip is much more in line with the knuckles compared to a traditional filet knife design)
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Action
One nitpick of mine is the old school swell near the pivot. I never understood the point on Spydercos older models. I asked Sal about it and I think he said it was supposed to make deployment easier....I couldn't find the thread via search.
I don't get it. Not sure why their old handles were made that way.
One benefit though is it helps ergonomically by making the handle thicker.
Now the reason I dislike it? It gets in the way when I close the knife using my preferred method - swinging the blade shut with my index finger.
Even the Recon XL is easier to close one handed, and many forumites here and on other knife forums have talked about how dangerous this is and how triad lock folders should only be closed two handed. You can see a habit I've developed in this video, where my index finger gets hung up on the swell and I switch to using my thumb. It's a lot more cumbersome feeling than the Pacific Salt.
Additionally, the small opening hole contributes to it being a bit tricky to close with my method.
Now the drop a sharp knife blade towards my most important finger crowd won't care about that most likely, but given how thin and light the blade is, that closing method feels kind of spotty with the Catcherman as you'll see in the video.
In fact the light blade weight makes the action feel off in general. It lacks the momentum of a Pacific Salt or Military blade. Definitely not a knife built to please the fidget nerds.
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Excessive?
I have the utmost respect for Sal, not only as a knife designer, but as a person. If everyone was as kind and patient as him, the world would be an amazing place.
But there is one aspect of knife design I could not disagree with him more on: that extra handle on a folding knife is inherently a bad thing.
To illustrate, lets compare the Pacific Salt VS Recon XL in my hands:
The Pacific Salt gives me one main grip. If I want to do precise tip work, trim a thread, bear down on a heavy push cut or use the knife as a pocket machete, I have one grip to work with.
Now the Recon XL is certainly guilty of having extra handle even for my larger than average hands, but is it fair to call that space a waste? Not at all. I can choke up for tip work, use the regular grip for general use, or scoot my hand back for superior chopping leverage or to get extra reach. Extra reach is a good thing if you're using an ungloved hand to trim brack briar branches with a small knife - it reduces the chance of injury, and extra leverage is obviously beneficial for pocket machete usage.
That extra handle space adds a lot of versatility.
The Catchermans handle isn't quite as good in these different positions due to the shape of the handle, but like the Recon I have enough space to adjust my grip to optmize my hand position for the work being done.
Another aspect to consider when talking about extra handle space, is ergonomics.
Compare where the Police 3 handle terminates in my grip VS the Pacific Salt.
Ergonomically, the Police feels superior here due to that bit of extra handle poking out. That feels better than having the butt end of a knife handle dig into my palm. It's a minor difference in the grand scheme of things, but it's enough of one I notice it during use.
Thankfully the Catcherman is more like the Police in this respect.
Military and Voyager XL for comparison:
So, designed the right way, having excess handle can add versatility to a folding knife. I do not think excess handle should be viewed in a solely negative light.
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Closing remarks
I will forever be grateful Sal and company brought this design back. I know what works well for me in a pocket knife, and I was right all these years that the Catcherman would fit right into my rotation.
But I'm also frustrated.
This folding filet knife proves to me the potential of a Pacific Salt XL, Police Salt, or a brand new design around this size.
This specialty knife with a very specific intended use works so well for me as an EDC, that it makes me wish so bad for a comparably sized model designed for general utility, constructed in similar ways.
It's cool we ever got salts in the first place. Even cooler we got a salt Para 2, salt Stretch XL, salt Chief etc. But these are all around the size of an Endura or so, even the so called XL. I want to see a true extra large.
If I could make one final request of Spyderco, this would be it.
Design a general purpose folding knife with a 4.5-5" blade with a utility focused blade shape, built as a lightweight but thickly handled high performance salt model.
What I'm describing would be for me, the ultimate Spyderco folding knife, based on everything I've learned from using them for decades.
I want the excalibur of salt knives.
The Catcherman has given me a taste of the potential of such a design. I hope some day we see it, but I worry about market viability.
Shout out to JD Spydo for getting me interested in this model!
I'm not even considering the Catcherman as I don't have use for it, still I was captivated by you review (ment as a compliment). Thank you!!
Knife nut & Spydie aficionado 
