‘First’ Spyderco

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
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Brackish
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‘First’ Spyderco

#1

Post by Brackish »

I’ve been lurking for quite a bit and looking at picking up some Spyderco knives. As an avid salt/brackish water fisherman, I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the Native 5 Salt version and will be picking one up as soon as they’re available.

That being said, I’ve gotten an itch that needs to be scratched. I’m interested in the PM2 (really bummed out I missed out on the exclusive from BladeHQ), but was wondering if I should buy the production model, or if I should wait just a little bit and see if I can’t pick up a sprint that comes out in the future. I’ve considered other knives as well, but want to stick with Spyderco’s American produced stuff. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!

If it helps, my EDC for the past 5 years has been a Benchmade mini-Griptilian with the Sheepsfoot style blade. I realized that the reason I always picked it over any of the other knives I own (another mini-Griptilian and a Benchmade 710) was because of the hole in the blade style opening vs. a thumb stud. So, my Googling brought me here.
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sal
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#2

Post by sal »

Hi Brackish,

Welcome to our forum.

sal
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#3

Post by Doc Dan »

It depends on your sharpening skills. The S110V Paramilitary 2 is very nice, but is a bear to sharpen. Knifeworks.com has a very nice M4 exclusive.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#4

Post by rgrad80 »

You might really enjoy the Pacific Salt if you do a lot of fishing and water activities.

The Paramilitary 2 is an iconic knife in my opinion. Try and get an available sprint or exclusive you think is cool while they are available. I also have the Knife Works M4 and it is truly a beautiful knife. You might look for a more stain less one due to your water activities. Welcome to the forum!
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#5

Post by Bloke »

Welcome to the forum. :)

The PM2 is certainly an exceptional knife that comes in many flavours. Personally I don’t think you can go wrong with a Plain Jane S30V model.

S30V is great blade steel. It’s easy to sharpen, holds a working edge very well and certainly well enough for mundane EDC tasks, it’s a way tougher than some may have you believe and it’s fairly corrosion resistant. Not a patch on H1 so I wouldn’t wash it in saltwater like I do Salt Series Knives but it won’t give you any trouble with minimal care.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#6

Post by Sharp Guy »

Welcome Brackish!

FWIW, sprint run knives are cool and all but, don't let anyone kid you, the regular production run knives are fine knives too. I have several sprint & exclusive knives but I started out with the base models. When I started buying sprints I figured I'd sell of the regular production models. That hasn't happened yet because I still use those knives all the time. I like all these high end steels but the reality for me is that S30V/S35VN/VG10 etc are all great for my needs. I suggest choosing a base model of your liking and give it a try. You can always sell later if you don't like it or you uprgade.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#7

Post by ladybug93 »

coming from benchmade, you might enjoy the caged ball bearing lock on the manix. it's quite a bit stiffer, so it's not as easy to play with as benchmade's axis lock, but i like it better. the axis lock feels too loose to me, which has always translated to less secure in my mind even though i know that's not necessarily the case. the manix 2 is also pretty great in the hand (for me) with it's handle ergonomics.

the paramilitary 2 is nice, but i didn't find it as comfortable in my hand or my pocket. it's more narrow in width, but it's wider at the top of the pocket than the manix and the handle doesn't have quite as good a swell in it, so it feels a little less substantial in my hand. this is all subjective though and varies by user.

another option, if you really want to try the compression lock, is the shaman. it's a beast of a knife and it's in the same family as the native you're waiting on. i don't know if that's important to you or not.

whatever you end up with, you probably won't regret. all of these are great knives. i'd rather have any of them than any benchmade i've ever handled (although, that's just my preference... not saying benchmade makes a bad knife). enjoy your first spyderco and let us know what you go with. if you're anything like the people around here, you'll probably have a second knife on it's way by the time you get around to posting about the first one.
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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#8

Post by Brackish »

rgrad80 wrote:
Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:20 pm
You might really enjoy the Pacific Salt if you do a lot of fishing and water activities.

The Paramilitary 2 is an iconic knife in my opinion. Try and get an available sprint or exclusive you think is cool while they are available. I also have the Knife Works M4 and it is truly a beautiful knife. You might look for a more stain less one due to your water activities. Welcome to the forum!
Thanks! I had considered the Pacific Salt, along with the rest of the salt series, but I'd like to stick with the U.S. made knives, if at all possible.
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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#9

Post by Brackish »

sal wrote:
Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:09 pm
Hi Brackish,

Welcome to our forum.

sal
Thanks Sal!
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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#10

Post by Brackish »

Doc Dan wrote:
Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:17 pm
It depends on your sharpening skills. The S110V Paramilitary 2 is very nice, but is a bear to sharpen. Knifeworks.com has a very nice M4 exclusive.
I've got access to a kit for sharpening. Recently used it to touch up all of my pocket and kitchen knives. Did a decent job, but I didn't try to get anything to shave hair. It's got 4 diamond coated 'stones' and has guides that helps you keep the angle correct. Not sure what steel the kitchen knives are made of, but the pocket knives were 154CM, ATS-34, and 440C. Steel types is definitely not something I'm super familiar with, so I'm not sure if any of those would even be in the same category as the S110V as far as sharpening difficulty goes. Thanks!
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#11

Post by abbazaba »

Grab the S30v PM2 and try it out! It's the one that won me over.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#12

Post by guywithopinion »

If you mean the M4 exclusive from BHQ, you can get a PM2 in the same steel with carbon fiber handles from knife works. It may not be the ideal choice for sale water use, as a non-stainless steel.

Going by the 2018 list and delivered thread, there are no more sprint pm2's this year. Though you never know with exclusives. There are rumors of the green 204p exclusive dropping again.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#13

Post by Eli Chaps »

Welcome!

Man, it's a shame you're stuck on the Made in USA thing as the Caribbean sounds like a near perfect match for you.

For what it's worth, if it helps at all, I bet the overwhelming majority of machines in the Golden plant that are used to make the knives were made over seas. :)

Other than H1 or LC200N for their hyper-corrosion resistance, I would say not to get hung up on steel. Stick with the simpler stuff until you really understand each type and their pro's and con's. There are no bad steels in Spyderco's line up. None. A Manix 2 LW in BD1 is awesome knife.

If you have some time, root around the forum for posts by member Surfingringo. He's a salt water kayak fisherman that has outstanding insight and experience that you might really enjoy.
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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#14

Post by Brackish »

Eli Chaps wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:54 am
Welcome!

Man, it's a shame you're stuck on the Made in USA thing as the Caribbean sounds like a near perfect match for you.

For what it's worth, if it helps at all, I bet the overwhelming majority of machines in the Golden plant that are used to make the knives were made over seas. :)

Other than H1 or LC200N for their hyper-corrosion resistance, I would say not to get hung up on steel. Stick with the simpler stuff until you really understand each type and their pro's and con's. There are no bad steels in Spyderco's line up. None. A Manix 2 LW in BD1 is awesome knife.

If you have some time, root around the forum for posts by member Surfingringo. He's a salt water kayak fisherman that has outstanding insight and experience that you might really enjoy.
I can’t afford to constantly buy US manufactured goods, but I feel like I can afford it when it comes to things I’ll have for many, many years. So, for tools at least, I try and stick with things made here. But you’re probably right, a great deal of foreign materials (whether goods or machines) goes into making almost everything that’s made in the US.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#15

Post by atv223 »

The problem I find with sprint runs it that since I can't replace them, I tend to not want to actually use them, but that's just my hang up.

As a fellow fisherman, I'd suggest you stay way from any tool steels due to their low corrosion resistance.

For a bigger knife, the Pacific Salt SE is great, one of my most carried and hard used knives. I also love my Dragonfly salt SE, a great little knife you can abuse and not worry about. The Dragonfly might be a great knife for you to have now while you wait for a cool Para Military 2 Sprint.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#16

Post by Brackish »

atv223 wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:17 pm
The problem I find with sprint runs it that since I can't replace them, I tend to not want to actually use them, but that's just my hang up.

As a fellow fisherman, I'd suggest you stay way from any tool steels due to their low corrosion resistance.

For a bigger knife, the Pacific Salt SE is great, one of my most carried and hard used knives. I also love my Dragonfly salt SE, a great little knife you can abuse and not worry about. The Dragonfly might be a great knife for you to have now while you wait for a cool Para Military 2 Sprint.
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve found that I very rarely, if ever, use the serrated part of my knives. So, I think I’ll stick with something with a plain edge for now.

I think I’m interested in the sprints mainly due to the color variation in the scales. I’ve found that people are less likely to flip out when you have a knife with non-black scales. As ridiculous as it is, I think there’s a psychological fear factor associated with knives that look ‘scary’. I’ve gotten an eyebrow raise pulling out my mini-Griptilians with the black handle, but never with the one I carry most often. It has a blue handle.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#17

Post by atv223 »

Brackish wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:42 pm
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve found that I very rarely, if ever, use the serrated part of my knives. So, I think I’ll stick with something with a plain edge for now.
Don't discount serrations until you've actually used a razor sharp Spyder Edge. Very different then a lot of other knives.
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#18

Post by Sumdumguy »

Brackish wrote:
Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:44 pm
I’ve been lurking for quite a bit and looking at picking up some Spyderco knives. As an avid salt/brackish water fisherman, I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the Native 5 Salt version and will be picking one up as soon as they’re available.

That being said, I’ve gotten an itch that needs to be scratched. I’m interested in the PM2 (really bummed out I missed out on the exclusive from BladeHQ), but was wondering if I should buy the production model, or if I should wait just a little bit and see if I can’t pick up a sprint that comes out in the future. I’ve considered other knives as well, but want to stick with Spyderco’s American produced stuff. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!

If it helps, my EDC for the past 5 years has been a Benchmade mini-Griptilian with the Sheepsfoot style blade. I realized that the reason I always picked it over any of the other knives I own (another mini-Griptilian and a Benchmade 710) was because of the hole in the blade style opening vs. a thumb stud. So, my Googling brought me here.
Get the Caribbean Leaf PE.

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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#19

Post by Brackish »

Sumdumguy wrote:
Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:24 am
Brackish wrote:
Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:44 pm
I’ve been lurking for quite a bit and looking at picking up some Spyderco knives. As an avid salt/brackish water fisherman, I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the Native 5 Salt version and will be picking one up as soon as they’re available.

That being said, I’ve gotten an itch that needs to be scratched. I’m interested in the PM2 (really bummed out I missed out on the exclusive from BladeHQ), but was wondering if I should buy the production model, or if I should wait just a little bit and see if I can’t pick up a sprint that comes out in the future. I’ve considered other knives as well, but want to stick with Spyderco’s American produced stuff. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!

If it helps, my EDC for the past 5 years has been a Benchmade mini-Griptilian with the Sheepsfoot style blade. I realized that the reason I always picked it over any of the other knives I own (another mini-Griptilian and a Benchmade 710) was because of the hole in the blade style opening vs. a thumb stud. So, my Googling brought me here.
Get the Caribbean Leaf PE.

Just do it.

You will thank me later.
How does the G10 do with being wet constantly?
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Brackish
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Re: ‘First’ Spyderco

#20

Post by Brackish »

atv223 wrote:
Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:08 am
Brackish wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:42 pm
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve found that I very rarely, if ever, use the serrated part of my knives. So, I think I’ll stick with something with a plain edge for now.
Don't discount serrations until you've actually used a razor sharp Spyder Edge. Very different then a lot of other knives.
It’s not about how sharp the serrations are. I just don’t do anything with the knife that would require them. Maybe it’s be a bit better for cutting bait?
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