Big Spydie fever

[olywa]

Howdy All,
Now that Christmas is behind us I find myself thinking about burning my gift certs by picking up a large Spyderco folder. Most of my Spydies are in the 2.75"-3.5" range. If I want a larger knife than that I usually pick up or carry a fixed blade. However I've been keeping an eye on the new Native Chief and the Police 4 Lightweight. These appeal to me because of their relatively slim profile, as opposed to the Shaman for instance.

I'm leaning towards the Police 4 LW but wanted to hear from those of you that have it as well as the Native Chief. Which do you reach for most often, and why?

Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year to all!

[DutchBlades]

I'd hate to make this more difficult, but have you considered the Shaman?

[VooDooChild]

Man, that is a very hard decision to make. I have both, and love both. Even worse, both were the knife that kicked everything out of my pocket once I got them. Ignoring steel, handle material, and liners, I think this comes down to a thumb ramp vs straight back argument. How do you feel about that?

I will say the Chief is less wide/tall in the pinky area in standard grip. i.e. the back of your hand wraps around the handle a little more than the police profile, if that matters to you.

Whats the application? P4 lightweight is cheaper.
I thint the tip is a little pointier on the chief as well.

[vivi]

If you have any desire to carry a folder in its size range, I can think of no reason not to purchase the Police 4 LW. It's the best Spyderco folder to date in my opinion.

I planned on buying the Chief, but after handling one I decided to stick with the Police series. I really like the overall design, but the process of opening and closing the knife feels so much better on the Police. Nice and large spydie hole that's well exposed. One of those things I couldn't tell from pictures alone.

I liked the idea of no thumb ramp since I'm generally not a fan of them, but the Police handle gives my hand a generous amount of room to work with so it's not an issue for me on this model.

To me large folders make more sense than large fixed blades, for edc.. It's easier to comfortably carry a 4-5" blade folder around town than a fixed blade, since they fold up. Out hiking/camping/working on trails, fixed is king, but the Police works great for day to day carry. They really don't carry much different than an Endura.

[Wartstein]

I'd hate to make this more difficult, but have you considered the Shaman?

The Shaman certainly is a very cool knife, but imho especially concerning cutting edge really not exactly a large one if compared to Shaman and Chief.. (cutting edge just pm2-ish at 3.12 " and less than let´s say a Stretch 1..)

[bearfacedkiller]

Get a Military.

[Larry_Mott]

Get a Military.

That was actually the first thought that crossed my mind too :)
Between the Native chief and Police lw i choose the Chief. Between SS Police and Chief i think old love last, and i'd pick the Police.

[VooDooChild]

If you have any desire to carry a folder in its size range, I can think of no reason not to purchase the Police 4 LW. It's the best Spyderco folder to date in my opinion.

I planned on buying the Chief, but after handling one I decided to stick with the Police series. I really like the overall design, but the process of opening and closing the knife feels so much better on the Police. Nice and large spydie hole that's well exposed. One of those things I couldn't tell from pictures alone.

I liked the idea of no thumb ramp since I'm generally not a fan of them, but the Police handle gives my hand a generous amount of room to work with so it's not an issue for me on this model.

To me large folders make more sense than large fixed blades, for edc.. It's easier to comfortably carry a 4-5" blade folder around town than a fixed blade, since they fold up. Out hiking/camping/working on trails, fixed is king, but the Police works great for day to day carry. They really don't carry much different than an Endura.

[VooDooChild]

If you have any desire to carry a folder in its size range, I can think of no reason not to purchase the Police 4 LW. It's the best Spyderco folder to date in my opinion.

I planned on buying the Chief, but after handling one I decided to stick with the Police series. I really like the overall design, but the process of opening and closing the knife feels so much better on the Police. Nice and large spydie hole that's well exposed. One of those things I couldn't tell from pictures alone.

I liked the idea of no thumb ramp since I'm generally not a fan of them, but the Police handle gives my hand a generous amount of room to work with so it's not an issue for me on this model.

To me large folders make more sense than large fixed blades, for edc.. It's easier to comfortably carry a 4-5" blade folder around town than a fixed blade, since they fold up. Out hiking/camping/working on trails, fixed is king, but the Police works great for day to day carry. They really don't carry much different than an Endura.

I made a reply and my phone sucked. Whatever. I think there is an issue in width/height of the back of the handle when you switch from sabre to hammer grip. For whatever reason I like my pinky and ring finger to wrap around the handle more, and I think the chief is better with that. I will say though, the police 4 lightweight probably is my favorite frn seki folder I have handled. I cant wait for more versions of it.

[olywa]

Great feedback, thanks All. I'm on a tear with LW FRN, having acquired the SS Stretch, Para 3 LW, Sage 5 LW, and Chappy LW this year. I think I'm going to stick with this theme and get the Police 4 LW. I'm hoping that we'll see sprint runs on that one and the Chief next year, since I'm pretty flush on S30V and VG10 models.

Vivi - I just saw your Police 4 LW thread and I'm looking forward to reading it.

[Evil D]

Military and Caribbean are my large folder preferences.

[The Meat man]

If you have any desire to carry a folder in its size range, I can think of no reason not to purchase the Police 4 LW. It's the best Spyderco folder to date in my opinion.

I planned on buying the Chief, but after handling one I decided to stick with the Police series. I really like the overall design, but the process of opening and closing the knife feels so much better on the Police. Nice and large spydie hole that's well exposed. One of those things I couldn't tell from pictures alone.

I liked the idea of no thumb ramp since I'm generally not a fan of them, but the Police handle gives my hand a generous amount of room to work with so it's not an issue for me on this model.

To me large folders make more sense than large fixed blades, for edc.. It's easier to comfortably carry a 4-5" blade folder around town than a fixed blade, since they fold up. Out hiking/camping/working on trails, fixed is king, but the Police works great for day to day carry. They really don't carry much different than an Endura.

By the way, knowing your preference for large folders, did you ever give the Tatanka a try? Five inch blade, powerful lock, and I know you don't mind VG-10.

[Sumdumguy]

The Caribbean is my big folder of choice.

[vivi]

If you have any desire to carry a folder in its size range, I can think of no reason not to purchase the Police 4 LW. It's the best Spyderco folder to date in my opinion.

I planned on buying the Chief, but after handling one I decided to stick with the Police series. I really like the overall design, but the process of opening and closing the knife feels so much better on the Police. Nice and large spydie hole that's well exposed. One of those things I couldn't tell from pictures alone.

I liked the idea of no thumb ramp since I'm generally not a fan of them, but the Police handle gives my hand a generous amount of room to work with so it's not an issue for me on this model.

To me large folders make more sense than large fixed blades, for edc.. It's easier to comfortably carry a 4-5" blade folder around town than a fixed blade, since they fold up. Out hiking/camping/working on trails, fixed is king, but the Police works great for day to day carry. They really don't carry much different than an Endura.

By the way, knowing your preference for large folders, did you ever give the Tatanka a try? Five inch blade, powerful lock, and I know you don't mind VG-10.

Nope. I plan to get a Chinook 4 to try the power lock, but at over 9oz I decided the Tatanka wouldn't see much carry time considering that's why my Szabo stays in storage 363 days out of the year.

[ChrisinHove]

No one use the Opus?

[abbazaba]

Police4 ergos just work better for me than the Chief. Also, something about the P4 makes the massive blade feel reasonable and even natural. As much as I liked the Chief on paper like Vivi, the P4 is just a better knife for me.

[prndltech]

Get a Military.

Another vote for the military here.

No necessarily in this order but

Military
Police
Endura
Chinook 4

Would be my top 4 choices. Cant go wrong here, and we all know you’ll eventually have all of them so just pick which one to buy first!

Never had a native chief.

[jdw]

I have never owned a Chief but you really can't beat a Military.

[p_atrick]

I do not own, nor have I tried the Chief. I do have a P4 LW, and I love it. It has one of the most comfortable handles I have used. I think this is because it works for such a large range of grips, hand sizes, if you use gloves or not, etc. I also love the way it carries. It is thin and light. It doesn't carry like a larger knife. The P4 LW is a big knife, but it doesn't feel that way in hand (as compared to say a Military) or in the pocket. Combine that with the ergos, I see very little to dislike* about the knife.

* I know that some don't care for FRN, but I think the material gives the knife the great feel in hand and pocket that I like so much. VG10 is another area that may give some pause. It has been confirmed that K390 is coming to the LW model. That just might the one to get.

[knivesandbooks]

I would get the chief. Or the military. They're both great.