love/hate spydies

[allhatnocattle]

after waiting and waiting i took the plunge and bought the native chief s90/carbon fiber sprint.

Immediately i thought that it didn’t feel like my native 5. Wanted to sell it,hesitated, slept on it. Now its one of my favorites and i have the rex 45 on the way.

So what spydie have you guys and gals had a love/hate feeling towards or grew to love?

[JD Spydo]

One Spyderco model that stands out in my mind was the Dodo model. When I bought my first one all the way back to 2003 when they first released it I had serious second thoughts. I first thought that all that knife was good for was simply a unique collector's piece. Was I ever wrong :o So one week I decided to EDC it and even on the first day I was totally amazed at all you could do with that Dodo model.

Ever since the original Dodo faded away the one I've missed the most is the full SE version of the Dodo. That knife was simply a small wrecking machine. I was amazed at how well the full SE version performed.

The Dodo was the very first Spyder that I learned that you truly can judge a folder by it's appearance. Eric Glesser truly had a genius design with the Dodo. I so much want to see the SE version return.

[JMM]

One Spyderco model that stands out in my mind was the Dodo model. When I bought my first one all the way back to 2003 when they first released it I had serious second thoughts. I first thought that all that knife was good for was simply a unique collector's piece. Was I ever wrong :o So one week I decided to EDC it and even on the first day I was totally amazed at all you could do with that Dodo model.

Ever since the original Dodo faded away the one I've missed the most is the full SE version of the Dodo. That knife was simply a small wrecking machine. I was amazed at how well the full SE version performed.

The Dodo was the very first Spyder that I learned that you truly can judge a folder by it's appearance. Eric Glesser truly had a genius design with the Dodo. I so much want to see the SE version return.

[+1]

I have to second JD's model... I had always looked at the Dodo and thought what a silly, impractical design, but after I started to get into reverse 'S' blades and more importantly SE blades, specifically the PE & SE Lil' Matriarch models really showed me I might have been wrong in my judgements of the Dodo and so after I spent some time here and elsewhere searching and reading I took the plunge and bought the smurf-blue G10 SE Dodo and it's one of my favourite knives, it's relative short blade has so much cutting power it defies logic. As a secondary EDC SE knife it and the SE Lil' Matriarch are two I would never part with.

:D :)

[Evil D]

This recent thread sort of asks the same question worded differently

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89077&p=1502228#p1502228


Same answer, the Military. I don't think I trash talked another knife as much as the Military and then ended up getting two of them used and finally used one and promptly saw the light.

[Jared]

For me it was the Endura. I had spent my time with knives that were in the 3” and less range prior to that. After reading so many “best Spyderco” lists on the web, of which the Endura was always on, I decided to order it.

And at first, I didn’t like it much. I just thought it was too long and I didn’t really have control of what was going on at the tip especially.

But I kept using it here and there and eventually I came to love it. Now it’s a favorite, maybe even my absolute favorite (or it could be the Manix or the PM2). The ergos won me over, as well as how little pocket room it took up for so much actual cutting power.

I have other knives now that are larger than the Endura, like the Military and the Manix 2XL. The reason I gave them a shot was all because the Endura showed me that a larger knife and myself could work together.

[wrdwrght]

I was reluctant to give my heart to the PM2, which I bought along with a Manix2 soon after giving my first Spydie, a Tenacious, to a friend a decade ago.

Absolutely loved the Manix2 and other leaf blades that followed (other Manixes, Native family, Calypso family, Sage series).

The PM2 lingered. But, as my steel-curiosity grew, and the PM2 delivered the goods, I began to admire how spare this design is (everything you need, nothing you don’t), including the weight-reducing clip-point blade.

Where my affection for leaf blades is a persisting “young love”, my love for clip-pointed PM2s (and now the Police4, Endura family, and especially the Military Model) is a more considered one.

[Wartstein]

I never actually "hated" any Spyderco (and I WOULD admit if this was the case), I actually happen to like all I could handle, even if a model is not my favorite in Spydercos lineup.

A model that I just "kind of liked" but that did not totally convince me at first was the Manix 2 LW. Had one for a year, liked it enough, but then sold it and thought I´d never come back to that model.
Then, some time later, I somehow got another one and suddenly liked it a lot more. For that I had to change my view on it though:
I always felt (and still feel) the Manix offers a too short cutting edge for what I want in a general EDC knife.
Now I just carry my two Manix LW as small folders (which they actually are for me), but with amazing ergonomics and grip options for a small folder. And seen in that light I totally like the model now ! :)

[RustyIron]

So what spydie have you guys and gals had a love/hate feeling towards or grew to love?

To satisfy my curiosity, I bagged two M4 Manix 2 XL's. When I got them, I immediately thought they were ridiculously large and I'd just flip them. But I started carrying one... and liked it. I liked it so much that I kept both.

[ladybug93]

i've never hated any of my spydies. i will say there was a time where i didn't give second thought to the yojimbo. it's almost like i never even saw it and then one day it just clicked and i instantly had to have one. it's a really great knife.

other than that, i like all of my spydies in varying degrees, but i love all of them.

[VooDooChild]

Native 5
Endura 4
Dragonfly 2

[kobold]

The Para 3 in G10 Maxamet. It looks comical and I don't really like compression locks, but the fidget factor* is great, the steel is great, the construction / fit and finish are great. And I like the patina. So I am keeping it.

Taichung made compression locks (IME the Sage 5 and the Caribbean). The love component is missing to be honest, the only redeeming quality (IMHO) of a compression lock - the fidget factor* - is missing from these knives.
So I am trying to sell the Sage. I will try to use the Caribbean this next summer and see how I feel..

* - when I say fidget factor, what I really mean is smooth operation. Closing the blade is problematic to be precise.

[GarageBoy]

I've noticed a few youtube reviewers who changed their mind on the Para 3. Lots of them were ambivalent (usually pointing out the usual clip/lanyard tube issue/ugly squashed looks/thick stock), but once they got it, and used it, it was always "this grew on me, and I like it"

[pantagana23]

I love them all for the first few days.
Then I start hating them seeing small imperfections more and more, and a month later - poof! Another Spyderco! :D

[Giygas]

It took me a long time to really like anything with FRN. The K390 Police LW is slowly changing that.

As far as a specific model, definitely the spydiechef. It just seemed too small, and felt like an inferior version of a knife I already had. I bought and sold it 3 times. Mostly to try to convince myself LC200N was as great as I read about online and maybe there was just something wrong with the last one I had.

I got a fourth one thrown in as a bonus in a trade with a friend and looked at it as a beater. Once I started using it as I would a beater, and it survived everything I did with it, I eventually started grabbing it out of my case more and more.

If I use a knife as a beater and it can survive all the stupid things I do with it, I can't help but respect it. That's how I look at a 940 though. It's more than that with the spydiechef, I do truly love the design now.

As far as the steel, I was only looking at LC200N as trading corrosion resistance for edge retention, when I never really care about or need corrosion resistance. Now I look at it as trading corrosion resistance and toughness for edge retention, and I find the edge retention to be better than CPM154 in my uses so Im fine having to sharpen it a couple times a week sometimes.

[Holland]

Delica for me.

Bought and sold it 3 or 4 times before starting to really like it. Wasn't a fan of the lock rock and overal lower f&f compared to Taiwan and US, but the ergos and thin blade won me over eventually

[steelcity16]

I was huge into the Native and then the Native LW early on in my Spydie journey and had probably half a dozen at one point. Then I got a Delica, and then an Endura, and then a Straight Spine Stretch, and then an Endela, and more Delicas and more Enduras and another Endela and now I have zero Natives. I found I really love the ergos, boye dented backlocks, jimping, liners, and FRN of the Seki models so much better. I also found I didn't like having a choil on a blade in that size category. I'd still buy a linered Cru-carta Native in a heartbeat though... :D

[cycleguy]

In general terms:

Back then, I hated all Spyderco (I was a traditionalist and Spyderco was one ugly goofy weird plastic looking knife). Now, I love all Spyderco (it is the only folder I'll buy; I try many but only keep those I like best). Regrets? Yes! Missed out on some interesting early models. Wish I had purchased more Burnt Orange Hap40 when I had the chance, and will likely say the same for British Racing Green ZDP-189.

CG

[Menipo]

It cannot be said that it reached the extreme of "hate", but I never liked the Police (3) because its handle is made of steel.

I don't like metal handles in general because I find them cold and slippery, get scratched easily, and add a lot of weight to the knife (the steel ones). But I felt like my collection was incomplete without one of the Spyderco icons, so I decided to buy it to put in the display case (not to use it).

Since I received it, however, it has spent more time in my pocket than in the display case. The shape of the blade is, for my taste, the height of perfection (I never liked leaf-shape blades too much because they remind me of the paleolithic spearheads and knives made of flint, although after buying the UKPK S110V that opinion is under review :D ).

[Albertaboyscott]

Shaman for me. I had previously posted that the shaman z-wear was a bit of a let down as it has vertical play. I was considering sending it back or selling. I watched a video and the fellow had mentioned he took his apart and lightly touched up the steel liners around the washer area to remove any burrs. Oddly enough I've never taken apart any of my 37 spydercos. I know weird right? Anyway I tuned it up last night and its dropping shut w no side to side play and only a tiny amount of vertical play detectable and only when I really try and find it. Im carrying it now and am really starting to warm up to it.

[swigert]

I love how the scheme Bowie looks but I can’t like it in hand. No matter how hard I try. But I love the look so much it will always be hard for me to part with. Not exactly what you asked but you get it....