I have tried old knives again and different knives anew. I have even bought some non-Spydies for the 1st time in decades. And with only one exception, none of them felt right. So I obtained a variety of Spyderco knives to try and some I will end up selling while others will stay in the stable.
The PM2 is enjoyable, feels good, and is fun to customize. It is a great knife, but it didn't shock me or surprise me. It just said, Hello, I'm awesome, how would you like to make me better? Looking forward to the PM2 Salt when it releases.
The verdict is still out on the Manix 2 for me (working on spring issues). I really want to like it cuz it feels good in the hand, but I'm not sure yet. But there isn't a big gotcha surprise there either.
The Native 5 was a knife I wanted to surprise me with it beefy size in a small package. Hey, maybe something that could be strong big brother to the Delica. But contrary to everyone's accolades, it did not strike a cord within me. I will probably keep my Scurvy Dog Native 5 Salt, but won't be adding others anytime soon.
Needing a gardening knife, I grabbed a couple of Tasman Salts - one PE and one SE. The surprise for me was that the SE worked so much better in the garden than the PE. Many thanks to the folks in this forum who suggested the SE. If I weren't so stubborn (who me?), I would have started with the SE. LOL
Grabbing a couple of Mule Team knives in different steels have helped me see what a great size and shape that knife really is. Coming late to the party, I fortunately was able to grab a used Magnacut Mule in good shape for a decent price. And also luckily, the AEB-L version became available again from Spyderco so I grabbed a couple of those as well. One will be used tested outside while the other will see some kitchen action once I've adjusted their edges. But being a great knife from Spyderco isn't really a great surprise though.
Flippers have been a nice surprise and the Sliverax did sneak up on me with how awesome and smooth it is. I thought surely this handle won't work in my hand, but it does. And how can anything be so easy to open and close with one hand so easily? I had thought this knife will be the one does it, but I was wrong.
The Techno 2 was on sale at a great price from Dack's and some folks were talking about it. I had been reading about it over the past few months and thought, naw - not for me. I don't really care for knives with R.I.L. type locks. I don't really care about Ti scales. And even though I like the Delica (the Techno 2 is slightly shorter), the Dragonfly is a little too short for me except as just an emergency knife similar to the Ladybug. And the Techno 2 is barely longer than the Dragonfly. But on a whim, when I read the conversation in the Crazy Good Deals thread, I said to myself - What the heck?
WOW! Only the Sliverax has made me smile like that when I put it in my hand. But the Techno 2 is a real knife that works. It feels great and it is a BEAST in a small form factor. I am amazed and surprised. The knife has heft and just feels good. I happened to need to open some boxes and break them down and it worked great. I still have to get used to the R.I.L. closing, but it is already getting easier for me. And Ti handles don't feel slick, they add to the heft and somehow feel right. The other big surprise was how quickly I received my knife from Dack. It came in less than a week.
So while I may continue to look at a different knife here or there, this little Techno 2 knife is a great surprise that is going in my pocket. Fortunately, I carry 2 knives, so there is always room for another.
- so long story short: The Chap surprised me positively in several ways :