if you could only own a 5 Spyderco knife collection:

[Skywalker]

Endura 4 K390
Delica 4 M390
Paramilitary 2 M390
Manix 2 Cruwear
Domino 204P

Endura + Delica in high performance stainless + tool steel are definitely #1 and #2. Probably still be pretty happy flipping the steels to a 20CV Endura and K390 or Hap40 Delica.

#3-5 took a lot longer to decide on

[wrdwrght]

Top 5 Salt

Top 5 Tool

I just can’t do 5 but I can do 10 and this list is subject to change with new releases

I see what you did there, and I approve. I particularly like the salt vs tool distinction.

[Tristan_david2001]

Thanks to everyone who contributed and still continue to contribute to the thread. I enjoy all of your feedback.
I’m the kind of knife nerd that often likes to think about and break down what my favorite designs are, I like having a deep relationship with a reasonable selection of knives that can fit all my needs and knife cutting purposes.
Here’s a knife that would easily be in my top 5, it very likely will never be made. A saber hollow ground Calypso 3.5”. Think the caly jr. But stretched into a 3.5” blade knife size. That would be the ultimate pocket knife design for me at this point. I love the Calys too, they’re very similar, I think they have a little better feeling thumb ramp, but overall I like the calypso jr ergonomics just a little better because the handle is a bit taller and a good balance of compact and handfilling. I also love the swedge on the calypso blades. Very distinct and attractive for the design. 3.5” blades knives I find to be a sweet spot for ease of carry but very high cutting power. For the handle I’d want a stainless steel bolster with center point radius shape, similar to the kopa bolster design and the Damascus Caly 3 sprint run. With contoured black linen micarta for the rest of the scales. A man can dream

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Thanks to everyone who contributed and still continue to contribute to the thread. I enjoy all of your feedback.
I’m the kind of knife nerd that often likes to think about and break down what my favorite designs are, I like having a deep relationship with a reasonable selection of knives that can fit all my needs and knife cutting purposes.
Here’s a knife that would easily be in my top 5, it very likely will never be made. A saber hollow ground Calypso 3.5”. Think the caly jr. But stretched into a 3.5” blade knife size. That would be the ultimate pocket knife design for me at this point. I love the Calys too, they’re very similar, I think they have a little better feeling thumb ramp, but overall I like the calypso jr ergonomics just a little better because the handle is a bit taller and a good balance of compact and handfilling. I also love the swedge on the calypso blades. Very distinct and attractive for the design. 3.5” blades knives I find to be a sweet spot for ease of carry but very high cutting power. For the handle I’d want a stainless steel bolster with center point radius shape, similar to the kopa bolster design and the Damascus Caly 3 sprint run. With contoured black linen micarta for the rest of the scales. A man can dream

It would be really cool if Sal made that dream knife and added your signature because you definitely are the Caly King, kinda like Ladybug and Bolster with the Manix 2 lw Salt…and I would get one for sure

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Top 5 Salt

Top 5 Tool

I just can’t do 5 but I can do 10 and this list is subject to change with new releases

I see what you did there, and I approve. I particularly like the salt vs tool distinction.

[Skywalker]

Bolster previously tallied the results of the first three pages but I was curious what the full, current stackup was so I've gone through the thread over the past couple days.

Apologies for the wall of text; scroll down to the chart image if you just want the highlights.

Caveats:

• This is manually tallied, flipping back and forth between the thread and an excel sheet. No promises of accuracy.
• If more than five knives were listed, I only took the first five unless the rest of the comment pared it down. If there were two groups of five, I took the first group. If you revised your answer in a later post I tried to correct to the best of my ability/judgement but may God have mercy on your soul/vote.
• If a knife was duplicated in a single comment, all were counted up to five total votes (yes, all four Native Chiefs counted - you know who you are)
• I tried to capture specifics about blade steel, PE/CE/SE edges, blade shape, and generation (e.g. Endura 3 vs Endura 4) as well as just the single model. Not everyone provided information the same way so there's a lot of mismatch and I'm not sure how to show this level of detail effectively. Several highlights from this info are at the end, though.
• Given the previous point, I flattened everything into 92 separate models. To illustrate: A vote for Native, Native 5, Native 5 CF, Native 5 G10, Native 5 LW, and Native 5 Salt are all Native; but a Native Chief G10 and Native Chief LW are Native Chief.

Here are the models that received at least five votes, lead by the Paramilitary 2 at 33 but closely followed by the Manix at 32. I counted 441 total votes (some people had less than 5, some included models that don't exist yet in an official announcement/reveal/product guide).




Note that if the Pacific Salt and Endura votes were combined, the Endura would have the most votes at 37. Similarly, Salt 2 plus Delica is 31 votes. Manix was another complicated category, including one vote simply for "Manix backlock" and one vote for original C101 Mini Manix; all other Manix counts are Manix 2 (G10 or LW CBBL, or M2 Backlock). Manix XL is a separate category for Manix 2 XL and original C95 lockback.

All other votes:

• 4 votes: Caly 3.5, Carribean, Gayle Bradley 2, Mule
• 3 votes: Ayoob, Caly 3, Gayle Bradley 1, Ladybug, LeafJumper, Mantra, Nirvana, Street Beat
• 2 votes: Aqua Salt, Atlantic Salt, Chinook, D'Allara, Darn Dao, Domino, Drunken, Hundred Pacer, Kapara, Lil' Native, Murray Carter Petty, Paysan, PITS, PPT, Resilience, Smock, South Fork, Spyderhawk, Temperance 1, Yojumbo
• 1 vote: Advocate, Autonomy 2, Bob Lum Tanto, Brouwer, Calypso, Canis, Catcherman, Civilian, Goddard, Ikuchi, J.D. Smith, Junction, K2, Kopa, Kris, Lil' Matriarch, Manbug, Murray Carter Gyuto, P'Kal, Polestar, Q-Ball, Rescue, Respect, Rhino, Roadie, Schempp Bowie, Schempp Rock, Siren, Sliverax, Spy-DK, Subvert, Subway Bowie, Sustain, Swayback, Techno 2, Uptern, Waterway, Watu

A couple highlights from the detailed information:

• The top sprint run/LE was probably the 15V Manix 2, at 5 votes. There were 6 votes for Military S90V but only 4 of them specifically referenced the Ti/CF KW exclusive and it was unclear whether the others meant Ti/CF, or the CF-only sprint, or the blue BBS exclusive.
• Other popular configurations, below the model-level chart above:
  • 8 votes for Chaparral LW
    • For Wartstein - 8 Chap LW, 6 either just Chap or specifically Chap CF, 1 Stealth Ti, 1 Birdseye Maple
  • 7 for Pacific Salt H1 SE (assuming if you said Pac Salt you meant Pac Salt 1)
  • Of 22 Native votes, 21 specified Native 5. 11 specified Salt, 9 specified Magnacut, and of the Magnacut there were 5 PE, 2 SE.
  • 5 for Police 4 G10 K390 (example of interpretation applied - per spydiewiki and spyderco.com the only P4 G10 was K390 PE, so it wasn't necessary to state the steel there to count).
• LW vs full weight:
  • Native definitely still trends LW even with the introduction of the G10 and CF N5: 13 N5 LW (incl. any that mentioned Salt or Magnacut) vs 9 more general "Native" or "Native 5"
  • Manix had 12 of 32 specify LW, or a steel currently only available in LW (SPY27, Magnacut, Maxamet)
  • Para3 had 3 of 11 votes specify LW.
  • Almost all Seki model votes did not specify LW vs other. Exceptions: 1 SS Dragonfly, 3 SS Police (2 SE, 1 PE), 1 SS Rescue, 1 CF Stretch, 3 grey G10 Stretch 2 XL.
• Tool/carbon steel overall: 31 K390 > 22 M4 > 21 Cruwear > 9 15V > 8 Maxamet > 7 REX 45 > 5 Super Blue > 3 52100 > 2 4V > 1 Hap40 = 1 REX 76 = 1 Z-Wear
  • The GB1/2 + Mantra 1/2 are helping M4 a bunch since it was the only steel option there so I didn't need to rely on folks specifying in their response (10 total M4 votes).
  • Shoutout to the 3 Military 52100 fans making up all of the votes for that steel; no PM2/Manix2/Para3 votes.
  • I was surprised by the lack of Hap40 votes, especially given the KC Hap40/pakkawood exclusives and the Caly3 sprint.
• High wear resistance stainless: 18 S90V > 13 M390/20CV/204P > 8 S110V > 7 ZDP-189
  • Stainless is a little trickier with so much S30V, VG-10, etc. in base models. Some people specified e.g. "Shaman S30V" while others might just say "Shaman." So, I'm just highlighting a handful of the higher wear resistance stainless steels common in upgraded production or sprint runs/LEs that folks specified.
  • There is definitely an appreciation for Golden's trend of a S90V/CF sprint run for most of their models.
  • I have to imagine that's undercounting S110V or ZDP-189, as much upgraded regular production as there is/was in those models, whereas with S90V I can for e.g. immediately count all Nirvana and Paysan (+5 to S90V).
  • 13 total votes for Magnacut, for those curious. Some only indicated "Salt" on models with both LC200N and Magnacut; impossible to tell there.
  • 18 total for LC200N; similar issues differentiating "Salt" votes with LC200N/Magnacut/H1/H2 but helped by SpydieChef, Autonomy 2 that are only available in LC200N (+6).

Finally, it's interesting to compare these results to Bolster's Cult Classics survey. The Slysz Bowie, for all its (very spirited) forum chatter and #1 spot on the Cult Classics list, has not received any Top 5 votes (unlike the Schempp Bowie, with 1 top 5 vote). Similarly, Cult Classic #4 and 5, the Dodo and Starmate, did not receive any top 5 votes.

The Gayle Bradley 1/2, Caly 3/3.5, Ayoob, PPT performed more how I would expect of a cult classic, with a handful of votes in people's top 5 - clearly not forgotten but also not catching up with the long-running Military or Police or Delica/Endura/PacSalt/AtlSalt or the new hotness like the PM2 or Manix 2 or Shaman that are constantly getting new sprints and exclusives. I don't know - interested in more thoughts on that.


Congrats on reading to the end and I hope others find it interesting. Thanks @Tristan_david2001 for starting the thread and to all who contributed; it's been a fun read and I learned about some configurations that I didn't know about before (most interesting: Endura 3 Emerson Wave opener is not a typo - per spydiewiki there was a 500pc run).

It was interesting to compile to me, at least.

[The Deacon]

Burgundy Micarta Jester
Amber Jigged Bone Kiwi
CF Chaparral
FRN VG10 Stretch
K05 Utility Knife

[Bolster]

The Slysz Bowie, for all its (very spirited) forum chatter and #1 spot on the Cult Classics list, has not received any Top 5 votes (unlike the Schempp Bowie, with 1 top 5 vote).

Well done, Skywalker! I will gladly share my nerd cubicle with you, any time. You can even borrow my white friction tape to repair your horn-rimmed glasses. Thanks also for the extended commentary which was insightful and fun to read.



Regards the difference between The CC list and The 5 list you compiled, I think I understand the difference. To wit: I would consider the Slysz Bowie a cult classic for sure; but not an essential knife; too expensive to put into daily use and with its large belly, not terribly effective for my day-to-day cutting tasks. Dodo also, I would say yes, definitely a cult classic, but not one that would be in my daily rotation, or one I would miss if I didn't own it...and I don't even want to think about reprofiling it with my Hapstone R2. The CC list has a 'throwback' emphasis that The 5 list does not, which is evident in the top picks of The 5 list being easily and widely available in many iterations.

I suspect The 5 list causes people to engage in a sort of "desert island" thinking...if you were stranded somewhere and couldn't get another, which 5 would you want with you? That prompt makes me vote practical rather than exotic. When I look at the list, the top contenders appear to be exceedingly practical, no-nonsense, currently-and-easily-available working knives.

Thanks again for the tally, which I know was time consuming for you to do!!

[Cheddarnut]

Para 3
Yojimbo 2
Military 1

Thats it, everything else is garnish.
Thanks for posing this question, maybe its time to Marie Kondo my collection.

[Skywalker]

Well done, Skywalker! I will gladly share my nerd cubicle with you, any time. You can even borrow my white friction tape to repair your horn-rimmed glasses. Thanks also for the extended commentary which was insightful and fun to read.

I just upgraded from my old wire frames about a month ago...the forum intelligence network is uncanny. Or maybe it's coming through in my typing?

... The CC list has a 'throwback' emphasis that The 5 list does not, which is evident in the top picks of The 5 list being easily and widely available in many iterations.

I suspect The 5 list causes people to engage in a sort of "desert island" thinking...if you were stranded somewhere and couldn't get another, which 5 would you want with you? That prompt makes me vote practical rather than exotic. When I look at the list, the top contenders appear to be exceedingly practical, no-nonsense, currently-and-easily-available working knives.

...

I believe you have the right of it here - there are many different ways of approaching a five knife collection. There's the desert island approach, as you mentioned. There's a "one in each category" approach as Tristan_david2001 (OP) suggested:

In hindsight I think it would have been fun to have formatted the top 5 in a little more detail. Such as:
full size folder
mid size folder
Small gents folder
mid size fixed blade
large size fixed blade
Which I think are the general categories most knife junkies are most interested in

(Interestingly, this would significantly change responses by forcing two fixed blades, of which there were otherwise very few.)


Then my personal take, which was similar to the desert island but still included some hobby/personal enjoyment element. So for example, I had a four "exceedingly practical, no-nonsense, currently-and-easily-available working knives" (Delica/Endura/PM2/Manix2) and a Domino. Not that the Domino can't work - but I chose it because it's got that weird Spyderco design goodness, because it's a well made Ti framelock, because I like the way it flips - because I enjoy it as a knife enthusiast/collector/hobbyist more than simply as a tool user.

If I was really headed for a desert island, I'd probably drop the Domino for a 20CV Endura to complement the K390 Endura already on the list. But for a collection of five to generally be content with, I want the Domino in there.

And this is where I'm surprised I didn't see more of the Cult Classics - more people saying "I can get all my functional stuff done with a Military, a Pac Salt, and a Chaparral, so I also want to include a Slysz Bowie and a Dodo because those just put a smile on my face."

Judging by the votes, I might be alone in having interpreted it that way, or there just aren't enough votes to pick those trends out of the two-three-four vote bins. That, or everyone already has enough fun with the PM2 and Manix 2 (which for the Manix I get; that one pulls double work/fun duty for me as well).


In any event, it's interesting to see. And next time someone asks "how did niche model nnn get discontinued so soon?!" I'm going to point them at the top couple bars of this chart immediately after linking your PE vs SE survey results.

[Bolster]

^ Interesting. I went back to my posted choices (couldn't remember what I'd posted!) to see if I did the same. Mine were Chap, Caly3, Manix2, NatChief, Mule. Mostly current, no-nonsense everyday knives, but maybe my Caly3 is your Domino?

One thing for sure: The prompt greatly influences the responses. Slight changes in prompt wording can get people responding in markedly different ways. Vague prompts cause people to make up their own parameters, and then you get a wide diversity of responses.

To be fair, from the research so far, I think diversity of preference and opinion is the norm, which may explain why Spyderco offers so many different models. Clearly there is no "ideal model for everybody" or "one size fits all" and Spyderco figured that out long ago. And that same range of preferences and opinions drive this forum...when not everybody agrees, then we have something to talk about!

The other pattern I've noticed is "out of sight out of mind." Most consider just the current, available models. There are exceptions of course, there are several "historians" on the forum, but by and large, most folks focus on what's in the current catalog. If, by some impossible-to-imagine scenario, Spyderco stopped making the PM or the Mx, I predict you'd see them rapidly drop from their top spots on the lists.

[Tristan_david2001]

I couldn’t remember mine, but here’s mine right now.
Original lil temp for a hard use folder
Calypso for a long bladed edc folder
Calypso jr for a mid edc folder
Kopa… because it’s the kopa
Temperance 1 for a hard use fixed blade (not a baton through a tree sideways fixed blade)

[Tristan_david2001]

Well done, Skywalker! I will gladly share my nerd cubicle with you, any time. You can even borrow my white friction tape to repair your horn-rimmed glasses. Thanks also for the extended commentary which was insightful and fun to read.

I just upgraded from my old wire frames about a month ago...the forum intelligence network is uncanny. Or maybe it's coming through in my typing?

... The CC list has a 'throwback' emphasis that The 5 list does not, which is evident in the top picks of The 5 list being easily and widely available in many iterations.

I suspect The 5 list causes people to engage in a sort of "desert island" thinking...if you were stranded somewhere and couldn't get another, which 5 would you want with you? That prompt makes me vote practical rather than exotic. When I look at the list, the top contenders appear to be exceedingly practical, no-nonsense, currently-and-easily-available working knives.

...

I believe you have the right of it here - there are many different ways of approaching a five knife collection. There's the desert island approach, as you mentioned. There's a "one in each category" approach as Tristan_david2001 (OP) suggested:

In hindsight I think it would have been fun to have formatted the top 5 in a little more detail. Such as:
full size folder
mid size folder
Small gents folder
mid size fixed blade
large size fixed blade
Which I think are the general categories most knife junkies are most interested in

(Interestingly, this would significantly change responses by forcing two fixed blades, of which there were otherwise very few.)


Then my personal take, which was similar to the desert island but still included some hobby/personal enjoyment element. So for example, I had a four "exceedingly practical, no-nonsense, currently-and-easily-available working knives" (Delica/Endura/PM2/Manix2) and a Domino. Not that the Domino can't work - but I chose it because it's got that weird Spyderco design goodness, because it's a well made Ti framelock, because I like the way it flips - because I enjoy it as a knife enthusiast/collector/hobbyist more than simply as a tool user.

If I was really headed for a desert island, I'd probably drop the Domino for a 20CV Endura to complement the K390 Endura already on the list. But for a collection of five to generally be content with, I want the Domino in there.

And this is where I'm surprised I didn't see more of the Cult Classics - more people saying "I can get all my functional stuff done with a Military, a Pac Salt, and a Chaparral, so I also want to include a Slysz Bowie and a Dodo because those just put a smile on my face."

Judging by the votes, I might be alone in having interpreted it that way, or there just aren't enough votes to pick those trends out of the two-three-four vote bins. That, or everyone already has enough fun with the PM2 and Manix 2 (which for the Manix I get; that one pulls double work/fun duty for me as well).


In any event, it's interesting to see. And next time someone asks "how did niche model nnn get discontinued so soon?!" I'm going to point them at the top couple bars of this chart immediately after linking your PE vs SE survey results.

The two fixed blades was just an example, the category’s for each persons answer doesn’t have to be the same, everyone will have a different preferences and ways to categorize their knives functionally. I was mainly trying to ask people to try to answer the question from a user-ist perspective. Because if you only got 5 knives the importance of how well your knives will function as tools increases. If the 5 still end up covering all your cutting needs on a “desert-island” scenario, I don’t see anything wrong with choosing picks for some exotic flair or personal taste. The desert island thing sounds like it changes the question for me but maybe I’m wrong, do you mean literally 5 knives to take on a desert island ? If that were the case I’d be taking some bigger knives instead probably. But I just mean 5 that are suitable for you in your current life environment,

[Bolster]

"Desert Island" was an analogy for not being able to obtain alternates. I tried to define it:

"...a sort of "desert island" thinking...if you were stranded somewhere and couldn't get another..."

But this underscores how controlling the prompts can be. If you add a shade of meaning on one side or another (here, just the image of a desert island 9 pages into a thread) the choices can shift substantially. In the absence of a constraining prompt, people will substitute their own unique parameters and that can add more variability to the results.

My point being, it should not surprise us that the results shift as the question shifts.

[Tristan_david2001]

Ok! I wasn’t sure if it was an analogy or a different version of the question. I’m fine if anyone answers and changes or interprets the question differently, just adds more to the discussion. The only parameters i were trying to establish originally were:
5 knives:
Has to have been actually produced by spyderco:
And try to balance your answer with personal preferences and practicality, so each knife serves a bit of different functional purpose/ capabilities of each one aren’t super compatible to eachother.

[barnaclesonaboat]

I'm little late to the thread, and I don't have enough Spyderco knife diversity in my collection to really go after the desert island question (my bigger fixed blades are ESEEs). But noone likes feeling left out:

PM2 S90V
Para3 Maxamet
Manix 2 LW REX45
Mule Team 15V
Shaman blackout S30V

[applejuice54]

Five for life:


Military2 in magnacut/s90v
Native chief magnacut/m390 complex
Sage in maxsmet/ chip/ m39- complex
Manix XL in magnacut/ 15v/ cru-wear
Police in K390/ magnacut/ cruwear/M390 complex at 62+

In fact all M 390 comples above 62. Magnacut above 63

[kriezek]

Stretch 2 Magnacut (with the original curved upper blade, not the same blade shape as every other knife) - currently not available

Delica4 S30V (quite happy with what I have)

Shaman S30V (quite happy with what I have)

PM2 Salt Magnacut - I'm waiting (somewhat) patiently

Harpy Plainedge with G10 handles - yes, I know it doesn't exist

I know the qualification was models that Spyderco actually produced, so I kept it to those models while elaborating as to what could be done to them for inspiration sake.

As some folks know, I have been trying a whole lot of different knives. I also did not realize you were tracking knife types and steels when I gave my response. Not to make things more difficult, but I am changing my answers to what I would do today in early 2024.

3 knives stay the same, but some steels are different and I adjusted the other 2 knives based upon what exists and what I know I use.

The Stretch and PM2 are similar, but with different locks and blade shapes. They are big enough for anything I use folders for. The Delica is a great slicer and super great EDC in the pocket. The Techno 2 has become a favorite for cutting and is an awesome small knife. The Tasman Salt is my gardening knife and while the others are carried more, probably gets more cutting time than any of them. I have plenty of others that I enjoy and use (SpydieChef, Mantra3, Smock, Sliverax), but if I could only have 5 knives from my collection, it would be these 5.

Stretch ZDP-189

Delica 4 S30V

PM2 S90V

Techno 2 XHP

Tasman Salt H2

[northmanscall]

Shaman
Native Chief
Military
Endura
Delica Wharncliff serrated

[Doc Dan]

I think people have a good feel for what works (of course, if needs change their knife lists would change). I like the PM2, but it is not on any of my personal lists because it doesn't fit my hand, somehow. I like the Manix 2 back lock and the LW, instead.