Stretch 2 xl In K390 At Last!

[Wartstein]

A LW salt XL stretch is an instant buy for me. ...

... Then buy one... https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C258YL/2497

[Fireman]

A LW salt XL stretch is an instant buy for me. ...

... Then buy one... https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C258YL/2497

Oops! I meant LC200N or Magnacut

[benja-man]

I have one coming my way - will be my first Stretch 2 XL and my first K390 experience. Have been holding out on K390 so far since I figure the Stretch 2 XL pattern might most suit my needs for this kind of workhorse steel.

[Clay H]

$138 at Freedom Knife Shop once you add it to your cart.

[dullmaker]

$110 at Dack outdoors. You just will have to wait.

[benja-man]

I have one coming my way - will be my first Stretch 2 XL and my first K390 experience. Have been holding out on K390 so far since I figure the Stretch 2 XL pattern might most suit my needs for this kind of workhorse steel.

It's in the mail. I fear I overpaid at 198 € but I just couldn't wait. Super curious whether I'll like it as much as I hope.

[Hopsbreath]

$110 at Dack outdoors. You just will have to wait.

Finally ordered one last night. Shipping included plus a $5 coupon was $116 out the door. Pretty happy with the price; now the waiting begins…

[Cowboyfromhell]

For that price I had to grab one too!....now the wait

[Paul Ardbeg]

$110 at Dack outdoors. You just will have to wait.

Finally ordered one last night. Shipping included plus a $5 coupon was $116 out the door. Pretty happy with the price; now the waiting begins…

That's a crazy good deal. Here in Europe you pay € 200+ easy.

[aicolainen]

$110 at Dack outdoors. You just will have to wait.

Finally ordered one last night. Shipping included plus a $5 coupon was $116 out the door. Pretty happy with the price; now the waiting begins…

That's a crazy good deal. Here in Europe you pay € 200+ easy.

In a few years I can probably take my family on a US vacation and "pay" the whole thing with what I save on picking up a handful of knives while there. A free vacation ..hmm, maybe we're the lucky ones

[Paul Ardbeg]

$110 at Dack outdoors. You just will have to wait.

Finally ordered one last night. Shipping included plus a $5 coupon was $116 out the door. Pretty happy with the price; now the waiting begins…

That's a crazy good deal. Here in Europe you pay € 200+ easy.

In a few years I can probably take my family on a US vacation and "pay" the whole thing with what I save on picking up a handful of knives while there. A free vacation ..hmm, maybe we're the lucky ones

Roadtrip USA with final stop Golden

[Patrickx]

A LW salt XL stretch is an instant buy for me. The stretch XL is just a Millie is sheep’s clothing anyway

Just got the Stretch 2 xl in k390 with 2 Military 2 (Cru Wear, 15V) in the box as well and the first thing I thought was exactly that. The Stretch XL ist just like the Military, a tiny bit shorter blade, but same shape, shorter handle but similar in hight and it is scary light ... even compared to the Endura 4 ZDP ...
that said, unfortunately I don't see the reason to keep it. In the Salt version ok, could find use for it but than, this stonewashed blade on the Millie 2 in 15v looks awesome

[Wartstein]

Just got the Stretch 2 xl in k390 with 2 Military 2 (Cru Wear, 15V) in the box as well and the first thing I thought was exactly that. The Stretch XL ist just like the Military, a tiny bit shorter blade, but same shape, shorter handle but similar in hight and it is scary light ... even compared to the Endura 4 ZDP ...
that said, unfortunately I don't see the reason to keep it. In the Salt version ok, could find use for it but than, this stonewashed blade on the Millie 2 in 15v looks awesome

When you really put a Millie and a Stretch XL to work in various tasks you might find and feel some distinct differences that could make it worth keeping both:

- Very long complete straight edge section (Stretch XL) vs rather continuous curve in the edge (Millie).
I, apparently unlike many others, prefer the former (for me the straight edge transfers power better when for example whittling) and do feel a difference in use (at least in some tasks)

- Differences in ergos
Comp.lock cutout vs no real cutout with a backlock. The difference in comfort can be felt when really bearing down on the handle imo.
Chamfered FRN vs "blocky" G10
Also the Stretch offers even more actual grip area (though the Millie still should offer enough for almost all hand sizes, even super large ones)

- More negative blade angle in the Millie (a plus over the Stretch for me)

( - Not a real concern of mine, but the Stretch (backlock) should be safer when it comes to unnoticed opening in the pocket than the Millie 2 (comp.lock))

( - Going by the Millie 1 (never had a "2") : The Stretch XL carries nicer. Lighter and also less "bulky", especially at the handle end)

[Patrickx]

For some reason I have 5 Millies in front of me 2xgen 1 and 3xGen 2.
Lets compare how straight they are on the edge.

Stretch 2 XL K390

Military gen1 (the S110V Gen 1 looks slightly better but still round and not much of a flat section)

Military 2 15v (CruWear and S110V Gen2 look similar, much better than the Gen1 Millies)

Overall I would say, yes the Stretch stays more flat'ish and it might be the easiest to make it flat during sharpening if u prefer. The Gen1's are starting to go up very early. Gen2 are appr. 1" as flat as the Stretch but than move up.

- The ergo is a different topic, it really depends on the purpose of the knife. The Stretch is very light and you will not notice it in the pocket. I do have large hands and it is ok to hold it, but the Military is far better, specially the CruWear version with the Micarta scales and steel liners feels like a proper sturdy knife in my hands ... The Stretch version is to blade heavy even compared to the Endura with FRN Scales which feels more balanced and has a straight edge too.

" - More negative blade angle in the Millie (a plus over the Stretch for me)"
... that would be a plus for the Stretch in my case

Now, all that said, after playing around with the Stretch I might keep it for daily carrying, won't weight my pocket down and I wanted a K390 knife

[benja-man]

The Stretch is very light and you will not notice it in the pocket. I do have large hands and it is ok to hold it, but the Military is far better, specially the CruWear version with the Micarta scales and steel liners feels like a proper sturdy knife in my hands

My Stretch 2 XL arrived by now and it is like you say, it carries absolutely unobtrusively. I agree that linered knife feels nicer in hand (there is a Stretch 2 XL CruCarta, is there not?).

I love the absurdely light weight but I must admit that my little Chaparral feels much more confidence inspiring when gripped hard.

[benja-man]

Way too little buzz for the S2XLK390 in here!

I just finished a first stress test. Had some very fibrous cardboard-like material to break down. The factory edge wore down almost immediately but a lackluster sharpening on 350 and 1000 grit diamond plates made it last much longer (several hours of sustained use).

At first I was sceptical about the linerless construction, in use this was entirely unnoticable. The light weight really is a plus in my book.

Definitely fills the role of hard use folder perfectly for my needs.



How are yours holding up so far?

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

Way too little buzz for the S2XLK390 in here!

I just finished a first stress test. Had some very fibrous cardboard-like material to break down. The factory edge wore down almost immediately but a lackluster sharpening on 350 and 1000 grit diamond plates made it last much longer (several hours of sustained use).

At first I was sceptical about the linerless construction, in use this was entirely unnoticable. The light weight really is a plus in my book.

Definitely fills the role of hard use folder perfectly for my needs.



How are yours holding up so far?

Wish I could give you an answer, but still waiting on mine to ship from Dack. It's been 5 weeks and counting. (Normally I'm a fan of Dack's low prices for a few weeks wait, but this is getting ridiculous. This will be my last Dack order. The savings has historically been worth a few weeks wait, but not over a month. YMMV.)

I do like my other S2XLs in PE VG-10 and SE H-2, and have been really excited to try it in a super / premium steel. Maybe I'll have some insights next weekend?

[Cowboyfromhell]

I ordered from Dack too and I'm getting impatient. I won't order from them again. Live and learn. Excited to try out the S2XL k390! Hopefully I get it before easter....smh

[olditguy]

Just received my blacked out Bodacious from Dack. Took 5 weeks. I wasn't in a hurry, and I now have an M4 Tenacious in the queue. I've ordered from the 4 times and they have always delivered, albeit slowly as they state up front. Deals are even better when you hit on the 5.00 shipping specials.

[endura3]

I've had mine for about 6 weeks now and am still extremely impressed by it. K390 is my favorite steel so no surprises there, and I've been really happy with the lightweight construction. As others have said it's an incredibly unobtrusive knife to carry for its size, and it's held up perfectly fine to all my uses.

I don't do any prying or impact cutting like batoning, but I sometimes have to bear down about as hard as possible to cut through tough materials like thick rubber tubing. I've been using this daily and the lockup and function of the knife is still perfectly fine - just the "clicky" lock rock these linerless Sekis always have, but it also feels like the lock has settled in a bit.





I haven't put a forced patina on this one really, I just wasn't careful with it at all for the first few weeks - leaving it wet/dirty in the sink for a few hours after cutting acidic foods, etc. Granted I also live in a pretty wet area, so it's also tough to keep it dry working outside on a lot of days. But I've found that after a couple weeks of this K390 sort of "settles" into a patina and then very little additional corrosion will show with my regular use.

I really, really like linerless construction in general, but especially for non-stainless steels. It's been nice to not worry about liner corrosion so there's functionally no reason I'll ever need to disassemble this.

Overall, it's quickly becoming my favorite knife and a perfect blend of the features I enjoy.