C-60 Ayoob Campaign: No I Won't Shut Up

[VandymanG]

14C28N LW would rock. Or Crucarta, love my PM2.

[JD Spydo]

Yep, can confirm the amazon screws linked above work better than the stock screws. For that matter, any M2x.4 x 4mm screw will work.

The black coated marine grade screws I might buy at some point can be found at accu-components.com for reference. But shipping from the UK is $27 so its not really worth it unless you order a couple dozen as the actual screws are only ~$.75/ea

Funny the factory is in short supply. They should order a few bags off Amazon. lol

Yeah I didn't get that either concerning not having an adequate amount of replacement screws on hand

Some business decisions just don't make much sense to me at all. I'm getting at least 3 dozen of them tomorrow. I'm normally not a big fan of Amazon but if they've got the right parts then I'll just go with them. I'm hoping that those screws will work with other Spyderco models as well.

Again I wish that Spyderco would reconsider doing a couple more batches of these C-60 Cruwear Ayoob models. I think the C-60 is more popular now than it ever has been previously. The Cruwear blade steel is absolutely perfect for the C-60 and this newer G-10 material is a perfect selection for the handle. If enough people would speak up it would be interesting. Also I'm not giving up on the idea of a Salt Version of the C-60 Ayoob.

[Stas]

Just picked up my second SE Ayoob as a backup, scored it locally here in Europe at a discount. Whether it’s out of pure appreciation for the design or just FOMO kicking in, I’ve now got both the PE and SE Ayoobs in Cruwear—along with a backup for each! It’s crazy, especially since I’ve been trying to stick to a minimalist collection lately. This is officially my most owned and backed-up Spyderco so far. And, honestly, I still want more in different steels and handle materials…

[aicolainen]

Just picked up my second SE Ayoob as a backup, scored it locally here in Europe at a discount.

That's crazy! I would rather have guessed the price to go up on something as limited as this, but good on you for catching it!
My own FOMO almost had me buy one at full European pricing + shipping, VAT and all that jazz. When I zoomed out and looked at it through a more rational lens, it was quite obvious the economics of it was beyond crazy. Reluctantly decided to let it go, but luckily I was able to pick up a factory second at a fraction of the price a bit later.
It's definitively not a daily carry for me, so even at a discount it would have been hard to justify a second one, that said I wouldn't outright dismiss the idea of a PE or even another SE just to be able to compare one that passed QC with my factory second.

[Evil D]

Still one of my favorites, and one of the best mistakes I've ever made.

[SSD_777]

I ended up getting a snaggletooth variant. I should have returned it. This woke me up and changed my views towards Spyderco QC, or lack of.

[Stas]

Still one of my favorites, and one of the best mistakes I've ever made.

Remember this one, very nice

[Stas]

I ended up getting a snaggletooth variant. I should have returned it. This woke me up and changed my views towards Spyderco QC, or lack of.

I’ve heard about this issue. Is it really that bad? Does it affect cutting performance? I’m not sure if any of mine have it since I don’t know what to look for.

[Catchadroppimgknife]

I kind of like the snaggletooth version of the SE. Does not affect the function or cutting - might make it better.

In the end I am very happy to have landed one of these - Cruwear, G10, and liners! It’s a great design and I have no issues with it at all

[benben]

Carrying mine here today at work.

[Spyderwebs]

I ended up getting a snaggletooth variant. I should have returned it. This woke me up and changed my views towards Spyderco QC, or lack of.

This bothered me until I used it. the hook actually worked great to keep the blade in the cut when penetrating shallow material like thin cardboard / tape etc.

But its an easy problem to fix - The snaggle tooth is caused by an obtuse grind at the tip. The Serration angle was a standard ~17*, but my tip grind was ~45*!
Because the tip is ground so obtuse, the bevel does not match up at all and thus the snaggletooth is created. (Also the tip is un-sharpenable out of the box on a Sharpmaker).

Becaue of this, I just free-hand sharpened the tip to match the bevel angle and height of the serrated section. Its the only time I've used the flat side of the sharpmaker. The stones left an ugly finish but a couple dozen passes on a 4 micron leather stroop polished it right up and you cant even tell anything was done. Im an amateur sharpener and was able to do this pretty easily in less than 15 minutes.

After reprofiling the tip to the correct angle, the snaggletooth blended away like it was never there. Yes, it was a factory flaw, but if you read up on the struggles that the Moki factory went through in general, and specifically around the time of the 2022 Ayoob sprint release, its surprising it turned out as well as it did. There were a TON of seconds sold in the 2023 seconds sale.

Anyways, my point is its a marginal bummer, but the knife is so great IMO that the tip grind was a much smaller issue than was made at the time. Its an easy fix if it really bothers you too.

[ladybug93]

it was never about the cutting performance. it's about the fact that it's a grind mistake that was passed off as worthy of a $200+ pricetag. then we were informed that it was part of an effort to teach someone how to make knives and restore a japanese company to its former glory days of when the grandfather was running it. it's a noble effort, but we paid the high price for it unknowingly.

does it cut like a laser? yes.
is it still a great knife? yes.
should it be an easy fix for anyone willing to spend so much on a knife? yes.
did the whole situation diminish my feelings toward spyderco as a company? absolutely.

it's really a shame too. how many knives with qc issues came out of this factory before we were told we were being sold someone's practice for top dollar...? it was a lot and over a handful of other releases that were plagued with similar reports. spyderco could have sold the whole sprint run thing from this factory as a special project and most of us would've been on board with it because it is a noble cause. instead, we were told far too late of the experiment we were taking part in and were expected to take it on the chin with a smile.

i still buy spydercos and recommend them to people all the time though. i still really appreciate sal sending my son a knife. that kind of thing is unforgettable and amazing. he created several customers for life with that gesture.

so, why the negativity? well, it's just honesty. i'd probably have much less to say about it if people around here would've been more honest with their feedback instead of happily accepting the flaws and even praising spyderco for it. that's nonsense. you just encouraged them to keep doing it with future models from the same factory. so if your lum tanto was jacked up, thank those people that praised spyderco for sending out flawed expensive knives and even want so far as saying the flaws were beneficial.

[resonanzmacher]

people are seriously still on about the snaggletooth?

They cut like lasers. Anyone doesn't want theirs, I'll take it, just saying.

Signed, the world's lowest key fanboy

[cabfrank]

I'd get another too. I don't care about the snaggletooth, but I'd want the serrations to be serrations, not waves as on a kris knife.

[resonanzmacher]

I'd get another too. I don't care about the snaggletooth, but I'd want the serrations to be serrations, not waves as on a kris knife.

I have exactly three kris bladed knives and generally speaking I am wholly in agreement with your sentiment. The kris shape just isn't all that erg-tastic.

I carry both PE and SE from time to time. For me serrations end up being 100% about performance, game, set, match. Aesthetics matter, they're just secondary. It's fine if someone wants the serrations to be aesthetically done to a very fine spec for a $200+ knife, I won't yum their yuck, but I'm one of those people who unironically regard the Ayoob SE serrations as a happy accident. More specifically, because they slice very quickly without snagging as much, not just the standard serrated chew the way through cutting style you get with standard serrations. If this is one man's 'Spyderco pulled the wool over everyone's eyes' it's my 'I'll take four, thanks' and if I inadvertently cursed us all to more Moki snagglery lol lol lol well I'll chalk that up to 'proudly representing my own interests as a consumer' and also 'winning'.

I guess it's all how you value different perspectives.

[cabfrank]

Absolutely, and I liked the way it cut also. I was just worried that the SE would virtually sharpen away.

[ladybug93]

people are seriously still on about the snaggletooth?

They cut like lasers. Anyone doesn't want theirs, I'll take it, just saying.

Signed, the world's lowest key fanboy

[Kleon]

My Ayoob plain edge to the rescue this morning. Unfortunately we hit a deer at 45 mph or so that leapt in front of us out of a farm field at 0530 this morning. The Highlander was driveable after I cut the wheel well liner off where it was hanging into the tire.

Had just reprofiled the knife to 12.5 degrees 1000 grit edge with no micro bevel. It performed great on the hard plastic in the strobing red and blue light of the Sheriffs Charger. Not a roll or chip to be found. Cruwear is good stuff the way Seki ran this knife. It sure does slice at 12.5 degrees!

Unfortunately the deer could not be found. I searched but was on my way to a surgery and couldn’t do more than a visual search at the time to be sure it wasn’t suffering. Afterwards no sign of it in the direction it ran. So no Ayoob skinning a deer pics at this time…

[sal]

Hi Kleon,

Glad you weren't hurt in the accident with the deer and I hope your surgery goes OK.

sal

[Kleon]

Thanks Sal! I sure do appreciate the Glesssers and the whole crew there at Spyderco.