Just purchased a rare Matriarch

[American1776]

I found a First Generation Matriarch with the Grey handle and ATS-55 blade. It’s NIB, and today I’m carrying it with my other Matriarch with the black handle.

I own a few current generation Matriarch models, and while the upgrades are appreciated, I prefer the thinner ground blade and more prominent hook on the old style Matriarch models. The liner less FRN is a plus as well, as they are extremely lightweight.

[aicolainen]

nice catch!

I haven't carried my current gen Matriarch and suspect I never will.
Still I like that old style Pac Salt / Endura handle so much, I'd probably jump on another Matriarch if I came across one of those :)

[American1776]

Thanks. I like the handle ergonomics on these models. The squared off pommel and contour of the clip fits the hand perfectly.

Late 90s early 2000’s seems to be a great era for Spyderco. The fit and finish on these are excellent.

[Snacktime]

My Matriarch 2 never got much pocket time. I really regret not picking up an original for a long time and eventually settled on a newer one. I like really like recurves and hawkbills at the time so it was a logical step in my collection. Just didn't work well with my cutting tasks but made me fall in love with serrations again.

[ChrisinHove]

Neat!

I do like my Matriarch & Lil Matriarch. Very reassuring in pocket.

[SchoonerBum]

Linerless, you say? I wonder if we can get a salty sprint run in H2 if the molds are still around?

I found a First Generation Matriarch with the Grey handle and ATS-55 blade. It’s NIB, and today I’m carrying it with my other Matriarch with the black handle.

I own a few current generation Matriarch models, and while the upgrades are appreciated, I prefer the thinner ground blade and more prominent hook on the old style Matriarch models. The liner less FRN is a plus as well, as they are extremely lightweight.

[TomH]

Nice find. I also like the earlier version. It's so light.
I occasionally kick myself for not buying both of the brown handled sprint run ones, but didn't feel the need at the time.

[TomH]

Linerless, you say? I wonder if we can get a salty sprint run in H2 if the molds are still around?

A few years ago I believe Sal mentioned he was working on a new Civilian design. I wonder what the changes would be.

[TomH]

A few years ago I believe Sal mentioned he is working on a new Civilian. I wonder what the design, steel, and weight would be.

Sorry for goof up in my above post.

[American1776]

It’s true, the liner less design is extremely light weight, especially compared to the trend toward liners in all knives today.

I’m noticing that the grey model FRN handle is slightly smaller in thickness than the black one, as the grey model was an earlier design. I think I remember the FRN handles being slightly beefed up around the early 2000’s for the clip well to be made deeper, to prevent the barrel bolt clip from being stripped from its mold.