Would you buy an “Emerson Wave” Endura in upgraded steel?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

No, because the steel used now is more then sufficient for my edc needs

I understand that but isn't a wider variety a good thing or is your concern that Spyderco will spread their resources too thin in making the same model with multiple alloys and this will take away from other, new models being produced?

[warriorsociologist]

No, because the steel used now is more then sufficient for my edc needs

Careful -- if we all stuck to that, Spyderco might not be able to sell us new versions of our knives at every new steel drop!

[SpyderEdgeForever]

No, because the steel used now is more then sufficient for my edc needs

I understand that but isn't a wider variety a good thing or is your concern that Spyderco will spread their resources too thin in making the same model with multiple alloys and this will take away from other, new models being produced?

[Jim Malone]

The thing i'm scared off is that Spyderco will become a luxury brand by using small batches of very high performance knives at very high prices.
I compare it to a lamborghini, very expensive, very high performance and very specialised and fragile. It needs a lot of specialised maintenance and equipment and will only work in a narrow field of usage.
I don't care that this steel outcuts another high performance steel by 9%. I don't cut 1000 boxes a day. I don't want extreme hardness making my pocket knife brittle. I don't want steel i can't sharpen myself. I don't want steel that corrodes when i breath on it. I don't care about making high performance tools that i have no need for.
I cut fruit, plastic wrappers, open a letter, etc i use my knife as a cutting tool realistically 3 or 4 times a week. I carry a knife constantly but i don't use it for what it's made. So that 9% increase from 900 to 981 Catra cuts is nonsense for me.
I don't need a knife made from ball bearing steel made for NASA. Or steel made to punch out glowing red forged steel thousands of times.
I just want a strong affordable, low maintenance knife it can put in my pants and not worry i will loose a week's paycheck. I don't want a knife that breaks or chips because it hit a harder particle under the wrong angle.
I started to wear a Spyderco in the 1990's as a no nonsense SHTF cutting tool as a street cop. Tough, easy to open that wouldn't slip being covered in blood or vomit, and i could use as a improvised weapon. I still use and carry a Spyderco every day, but the 150 models i have in vg10, S30V, Gin1, ATS34 will outlast me for the next 50 lifetimes.
I understand the fact that you want a high performance tool but i need something practical i can afford and will do the job when needed

[SpyderEdgeForever]

The thing i'm scared off is that Spyderco will become a luxury brand by using small batches of very high performance knives at very high prices.
I compare it to a lamborghini, very expensive, very high performance and very specialised and fragile. It needs a lot of specialised maintenance and equipment and will only work in a narrow field of usage.
I don't care that this steel outcuts another high performance steel by 9%. I don't cut 1000 boxes a day. I don't want extreme hardness making my pocket knife brittle. I don't want steel i can't sharpen myself. I don't want steel that corrodes when i breath on it. I don't care about making high performance tools that i have no need for.
I cut fruit, plastic wrappers, open a letter, etc i use my knife as a cutting tool realistically 3 or 4 times a week. I carry a knife constantly but i don't use it for what it's made. So that 9% increase from 900 to 981 Catra cuts is nonsense for me.
I don't need a knife made from ball bearing steel made for NASA. Or steel made to punch out glowing red forged steel thousands of times.
I just want a strong affordable, low maintenance knife it can put in my pants and not worry i will loose a week's paycheck. I don't want a knife that breaks or chips because it hit a harder particle under the wrong angle.
I started to wear a Spyderco in the 1990's as a no nonsense SHTF cutting tool as a street cop. Tough, easy to open that wouldn't slip being covered in blood or vomit, and i could use as a improvised weapon. I still use and carry a Spyderco every day, but the 150 models i have in vg10, S30V, Gin1, ATS34 will outlast me for the next 50 lifetimes.
I understand the fact that you want a high performance tool but i need something practical i can afford and will do the job when needed

First of all, thank you for your service and work to save lives!

Your post is so true, Jim.

The various new alloys are great but this is a solid fact, what you said.

To me, VG10 is perfect. The Salt alloys are very good, too.

[warriorsociologist]

I understand the fact that you want a high performance tool but i need something practical i can afford and will do the job when needed

100%! It's my hope that while a sprint run of this one will certainly cost a small premium, it'll be mostly be aimed at us "steel nerds" (to borrow the term from Larrin). How much more? Well, of course that will depend on the steel -- with LC200N and SPY27 being lower cost than Magnacut, K390, or CruWear. I guess that's what this forum thrives on.

On a related note, I think it'll be interesting to see if Spyderco begins to someday replace VG-10 with SPY27. Not sure how that would impact prices if we ever get to that juncture. Already the geometry of the long pointy sabre grind of the Emerson-series Spydercos lends them very high strength tips. While VG-10 might not be an especially tough steel, this style blade allows for its use without too much worry.

@Jim Malone -- I too have gotten a lot of real world use out of what we'd now think of as lower-end steels & knives back in the '80s and '90s. I remember when 440c was something I sought after (couldn't trust just "440"...had to see the "C") and things like ATS-34, S30V and such seemed to be such revelations. Of course back then, my favorites were (and to some degree still are) 1095, 52100, and for a "premium stainless" in I think the late '90s... "Bos-treated BG-42." I still have a few Buck 110 custom shops in BG-42 that make me smile when I find them at the bottom of my boxes of hunting gear. Other than 1 particular small Dozier skinner, I really never did pine after D2 in anything other than slip-joints. I still like 1095 and D2 for slip-joint pocket knives and I probably carry old Queen-made canoe & congress patterns, or Victorinox Soldiers/Pioneers/Electricians, more often than any other knife. Anyways....

So again, I hear you. Nearly all my current "user" and "retired" VG-10 knives are still servicable. Heck, especially when I carried them on duty everyday, I generally managed to lose my large folders before I broke them. But now, I have a certain fondness and nostalgia for this particular knife. As such, I'd like to put a little of my "fun money" into getting an example that's a bit more special. Hopefully, the classic line of FRN Spydercos will always be seen as obtainable on a rookie patrolman's budget.

[cjk]

I’d honestly like to see the occasional sprint of the Emerson opener Seki models (Dragonfly 2, Delica 4, Endela, Endura 4). I rather like the Delica and Endela Emerson opener models. Grey FRN and Cruwear would be my preference. I’d pick SPY27 as a second choice.

How tough and resilient would the SPY27 version be?

SPY27 is tougher and has higher wear resistance than VG10, but not an incredible amount higher.

[cjk]

Would you all want serrated options or only plain edge?

I would want options with teeth.

[mmadison]

Mike Janich, can you advise on this question?

Could an Endura be made with an emerson opener with wharncliffe blade?

Structurally sound?

Thanks.

[Michael Janich]

Mike Janich, can you advise on this question?

Could an Endura be made with an emerson opener with wharncliffe blade?

Structurally sound?

Thanks.

Dear mmadison:

Most of the Waved knives Spyderco has made have been saber ground, to keep the spine of the blade thick and better facilitate the Emerson Opener. A notable exception to this is the byrd Cara Cara 2 Emerson Opener, which is full-flat ground:



It seems that same approach would work on an Endura Wharncliffe blade.

If you want instant gratification on all fronts, get something like a K390 Endura Wharncliffe and add a "Pickpocket" from 5x5 Combat Solutions: https://5x5combatsolutions.com/shop/ols ... o-ccessory. The Pickpocket is beautifully machined and its wider surface is more forgiving on pockets than many integral Waves.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Evil D]

I'm not sure how to vote. I have two of these, one is the waved/serrated version and the other is the Lone Wolf Distributors Glock Tool version. I spent several years searching for the wave/SE version and finally found one and planned on swapping the blade into the LWD version but it turned out to be impossible.

I don't really carry or use either one. The LWD version stays in my range bag for the off chance I need to use the punch on one of my guns but even that is pretty unlikely.

I've never been crazy about the handle on these but now there are custom scales that change the ergonomics so if the right combination came out I could be tempted. I can't even look at this in terms of a blade swap into my LWD version because I'm pretty sure the blade is just unique to that model and no others will swap into the handle with the punch tool. If that were the case I would be voting for a SE MagnaSomething option.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

So now here is the question for you, David.
Should I get the now available Spy27 Endela or wait for a saber ground Wave Spy27 knife?

[warriorsociologist]

I gotta say -- the more I think on this, I am coming around to the idea of a LC200N "salt" version of this knife (regular saber-grind) being my preferred option. Magnacut (or SPY27) would also be outstanding.

I am still not in favor of a hollow-grind saber blade on tis particular knife, becuase if the tip might then end up like that of the SALT Stretch 2 XL. On the one I briefly handled, the deep hollow grind really made the tip very thin and more fragile looking -- as compared to my Endura Emerson or Gen 1 Pacific Salt in H1. I think I could maybe get on board a Canis-like sabre-wharncliffe style blade... but at the end of the day, I'm guessing that it'll be much easier to coax "the powers that be" to keep nearly everything the same as the regular production knife; just make a short run of blades in one of these other steels.

Thanks to all who have replies so far! Keep 'em coming!