I just dont get why this knife was ignored by most and seen as a boring non-practical knife by many. You really dont now what your missing on this knife. is it perfect for me? nope . but the "perfect" knife will probably never exist for me.
But the Superleaf is about as close as I have come across yet and thats saying something as i have gone thru alot of knives in the search for perfection :)
I could go on for an hour about my criteria but I wont :p
I do wish the knife was made in Golden but thats just my patriotic side. the fit and finish of the Superleaf is the best I have had in Spyderco. This is the kind of knife you can just put on the tabel and stare at it and enjoy the beautiful sculptured lines and curves.
One thing for me and for many this is not the case is I see beauty in form that follows function. The Superleaf has somehow melded function and form into a piece of edged art to me.
I also wish the handle was just a bit longer. I have rather large hands and long fingers. I am just a little tiny bit cramped but its not so bad that it conciously bothers me or causes issues with grip. I get a good solid purchase on the handle and have 100% confidence and I love knives with the birds head curve at the butt . It locks the hand into the knife so well!! Ergonomics are excellent and it is evident that much thought was put into the shape of the grip on this knife. It was made to fit the hand . I also wish they used bigger screws like the Yojimbo 2. I cant stand the tiny little screws Spyderco uses that strip if you look at them wrong. But with care you should be ok .
I actually had to give the Superleaf a 2nd shot. I had one awhile back and couldnt get to like the more protected area around the compression lock tab. So I sold it. Then for some reason I decided to give the Superleaf another chance . And its been great ever since.
I went back to the Supereaf for a cpl reasons. One was i was lugging a chinook around and was tiring of the wght. I was also looking for something a little less agressive looking and a little shorter blade but still beefy and solid as a bank vault. The Superleaf for me fits that bill. I know many complain about the wght and it is a bit heavier than an Endura or a Para 2 . but your getting a thick leaf blade and full liners (which are drilled out). So it puts the Leaf somewhere in between the super lightwght Para2 and the Chinook or Manix. Perfect for me :) .
Yep it takes up a bit more space in the pocket but for me I will never carry anything else in my knife pocket. I have had too many dimes or paperclips or such crap actually get lodged in my folder and inhibit proper functioning. You really shouldnt stuff other crap in with your knife no matter the size the stuff ends up not getting along in there.
I also thought the knife would ride too low in my pocket but its actually very easy to draw and get a good purchase on and just enough of the knife protrudes in a way that doesnt scream knife or attract attention . I recently acquired a Yojimbo 2 to try that out and had sold it within a week. mainly for two reasons 1)too slow and difficult getting out of the pocket (tip up) and the handle was too darn small . I dont understand the reasoning behind shortening the hand on that knife. I just could never get enough knife handle into my hand to feel confident.
To me the Super leaf could fill the role of the Yojimbo 2 as a SD knife and is still a very fuctional EDC whereas the Yo 2 is really just SD oriented.
I am big on finger choils. I think they are a great idea on a folder for a cpl reasons. for me the biggest reason is safety. I like knowing f the knife were to close i will not get cut. It also aides in closing the knife with the compression lock. I can drop the balde onto my index finger during closing and not even think about getting cut. when you are busy and working and use your knife and go to close it knowing you can put minimal effort focus on safety while closing is a big plus for me. I hope Sal continues to make knifes with nice choils on them like the SLeaf. Its worth the slight loss of edge since everything is a compromise this is a no brainer. anyone who is against choils has never had a blade come down on ther finger like a guillotine.
Now the Superleaf has been discontinued. Due to lack of sales i assume? What a shame really. This knife is anything but boring and just such a pleasure to carry and use. It locks up like a vault no play any direction (unlike the Para which seems to have this problem as a general rule?). Sure its vg10 and maybe before they went on closeout sale prices they were a bit pricey. But fit and finish is perfect and it just exudes quality . And VG10 is excellent steel as we all know.
So I guess what I am trying to say is if you are on the fence and have the money go and get one now before they are gone and become $300 Ebay unobtainables. I am trying to scrape the money together to get a backup 2nd one before they are gone myself but being out of work I dont think it will happen. So I will try to take the best care of this one i can and hopefully it will last until Sal decides to do a Sprint :) I can hope cant I ? Or maybe a Superleaf 2 with a bigger handle hehehe :)
the Superleaf is a true overlooked gem of a folder and unbeknownst to so many Spyderco really got something right with this knife. It must be frustrating for Sal and friends when a knife they know is so good gets a bum rap and doesnt catch on.
Go get one now!!!
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