Spyderco/Farid K2

[Ankerson]

Has anyone besides the the testers gotten their K2 yet? Care to share some pics in the wild?

Also, I'm by no means a knife tester, but from an average user's (me) perspective, I care much more about the beginning part of the sharpness curve as someone previously mentioned Cliff favored in testing as well? I couldn't care less if the blade can keeping cutting cardboard forever if after 500 cuts it becomes what I consider too dull to do other tasks effectively.

Not a great shot, but here is mine

Any 1st impressions?

[Brock O Lee]

I love the size and shape of the current K2 and it would be awesome if this new production knife spawned a sprint in 3V sometime in the future.......I'd be getting one of those for sure.

A CPM-3V sprint would be very high on my want list. I am still undecided on the current one. Will first wait for some real-world feedback.

[The Mastiff]

Good luck and I hope the wait isn't too long ManixFan. When a knife like this one comes out that is pretty revolutionary in some way I don't feel right until it's in my hands and inspected for flaws. Even at a hundred dollars more per knife it's my opinion these will be selling out as fast as they ship. They really came in much lower than I expected for a knife this large, well built and in 10V. I knew they would be good quality but I had told some people I expected it to come in over $300, with a $500 MSRP. All in all it's a very nice surprise.

Spyderco could have charged much more for these and people would still have thanked them for getting a rc 62 10V knife out. Sal has stated they don't just charge more because they can and this is proof of that. Good luck with your knife. I don't know if you hunt but I know 10V is pretty well known for standing up to boar, bear, and other sand, dirt and gravel caked hides. Not exactly a caping style blade but in a pinch there is much that could be done with this knife.



And:

Farid, it has been a long time since my first e-mail to you. I've followed your knife making websites, articles, you tubes and other peoples threads about you and your latest projects. It was the next best thing to actually being able to get one of your hand crafted knives. I tried getting one but that fell through, embarrassingly enough, but hopefully next time my fortune will change and I'll get one. You have a knack of working the steels I want to try out.

Thanks for working with Sal and Spyderco to get those of us that don't have one of your customs the next best thing. In my opinion, Spyderco translated your vision and design very well in first quality. As far as collaborations go you did it with the one company that will take the steel to the performance levels you want. If you are going to do it then do it correctly. I believe that was accomplished here very well.

Joe "the mastiff"

[Philo Beddoe]

Got one on the way from the Shoppe..@ $223.95 and free shipping with using their special code I couldn't resist..

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

[MacLaren]

Got one on the way from the Shoppe..@ $223.95 and free shipping with using their special code I couldn't resist..

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

How do we get the code?

[senorsquare]

Got one on the way from the Shoppe..@ $223.95 and free shipping with using their special code I couldn't resist..

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

How do we get the code?

Use coupon code NUTNFANCY for free shipping at CS.

[Invective]

Got one on the way from the Shoppe..@ $223.95 and free shipping with using their special code I couldn't resist..

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

How do we get the code?

Use coupon code NUTNFANCY for free shipping at CS.

You can also use KNIFETHURSDAY as well.

[MacLaren]

Got one on the way from the Shoppe..@ $223.95 and free shipping with using their special code I couldn't resist..

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

How do we get the code?

Use coupon code NUTNFANCY for free shipping at CS.

Thank you!

[rodloos]

My K2 was in the mail waiting for me when I got home last night.

First impressions, the handle is thinner than I expected for that size of knife. Very close to the same thickness as my Ti Military, maybe even thinner, but "taller" than the Millie. Feels very solid. It looks like I will need to give it some time to "break in", it opens very smoothly but is *quite* difficult to unlock. After a few hundred open/close cycles I think it eased up some, but I just need to give it more use.

I spent some time whittling with it last night, just a stick of white wood (pine or similar) and a little bit of pecan and oak, filling a bucket with thin shavings. I am definitely impressed with its edge-holding, after a couple of hours it would still shave hair on my legs easily (I don't have much hair left on my arms, too many knives :) ).

[Ankerson]

My K2 was in the mail waiting for me when I got home last night.

First impressions, the handle is thinner than I expected for that size of knife. Very close to the same thickness as my Ti Military, maybe even thinner, but "taller" than the Millie. Feels very solid. It looks like I will need to give it some time to "break in", it opens very smoothly but is *quite* difficult to unlock. After a few hundred open/close cycles I think it eased up some, but I just need to give it more use.

I spent some time whittling with it last night, just a stick of white wood (pine or similar) and a little bit of pecan and oak, filling a bucket with thin shavings. I am definitely impressed with its edge-holding, after a couple of hours it would still shave hair on my legs easily (I don't have much hair left on my arms, too many knives :) ).

Sounds good, thinner spine thickness .136 vs .145 for the Military and .020" vs .025" behind the edge for the Military.

[faridknives]

Farid, the smaller version sounds like a good thing..hoping you keep the blade steel 10V or equivalent..K294?

Spec on the small custom K2 will be released in 2015. thanks
F

[nccole]

[/quote]Any 1st impressions?[/quote]

The rear pillar is a cool piece, and I like Farid's jagged lock bar cut out. The over travel feature is nice and may actually see some use with how long that lock bar is, and how much initial force it takes to get it moving. The Tuff and Domino have one but don't need it, and the Chokwe could have benefited from it imo. I wish the cutout in the lock bar was on the inside to give it a cleaner look personally, but not too big of a deal. I like the new gray hardware Spyderco has been using with Ti handles. The Ti stone wash is pretty aggressive and I like it. Mine is also quite difficult to close right now, so I am working on breaking it in. It sometimes feels like a sticky lock, we will see if that is the case. I love the beveled thumb ramp, no jimping is perfectly fine with me on this one. One odd thing was the omission of a bug logo on the clip. I like how they blended Farid's clip with Spyderco's hour glass clip though. I still am a tip up guy and would have liked the option, but may de-clip this anyway. Another thing I noticed from pictures was the grind lines. Of course the whole FFG bevel has vertical lines but the non beveled area has prominent grind lines perpendicular to beveled area. I don't think I have ever seen a knife like this and am curious as to why.


Below is from BF, I am lazy! One person asked if that was a PM in the pic. Another was concerned about the lack of middle "pillar" between the Ti slabs.
[QUOTE=nccole;14011178]That is a CRUWEAR Mili BTW. I too was a little concerned about the lack of support in the middle of the slabs of Ti. Doesn't really seem to be an issue from handling it. The only use it has seen is kitchen duty so far. I did whack an apple in half just for the fun of it. It didn't fall apart. It has a feel to it that no other knife I own has. I don't know what it is though. Maybe the lack of weight when that massive blade comes out. 6.2 OZ really is light IMO for the size. The FFG really lightens the blade. Maybe I'm used to my Military but this thing feels excessively large, where the Military really doesn't despite people saying it is. I probably won't carry it much honestly, but how can you not want one?[/QUOTE]

[rodloos]

It definitely is large.

When I got home this evening I spent another hour and a half or so whittling with it. Normally when I do that, I hold the stick down inside a 5 gallon bucket to collect the shavings I cut, but the K2 with its large handle is so long, that I would often hit the end of the handle on the inside of the bucket. I had to hold it more *above* the bucket (and consequently more of the shavings landed on the floor instead of in the bucket :)).

I'm still really happy with the edge-holding too. With the additional whittling I did tonight, on both pine and some oak that was really hard, yet it will still shave hairs and cleanly slice receipt-paper. I don't have one of those fancy scanning-electron microscopes :), but looking at the edge with a 20x loupe I couldn't see any chips or damage. Of course I haven't hit any staples, and haven't twisted the blade in any knots, but the oak branch was dried and really hard.

I'm still using the factory edge, I assume it would be a real chore to try to reprofile this steel to a thinner edge.

[TomAiello]

I have one on the way.

I haven't been this excited about a new knife in a couple years.

:)

[chuckd]

Is there anyway we could get a pic of this knife in pocket?

I am thinking I am going to get one of these over a Ti Millie to carry when I get married next year. Perfect size to be awesome, and cut the cake!

[Brock O Lee]

Speaking of in-pocket...

I saw a review yesterday which mentions that the blade detent on that specific sample was very weak. Weak detent + no option to move the pocket clip will make this a no-no for me.

Can someone please comment if the detent is sufficient on theirs?

[The Mastiff]

Can someone please comment if the detent is sufficient on theirs?

Brock, that must be an individual thing, not a design feature. Mine is average to strong. The whole knife except the pivot is tight and new feeling and already beginning to break in nicely. If there was anything that could be described as a problem it would have been hard lock release. That is gone just from use and it is sweet, tight and tough. Lock release was harder than normal but not to the point I considered defective or thought about a return. Obviously some others would view things different and have less tolerance for other than perfection.

I like the way it carries for a largish knife and wouldn't really want one with a steel & wood/brass frame unless it came with a belt pouch. As it is weight wise it poses no problems in pants but I doubt I'd be carrying it down at the pool. :)

Once again I have to say be careful. It can bite even when you think it's dull. Those mini serration effects from all those vanadium carbides begins separating skin with the very slightest cutting movement.

[ABX2011]

The detent on mine is not weak. It's perfect.
The lock is sticky though. I have high expectations with these Taichung Spydies because they've been so good but when I get a knife that is very hard to close I can't be that positive on it. Your average non-knife person would probably not be able to close my sample without two hands. Of course it may break-in.

[faridknives]

The detent on mine is not weak. It's perfect.
The lock is sticky though. I have high expectations with these Taichung Spydies because they've been so good but when I get a knife that is very hard to close I can't be that positive on it. Your average non-knife person would probably not be able to close my sample without two hands. Of course it may break-in.

Hello, when I make the custom version I can either set the lock a little tight or a little on the easy side, it is a simple thing to fix (that is if you wish to change the factory spec) ,

It is up to you if you wish to do this, please ask about warranty side of things, but it is a simple thing, you can simply take the knife apart, take the lock stabilizer out, bend the lock bar just enough, so you have less tension, so it goes across a little less, the way I have done this in the past is to make sure the lock bar only goes across 'just pass the full thickness of the blade + the washers, this works for me. I hope you understand what I mean.
The lock should be a 'solid lockup', it may not be to everyone's liking but it is a perfect lockup but the tension can easily be changed.
take care
F

[darkangel55555]

[quote="faridknives"][quote="ManixFan"][quote="faridknives"]

That is pretty cool! It's like a K2 Mehr.....and a mini-Mehr. Doctor Evil would approve! :D

What are the different blade sizes between the custom and the production? As well as the overall open & closed length? Do you think that the smaller version will ever end up as production?

Also, I am curious and perhaps you might be able to answer this question since you are open to using lesser known alloys in knifemaking. But is there any reason why people aren't using 9v steel for blades?

It looks like it has a lot better edge retention than 3v yet is a lot tougher than 10v. Is there a reason that it isn't being used in knives? It seems to me like a very tough steel with still very great edge retention would be desirable in knife making but I haven't seen it used in any knives at all.......only the characteristics from the CPM data sheets.

Perhaps (likely) I am missing something in not understanding why we don't see this steel in knives? :confused:[/quote][/quote]

Spyderco version is the same size as the custom, same blade length, same closed length.
The small K2 as far as the custom version goes I will release that in 2015, Spyderco version I can not give any info right now.
9V is good as well, K390 is kind of similar with more carbon more moly with the added 1% Tungsten and added 2% Cobalt.
10v is not tougher that 3v, CPM-3v is in the extreme when it comes to toughness, it can be heat-treated to 62RC and it would actually be tougher than most heat-treated steels on the planet (for knife application), CPM-4v is the next best thing after CPM-3v.

You don't often see some of the steels I use because most people just want to make a knife, that's all, I want more than that from my knives, also my experiments don't always work as well as I would like them to, for example the CPM-REX 121 blades I have made although it is a high carbide steel but it was never made for knives, it is a 'Tooling Steel' but I experimented with it and it kind of worked for 'Knife Application' and it kind of didn't but we all have to experiment, live and learn from all our experiments.

CPM-10v on the other hand is one of the ultimate steels for knife application. I hope I have answered all your questions.
F[/quote]

Farid, what're your intended applications and performance characteristics for the D3 K2, and how would it stack up against a 4V equivalent? Or, to bring it back to topic, the 10V used here?

In other news, my REX121 K2 isn't keeping itself 'indefinitely sharp' like how Cliff and Jim have described. Guess my cardboard isn't hard enough - or the steel pipe that it gets dragged across is rolling that edge first.