Bodacious Discussion

[Wartstein]

I do believe a big reason people switch out those beautiful contoured scales is not just the fault of the smoothness. It is the contouring similar to the Kapara in combination with the compression lock. When you pinch grip to close, if you look at your fingers they can end up north or south of the contouring and the pinch can sometimes push the knife out of your grip. I just don't think contouring works best with the compression lock. If the Shaman and Kapara were backlocks, I don't think you would see as many complaints about dropping them.

....

Could only handle a Shaman, but owned a Kapara and I think you are onto something.

I don´t think a Shaman or Kapara would be technically possible in the exact current overall shape with a backlock (the blades would probably not fit into the handles "tallness-wise" with a lockbar).

But a linerlock lock would solve the (potential) "issue" too (and the overall knife shapes could remain the same):
With the way people normally operate linerlocks the knife sits more secure in hand as with the pinch grip comp.lock method, and the fingers are still completely protected due to the choil (at least with the Shaman). Activating the linerlock inevitably means also putting the thumb (or indexfinger) in a place where it has to get hit by the choil and not the edge first and by that protects all the other fingers too..

So with a linerlock Shaman you´d end up with knife sitting more secure in hand plus the "finger safety" some seem to desire (plus better ergos for me personally).

But then I know I am outlier in preferring linerlocks over comp.locks and in wishing for a linerlock Shaman or Caribbean...

[JSumm]

To be clear, I'm not suggesting changing the current models. People love them and so do I. I just think the complaint we here often about those two have more to do with the contouring and CL. Any other lock with contouring may not have as much of an issue. Hopefully just food for thought. I think the Bodacious will not have the same complaints even with the smooth G10. It was a pleasure to operate when I had the chance

[JSumm]

The Bodacious is an improvement, but again smooth G10 handle, no thanks. 99% of users never use their folder enough to develop hot spots, so grip/retention is a huge factor (or it should be). Anyone using a knife daily so much to get hot spots on peel ply, would be better served using a fixed blade. Smooth G10 works on fixed blades because the handle can be contoured and shaped for retention, a folder is much more limited since the handle has to stay fairly thin/flat.

I like contouring. I think it looks and feels great and adds something extra to the design, but in reality you are right. A folder spends most of its time in the pocket, and flat scales tend to take up less space and hide away better. I've noticed other designs that have just a small bit of contouring. Maybe just a smidge is all that is needed in a folder if any. And maybe just heavy chamfering of the edges is ideal.

[Mushroom]

In my experience, I’ve never noticed a lack of grip while closing the Shaman due to the scales. (Or Kapara, for that matter) I find it to be almost second nature to hold the knife securely in hand while closing it. (Equally as securely as a liner lock) I can do it with a full grip on the handle too. Even with contoured (crowned) scales, like the Kapara has, I can close the knife with a, full, secure grip. The “pinch grip” that is often mentioned as a way to operate the compression lock is, fortunately, just one of the many ways to close a compression lock.

Also, even though the edges of the Shaman scales have a round fillet (contoured edges), they’re still considered to be flat scales. That’s not a bad thing though and from what I can tell, the Shaman’s scales are one of the more admired characteristics of the knife. The smooth scales don't bother me but I would have loved to see the Bodacious keep the same edge contouring as the Shaman. Still excited to try it, none the less.

[Ferruginous]

Any chance at some insider information on when these will be released? I've never been so excited about a new release...

Edited to add:

One of the reasons I'm so excited is that I've wanted a large, fully serrated folder for a while but I wasn't interested in a Military or anything with a choil because I wanted the teeth to start where my hand ends. Can't wait to try a serrated Bodacious.

[sal]

Some scale issues have delayed delivery.

sal

[Ferruginous]

Some scale issues have delayed delivery.

sal

Thank you so much for sharing, I'll try to find something else to occupy my thoughts for a while.

[riclaw]

Some scale issues have delayed delivery.

sal

As sad as that makes me, at least I'll have time to recover from Black Friday spending.

[Toddm]

In my experience, I’ve never noticed a lack of grip while closing the Shaman due to the scales. (Or Kapara, for that matter) I find it to be almost second nature to hold the knife securely in hand while closing it. (Equally as securely as a liner lock) I can do it with a full grip on the handle too. Even with contoured (crowned) scales, like the Kapara has, I can close the knife with a, full, secure grip. The “pinch grip” that is often mentioned as a way to operate the compression lock is, fortunately, just one of the many ways to close a compression lock.

I think you're onto something here, it could simply be that knives like the Kapara and Shaman are not conductive to using the pinch grip while closing. I've used that method to close PM2's for many years (and never had an issue dropping them etc.) so that's muscle memory when I close a compression lock knife now. However the PM2 is a much lighter knife, with grippy peel ply scales that are not heavily rounded near the lock. Never really had an issue doing so with the Kapara, but the Shaman is kind of a perfect storm against the pinch grip. First you're pinching in an area of smooth and slippery highly contoured scales. Second the blade is quite heavy throwing off the balance and if you swing it closed hard it has more momentum than most spyderco knives, and third the "nub" at the bottom of the finger choil when closing knocks the index finger used on the compression lock off and while it probably does not provide much grip, you loose pinching force when the index finger is knocked off the lock.

Probably best to just avoid the pinch grip on the Shaman.

[TimButterfield]

I don't use quite the normal pinch grip to close my Shaman either due to the reasons mentioned. My grip to close is a modification of that, a spread out pinch grip. (I'm right handed.) I put my index finger on the lock, but hold the handle almost normally, thumb on the pivot with the other fingers spread across the handle. I then push with the index finger to release the lock and swing the blade closed. Sometimes the nub will touch the index finger as it closes, but I still complete closing of the blade using my thumb. It looks kind of like this:

[Toddm]

Yeah that definitely feels more secure esp. if you can leverage off the clip. With my luck I'd get a finger just a bit too far inward and shave some off :) It seems like with the Shaman the safer option might be similar to what I've seen left handed folks do with the compression lock. Deactivate the lock with the thumb while having a full grip on the knife, so the blade drops and the choil contacts the index finger still wrapped around the handle, and then shift the grip to use the thumb to close the blade the rest of the way. Spyderco actually has a video that talks about this method with the inventor of the compression lock. Normally I wouldn't use that method but the choil on the Shaman is so huge there's really no danger of having blade contact.

[TimButterfield]

The most secure method I have tried with closing the Shaman is two handed. It is to use a normal pinch grip to release the lock with one hand while pinching the end of the blade with the other to close it. The second grip on the blade seems to make the pinch grip work better with the contoured handle.

[derangedhermit]

Is the Bodacious opening hole diameter known? The Shaman's is given as 14.2mm on the wiki, but is it known if it is the same?

[Wartstein]

Is the Bodacious opening hole diameter known? The Shaman's is given as 14.2mm on the wiki, but is it known if it is the same?

Bodacious is mentioned in the Wiki too already, but (as to be expected) no hole diameter yet... https://www.spydiewiki.com/index.php?ti ... _Bodacious

[WilliamMunny]

For what it’s worth this is the National Western Stock Show. Spyderco posted it on Facebook, wonder if they will show or sell the Bodacious there.

[Mushroom]

For what it’s worth this is the National Western Stock Show. Spyderco posted it on Facebook, wonder if they will show or sell the Bodacious there.


IMG_5446.jpeg

I would really love to know more about the “special engraved knives available exclusively during the NWSS!”

[Manixguy@1994]

I don't use quite the normal pinch grip to close my Shaman either due to the reasons mentioned. My grip to close is a modification of that, a spread out pinch grip. (I'm right handed.) I put my index finger on the lock, but hold the handle almost normally, thumb on the pivot with the other fingers spread across the handle. I then push with the index finger to release the lock and swing the blade closed. Sometimes the nub will touch the index finger as it closes, but I still complete closing of the blade using my thumb. It looks kind of like this:

I use similar method left handed with RGT skinny scales using my thumb . I can easily close one handed . Fingers are clear for the nice blade drop . Dan

[Ferruginous]

For what it’s worth this is the National Western Stock Show. Spyderco posted it on Facebook, wonder if they will show or sell the Bodacious there.


IMG_5446.jpeg

Any update on this?

If they were made available at the show we could assume they'd be making their way to dealers soon.

[WilliamMunny]

An eBay seller is pre selling the Bodacious. Claims they should get their allotment first quarter 2024.

No idea how accurate but it’s something.