Spyderco Forums

I really enjoy the FRN models and find myself actually carrying them more than any others.

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:10 am

Evil D wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:58 am

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:53 am

Spyderco is definitely the best in the business when it comes to ergonomics; frankly I think many pistol designers would do well to study Spyderco for tips, especially the use of bidirectional or similar patterns for traction on polymer pistol grips.

Funny, I was following a company on Facebook that does laser engraving on all sorts of things and a lot of handgun engraving similar to stippling but in all kinds of cool patterns. I had spoke with them several times about different jobs and they always responded. I got the idea of having a Glock laser engraved with Spyderco's bidirectional texture so I messaged them about it with a pic and they wouldn't even reply. They saw the message but never got back to me about it. I didn't push the issue but it's still an idea I'd like to look into.

Hah, great minds think alike! I suspect they were worried about patent / trademark issues with trying to replicate it.

I do think it would be worth Spyderco looking into licensing their bi-directional pattern to the firearms market. It seems perfect for polymer pistols, in that is high traction but not abrasive / harsh on the skin. It would be an especially good pattern for the front and backstraps of the pistol.

I think it would be an amazing texture for gun grips. I like S&W's recent texture on the Shields but it's a little scratchy if you carry it against your skin, but I think the bidirectional texture would provide the same level of hand grip while being more comfortable to carry.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:22 am

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:10 am

Evil D wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:58 am

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:53 am

Spyderco is definitely the best in the business when it comes to ergonomics; frankly I think many pistol designers would do well to study Spyderco for tips, especially the use of bidirectional or similar patterns for traction on polymer pistol grips.

Funny, I was following a company on Facebook that does laser engraving on all sorts of things and a lot of handgun engraving similar to stippling but in all kinds of cool patterns. I had spoke with them several times about different jobs and they always responded. I got the idea of having a Glock laser engraved with Spyderco's bidirectional texture so I messaged them about it with a pic and they wouldn't even reply. They saw the message but never got back to me about it. I didn't push the issue but it's still an idea I'd like to look into.

Hah, great minds think alike! I suspect they were worried about patent / trademark issues with trying to replicate it.

I do think it would be worth Spyderco looking into licensing their bi-directional pattern to the firearms market. It seems perfect for polymer pistols, in that is high traction but not abrasive / harsh on the skin. It would be an especially good pattern for the front and backstraps of the pistol.

I think it would be an amazing texture for gun grips. I like S&W's recent texture on the Shields but it's a little scratchy if you carry it against your skin, but I think the bidirectional texture would provide the same level of hand grip while being more comfortable to carry.

Most models of pistols seem to be either way too slippery (Glock, CZ's) or go full cheese grater (FN, M&P 2.0). Spyderco's bidirectional would be a nice middle ground.

If Spyderco wanted to try it out, there are 3D Print files for Glock frames.
https://www.yeggi.com/q/glock+17+frame/

Conceivably they could take their Bidirectional FRN pattern, then edit the 3D files to print a Bidirectional Texture Glock frame, and see how it works / bring it to SHOT to see if any of the majors are interested in licensing the texture. If nothing else it would be a cool demo piece for the booth to show off Spydercos superior ergonomic design.

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:59 am

Evil D wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:22 am

mark greenman wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:10 am

Evil D wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:58 am

Funny, I was following a company on Facebook that does laser engraving on all sorts of things and a lot of handgun engraving similar to stippling but in all kinds of cool patterns. I had spoke with them several times about different jobs and they always responded. I got the idea of having a Glock laser engraved with Spyderco's bidirectional texture so I messaged them about it with a pic and they wouldn't even reply. They saw the message but never got back to me about it. I didn't push the issue but it's still an idea I'd like to look into.

Hah, great minds think alike! I suspect they were worried about patent / trademark issues with trying to replicate it.

I do think it would be worth Spyderco looking into licensing their bi-directional pattern to the firearms market. It seems perfect for polymer pistols, in that is high traction but not abrasive / harsh on the skin. It would be an especially good pattern for the front and backstraps of the pistol.

I think it would be an amazing texture for gun grips. I like S&W's recent texture on the Shields but it's a little scratchy if you carry it against your skin, but I think the bidirectional texture would provide the same level of hand grip while being more comfortable to carry.

Most models of pistols seem to be either way too slippery (Glock, CZ's) or go full cheese grater (FN, M&P 2.0). Spyderco's bidirectional would be a nice middle ground.

If Spyderco wanted to try it out, there are 3D Print files for Glock frames.
https://www.yeggi.com/q/glock+17+frame/

Conceivably they could take their Bidirectional FRN pattern, then edit the 3D files to print a Bidirectional Texture Glock frame, and see how it works / bring it to SHOT to see if any of the majors are interested in licensing the texture. If nothing else it would be a cool demo piece for the booth to show off Spydercos superior ergonomic design.

I really think they should talk to Lone Wolf Distributors about it. They already partner to do the Glock Tool Endura, they could do one of their frames if Glock themselves aren't interested. It would be so cool to have a matching grip to go with my Endura.

I personally would like to continue with the production of g10 standard production models. I have one Spyderco knife in FRN, and it is excellent. Though, I'm not attracted to models that have foregone liners altogether as weight savings. I can't tell the difference between 2.5-5.5 oz in my pocket despite working in both an active and office scenario. FRN while being nice and grippy just doesn't inspire the same message of quality that is found in typical golden colorado production knives. What I would like to see is some FRN knives like the endura, police, stretch 2 etc., offer g10 models again. I only recently got involved with Spyderco and I lament missing out on collecting models that I wish the company still offered. Like the native with all steel liners in g10 for instance.

Quite the active thread.

Typically I tend to shy away from knife handles that are more plastic in nature due to the 'feeling' of quality being in question. However, that is not the case with my wide of range of FRN Delica's which feel great and have lot's of practical advantages at a good price point (also own the G10 version with steel liners). I wonder how much the steel liners add to the quality feel.

I do own a Native 5 G10 with liners that has a quality feel to it but carries a fair bit of weight with that. I'm planning to purchase a couple of new Native models over the next little while (birthday, father's day etc. are good excuses, I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this). Looking at a Native in FRN (spy27 version) and a linerless G10. That should complete the set. At that point I will be able to evaluate for my own tastes.

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:03 am

I find the weight thing to be pretty ticky tacky when it comes to buying or not buying a knife. Whether I'm carrying a Dragonfly or a Shaman, I've never once thought "this knife is so light/heavy in my pocket"

I have to agree. The thought of guys who probably have an extra 10+ pounds in their belly being critical of an extra 2 ounces in their pocket is kind of funny to me. :D

BornIn1500 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:18 pm

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:03 am

I find the weight thing to be pretty ticky tacky when it comes to buying or not buying a knife. Whether I'm carrying a Dragonfly or a Shaman, I've never once thought "this knife is so light/heavy in my pocket"

I have to agree. The thought of guys who probably have an extra 10+ pounds in their belly being critical of an extra 2 ounces in their pocket is kind of funny to me. :D

Is it the heavier guys though or the skinny girl jeans ones? :D :D

I only actually notice knife weight in my pocket when I’m wearing really light materials - like my loose linen Bedouin style pants in the summer. The pocket material is too light to support much more than a dragonfly or salt. But in jeans or work pants it doesn’t really matter.

Say what you want but, especially in the Summer when I am wearing lightweight materials, there's a big difference in how comfortable a LW N5 is vs. say, a G10 Manix 2. I'm just glad I have the option and can afford to own both types.

i don't like the df2 clipped to my pocket. it feels like i could lose it so easily there and i'd never know because it's too light to notice. this is why i just carry my pac salt iwb in lighter shorts. it's light enough to not bother me, but big enough to feel and to be really useful if i actually need to cut something.

Quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:20 pm

I personally would like to continue with the production of g10 standard production models. I have one Spyderco knife in FRN, and it is excellent. Though, I'm not attracted to models that have foregone liners altogether as weight savings. I can't tell the difference between 2.5-5.5 oz in my pocket despite working in both an active and office scenario. FRN while being nice and grippy just doesn't inspire the same message of quality that is found in typical golden colorado production knives. What I would like to see is some FRN knives like the endura, police, stretch 2 etc., offer g10 models again. I only recently got involved with Spyderco and I lament missing out on collecting models that I wish the company still offered. Like the native with all steel liners in g10 for instance.

I got extremely lucky years ago, some military surplus store on hollywood boulevard had a G10 Endura in their display case. And while their FRN Endura was labeled $80, the G10 endura was labeled $66...someone either left out the 1 in $166 or simply put the wrong sticker on it. Either way, I snagged it right then and there.

Its a beautiful knife: nice G10 scales, full steel liners (not recessed) and a nice polished steel backspacer that sets off the whole feeling of quality.



Sadly, whether it was due to the increase in price over the FRN models, or that all the designs Spyderco were releasing at the time used the same Folliage Green G10 (Endura, Delica, Barong, Khukri, possibly some others) it wasn't a big seller. And a G10 Endura put itself in competition with the G10 Military, Paramillitary, and Caly 3-3.5 G10s which were also sold at the time. So not a huge surprise it was discontinued.

In terms of weight, theres not much weight savings between the G10 endura and FRN Endura 4:

G10 Endura (G10 + Full Steel Liners + Steel backspacer) : 4.5oz

Endura FRN FFG (FRN Scales, Recessed steel liners, FRN backspacer): 3.4oz

A G10 model using the same recessed liners and a G10 backspacer would likely be about identical in weight. Luckily, a large number of aftermarket G10 scales are available for the Endura, which are quite nice.

Need4Knives wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 16, 2021 12:59 pm

I wonder how much the steel liners add to the quality feel.

I guess this is ultimately another subjective opinion thing, but for me the one main giveaway is how much the scales flex when squeezing the handle. The new Salt 2 for example has a lot of 3D ribbing on the inside of the scales which helps a lot to make them feel more rigid, and they're thicker overall than a Delica handle.



Every time this thread pops up it makes me think about when I was a kid, when plastic really started making it's way into everyday life. I remember it was made out to be a space aged advanced material. It was a pretty big deal. It's funny how we've come full circle and now plastic is "cheap". I wonder if the same people who feel that way only buy stainless handled knives and 1911's? There sure are a lot of "cheap plastic guns" out there surviving literal war situations and going through way harsher climates than your average pocket knife sees (well, much of those same guns are probably accompanied by Spyderco knives).

BornIn1500 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:18 pm

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:03 am

I find the weight thing to be pretty ticky tacky when it comes to buying or not buying a knife. Whether I'm carrying a Dragonfly or a Shaman, I've never once thought "this knife is so light/heavy in my pocket"

I have to agree. The thought of guys who probably have an extra 10+ pounds in their belly being critical of an extra 2 ounces in their pocket is kind of funny to me. :D

Well, I am almost 6.2 and weigh just 165 pounds... if anything, I rather try to GAIN a bit of belly fat...
... and I do like light folders. Not necessarily directly for the weight reduction, but the lighter the cloth/garment of the pocket and the more active one is, the more lighter folders really start to be a better carry, just by less bouncing around and so on.