Spyderco Forums

@Buddafucco I was able to snag one from national knives. Thanks for that alert post.

I love the stonewash clip and blade. One of the things I love about the base model Shaman too. Wish they did this finish on more knives.

I do really like how they match, gives it a custom feel. I'm not too sure about the brown though...might be a dye candidate, have to see it in person.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:28 pm

I do really like how they match, gives it a custom feel. I'm not too sure about the brown though...might be a dye candidate, have to see it in person.

I wasn't sure about the brown either, but it's a lot nicer in person. I just got mine in, and having it in-hand has changed my mind about the brown.

Another shot of the Brown.

The dull brown G10 (similar as on the Nilakka) is not my favourite. I have earth-brown AWT scales coming for the Manix.

I do like the stonewashed blade and clip, like they did on the base model Shaman.

Anyone ever tried media blasting G10? I wonder if I could give these some texture like natural micarta feels without ruining them?

Alright so I take back everything I said about the brown, this is a really nice color in person. It's not what I was expecting from a color called "brown" but it goes really nicely with the stonewashed blade and clip.

Im forever saying brown, yellow, pink and purple are not my favorite.... but I like this one. And the stonewash fits it nicely. Wish the Manix had the stonewash clip treatment to match the blade. But I understand. The Shaman already had a ready supply of stonewash clips, and the Manix would have had to be specially made.

I’ve had some FOMO about this Shaman for the past week or two, and I was really tempted at Sooner State! I already have the 15V Manix and PM2, and the Shaman is NOT $100-$120 better than either of those, so I couldn’t bring myself to finish checkout.

Besides the above, having the Crucarta, orange Rex 45, and S90V burlap also make picking up another over-priced Shaman even more difficult.

attila wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:58 pm

I’ve had some FOMO about this Shaman for the past week or two, and I was really tempted at Sooner State! I already have the 15V Manix and PM2, and the Shaman is NOT $100-$120 better than either of those, so I couldn’t bring myself to finish checkout.

Besides the above, having the Crucarta, orange Rex 45, and S90V burlap also make picking up another over-priced Shaman even more difficult.

Thanks for sharing your opinion and not giving into FOMO. I was actually to purchase one this time.

BAX229 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:14 pm

attila wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:58 pm

I’ve had some FOMO about this Shaman for the past week or two, and I was really tempted at Sooner State! I already have the 15V Manix and PM2, and the Shaman is NOT $100-$120 better than either of those, so I couldn’t bring myself to finish checkout.

Besides the above, having the Crucarta, orange Rex 45, and S90V burlap also make picking up another over-priced Shaman even more difficult.

Thanks for sharing your opinion and not giving into FOMO. I was actually to purchase one this time.

I (luckily) grabbed one. My first Shaman so figured may as well go big on a sprint run. Love the brown, but have to admit I hate how smooth the handles are, especially compared to the other two 15V sprints. Almost dropped it a couple of times cuz it felt like a bar of wet soap lol. Reluctantly ordered a set of RGT Coarse Micarta scales for it already.

Guts wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:43 am

I (luckily) grabbed one. My first Shaman so figured may as well go big on a sprint run. Love the brown, but have to admit I hate how smooth the handles are, especially compared to the other two 15V sprints. Almost dropped it a couple of times cuz it felt like a bar of wet soap lol. Reluctantly ordered a set of RGT Coarse Micarta scales for it already.

Interesting, it’s my first shaman and i love the feel of the handles. They are matte smooth but have a softness to them. No problem with grip for me, but i can see how other would want grippy handles like i imagine the micarta varients are.

I was just looking at mine this morning wondering why they smoothed the whole scale down, why couldn't it still be peel ply texture in the center?

capt.carl wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:49 am

Guts wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:43 am

I (luckily) grabbed one. My first Shaman so figured may as well go big on a sprint run. Love the brown, but have to admit I hate how smooth the handles are, especially compared to the other two 15V sprints. Almost dropped it a couple of times cuz it felt like a bar of wet soap lol. Reluctantly ordered a set of RGT Coarse Micarta scales for it already.

Interesting, it’s my first shaman and i love the feel of the handles. They are matte smooth but have a softness to them. No problem with grip for me, but i can see how other would want grippy handles like i imagine the micarta varients are.

It rains a lot where I live so there's always a good chance I'll be in wet conditions making things slippery, ymmv. I tend to prefer grippy things myself for that reason.

MRoboto wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 05, 2023 2:18 pm

Evil D wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:28 pm

I do really like how they match, gives it a custom feel. I'm not too sure about the brown though...might be a dye candidate, have to see it in person.

I wasn't sure about the brown either, but it's a lot nicer in person. I just got mine in, and having it in-hand has changed my mind about the brown.

I really dig the brown paired with the stonewashed finish. Kudos to Spyderco and BBB on this collab.

Of all my Spyderco knives the Shaman is the only one I have had to replace the scales on. Just way to slick. Have another set of course canvas coming from RTG right now. Wish they came stock with the the peel ply texture. And yes, I've read the all the reasons why.

Agreed with the slick scales, I'm not a fan of the smooth texture, and the new trend of smooth slippery polished G10 handles. The Shaman makes it even worse with it's handle shape. It's great in the choked up position on the choil, but if your hand is in the "normal" use position, the handle is actually very short. I have average hands and my pinky is basically half off the end of the handle in the rearward position. It's like the knife was designed more to use in the choil position than the normal hand position, which is very odd for a big burly folder. It's why so many dislike the handle until they put a set of skinny scales on that allow the hand to use the whole handle.

Also agree that a rounded scale with center peel ply would be much better.

Personally love the factory shaman scales. The ergos of the knife are good enough that if you have a hold on it, you're not going to drop it. Yes I do use mine in wet and even sometimes oily conditions, and with gloves on sometimes. Can't think of any time off the top of my head I've lost my grip and dropped a shaman.

Those Cerberus scales are quite grippy but they don't have the same contouring, and for that reason alone I decided I'm not a huge fan. The material is cool though. I've tried a couple titanium and zirc scales as well... The metonboss ones are very nice but they have a smaller radius on the contouring than the factory scales and they just don't fit my hand as nicely. The flytanium options are top notch. But If you think the G10 is slick, oh man, those are way worse. I'm thinking about sending out my ti flytanium scales to get laser etched/engraved with a pattern for texture.