Spyderco Forums

I've been carrying my S30V Native for the past week. I had to attend a formal occasion Friday night so I slipped my Root Beer Native in my pocket. Got to playing with the Root Beer Native and found out the Boye dent is extremely off center and it's hard to unlock the blade unless your finger is pressing in just the right "sweet spot". That says a lot about the quality of the "cheap" FRN version I'd been EDCing all week. At less than half the price of the limited collector's edition, it was done right. The Boye dent is perfectly centered when the lock is pushed in.

The FRN Native is a brute pocketknife. Lots of bang for the buck. Also, I think this model finally solved the dreaded clip turning problem that has befallen the barrel bolt models for years. I've bent the clip on this Native almost totally backwards but have never noticed an attempt to turn in the clip well. Mighty well done.

sal wrote:Thanx I.V.

Now, what can we do to make it better?

sal

BETTER?! Ha! Can't be done!
Sal, the Native is my all-time, #1 favorite Spyderco design. Actually, it was my very first Spyderco purchase. I love everything about the Native, and honestly can't think of anything that could be done to improve it.

Mine is in 440V, which performs nicely. It's small, lightweight, and has good strength for it's size. The handle is comfortable, and offers plenty of purchase. Mine is serrated, and cuts like a demon.

If you ask me, the Native is Spyderco's best knife design ever, bar none. If any of you haven't tried it, you really owe it to yourselves to scoop one up!

Sal,
the only thing I can think of to improve the Native II, is to have the FRN version with a half serrated blade like on the stainless version.

Marco

Several years ago when I needed a "working knife" (or, a knife I needed for work), the Native CE (440V) was my choice. It's always right there in my pocket, and easily handles all of the daily cutting chores that I throw at it. Probably one of my most valued tools.

Would you guys and gals prefer to see full G10 scales or just inlays in the Frn to make it less expensive?

full G10 =P

if you want a budget knife then take the FRN one or a byrd =P

I have the Native in S30V (my first Spyderco Purchase) - all knives can be improved but to add G10 scales would increase the cost. I bought the Native because of the cost it was - maybe I wouldn't have got into Spydercos if the cost had been higher. I also owned the Native III for a while and I liked it better ergonomically than my original Native - I didn't keep it because of other purchases and because I will never get rid of my first Spyderco. If you pressed me for improvements I would say this:

Give the Native III a flat ground blade with S30V steel and the same handle - but then again it would no longer be a Native would it.

sal wrote:Now, what can we do to make it better? sal

Change the traction grooves on the spine to fine ones, like those on the choil of the Stretch (but not like the ones on the thumb ramp of the UK Pen).

Add traction grooves to the choil, again like those on the choil of the Stretch.

Increase the diameter of thumb hole by 1mm, keep the center at same location.

Eliminate the swedge grind.

Eliminate the Boye dent.

The Deacon wrote:Change the traction grooves on the spine to fine ones, like those on the choil of the Stretch (but not like the ones on the thumb ramp of the UK Pen).

Add traction grooves to the choil, again like those on the choil of the Stretch.

Increase the diameter of thumb hole by 1mm, keep the center at same location.

Eliminate the swedge grind.

Eliminate the Boye dent.

Exactly!!!

God bless ya Paul!

hey now... keep the dent right where it is :)

the one thing most seem to agree on the the elimination of the swedge, lets start with that :rolleyes:

WHOA!! I like the swedge, keep it right where it's at!
And the Boye Detent needs to stay, too!

Sal, I wouldn't mess with perfection.

I say keep the swedge too...

what's wrong with the swedge?

I think you should keep the swedge and add some nested liners up at the joint end of the handle for added strength. I'm more for the nested liners on the Native III though than I am on the Native I. Maybe do nested liners and a compression lock. I'd love to see an FRN compression lock knife.

After owning my Native III for a bit, here is my $0.02 CDN. I don't mind the FRN, though I haven't put it thru tough times. I personally prefer an adjustable pivot. That doesn't mean I won't buy one, it's just a preference :) This might mean nested/partially nested liners/bronze washers. Perhaps a slightly longer blade - perhaps to 3 1/2 inches? I think 4 inches would make it almost too big, a la Endura - I've found in my day to day stuff, my Camillus Heat does raise a few eyebrows (3.65 in. blade), and the Endura definitely does, but no one seems to pay too much attention to my Delica/Native or other folders in that approximate size range. Mind you, I'm not using the larger blades that much with a lot of people around me anyway. The people on my test team just ask when they need a blade and will use whatever I give them. They are used to my knives to the point where the only comment they make will be toward how sharp they are. As much as I would like to see G-10, it might make it more expensive, as mentioned previously. I feel it's at a pretty good price point currently (CDN dollars), all things considered. You get a reliable, super steel knife at an affordable price - it just doesn't get any better than that :D Because of it's weight, it's very easy to carry around, so I wouldn't probably mind if it was a tad heavier, but not so much that I would notice it. It fills my hand reallly well - slightly larger blade would mean slightly larger handle which would mean an even nicer feel :D For instance, today, I have my Camillus Heat and Native III in my left Cargo pants pocket and my FRN Endura in my right. Hardly know they are there during a normal walk.

- gord

i got a native3 last week and it has now become my edc i love the ergos on the handle
my ideas for updating the native would be
Compression lock
same grip and swedge as native3 including the wire clip
make it s30v or zdp189
enlarge the hole a little (13 or 14mm)
enlarge the choil a little to expose the lower edge of the hole

but i still love my native 3 the way it is

One of my favorite things about my Native is that it doesn't have the pronounced hump above the hole on the back of the blade. I like the fact that the spine of the blade is flat, the ergos feel better to me.

G10 and screws. I perfer the look and feel over FRN and screws look cooler than rivets. I'd be happy with another limited run. I missed the first one.

I have a Native (440V) and though I admit there is a great knife under many aspects, there are a few things I'd like to see at an updated model: first, a full flat grind blade, without swedge. Than, a modified lock (pushed a bit forward, like there was at the Snap-It, for instance); the handles, where the middle finger comes, to be rounded (somehow like the Calypso jr.). Some traction ridges at the butt are in order too. A wire clip. And finally - you're gonna laugh - a different texture at the FRN handles: the same bidirectional volcano pattern but with bigger cells (when I saw them in the pic they reminded me of a turkey tail) LOL. and thumbpads.
They say a picture worth a thousand words, so I added a couple for your convenience. Thanks for watching.

wow -- great improvements, dialex!

i also like the deacon's call for smaller sized texturing/traction grooves on the spine, as well as some on the choil.

one of the very first things i thought when i acquired and started using the native was WOW -- if only this knife were a little bit larger!

(although... there IS the manix...)

the swedge is good if the blade is hollow-ground.

maybe screws instead of pins?

a tip down carry option would be VERY much appreciated.

just a couple ideas from someone who uses a native pretty often...