Spyderco Forums

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 18, 2022 9:12 am

Hi Spyder & I,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

SaintZvlkx wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:16 pm

I caved and picked up a Swick 6 as I've been waiting for the 5 ever since its announcement & pestered Sal pre-LC200N about an 8cr or similar budget version for pruning tomatoes and other acidic plants. Perrin's desire for retention from his roofing work translates well to pruning and other agricultural jobs albeit for a very different reason- I'm rarely in danger of dropping the knife onto passersby- but due to the nature of the job I often need the use of both hands between each instance of pruning & need to render the pruning knife safe each time I relocate. Folders need to be easily opened and closed with simple hand movements that can be safely performed out of my line of site & without having to shift grips (ruling out backlocks and compression locks) so by far the best folder I've found for the job has been the beautifully designed UKPK which is both easy to operate one-handed & cannot be accidentally closed due to the choil. Fixed blades that require a sheath are huge liability as this can mean drawing and sheathing hundreds of times over the course of a few hours which is a recipe for disaster if you're not paying attention every single time.

In other words I've really been looking forward to the new Swicks- and my initial impressions of the knife are good. I'll be swapping for a 5 the moment they become available as the larger hole is more convenient for my size hands but that one's on me. The sheath I'm less happy about- I purchased a serrated version and the swick consistently removes material from the inside of the sheath on the draw. Comparing the 4 and 6 side-by-side I can see why the new sheath was and is a huge issue in both design and implementation- the the tip of the wharncliffe blade is parallel to the start of the handle which means anything but a perfectly straight, 90 degree draw- which is difficult to perform as the main retention point is the rounded spine- causes the tip to tilt up & the blade to draw at an angle, favoring the bottom of the sheath as the spine of the handle is forced lower due to the retention point. We'll see how the sheath wears in.

vivi wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:25 am

bump.

Spyder & I wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 13, 2022 6:07 pm

Ditto on boltaron shavings when drawing the blade, especially at first. After a few hundred sheathings the fit seems to have settled, though I still get bits on rare occasion. Clicking it back in firmly with a slight twist gives best retention, and it appears to be impossible to shake it out.