Spyderco Forums

Are we any closer to seeing the Southfork on the street?

I hate to keep pestering yall about this knife, but i have been delaying several other purchases because i thought the southfork could be avaliable soon. Mr blonde's IWA video says late summer, while knifecenter just updated their preorder page to say April. I know you cant give a specific date but if its been pushed to late summer im gonna get a new fishing pole, so an update would be greatly appreciated

I'm thinking this hits the streets in the next 2-3 weeks :)

WS, what makes you say that?

Heard it on the grapevine..could be wrong...

Significent wrote:WS, what makes you say that?

KC had the ETA set as Feb 2012 for a long time and recently changed it to April 2012. I often wonder if the knife shops know more than us in terms of release dates or if it's all just speculation, regardless, last I read from Sal (in a blade forums post) was that it is expected to be an April 2012 release.

Since I've had one on pre-order since it was announced, I hope this is correct. I'm jonesing for the **** thing.

Why does this knife attract you guys? I will tell why I ask this. My local shops have nearly similar blades being sold as kitchen knives. This design does not entice me at all.

Well if it is a kitchen knife, then it's the kitchen knife to end all kitchen knives! To me it just seems to be a highly functional design that will be very adept at just about any task.

One of my favorite places to hike is big south fork National River and Recreation area....think we could get a "big south fork"? :D

KardinalSyn wrote:Why does this knife attract you guys? I will tell why I ask this. My local shops have nearly similar blades being sold as kitchen knives. This design does not entice me at all.

Did you watch the video of Sal talking about it? If you watched the video and you don't get it, probably not for you...

a reasonable question. First i find the SouthFork very astetically pleasing. Second to me this looks like a superb camp knife and butchering knife. something for sliceing oriented tasks. i can find knives with similarly shaped blades, but not in a stainless supersteel. and the handle looks very comfortable as well. i dont think that the southfork would work if you only want to carry one knife. but i like to have tools that do what they were designed to do flawlessly, no compromises. mabey i end up carrying more than i need to but i plan to pair this up with a Charlie May Custom OSK 1 and large chopper blade and have all my outdoor cutting needs covered.

jossta wrote:Did you watch the video of Sal talking about it? If you watched the video and you don't get it, probably not for you...

Indeed. The video just re-enforced for me what I already suspected, a superb knife designed by a great knife maker.
In Sal's words "It's really not a knife for beginners, It's more of an aficionado knife"

jossta wrote:Did you watch the video of Sal talking about it? If you watched the video and you don't get it, probably not for you...

Yes I did and no I do not like the design anymore after that. Yep, it's not for me.

I am rather looking for reasons why everyone likes it. The designer will like it cos it's his design. Sal obviously like it as his vid shows. But what drives you to buy it?

My first thought is if you can't dig this knife your just stupid! My second though however is that everyone is different, wants different things for different reasons and etc, so maybe you're OK after all. I have been looking forward to this one for a long time. I hunt and butcher 8-10 deer per season. I have found that the more stylish appearing a knife is the less practical and comfortable to use. While this knife does not look exactly like I would think for the perfect knife, it's close. Hopefully the makers hand is similar in size to mine.

When doing the number of cuts and different types of cuts in butchering it is easy to appreciate a good knife or dislike a bad one. Edge retention is one of the traits you notice also. It sucks to have to stop and sharpen. So this in S90V is great.

[video=youtube;Gm3Qs7oL3Ok]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm3Qs7oL3Ok[/video]

Certainly everyone has different tastes, and there are some spydies that have never appealed to me personally, and others that I really didn't like at all when I first saw them, but they grew on me :) . While the South Fork is definitely not cheap, it appeals to me because of the S90V steel (which I have not had the opportunity to try) and because of the thin grind, it should be a great slicer that keeps it edge well. I plan to use it, not just leave it in a drawer.

I'll admit my anticipation for it is somewhat influenced by Ankerson's glowing descriptions of Phil Wilson's customs, and I am hoping this collaberation lives up to the design. There is nothing wrong with saying a particular design doesn't appeal to you, that is why Spyderco has so *many* different models!

wsdavies wrote:Well if it is a kitchen knife, then it's the kitchen knife to end all kitchen knives! To me it just seems to be a highly functional design that will be very adept at just about any task.

....that's exaxctly how I see it, too: "highly functional". That design would perform well from camp to kitchen and most everywhere in between. I think you could buy that one and not have to look at another fixed blade for awhile. If that were in my budget, I buy that and never look back. Those of you who get that knife are going to find out real quick that the South Fork might be the most functional fixed blade you own.

KardinalSyn wrote:Yes I did and no I do not like the design anymore after that. Yep, it's not for me.

I am rather looking for reasons why everyone likes it. The designer will like it cos it's his design. Sal obviously like it as his vid shows. But what drives you to buy it?

IMO there are enough fixed blades out there designed to tear apart a tank. Nice to see one in high quality materials with a functional design meant to CUT.

I like it, just not enough to spend $250. Plus, I don't care for the hole in my fixed blades any more than I would want to see thumbs studs in it either.

jossta wrote:IMO there are enough fixed blades out there designed to tear apart a tank. Nice to see one in high quality materials with a functional design meant to CUT.

...Imagine if you were a hunting guide, or ran a fishing camp, or outfitted wilderness canoe trips. That's a tool that would be worth it's weight in gold, IMHO.