Spyderco Forums

hovan2yourknives wrote:

chuck_roxas45 wrote:Anyway, as I mentioned in the other planet, edge length to weight ratio is more important to me.

What planet did you visit? It must’ve been an expensive trip :p

Ask spyderedge how we do it. It's just mind projection and our bodies remain where we are.

and here I was caring about the force applied to felt moment arm ratio.

Rays from my eyes incinerate human flesh! :cool:

My viewpoint- I buy knives according to blade length. I don't care that much about handle length as long as it is enough. If there is a little more handle I think that just makes the knife easier to use. And I don't typically use the cutting edge all the way to the pivot, only if I am cutting through something relatively thick such as slicing an apple. I've found that the PM2 has a good blade length for me and plenty of handle for me to use. I used to think that the Tenacious was functionally equivalent to the PM2 but the handle is just a bit short for my hands. I also carry and use the Military and Manix 2 XL even though they have a bit more blade length than I normally need. OTOH even though the blade length of the Delica might be enough for most of my cutting needs, the handle is way too short for me.

There are only two places they fall short for me. 10" chef knives (The size I always use) and pocket multitools (Such as a Leatherman Micra). For everything else, I use Spyderco. 100% satisfied with them for all my single bladed folding knives and fixed blades aside from large chef knives.

Never did get hung up on blade to handle ratio. I'd rather have the handle space my large hands need and the safety aspect Spyderco incorporates into the kick / ricasso area.

I think the metrics are misleading.

A knife with a SpyderEdge has a longer cutting edge than the handle it's contained in, which actually means that all of the other knife makers are very, very far behind! Most other companies can only manage to fit, at best, 1:1 cutting edge to handle length, but Spyderco can fit 24% more blade in!

Edge to overall length is a silly metric. When locked open nobody cares how long the knife is, they just want a good grip and a usable edge. What you should be measuring is the edge to closed length ratio. For knives with a choil this metric will pan out a little better. Not that it matters much.

I don't think minimal length handles are necessarily an indication of good design. There are some styles where the design can be flexible in terms of handle length. And some aren't.

If this mattered, there would be more market for knives that have a blade that is longer than the handle. What was that one weird knife that did that?

Sometimes I do wonder why, with a knife that has a handle big enough to fit your whole hand, why do we need to use up part of the edge for an optional handle when we already have enough handle. Do we have any knife that has a choil built into the handle? We have 50/50 on some and I think we had a 60/40 on one.

I would say the Delica/Endura type blade stop is as far as I'm willing to go. I'm not willing to accept that last 1/4" blade with the sacrifice of risking cutting my fingers.

This metric is interesting, but i'd like to see an imperial to compare the data.

Donut wrote:If this mattered, there would be more market for knives that have a blade that is longer than the handle. What was that one weird knife that did that?

Sometimes I do wonder why, with a knife that has a handle big enough to fit your whole hand, why do we need to use up part of the edge for an optional handle when we already have enough handle. Do we have any knife that has a choil built into the handle? We have 50/50 on some and I think we had a 60/40 on one.

I would say the Delica/Endura type blade stop is as far as I'm willing to go. I'm not willing to accept that last 1/4" blade with the sacrifice of risking cutting my fingers.

I modified this knife for a better blade to handle ratio. It's perfect now. All blade and no handle :D

Cheddarnut wrote:This metric is interesting, but i'd like to see an imperial to compare the data.

Gotcha covered... :)

As an engineer I am bothered by anything that is inefficient but it isn't enough to worry about until it gets to the point of looking wrong. I'm talking about knives like Alcyone or Dragonfly. It is just one more reason I dislike finger choils.

Indoril wrote:Popular Spyderco knives tend to fall short on edge/overall length ratio. That is, they pack less cutting edge in a relatively larger package. Some might say it's worth giving up some cutting edge for improved ergonomics, but I would argue that a good folder design maximizes both!

You're entitled to your opinion. However, given that you feel many of the most popular Spyderco models "fall short" all you've really proved is that your tastes are different from those of most Spyderco enthusiasts. Otherwise, those knives would not sell as well as they do.

O-H M-Y G-A-W-D!!! Ok, that's it. That is THE STRAW that has broken the camel's back. I can't sleep at night and I can hardly breathe right now. This is such an affront to my senses...I am going to sell all my Spydercos right now, for pennies on the dollar at that!!! :rolleyes:

In all seriousness though, OP, if you look for shortcomings in something, you will find them just as you will find positive things if you look for those. If the particular "shortcoming" you describe is important to you, that's great. It is, however, not significant to me nor is it apparently important to many others here. Thanks anyway though. :)

The 3 bottom ones all have forward finger choils, whereas all the non-spydies are full blades that go straight to the handle. Even the Endura has that tang on the bottom.

Chart is rigged, unless the argument is for more Tenacious style blades.

Decades ago, there was a popular saying that went along the lines of little boys worried about measuring their knives in an attempt to self-compensate, while real men just used their knives. It might not have been knives, now that I think about it.

Sounds like the saying needs updated: Little boys worry about coming up with a ratio that just confuses other people, while real men are busy using their Tatankas to open their mail. :D :p

I wonder if you could make a plain edge knife with a cutting edge longer than the handle...while that handle still enclosed the knife

ergonomics and cutting performance seem to be spyderco's top priorities. 'blade length for the handle money' seems rightfully lower on the list.

Lum Chinese: .4391
As noted above, liner lock, not back lock, and no choil.

curlyhairedboy wrote:I wonder if you could make a plain edge knife with a cutting edge longer than the handle...while that handle still enclosed the knife

ergonomics and cutting performance seem to be spyderco's top priorities. 'blade length for the handle money' seems rightfully lower on the list.

Depends how you measure edge length. If you're using the same standard folks use when they're talking about how much "usable" edge a serrated blade has, then it would be fairly easy to do with hawkbills, recurve, reverse S, and kris blades. Possible, but probably more difficult with Persian or other blade style with a lot of belly. If you're talking the way Spyderco measures edge length in it's catalogs, then it's not possible.

Other obvious answer is a double edged blade. Works great in an OTF auto. Otherwise, not so much.

spyderco measures edge length from handle to tip (as the crow flies), right?