Spyderco: The Undisputed King Of Small Blades

xceptnl · #61

bh49 wrote:Brian,
It is great to see your appreciation to Native, but I never thought about Natives as LBK.

Back to the topic. Without of doubts during 30 years history of Spyderco, the company produced many great LBK, unfortunately all of my favorites are discontinued:
Kopa
Dodo
Jester
Lava
MeerKat

Many more, which were mentioned in this thread are gone from line-up as well. Out of current production of LBK closest to my liking will be Dragonfly, but as long as I have my Kopas I am not likely will buy one, unless I decide to make ZDP run :)

Oddly enough, Spyderco shows the Lil Matriarch on the LBK application of their online catalog. This seems strange to me as it's measurements are similar to the Native and if the Lil Matriarch fits this category, why not the Delica?

ChrisinHove · #62

In the UK the Dragonfly g10 is twice the price of the Cat. Is it twice as good, or is 440c half as good as VG10?

xceptnl · #63

ChrisinHove wrote:In the UK the Dragonfly g10 is twice the price of the Cat. Is it twice as good, or is 440c half as good as VG10?

Though I agree the Dragonfly is better than the Cat (IMO) and that VG-10 is better than 440C (IMO), I think the price difference you are seeing is the product of the country of origin. Japan vs. Taiwan

NoFair · #64

C22 CF and Techno are my favorites. Very fond of the Cricket as well.

Jazz · #65

I can't believe the capability of the Manbug. Put a wee lanyard on it and it's way bigger, more secure in hand, and opens easier. Strong little stout blade. I'm currently loving the ZDP as my EDC, and I have largish hands. Sal is a master designer of the little guys. They seem way bigger than they are. The Dragonfly is another top notch LBK.

Ned · #66

Jazz wrote:I can't believe the capability of the Manbug. Put a wee lanyard on it and it's way bigger, more secure in hand, and opens easier. Strong little stout blade. I'm currently loving the ZDP as my EDC, and I have largish hands. Sal is a master designer of the little guys. They seem way bigger than they are. The Dragonfly is another top notch LBK.

Right there with ya Jazz, ZDP Manbug has been my constant companion since I got it about a year and a half ago.

JD Spydo · #67

xceptnl wrote:Oddly enough, Spyderco shows the Lil Matriarch on the LBK application of their online catalog. This seems strange to me as it's measurements are similar to the Native and if the Lil Matriarch fits this category, why not the Delica?

It's interesting in a way because when I started this thread I really never thought it through a great deal. But there are also a lot of "borderline" sized blades on the main line up like the Delica, and Native. But there are a lot of great ones that have long been discontinued. I'm sort of surprised that no one yet mentioned the SALSA model. That titanium version was truly one of my favorite small Spyderco blades ever. It was also part of the ATS-34 era of knives that produced what now is a collector's haven.

Then you had a group of small/wide blades that really garnered a lot of interest like the Lil Temperance both leaf and rhino horn versions. That was one of the few of the wide blades I liked so well that I EDCed one for a while. Most of the time the wide blades would truly get in my way which is why I like many of Spyderco's more narrow blades like the Ayoob, JD Smith. Now in the small narrow blade category I will always love that Burgundy ZDP-189 Jess Horn because I do indeed deem it to be in the small blade category.

But I hope this thread renews interest in the SPUR, Dyad Jr. and the Jess Horn models.

texashawk50 · #68

Techno on the way. My two dragonflies are cute, but big brother I believe will be awesome

farnorthdan · #69

Jazz wrote:I can't believe the capability of the Manbug. Put a wee lanyard on it and it's way bigger, more secure in hand, and opens easier. Strong little stout blade. I'm currently loving the ZDP as my EDC, and I have largish hands. Sal is a master designer of the little guys. They seem way bigger than they are. The Dragonfly is another top notch LBK.

Couldn't agree more, I picked up the MB is super blue just to collect but ended up trying it out just for fun and it hasn't left my pocket since its arrival, I love the thing so much I actually picked up a second one just in case I loose the first :D . The size is perfect for all the little stuff which ironically enough is a majority of what I use a knife for in the first place.

JD Spydo · #70

farnorthdan wrote:Couldn't agree more, I picked up the MB is super blue just to collect but ended up trying it out just for fun and it hasn't left my pocket since its arrival, I love the thing so much I actually picked up a second one just in case I loose the first :D . The size is perfect for all the little stuff which ironically enough is a majority of what I use a knife for in the first place.

Who else other than Spyderco does small bladed knives with superior quality blade steels? Not to mention that they are also great and functional designs as well. Oh would I like to see a DODO model in one of the supersteels.

Just look at the variety of the KOPA and KIWI models alone. Actually I don't even think any other commercial knife company comes close to Spyderco's small blade selection of past and present small bladed super designs.

Tdog · #71

JD Spydo wrote:Who else other than Spyderco does small bladed knives with superior quality blade steels? Not to mention that they are also great and functional designs as well. Oh would I like to see a DODO model in one of the supersteels.

Just look at the variety of the KOPA and KIWI models alone. Actually I don't even think any other commercial knife company comes close to Spyderco's small blade selection of past and present small bladed super designs.

Reminds me of the Carly Simon song, nobody. :spyder:

JD Spydo · #72

Tdog wrote:Reminds me of the Carly Simon song, nobody. :spyder:

Actually Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Tops fame are rockers that really are knife afficionados. I've heard that Billy Gibbons has one of the largest collections of customs in the country. Steve Tyler I hear is really into tacticals. There are other celebrites that are knife lovers but they are few and far between.

I also heard a rumor that one of the original band members of KISS was an avid knife collector as well.

Another great thing about Spyderco's small blades is that many of the models make great collector pieces because there are so many variants of many of the small models. I had a friend who had all the SALSA models and it was one impressive collection. Not to mention what all the KOPA and KIWI models. Even the ladybug and jester models are well loved.

eagletalon · #73

Love to see the day when I can buy the MeerKat again. Passed on the last color, just couldn't live with burgundy. Love to see brown, green, red, or orange or black/white/grey camo! Love all my "little ones". Waiting on my Dragonfly H-1 Spyderedge to arrive, hopefully in a few weeks. One my all time favorite Spyderco is the Manbug. Not too small. Fits prefect in my pockets with my keys. It's the right size from opening boxes to cutting 15LB test line wrapped around the boat propeller. And it doesn't feel cheap in my hands like some other pocket knifes.

Also been impressed with the "tiny" ones; grasshopper, honeybee, and the bug.

JD Spydo · #74

eagletalon wrote:Love to see the day when I can buy the MeerKat again. Passed on the last color, just couldn't live with burgundy. Love to see brown, green, red, or orange or black/white/grey camo! Love all my "little ones". Waiting on my Dragonfly H-1 Spyderedge to arrive, hopefully in a few weeks. One my all time favorite Spyderco is the Manbug. Not too small. Fits prefect in my pockets with my keys. It's the right size from opening boxes to cutting 15LB test line wrapped around the boat propeller. And it doesn't feel cheap in my hands like some other pocket knifes.

I tend to agree with you that the MEERKAT would be an excellent SPRINT Run. However I do wish that they would make it in Golden Colorado USA Earth again like the original model was. That Meerkat in full SE would be a nice small Spyderedged blade to be sure. The only other small blade I would like to see in SE again would be the DODO model. The Meerkat is probably in the top 5 of discontinued Spyders that were being highly sought after the model was discontinued. In other words it really wasn't appreciated until you couldn't order it anymore.

Buendia518 · #75

JD Spydo wrote:To me the Jester, Ladybug, Manbug are all what I call either micro blades or tiny blades and they are nothing more to me than novelties. To me something that small I have very little use for and would probably never use anything smaller than a C-39 Dyad Jr. of which I did carry one of those from time to time for a while.

Hey JD, I know it's only personal preference but I get lots of mileage from my 'micro' knives. Here are five tiny knives sporting five different handle materials and six unique two inch blades.

I think a folding knife with a three inch blade is medium sized, but I know where you're coming from. Carrying an Endura makes one appreciate the slimness of a Delica, but I think Spyderco excels with knives that are even smaller...

JD Spydo wrote: One of the super small blades I haven't mentioned yet that is probably got the most collector appeal as well as an extremely functional gem is the Micarta C-39 Dyad Jr. They didn't make many of those and for those who are fortunate enough to own one you know what I'm speaking of.

Thank you JD for your long-time touting of the Dyad models! I'm lucky enough to own a Micarta Dyad Jr. and it's hard to explain how well it all comes together. The FRN dyads would be great to throw in your pocket but the Micarta version feels wildly better in use because of the deep seated blades (and perfect curves). It also looks better for the same reason.

And in good fun, if another company can be considered the 'duke' of small blades it might be Case or Victorinox. I don't think any of Spydercos more direct competition comes close.

Doc Dan · #76

I love my DF G10 and it never leaves my pocket, unless I replace it with the Manbug G10. I will carry one of these with me even when I carry a larger knife. These two can't be beat.
The only thing I wish Spyderco would do is bring out a 2.4" version of the Jester G10 or the Manbug G10. I know I am weird but this would make them truly the king of the hill for EDC.

Jazz · #77

JD Spydo · #78

Buendia518 wrote:Hey JD, I know it's only personal preference but I get lots of mileage from my 'micro' knives. Here are five tiny knives sporting five different handle materials and six unique two inch blades.

Thank you JD for your long-time touting of the Dyad models! I'm lucky enough to own a Micarta Dyad Jr. and it's hard to explain how well it all comes together. The FRN dyads would be great to throw in your pocket but the Micarta version feels wildly better in use because of the deep seated blades (and perfect curves). It also looks better for the same reason.

Hey please don't misunderstand my position concerning the micro blades i.e. The Ladybug, Jester, Manbug ect>> I never once said that they were not good quality items so please don't assume that I meant that at all. Those micro sized Spyders I'm sure serve a lot of people very well. It's just that I personally have little or no use for them. My job has a lot of roughhouse type cutting jobs and about the smallest thing I use on a daily basis would probably be my full Spyderedged Native model 440V.

But if those micro blades serve your needs or anyone elses then more power to you. For their size and as many people that like them it only enforces my point that Spyderco is indeed the KING OF SMALL BLADES. Even the Cricket I own has only seen use a couple of times because when I need a knife I need one usually with a little bit of muscle and a blade with some spine on it. Which is why the Ayoob and C-46 Lum are 2 of my user favorites when doing rough work.

I'm surprised that the Micarta C-39 Dyad Jr. didn't become a constant offering like the Police, Harpy and Native have become. The Micarta small Dyad is a super piece of workmanship and is a blade just about anyone could use on a daily basis. If I were constricted to only being able to carry small blades I would carry a Micarta Dyad Jr and a Dodo most of the time.

Buendia518 · #79

JD Spydo wrote:Hey please don't misunderstand my position concerning the micro blades i.e. The Ladybug, Jester, Manbug ect>>.

No misunderstanding, just poor wording on my part. I wasn't trying to correct you, just share my favorites. :)

JD Spydo wrote:I'm surprised that the Micarta C-39 Dyad Jr. didn't become a constant offering like the Police, Harpy and Native have become. The Micarta small Dyad is a super piece of workmanship and is a blade just about anyone could use on a daily basis. If I were constricted to only being able to carry small blades I would carry a Micarta Dyad Jr and a Dodo most of the time.

When I got into a little bit of a dyad craze recently I read up and somewhere Sal talked about a legal problem with the lock, I believe someone else infringed on their patent and made a very cheap knife with the same double back lock. I'm not sure about that, though. I think that hurt the micarta dyad sales.

It's a smooth design and I really hope they consider making a grey g-10 version to complement the large Dyad sprint. I'm not sure how the first sprint has sold, though.

Invective · #80

This has been my setup for the past two days, and will be for today as well!

I'm not sure what the rules are for knives in the happiest place on earth so I figured I would go with a discreet approach.

The CoPilot clips perfectly into my wallet and is super thin so the wallet sits maybe a few mm wider than usual in my pocket but other than that it is all but unnoticeable. I also don't have to worry about catching the clip onto anything or it coming loose on a ride which is a plus as well!

Sorry for the crap picture, the hotel room has pretty bad lighting.