Bradley Air impressions

[dbcad]

This knife arrived two days ago. I was a little concerned feeling exactly how light this knife is. Also the forward blade lock disengagement point didn't quite feel right :confused:

However the blade shape and material is part of what I wanted so I figured I'd play with the edge and carry it for a while.

The first evening I had the Air I reprofiled, athough the edge was sharp out of the box, the edge angle for me was a bit conservative. The edge is now somewhere around 30° and a bit more polished.

With the edge set to my preference I carried the Air for the past two days and put my mind to using the Air instead of the Urban. Result: I'm getting spoiled by the lack of weight, and anticipate now anytime I have to cut something :D The different lock release placement is feeling more and more comfortable :)

More and more I look at the Air closely and see how precisely it is made :) I have to compare it to the design of an aircraft, light but strong :D The exemplary quality of the build is so evident now :D

At least for me "light in weight" has brought with it unconscious conotations of less strong, and less well made. The fallabilities of my own flawed perceptions and expectations :) The Bradley Air has proven these preconceptions false :)

The Bradley Air and Seki City Urban are both very well built and worthy of praise, but completely different in character :) They complement each other quite well.

Hopefully someone will be be able to get something from these rambling impressions, and maybe flesh them out further.

Ooops, I forgot to add the the Bradley Air is a very good looking knife with the glass fiber

[spyderedge]

I can just imagine nutnfancy going,

Ohhhh DUDEEEEEEEEE lightweight! Easy to sharpen blade,great POU,
NO JIMPING?!?!

[dbcad]

I am enjoying the Air more and more everytime I pick it up :D It's amazing that the Air effectively weighs as much as the ZDP L'Bug :eek:

I most likely failed to convey my point in the original post :o --->I was initially nervous about my purchasing the Air. For me it felt very new and different having this much solidity in such a lightweight package :eek: The action is so smooth, effortless, and tight and it accepted a very,very sharp edge easily all while being light as a feather :D

For me with my admittedly inferior knife experience the Bradley Air feels like some kind of breakthrough. The lack of weight combined with the obviously superior design, build, and materials has lead me to a bit more understanding and appreciation :D The Bradley Air is completely different from every other knife I own. Day after day I am appreciating those differences more and more.

I enjoy reveling and appreciating what is obvious for other, more experienced folks :) It helps to increase understanding and appreciation.

Apologies for being a bit abstract :o I'll leave with another pic. Enjoy :)

P.S. Did I say it was good looking????

[jackthedog]

Definitely a great knife. I hope you're enjoying it.

I think I may be in the minority but I really think adding a clip to this knife would ruin it. For its size and lightweight form, I think keeping it loose in my pocket is the best way to carry it around.

[dbcad]

I couldn't resist this pic of the edge with a 30° mkicrobevel from the SM UF flats :D Looks like I took the primary bevel down further than I thought :eek:

The more I play with it the more enjoyable this knife becomes :D The trepidation I felt when I first took it out of the the box was completely unjustified :) The more I play/use the Bradley Air, the greater the enjoyment I get from it :D

For me it's a model I didn't start really appreciating until I put it in my hand and used it :D Quite delighted with the "pocket scalpel" now :)

[KardinalSyn]

Nice knife. Wish I could get myself one as well but that won't happen. Hope that it serves you well for many years to come.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

Glad you are enjoying it. I think that it is a great great little knife. It sort of reminds me of a very upscale Kiwi.

[phillipsted]

I'm finding that I reach for the Air almost every single day when I suit up for work. I really enjoy the way it rides in my suit pocket, the great looks, the incredible cutting power, and the solid construction. Gayle is batting a thousand with Spyderco!

TedP

[Pneumothorax]

I just got my Air and now totally get the name. I knew it was light, but had no idea until I took it out of the box. Some serious designing went into making it this light. Great knife. It is now my go to dress knife since wearing a clip on a suit doesnt work for me and my dress Kiwi is pretty heavy.

My second reason for liking the Air is that it is my own personal "memorial" knife. My dad just passed away and I was thinking about getting a knife in his honor. The Cento Memorial came to mind, but that doesnt float my boat. I felt a link, though, from the Centofante Memorial to the Air with the silver twill scales. It just made sense to me to get that as a reminder of my dad. Now when I carry it or see it in my knife case, I think of him. I already told my son that "this knife is in Grandpa's memory, so it is not ever to be sold". My son will eventually get my knives and I wanted him to know that the Air was special.

Thanks.

[BAL]

I need to quit reading this stuff, now I want one.
Thanks guys (sarcasm..well sort of)

[Sht]

If they put a small wire clip on it I will be all over this knife.

[Mick]

Gorgeous lines, top notch F&F, very small, light as a feather, scalpel-like slicing ability - the very defintion of a gentleman's folder. I only wish they would have put a small wire clip on the knife

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

I sold a couple non spydies to make sure that I got an Air before it was ruined by adding a clip. It is nearly perfect as is. My only real complaint is that the forward spot on the liner to unlock the knife is a bit of a waste. It is much easier to use the hole cut out. That being said, I do occasionally use the jimped little section to unlock it.

Overall I think that it is one of the best spydies to have come out in a while.

[MachSchnell]

Totally agree with the above statement. This is by far my favorite little big knife.
Only bad thing is that I have gotten really accustomed to using the wharncliffe blade, and oh how I wish there were more models offered with wharnie blades.

[arty]

How thick is the handle on this model?

[dbcad]

The blade thickness is 2.3 mm, tough to tell if it's a doulble distal because of the decrease in breadth combined with the swedge.

I'm growing to enjoy the forward position for unlocking :) Just took my fingers a little time to get used to it. The cutout for deployment is perfect for what it was designed to do :)

I took the microbevel off before it got pronounced and the Air is now sporting a delightful sub 30 edge :D The Air is a beautiful little slicer that for me should keep it's edge for I long time if confined to lighter tasks. It performs light whittling on dried pine quite well without degradation :)

All of the above opinions are appreciated, and except for minor personal preference issues I agree :D The Air is a super sweet, very classy knife :) Mine will be enjoyed.

Couldn't leave without a flattering pic

[Irelander]

That air is one sweet looking knife. Do you feel that the lack of blade curvature limits its use in anyway?

[bammann45]

I handled a prototype at a show - beautiful. As others have commented, I really wish it would be offered with a sleek little pocket clip like the Des Horn...

[kbuzbee]

Do you feel that the lack of blade curvature limits its use in anyway?

I kinda do. Warnies sure have their fans, and that's fine, but a gentle sweep would have been a better fit for me. Hey, Sal makes something for everyone, eh? It's still a great little knife.

Ken

[buckthorn]

Is anyone concerned that this beautiful little gents knife has a blade that will rust? If it had one of the stain resistant blade steels that Spyderco uses I'd buy one immediately but I'm not eager to have such an attractive object be subject to rusting.