cobra hood ?
cobra hood ?
I was just checking out spyder knives on e-bay. has anyone seen te new salsa for 2002? it has what is called a cobra hood / a machined flange of steel positioned over the spyder hole. it looks like it would aid in opening or would it just get hung up on things? kind of a neat idea maybe they will use it on other models. also it has what is called a compression lock-how do these work? thanks ken
Hi Ken,
Ya, the cobra hood and the compression lock go together very well. When clipped to my pocket (the wire clip is very strong and holds tighter than the other spyderco standard clips in my opinion) I like the cobra hood because I can either choose to pull the knife out of my pocket so it opens up and locks( because the cobra hood catches on the pocket to open it up), or I can choose to take it out of my pocket so it remains closed. Both ways work just as easy. On another post someone poo poohed the idea that it opens up as you pull it out of the pocket, but if your taking it out of your pocket don't you usually want it to open. I love this feature and don't think it is a flaw.
I used to think that the cobra hood would be lame because it is not an integral part of the blade which would make it maybe seem a little tacky and have the possibility of coming loose. When I first got the knife it was a little loose. I tightened it and have been satisfied. It is very easy to spydie drop, thumb-open, and flick open (because the compression lock allows for the knife to open smoother than any lock back I have).
I personally like the 14mm spydie hole and along with cobra hood makes it very easy to open. I haven't had a problem with the hood getting hung up except on my pocket when opening, and as I said I like that feature.
When I got my salsa some of the hex screws were loose. I would like to see a frn handled, 3", compression lock, hooded folder, kinda with a progrip or tracker/ocelot style blade.
Maybe someone else can explain the compression lock, or search the forum for it.
Can't remember where I got the great photo, but credit not to me.
Edited by - aarenb on 9/30/2002 10:56:54 PM
Edited by - aarenb on 9/30/2002 10:59:31 PM
Ya, the cobra hood and the compression lock go together very well. When clipped to my pocket (the wire clip is very strong and holds tighter than the other spyderco standard clips in my opinion) I like the cobra hood because I can either choose to pull the knife out of my pocket so it opens up and locks( because the cobra hood catches on the pocket to open it up), or I can choose to take it out of my pocket so it remains closed. Both ways work just as easy. On another post someone poo poohed the idea that it opens up as you pull it out of the pocket, but if your taking it out of your pocket don't you usually want it to open. I love this feature and don't think it is a flaw.
I used to think that the cobra hood would be lame because it is not an integral part of the blade which would make it maybe seem a little tacky and have the possibility of coming loose. When I first got the knife it was a little loose. I tightened it and have been satisfied. It is very easy to spydie drop, thumb-open, and flick open (because the compression lock allows for the knife to open smoother than any lock back I have).
I personally like the 14mm spydie hole and along with cobra hood makes it very easy to open. I haven't had a problem with the hood getting hung up except on my pocket when opening, and as I said I like that feature.
When I got my salsa some of the hex screws were loose. I would like to see a frn handled, 3", compression lock, hooded folder, kinda with a progrip or tracker/ocelot style blade.
Maybe someone else can explain the compression lock, or search the forum for it.
Can't remember where I got the great photo, but credit not to me.
Edited by - aarenb on 9/30/2002 10:56:54 PM
Edited by - aarenb on 9/30/2002 10:59:31 PM
I'm one of those that was reluctant to by a Salsa because of the cobra hood. To me Spyderco knives are all about simplicity and elegance, and from the first pictures I saw the cobra hood just looked like an out of place bolted on piece of metal.
But then I tried one.
I've got to say the Ti-Salsa has become one of my favourite small knives, I have it clipped to my pocket as I type. The cobra hood does not get in the way, but it does offer exceptionally fast opening when complimented with the spyder hole. I've not had the hood catch on anything, and I have not had it open unintentionally. In fact the pressure excerted by the compression lock means the Ti-Salsa has a very posiive closing pressure, comparable to a lot of lock backs.
I'm not sure how many other knives I would like to see the cobra hood applied to. A lot of Spyderco's have very elegant lines, amd there is no doubt the cobra hood would break them up.
IMHO the compression lock is one of the best out there, it has the smoothness of the liner locks, but has even more stregnth than a lock back.
It works be placing the locking bar between a recess in the tang and the stop pin.
The only way for a compression lock to fail would be for the stop pin to tear itself through the handle, but as all compression locks come with either solid metal handles or handles with dual steel liners this isn't likely to happen. Spyderco's rating for there MBC lineup is the lock stregnth should be in excess of 200 inch lbs / inch of blade length (most are around 80/90 inch lbs), the compression lock usually exceeds this by quite a bit.
Walk softly, carry a big stick.
But then I tried one.
I've got to say the Ti-Salsa has become one of my favourite small knives, I have it clipped to my pocket as I type. The cobra hood does not get in the way, but it does offer exceptionally fast opening when complimented with the spyder hole. I've not had the hood catch on anything, and I have not had it open unintentionally. In fact the pressure excerted by the compression lock means the Ti-Salsa has a very posiive closing pressure, comparable to a lot of lock backs.
I'm not sure how many other knives I would like to see the cobra hood applied to. A lot of Spyderco's have very elegant lines, amd there is no doubt the cobra hood would break them up.
IMHO the compression lock is one of the best out there, it has the smoothness of the liner locks, but has even more stregnth than a lock back.
It works be placing the locking bar between a recess in the tang and the stop pin.
The only way for a compression lock to fail would be for the stop pin to tear itself through the handle, but as all compression locks come with either solid metal handles or handles with dual steel liners this isn't likely to happen. Spyderco's rating for there MBC lineup is the lock stregnth should be in excess of 200 inch lbs / inch of blade length (most are around 80/90 inch lbs), the compression lock usually exceeds this by quite a bit.
Walk softly, carry a big stick.
