Spyderco Forums

I just picked up a Native 5, and I love it. I started looking back at the past models, and I think that the grind on the original Native was beautiful. However, I don't really see much commentary on the original native. Was it not very popular or did I just miss the boat on this?

I think the Native 5 is overall much better looking than the other Natives that came before it. Just my opinion.

It was very popular. They made a Native 2, 3, 4 and finally a 5 before the original finally got cut. It was in the catalog along side the offspring so that says something. I have heard many say that the original had better ergos and I can see it too. I just never liked the giant swedge on the original and thought it made it look to weapony. I dont care for much extra grinding in general though and think that a clean ffg looks the best. Except for having squared off edges I find the Native5 to be better in every way.

bearfacedkiller wrote:I have heard many say that the original had better ergos and I can see it too.

It all depends, doesn't it. I always wanted a Native, but when I went to buy one, it just didn't fit my hand (so I bought a Starmate instead :spyder: ). The Native 5 fits my hand very nicely and the SE version is one of my "go to" knives for around the house.

I think it is the square edges vs the rounded edges mostlly.

I believe that Native5 is much better (blade, ergos, lock, look, clip) and more popular than Native ever was.

I never cottoned to the original Native. In fact, I never liked any of them. However, the Native 5 is a good looking knife. I much prefer the FFG, too.

I consider the Native 3 with the VG10 stainless steel and specially made FRN handle to be the best Native ever and I wish that one was still in production or would be remade.

Thanks everyone!

Cogito wrote:I just picked up a Native 5, and I love it. I started looking back at the past models, and I think that the grind on the original Native was beautiful. However, I don't really see much commentary on the original native. Was it not very popular or did I just miss the boat on this?

I suppose it depends on how you define "popular". However, the original version stayed in the lineup for about 14 years, spawned an all stainless version that lasted nearly 10, a second FRN version with an orthopedic handle that lasted about 7, a CF version that was never intended to stay in the lineup, but rather as a stalking horse for the current Natiive 5, and finally the Native 5. Personally, I'd call that one of Spyderco's more successful designs.

I didn't care for the grind on the original, and wish they'd left Native 5's the spine flat, like it was on the 2009 Forum Native. Beyond that, I do wish they'd figured out a way to make the Spyderhole fully accessible when the knife is closed, even if it meant incorporating a slight "Chaparral style" hump.

Cogito, the best and I mean THE BEST website, aside from the main Spyderco website, that has information and descriptions of the Spyderco Native and their history, is this:

http://paulberetta.com/

The man who made this website, this Paul Beretta, is, in my honest opinion, one of the most intelligent, cool, and clever people on the Earth. Go to the left side of the page and click on "Native". Then scroll down and see one of my favorites, that I was not able to get because it was a rare one: The Native Forum knife, with the blue FRN handle. That I believe is the orthopedic handle. That and the variations of it are my all-time favorite, though all Natives are excellent.

That blue handle forum Native is so hard to find, that I would buy a brand new Endura and Pacific Salt, and trade it to someone who was willing to trade me for them, for one of those. The quality-control on that and on the current Native is superb. Check it out with a magnifying glass and look at the edge grinds and blade lines and handle structure and everything.

The original native to me is not as comfortable. The jimping on the top is sharp and the choil on the bottom is smaller and does not fit my finger well.

The native 5 however is awesome. Fits me perfectly.

The original Native was the knife that "sold" me on Spyderco. It is well used and still a favorite.

This thread got me wondering if anyone had a photo of all the variations lined up together, and I found this in a quick search:
//forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=65905

^ Has some pretty nice photos in it.



I only have the N4 CF, and a few N5's. But occasionally get curious about the old swedge models...

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:I consider the Native 3 with the VG10 stainless steel and specially made FRN handle to be the best Native ever and I wish that one was still in production or would be remade.

I agree with this 200%! I also preferred the wire clip. I just think the Native III had more personality overall. It was more quirky, but in a good way.

Don't get me wrong - the N5 is definitely more refined in every way, but the only thing I personally prefer about it over the III is the lock.

I have the original pattern in GIN-1 and S30v. The downfall of both is the clip with the square edges that catches on everything and bends easily. They redid the clip late in the S30v run. The Native 5 has a regular hourglass clip which is a big plus to me. The fit and finish on mine are nothing to write home about. They are nowhere near the quality of any of my Seki Spyderco's.

My Natives were always quick and reliable to draw and deploy. I wouldn't mind scoring a fully serrated Native 5 LW one of these days but I've got so many good knives that I have no lack of EDC goodness.

If by original you mean the Gen 1 BRK natives in 440A, yes, they were highly flawed! I believe that Camillus made the blades and scales for Spyderco. Spyderco decided to shelve the Camillus blades and manufacture them themselves, instead, using GIN-1, and making some additional tweaks.

Blue Ridge Knives ended up buying the 440A rejects, buying the additional components needed to assemble them from Camillus... and the results were considered dubious at best.

^
My buddy was given one of those recently as a gift. I had never seen one and did some research. Definitely an interesting story.

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:Cogito, the best and I mean THE BEST website, aside from the main Spyderco website, that has information and descriptions of the Spyderco Native and their history, is this:

http://paulberetta.com/

The man who made this website, this Paul Beretta, is, in my honest opinion, one of the most intelligent, cool, and clever people on the Earth. Go to the left side of the page and click on "Native". Then scroll down and see one of my favorites, that I was not able to get because it was a rare one: The Native Forum knife, with the blue FRN handle. That I believe is the orthopedic handle. That and the variations of it are my all-time favorite, though all Natives are excellent.

That blue handle forum Native is so hard to find, that I would buy a brand new Endura and Pacific Salt, and trade it to someone who was willing to trade me for them, for one of those. The quality-control on that and on the current Native is superb. Check it out with a magnifying glass and look at the edge grinds and blade lines and handle structure and everything.

Thank you!

I love mine and still use it whenever I need a SE blade. I did eventually open up the front two choils a bit, to make the 50/50 choil wider and to uncover the hole a bit. This was my first Spyderco and I always felt like it was in a class of its own because of the solid molded handle and somewhat unique scale texture. I would be just fine if they kept making this version and only changed it to a screw pivot. I also feel like I'm the only person who loved those barrel screw clips. I loved being able to remove it with a coin. If I ever do a tip up Military I may go that route.