Spyderco Forums

Forest Elk wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 08, 2018 5:14 am

When reading the thread „What Spyderco is in your pocket today??“ I suddenly got the „inspiration“ for writing the following...

How it all began
My Spyderco experience started in 2003, when I purchased the old trusty Native 2 FRN pinned construction with plain CPM440V blade. It's still in my collection, in almost mint condition. I liked the design and especially the finger choil, which gives a very good handling for my rather big paws...

The Lil' Native arises...
In the beginning of 2018 I took a closer look for the first time. Over the years I had gained positive experience with both the Compression Lock (owning a PM 2) and the wire clip (UKPK and Dragonfly 2). So it was a logical conclusion for me to get the Comp Lock version, furthermore due to the reason that it has open construction and deep carry. End of August, after one week of thinking and checking my budget, I decided to order one from White Mountain Knives.



And now...?
The knife arrived on September, 1st after only one week delivery time and it's my EDC knife since this day! :) Why this? For me personally there are some reasons: 1) The form factor. Nice lines and surprisingly perfect handling comparable to its old bigger brother. 2) It's very well balanced, with the gravity point near the pivot. 3) It rides deeply and safely in the pocket due to the strong short wire clip and draws no unwanted attention (remember German knife laws... :mad: ). 4) The blade is sturdy, made of one of my favorite steels and has a shape which I prefer for general tasks. There may be more reasons... In summary it makes fun to carry! Although I have several other Spydies as well as other brands available for EDC and changed occasionally, the Lil' Native always finds its way back into my pocket after a few hours! :rolleyes:

No complaints...?
I personally have no problems with black G-10 and S30V. In terms of construction and materials the Lil' Native meets my PM2. In other words: Lil' Native for urban daily carry and the PM2 in the woods when a bigger blade is especially required. The very small part of the choil protuding to the lock bar is no concern for me as I don't flick my knves open.

So everything is 100 percent OK? 99 percent... :eek: I would have been glad if the tip would sit a little bit deeper inside the scales. I will try to show it by the following pictures.



Here you see the knife completely closed. The hole is matching the scales and the tip is sunk abt. 2 mm between the scales.



Now think what can happen after many sharpening sessions... The tip will move upwards outside the scales and therefore possibly damage at least your pocket... I personally will touch up the blade regularly on the white Sharpmaker stones and avoid any „stronger“ sharpening. In case the problem really rises I shall have to disassemble the knife and file a little down the point where the blade contacts the stop pin in closed position. As you can see this would affect the hole position only a very small, nearly non visible amount.

Final conclusion
The famous former NYPD shooting instructor Francis McGee once stated: „The only replacement for a Smith & Wesson M 10 is another Smith & Wesson M 10!“... OK, I will take this over to the Lil' Native! It seems to stay in my pocket on and on regardless of all the other knives I own. If I would lose it (hopefully never!!!) I would buy it again. But my personal highlight would be a version with smooth carbon fiber scales (same as the old UKPK CF which I luckily also own...). For such a version I will keep my money!

In summary: Well done, Eric, and thank you for this knife! :) :spyder:

Daveho wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:39 pm

... and I love that blade finish

MichaelScott wrote: Yes, next to my One-Eyed Jack, it’s my favorite small locking knife.

David Lowry wrote: ... Love ... the thick wire clip. I'm not sure but it looks like the Lil' Native uses larger wire for the clip than knives from Taiwan or Japan do.