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I am sure that many of us have had the experience where we tried a knife that we thought we would hate and found that we loved it.
For me it was the Native 5 Salt. The knife is a tacky frn yellow (Yellow is one of my least favorite colors)meant to be seen underwater (I am no diver, fisherman nor do I frequent salt water). The knife is a back lock ; which is a very strong lock but lacks the fidget factor or action of the cbbl or compression locks that I love, and the knife is small, though I love the para 3 which shares its size.

Despite my initial prejudgement of the knife I decided to check one out because I was interested in trying LC200N for my gardening and I heard nothing but positive reviews of the Native 5. I purchased one as well as a regular salt 2(deli a) for my wife. I wanted the Native for myself because I favor the Colorado builds . (Though the delica salt is really cool!)

Upon receiving the knife I proceeded to put it through my gardening regiment which consists of cutting cardboard (to lay down mulch), pruning vines, making several clones of a raspberry bush, clipping herb flowers and opening bags of manure. Once done, I hose the knife down using high pressure before taking it inside to clean in my kitchen sink.

The first thing I noticed about the knife was the VERY good ergonomics. The knife locks perfectly in hand. It does not feel cheap, plasticky or too small at all. It feels like a sturdy capable blade designed for work. After gardening I used it to cut up carpet in the second floor of my house. Then I used it to cut up extra cardboard laying around.

I purposely put the knife through the tasks that I have used my pm2, my manix 2 and my para 3 through, as I hoped to validate my initial prejudices toward the knife. What I found was that it excelled very well at any task I threw at it and often better than the other knives at all of those tasks. When i was done, I washed it without any worry of rust, dried it off and found that it was still sharp enough to shave with…

I know that it is an old established design, but for any newbie getting into the knife world or the Spyderco world; you do not need to doubt the Native 5.

Oh and remember those tacky yellow frn scales? Well they were super useful for finding my knife when I dropped it in my garden as I frantically worried that my three year old daughter would find it first. I found the knife with ease, even amongst the yellow zucchini and squash flowers.

Awesome job Spyderco. You make knives made to be used and I really appreciate it.

I can’t say I’ve ever laid down money on a knife I wanted to hate.

I have, however, bought Spydies to see why others loved them, then on seeing why, began to love these models, too. PM2, Pacific Salt, Military Model, Police, Ayoob, on and on.

Since I don’t tend to buy knives I expect to hate, I don’t quite have such an experience. But I have experienced plenty of cases where I hyped a knife to myself - often against my own technical arguments and requirements I was well aware of - and then was thoroughly disappointed as a result.

Probably the Military. I talked a lot of trash about it, how it's proportions aren't the best, how silly the size is. That changed very quickly once I got one and used/carried it. I often wonder how many models I'd like more if I just had the opportunity to use them without having to commit to purchasing them.

I shouldn't like the Para 3. On paper it messes up everything I like about the PM2. But in practice I love carrying and using Para 3s (although I do not like the lightweight version). The S110V Para 3 is one of my favorites.

Native Chief and Shaman. Got my 1st of each more because of the steel offered vs the knife itself. Then once I had them in hand and used them for a few days, I wondered why I was so hesitant in the first place. I've now got 5 different variations between the 2 models.

My first and second Spyderco. Then the floodgates opened.

I have never bought a knife I thought I was going to dislike, or wanted to hate. That seems like a waste of money to me.

When I got my first PM2 around 2011, I expected to love it. Instead, I began to wonder what all the hype was about. For various reasons, it just wasn't "doing it" for me. So it ended up sitting on a desk for about 6 years.

Then one day, I decided to carry it again on a whim. Surprisingly, I found that I started liking carrying and using it. So much that I ended up buying a second PM2 in DLC.

Jim

I've had a few I expected to dislike over the years.

Serrated Pacific Salt. Traded for one on a whim, intending to give SE another shot after writing it off years ago. Told myself I'd carry it for a week or two then sell it. Ended up carrying it for months I liked it so much. It was the knife I used to learn how to sharpen SE.

Pacific Salt 2 - I was convinced the Pacific Salt 1 handle was superior and had stocked up on them when they got discontinued. Told myself I'll give the 2 a chance and sell it if I don't like it. Still have that knife, and these days I prefer the new handle design to the old. Glad I gave it another shot.

I'm gonna keep it short and sweet.

Lil' Native

It looks stubby and stupid (short). I love the Native 5 but didn't understand the Lil' Native hype.

I pulled the trigger on the S90V sprint and absolutely love the fidget friendly little companion (sweet).

Native 5 LW (picked up a cheap factory second) - multiple hits against it on paper

Short blade for the handle, looks weird because of the large choil and short cutting edge, kinda thick blade... All the complaints go away when I use it. I like the way it grips (no grooves/protrusions near my pinky), it points naturally for me doing regular edc tasks, and the thickness isn't the end of the world

Not exactly “wanted to dislike” but I’ve done a lot of bottom fishing over the years on discontinued or clearance items that have turned into favorites in my collection:

-UKPK, expected to not be a fan of the slip joint, but picked up an old saber-ground lw for cheap because of the similarities to the Caly 3. I’ve now owned and still have more UKPKs than any other Spydie, with both Salt versions on pre-order. My 4 Urbans are right behind them.

-PITS, didn’t think I would like the ti scales as I’ve always steered clear of metal scaled knives, but I got mine at a price I couldn’t pass on and it’s a gem, really inspired design.

-Other honorable mentions from bargain hunting include the Pingo, Kiwi 4, and Baby Horn sprint.

Nate wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:15 pm

-Other honorable mentions from bargain hunting include the Pingo...

There was a 2015 graphic Elmax Pingo in a B&M store near me for nearly 2 years, when they were clearing it out they marked it down to $120. I regret not picking it up. I would love a real Voxnaes someday.

Airlsee wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:23 pm

Nate wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:15 pm

-Other honorable mentions from bargain hunting include the Pingo...

There was a 2015 graphic Elmax Pingo in a B&M store near me for nearly 2 years, when they were clearing it out they marked it down to $120. I regret not picking it up. I would love a real Voxnaes someday.

It never worked in a regular grip for me, but knowing voxnaes, it's probably comfortable in some less common grips. Wish we'd get another Spyderco vox/anso, but not likely - those giant mice are tempting

Lightweight Manix 2 is S110V. Despite it appealing enough to me that I bought one, my original thought was that someone thought hey you know all those hard use knives out there? Lets literally make the opposite. So to get over my fear of carrying it, I decided to actually put it through it's paces, that turned into pushing things further and further to either get a catastrophic chip or severe blade play. Turns out the engineers knew what they were doing and nothing you'd ever think to put a light weight knife though would ever damage this thing.

For me it was all Spydercos. Until I saw a used Native 440v sitting in the knife case, asked to looked at it and **bing** the bell went off. Now my favorite brand by far.

Similar to my experience. I am ashamed to admit I am one of the people that thought they looked weird, and I didn't like the Spyder hole. I really haven't considered any other brands in a lot of years, since my first couple Spydies.

Techno 2.

Small blade with a fat handle, weighing a ton? What idiot would buy that?

I love my techno 2. Its so fun and while its not the thinnest bte, still gives me great performance. Plus XHP is such a great steel.

Dodo. Six or seven years ago, a salesman at a knife counter saw that I was grooving on the Spydies and held up a blue Dodo for me to look at. I gave him a "Do you think I'm crazy?" look and he sheepishly put it away. I could have got it for around $100. There's a blue one on eBay now for $360. Since then I've come to realize what an amazing, innovative, ergonomic, and useful design it is and finally managed to get the jade M4 model. OK, admittedly I don't use it all the time, but it's very handy to have around and can even be used for some paring, peeling, and slicing in the kitchen.

Also, I've seen some other cases where likes and dislikes don't go along with preconceived ideas and logical things your brain tells you. Apparently your brain is there to help you come up with ways to justify what you already liked without consulting it :D

I've mention in another thread that I originally couldn't connect with the shape of the Stretch blade and held out for the straight spine K390 model. During the long wait for it, I started using my G-10 ZDP-189 model in anticipation and soon really came to like it. Now I'm wishing for a K390 blade in the original drop point shape.

My first spyderco, native 1. The finish was rough and i was expecting the moon, having spent many months researching and haunting the forums for “The” knife to buy, not having much money at the time. I did not connect at all with it, but i carried it because i had no other options. Slowly, as it proved its reliability to me, we held court as acquaintances, and at some point we became best friends. The native 1 is still the fastest spydie for me to deploy and put away, living up to the spyder car namesake.