Spyderco Forums

How do my fellow southpaws feel about an expanded range of lefty knives? I've had my LH PM2 for a couple of years now and still love it, but aside from that and the Military, I'm unaware of any other left handed knives in the past or present lineup. I know I would love to see a Shaman or Para 3 in this configuration one day. I guess for now I'll keep collecting Native 5 LW's lol

Dear Sam Izdat:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

Manix, Manix XL, P'kal, The entire Seki Line up.

ZrowsN1s wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:27 pm

Manix, Manix XL, P'kal, The entire Seki Line up.

All great ambidextrous knives, I was thinking more lefty-specific

Michael Janich wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:14 pm

Dear Sam Izdat:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

Thanks!

Right-handed Compression locks aren’t too bad for Lefties either.

Lately, I’m finding even the liner locks are not a complete dealbreaker.

The policy seems to be Leftie knives for duty purposes, ie; off-side weapon retention and backup, that sort of thing. So that makes the Millie and PM2 first choice for Leftie treatment from their perspective.

Spyderco probably wouldn’t sell enough to make it worthwhile, but the fact is; they make a lot of knives that are ambidextrous as it is.

I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if they could sell them, but I bet they have found out from past experience that they can’t very often.

jwbnyc wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:54 pm

The policy seems to be Leftie knives for duty purposes, ie; off-side weapon retention and backup, that sort of thing. So that makes the Millie and PM2 first choice for Leftie treatment from their perspective.

Spyderco probably wouldn’t sell enough to make it worthwhile, but the fact is; they make a lot of knives that are ambidextrous as it is.

I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if they could sell them, but I bet they have found out from past experience that they can’t very often.

That makes a lot of sense, and you’re right about the number of ambidextrous options.

As a lefty , I am grateful for the dedicated models offered . I lean on Seki and Manix knives that are ambi ,but comp locks can be hit depending shape of handle . I would love to see a lefty Para 3 , if it happens great , if not it’s not the end of the world . MG2

Manixguy@1994 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 4:10 pm

As a lefty , I am grateful for the dedicated models offered . I lean on Seki and Manix knives that are ambi ,but comp locks can be hit depending shape of handle . I would love to see a lefty Para 3 , if it happens great , if not it’s not the end of the world . MG2

I do love the Manix

I'm left-handed, and I understand the desire for left-hand-specific knives, but I've never felt shorted by their lack. My few knives that are truly "right-handed," I open right-handed. I even tend to open ambi knives right-handed, and then move them to my left hand if the task requires fine motor skills. I also usually move them back to my right hand for closure. If I had a job that required quick opening and closing, I might have to do something different.

Truth is, I'm never in a hurry to present, open, close, and re-pocket my knives, and I've never even tried a left-handed knife.

If we were going to see another left handed compression lock, my money would be on the Yojimbo 2 and/or the YoJumbo, but it’s hard to see how that would work financially for such a specialty design.

I've always thought right handed compression locks were easier to use with my left hand. It feels more natural to use my left thumb to disengage the lock than the fingers on my right hand.

I pretty much agree with that. It is nice to get the full fidget effect though. It can be done but it’s a bit of a parlor trick because the grip you have on the knife is so tenuous.

if one closes a right handed compression lock like one would a lockback, it's actually much easier to do left handed.

^And more secure.^

We forgot Slipits ! The shame ! MG2

My oldest son is 4th generation Left-Handed. He pretty much doesn't think about it. Granted his Para 3 LW is easy to open left-handed, and so are the back locks.

As a lefty i got rather good in using most of my collection that are righty only.
But as a Die hard Manix fan i can not say enough how important ambidextrous models are.
Spyderco is very good in this and can be proud!

jwbnyc wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:54 pm

Right-handed Compression locks aren’t too bad for Lefties either.

Lately, I’m finding even the liner locks are not a complete dealbreaker.

.....

For me it is the complete opposite. Liner- and frame-locks are absolutely no problem at all, but compression locks just don't work for me. Reading all the other comments from lefties, that do not have any problems with compression locks, it clearly is on me. But I really tried and it never became natural or organic to unlock a compression lock for me.

I'm of two minds on the subject- on one, I'd really like to see more LH models. It stings missing out- I'll always regret not being able to pick up a Spydiechef or Techno.

On the other hand, the models I'd like to see available in more ambi configurations are either too niche to see a complete redesign (again, spydiechef) or are fairly easily accommodated for (SpyOpera, post CQI). When you get into the world of mainline models the idea of an LH model is appealing but at about 10% of the population left handers are a small audience & there's enough knife nerds who wouldn't settle for plain G10 and S30v- and enough that wouldn't be willing to pay the premium for another steel/handle combo- that I'm not sure there's sufficient demand for any specific model or variation thereof, beyond maybe the PM2. Most mainline designs have ambi spydieholes and most locks (backlock, liner lock, framelock) are fairly ambi friendly- and for the ones that aren't ?(comp lock and........ comp lock), I've found that in most situations where quick lock disengagement is a priority I'm best suited by either a slipjoint or a fixed blade. Ok, they'd make a better fidget toy, but I'm not about to go back to the PM2 just because I could fidget with it more.

tl;dr: In theory yes, in practice no.