Spyderco Forums

Been looking at the Cat and decided to peek at the Astute also. I see that the Astute is a bigger knife than the Cat and it appears slightly better made with PB washers at least instead of plastic washers on the Cat. What is odd is the Cat is consistently about $10 more expensive and it seems like less quality not to mention a smaller knife in the same Value line. Anyone have any idea as to why this is??

Manufacturing country of origin is primarily responsible for the price difference.

Mushroom wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 17, 2024 3:37 pm

Manufacturing country of origin is primarily responsible for the price difference.

DOH! What a dummy I am! You are absolutely correct! I forgot that the Cat was made in Taiwan and the Astute in China. Well, that’s solved! Thank you for the answer and I apologize for wasting everyone’s time!. Oops! I will try to be more thorough in the future!

No discussion about the Astute is a waste of time. It's a great design that deserves more attention.

Skywalker wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 17, 2024 4:34 pm

No discussion about the Astute is a waste of time. It's a great design that deserves more attention.

This one is definitely on my radar now. Cat is a bit too small, so I started looking at this one and the efficient for an inexpensive but sturdy knife to carry at work. I will keep reading posts on this one and see how I feel.

i don't own a cat, but i have a chicago and an astute. in my limited experience, the astute is the better design and better quality knife. my chicago is rough and feels like a knife that should've been cheaper. the astute is a great budget knife that punches above its weight.

I like both of them.

The Cat fits my hand better, probably because of its taller handle. The Astute has a better action because of its PB washers.

Just had my Astute out yesterday, such a great knife. Really sad is from a factory that rarely sees steel upgrades and varients.

M4 Astute anyone? Please!

I really liked how the Astute felt in my hand, but I'm not a fan of the steel. I'd be fine with even a modest upgrade like BDN1 or VG10.

I like both knives but between the two, I prefer the Cat. It's a really great utilitarian pocket knife. Nothing distracting, no nonsense, just a well designed folding knife that works the way it's supposed to. For myself, the ergonomics work well too but your mileage may vary. I also like the wire clip and BD1N steel more than the hourglass clip and 8CR13MoV steel. The Cat is definitely a sleeper in their lineup.

The Astute is a really unique design while still being plenty capable. It packs an impressive amount of edge length into a relatively small package. Also similar to the Cat in that it's a straightforward build with practical materials and overall just works the way it should - as a good pocket knife. I tend to prefer the ergonomics on the Cat though. It feels more considered than the Astute. That's not to suggest the ergonomics weren't considered on the Astute but it's definitely a more neutral handle than the Cat. (It's kind of just an oval and a short one at that)

I'm personally okay with this one remaining part of Spydercos value folder line with the build that it currently has. It would have some very stiff competition with a higher price tag and I don't know if a steel and handle material upgrade would make it stand out enough at that price point. Of course, that's just my opinion and for all I know a steel upgrade could vault it into a whole new tier and it may sell just fine.

I picked up an Astute a few weeks back. It’s a great design!
It’s the first 8cr I’ve had from Spyderco, so IDK if it will perform better than some past Kershaw experiences.
But yeah, throwing some BD1N that way would be cool…and maybe drill out the liners to shave a few grams.

Nonetheless, I think it’s the gem of the value line.

The Cat is really just a mini a Sage 1. For me it's my favorite sub 3" Spyderco. I really love the Lil Native( I own 3) but it's not a knife I'd recommend to a friend because at that price point for the size of knife I think you need to be a die hard Spyderco fan to appreciate it. The Cat on the other hand is a great little knife and at the price point I think it's one if not the best bang for your buck knives in Spyderco's line up. Made in Taiwan, BD1N, wire clip, Sage ergonomics, just a great edc.

It would be nice to see pb washers but the Teflon washers are fine. After the first 100 or so times you open it the washers break in just like any other knife and the action is smooth and spydie flicking it open is effortless. I don't think the action on my 2 examples could or would be any better with PB washers it's just the knife snob in me that thinks they should be.

I’ve been really impressed by the Astute. It is rather dainty and just screams good design in every way. Don’t pass it up just because of the steel.

If this were a Taiwan factory knife and had some carbon fiber people would have been obsessed with it.

Joining in on the Astute bandwagon, love mine!

Great comparison pic!

Man that caly 3 is beautiful

The Cat is where it's at. I have one of the old 440 C Cats that had the jimping and man I love that little knife. For something just a drop in your pocket that is friendly in many jurisdictions. It is the bees knees.

I'll tell y'all a little secret. I don't know that I don't love the Cat more than a Lil Native. They are both the same size, but the cat has a more comfortable coil and fits my hand better. The cutting edge is also ever so slightly longer. It's close, and I do like the lock on the Lil Native better because mine is a back lock. However, I just sort of lean towards the Cat. I wish they'd bring back the jimping.

I kinda wish the Astute had a show side liner delete in its current form, like some of the older Spydercos did. Lighter, slimmer, more gentlemanly IMO. I don't generally like large palm-swells like the Stretch, but it works really well in this smaller folder.

Tristan_david2001 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 18, 2024 7:52 am

Man that caly 3 is beautiful

Ya I wish we saw more of that Green G10 and Hap40. An Endura would be my preference!