Hourglass clip coatings

[8th_Note]

I want to talk about Spyderco spoon/hourglass clips and the different types of coatings.

I have, in my collection, 4 different types of hourglass clips. I don't currently own a Salt model with a hourglass clip, so that may be a 5th type (if they are different than any of these). If anyone knows what the materials are that make up the coatings please let me know. If there are any other hourglass clip types of which I'm not aware, I would love to hear about those too. I am not differentiating between the hourglass clips with or without the lanyard holes, as they are essentially the same other than the hole.


First up is the standard stainless clip. The finish on these is fairly tough and seems to last. They don't really show wear at all


Next is the black painted clip. These are standard on many Seki models. The black coating wears very easily. Pretty much the first time its carried, it will start to show wear. On my knives with satin finish, I usually just buff off the coating with fine grit sand paper to give it a satin-look finish.


This one is the standard Taichung clip. it has a grey-black looking finish and a white-silver bug. These are tough and don't show much wear. The finish lasts on these


And finally, this one is an oddball. I only have the one like this (ignore the aftermarket screws). It came stock an a Sportsman Supply dealer exclusive Para 3 with earth brown G10 and a DLC S35VN blade from '17-'18. It has a brown-black, almost dark copper, color and an etched bug (like the stainless and painted clips) and the finish is very hard wearing. I carry this knife more than any other. It is in my back left pocket every single time I leave my house. And it is showing only the slightest wear around the edges. I have never seen one like this on another Spyderco. If anyone has one like this, I'd love to hear about it, and which model it came on.

For the sake of this sake of this discussion, I'm leaving out wire clips and the last generation Seki barrel clips. Thanks

[Mushroom]

This is Spyderco's "Hourglass clip," not their "Spoon clip."

They only used the "Spoon clip" on their Bram Frank Gunting model and then never again.

[8th_Note]

This is Spyderco's "Hourglass clip," not their "Spoon clip."

They only used the "Spoon clip" on their Bram Frank Gunting model and then never again.

Thank you. I have always seen these referred to as spoon clips. But I have edited the post.

[Evil D]

Whatever the Taichung clips use really is durable and I think is a nicer looking finish overall. The more recent black clips from Golden also hold up way better than the black Seki clips.

[sal]

Thanx Mushroom for the clip clarification.

sal

[Bill1170]

If the immediate wear on a black Seki painted clip bothers me, I remove the clip, strip the paint by soaking it in acetone, then replace the clip. The dull gray stainless works for my tastes. For those that like bling, the clip can be polished easily with a Dremel using a felt wheel and some compound.

[zhyla]

It’s odd Spyderco continues to not offer these in titanium. I generally prefer not to pay a lot of money for a knife only to turn around and buy a clip for it. But I do think I prefer Ti.

[TimButterfield]

Ti and deep carry.

[Scandi Grind]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage? It never even occured to me to consider why titanium clips are made until now.

My Endura obviously has the easily worn coating typical of Seki knives. I am kind of wondering if I might like the coating stripped, but I am worried it might stand out more than I like. Then again, it is blue, which doesn't really blend into my pocket very well, so it isn't like it is very low profile to begin with.

Anyone have pics of a stripped clip that they could post direct to the forum? (My computer won't display exterior links.) Extra thanks if it is a blue model.

[Evil D]

I'm pretty sure some of the Salt models have titanium clips, though not deep carry.


After years of holding out, I've fallen down the deep carry clip rabbit hole and I've spent a silly amount of money adding them to everything I carry.

This evening I've been fiddling with my Janisong and I really like the deep carry clip, it might be the lowest profile deep carry clip I've ever seen. Not sure the mounting holes and overall shape would work on other models but it proves to me that if Spyderco wanted to do a deep carry clip they could do it as well as anyone.

One of the clips I recently got was a deep carry titanium clip that replaces the wire clip on my Autonomy, and I REALLY like it because the "legs" recess into the handle like the wire clip does, so underneath the clip is perfectly flush and the clip is more flush against the handle because of it. I think if Spyderco went all in with deep carry clips, this might be the best way to go about it.

[8th_Note]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage? It never even occured to me to consider why titanium clips are made until now.

My Endura obviously has the easily worn coating typical of Seki knives. I am kind of wondering if I might like the coating stripped, but I am worried it might stand out more than I like. Then again, it is blue, which doesn't really blend into my pocket very well, so it isn't like it is very low profile to begin with.

Anyone have pics of a stripped clip that they could post direct to the forum? (My computer won't display exterior links.) Extra thanks if it is a blue model.

Titanium serves a purpose on the Salt knives. But outside of that, I don't think there's any real advantage over steel.

I like the stock Spyderco clips. I've never felt the need to pay $50 for a clip that makes it harder to get the knife out of my pocket. I guess some people might feel like they need to be discreet with their knife, but I'm blessed to live in a place where nobody cares what you carry in public, be it knife or gun.

[Scandi Grind]

Yeah, I carry fixed blades to the grocery store regularly, so I don't have to worry about people seeing my pocket knife either. I don't dislike all deep carry clips on all knives, but for the Endura, I prefer "shallow?" carry. I like the bit of handle sticking up and the reduced ammount of handle in my pocket.

Now my previous knife actually had a deep carry clip and it worked good on that knife. It also carried best tip down, which I couldn't stand for the Endura, so I think it is highly dependent on the knife.

[Bill1170]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage? It never even occured to me to consider why titanium clips are made until now.

My Endura obviously has the easily worn coating typical of Seki knives. I am kind of wondering if I might like the coating stripped, but I am worried it might stand out more than I like. Then again, it is blue, which doesn't really blend into my pocket very well, so it isn't like it is very low profile to begin with.

Anyone have pics of a stripped clip that they could post direct to the forum? (My computer won't display exterior links.) Extra thanks if it is a blue model.

Titanium serves a purpose on the Salt knives. But outside of that, I don't think there's any real advantage over steel.

I like the stock Spyderco clips. I've never felt the need to pay $50 for a clip that makes it harder to get the knife out of my pocket. I guess some people might feel like they need to be discreet with their knife, but I'm blessed to live in a place where nobody cares what you carry in public, be it knife or gun.

The titanium hourglass clips are weaker than their stainless counterparts. I snagged the Ti clip of my Caribbean on something and the clip was bent beyond repair. It didn’t take that much force to do, I was shocked! I replaced it with a stripped stainless clip and no more problems. The matte stainless is unobtrusive in pocket.

[zhyla]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage?

I think I just like the texture of it. And visually it’s nice that it’s not so bright.

[zhyla]

I like the stock Spyderco clips. I've never felt the need to pay $50 for a clip that makes it harder to get the knife out of my pocket.

I’ve only bought aftermarket clips twice. Both times because Spyderco screwed up something (pre-CQI Chaparral LW and Native Chief LW).

For more common models you can find no-name Ti clips for like $10 btw. Lynch and MXG aren’t the only game in town.

[ejames13]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage? It never even occured to me to consider why titanium clips are made until now.

My Endura obviously has the easily worn coating typical of Seki knives. I am kind of wondering if I might like the coating stripped, but I am worried it might stand out more than I like. Then again, it is blue, which doesn't really blend into my pocket very well, so it isn't like it is very low profile to begin with.

Anyone have pics of a stripped clip that they could post direct to the forum? (My computer won't display exterior links.) Extra thanks if it is a blue model.

Here you go.

[8th_Note]

Is titanium just a visual preference, or is there some performance advantage? It never even occured to me to consider why titanium clips are made until now.

My Endura obviously has the easily worn coating typical of Seki knives. I am kind of wondering if I might like the coating stripped, but I am worried it might stand out more than I like. Then again, it is blue, which doesn't really blend into my pocket very well, so it isn't like it is very low profile to begin with.

Anyone have pics of a stripped clip that they could post direct to the forum? (My computer won't display exterior links.) Extra thanks if it is a blue model.

Here is a blue Leafjumper K390, and a black Police 3. Both of these clips were painted black. I removed the coating with a fine grit soft sanding block. It has a satin look to it. Pics are low res, I had to compress the images in order to post directly to the forum

[Scandi Grind]

ejames13, 8th_Note, thanks for the references!

I'm thinking I'm gonna have to do this, I rather like the way those look. I tend to lean toward as much of a natural look as possible with my knives, so the stripped finish has an appeal compared to paint.

[RustyIron]

Here is a blue Leafjumper K390, and a black Police 3. Both of these clips were painted black. I removed the coating with a fine grit soft sanding block. It has a satin look to it.

Very nice! I do the same thing to my K390 knives. I'm sure there's a reason Spyderco chose black clips, but I like the simplicity of the brushed stainless clip.

[abbazaba]

I'm pretty sure some of the Salt models have titanium clips, though not deep carry.


After years of holding out, I've fallen down the deep carry clip rabbit hole and I've spent a silly amount of money adding them to everything I carry.

This evening I've been fiddling with my Janisong and I really like the deep carry clip, it might be the lowest profile deep carry clip I've ever seen. Not sure the mounting holes and overall shape would work on other models but it proves to me that if Spyderco wanted to do a deep carry clip they could do it as well as anyone.

One of the clips I recently got was a deep carry titanium clip that replaces the wire clip on my Autonomy, and I REALLY like it because the "legs" recess into the handle like the wire clip does, so underneath the clip is perfectly flush and the clip is more flush against the handle because of it. I think if Spyderco went all in with deep carry clips, this might be the best way to go about it.

100%, the wire clip mount is the best of both worlds, accommodating deep carry, standard carry, and the after market clips like Casey Lynch offers are a game changer with that mount. Bottom line - recessed mounts are great IMO. I'm surprised we don't see more like the 0562 recessed from the inside.

FWIW the Caribbean had a Ti hourglass clip and Spyderco will/did allow you to order directly from them.

The Tiachung GB clip is my favorite finish, and is similar to the Benchmade parkerized clip... Though I'm not sure they still make it.