The wonderful Native Chief is in my own opinion one of the best Spyderco knife available in the 20’s. Compared to the mighty C36 Military you can notice how beautiful its design is thanks to its absence of hump. We also know its lock is one of the strongest if not the strongest in the Golden’s line. The handle would break before it gives in.
The Chief is a boss. A flagship ! An instant classic !

Looking back to the other knives designed in the 1990’s you can notice the same elegance. Sal Glesser was no stranger to the design of the AFCK as he was first contact by Chris Caracci who wanted a Police with a liner lock.

Eventually I have decided to mount a flatter deep carry clip. Black is perfect to make the knife disappear.

The REX45 provides really an hungry edge steel. You feel it under your thumb. Also the patina has risen slowly, strawberries were helping a lot.
The cuts are ultra accurate and the Chief fits in the role of an office knife perfectly. It is really a pleasure on the board for delicate duty. I was amazed one precise the Chief is and how easy I could prepare raw meat and vegetables with speed.
Sometimes in the kitchen you need to go fast.

It is also very elegant as a silverware knife. And ketchup with hot meat helps that natural patina which protect the metal.
The simple elegant design makes it a breeze to rinse under the tap. No skeleton liners which can accumulate dirt or rust ! The Chief is a true working knife: easy to get dirty and easy to get cleaned.

The solid point is perfect to pierce and get thrust into hard material with zero chipping or bending. I have pierced metal caps for example: zero damage. Rex45, again, is really forgiving and perfect for that kind of thin pointy blade.

It was easy also to get the handmade/homemade convex razor’s sharp: only leather stropping was used. It is really pleasant to be able to get a shining vorpal edge that way.

The placement of the lock makes it easy to unlock while cutting hard material. Naturally I have shocked the knife higher on the blade. There is no hot spots (no hump) there and it is eas to control strong and powerful deep cuts.
No play has been noticed. The Golden lock is just perfect.
The Chief got a very aggressive look. Let say it is very impressive. It looks longer than it is. Not a sheeple friendly knife even if it is gorgeous, its savage nature oozes from its pores.

My testing is on the pause as my long awaiting Kapara has landed. But I will go back to the Chief soon as the honeymoon with the Down under folder will be over.

The beautiful/gorgeous Kapara got an exclusive version.
Kuddos to DLT Trading and Alistair !
Exit the carbon fiber handle, enter the grey G10, beautifully 3D honed and the CPM20CV alloy blade.
Strangely it feels a little bit heavier, than the previous version, in the hand and it is pleasant. Well it feels more dense than the carbon fiber’s version.

Oh, I have been waiting for that upgrade version of the “Life Saver” since 2017. Here was my previous review:
https://nemoknivesreview.com/2019/09/17/spyderco-kapara-c241cfp-alistair-phillips-life-saver/

And patience was the name of the game. It was sold out in 24 hours and eventually, it has taken 21 days to reach Paris. Flying under the radar has a cost…

First thing first. That Kapara factory’s edge was just a perfect razor but the geometry was not at the same level as…. the Manly‘s…
Some gaffer to protect the knife from scratches and diamonds get into play. The idea is not to touch the factory edge which is perfect but just to erase the edge’s shoulder by gently convexing.
As usual…

After 20 minutes, I was able to be polish on leather.
CPM20CV is known to be easy to polish.
Now let’s go in the kitchen:

The tomatoe’s skin is a great test also flying hairs on my arm…
Radish were just too easy.
But this is a knife made for fruits, so it is very precise as an office knife. It is also very stainless. No fear to use it in the sink and in the water.

Eventually the knife was able to cut through the bottle’s but.

So, now, let’s the game begins, more to come soon.