“You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire…”
I feel like in the “Honest Trailers”: “Please review the Advocate…” OK here we go:
Oh yes, the Advocate is a looker and really catches the light. Knowing Gayle Bradley since his first hard chores folder, I really wanted to see his new design.
At the moment I write those lines, we are all under the official statement from Spyderco about the Advocate. To sum it up: “A careful review of the Advocate’s design revealed that the steel washers used in its pivot are measurably thinner than those used in our other flipper models and are therefore vulnerable to the effects of overtightening….We have suspended production of the current version and are working diligently to redesign the pivot to completely eliminate this concern. We have also decided to suspend shipment of our current inventory of Advocate knives until a satisfactory redesign is complete.” Michael Janich 10th of April 2017.
I don’t have any issues with my Advocate pivot, so I’m not concerned.
Unless major purpose, I don’t feel the urge to disassemble my knives and I always find that rinsing them under hot tap water and oiling them back once dry, is more than enough to keep them going. I do however have got a gripping pivot issue with my Southard but this was before discovering and using nano oil. Here on the advocate, it seems like even nano oil did not help. but again It do not have any issue on mine. I got other issues and they are from the design, not the manufacturing.
So I was able to snatch a model before the factory line stopped and I really wanted to try and love another great Gayle Bradley design. The Advocate is his first flipper and he’s using my favorite steel: CPM-M4 (drawing from Gayle Bradley’s extensive experience as a competitive cutting champion, CPM® M4 is a high-performance tool steel renowned for its extreme edge-holding ability).
“The Advocate’s handle consists of two 3-D-machined solid titanium scales that are radiused across their width and feature a unique “orange peel” finish that is both visually striking and provides an enhanced grip texture. The precision machining of these features ensures maximum comfort in the hand and contributes to the knife’s stunning, custom-quality appearance.”
See how the knife looks great? This is a very thin design. It slips into your pocket very confortably but, in my own experience, its thin handle create a lot of hotspots. I would have preferred a thicker handle even if the finish and lines are wonderful, it is really more a looker than a user so far.
OK mine fires perfectly and once unlocked, the blade falls free. So the action is OK but there is a strong break to it: the ball detent on the lock making the action less smooth than on my other flipper: ZT0562 or Falcon. It’s even noisy, you hear it. What is the point of having ball bearings when you put a brake on it ? Spyderco knows what smooth means ie Ed Schempp’s Bowie the Paramillie. Why not the Advocate ?
Also you can notice how the Zero Tolerance’s (ZT) handle is thicker and hence much better ergonomic-wise. I would not mind that for a Chaparral or for a shorter folder but the Advocate is a medium folder with a 9 centimeters blade and weighs 111 grammes; so it’s not a small folder! Even on the last picture you can see that it’s thinner than the Sliverax….
Also flippers have got a fun factor shared with spinners and balisongs. We love to play with them and because of that, we have tendancies to “test” them more in their opening and closing.
Again, the Advocate’s thin profile doesn’t make it easy to close. The tension on the lock bar is very important and the edge to unlock it is sharp. So it’s not easy on your thumb, almost painful sometimes compared to my ZT and its fat lock… Even the flipper’s tab feels too thin for such a strong detent. It’s biting into the index finger’s pulp….
You can see the sharp edge of the lock bar; actually it comes from the steel insert.
You can notice the marks on my thumb.
Look at the way the lock bar is chamfered on the ZT. Rick Hinderer is not at his first flipper design obviously…
After playing for some time, there is no real fun. The detent is so strong it makes thumb-opening impossible on mine; only reverse grip works for me.
So the strong lock acts like a break; you understand why Compression Lock flippers like the Sliverax are a path to explore. That said, after playing with both knives, I also feel the Sliverax could have benefited from a stronger detent.
So far the Advocate is not my favorite Gayle Bradley design.
My opinion is not based on any pivot issues as mine doesn’t have it but in my book,
it’s too thin, too slippery, not easy to close nor is it easy to open with the thumb hole. It’s not smooth… It’s the total opposite to its famous GB1.
Perhaps it will grow on me but even the clip is not a deep carry option… Oh well.
I need to play with my Ed Schempp bowie for good measure… as it’s the perfect opposite in the way Taichung can deliver a great folder with great ergos.
So in summary, if you want a really fun and light Spyderco to play with, try the Sliverax.
edited by pjaffre: jan 5, 2018.
It has all started when I wanted to review the Spyderco Gayle Bradley Junction. It’s a great design for an EDC fixed blade which can be used for everything. Easy to carry in its pancake constructed bolteron sheath. But the edge was just too thick for my own use. 
To my knowledge, SPF27 is some kind of CPM D2 steel. A lot of carbon 1.5% and not a lot of chromium around 12%. Not the easiest on the stone as a semi stainless. It was not very soft under the diamonds compared to another blade in N690 HRC59 I got with me. And it was not really easy to remove the shoulder to create a gentle convex edge. Patience… In sharpening is important. And I often lack of it but I was able to improve it. 
Next some black stone mostly to remove the scratches. 
And then the white ceramic to get a better finish and a razor steel. 
You can notice the chamfered signature hole on the Junction. A première. The cuts were deeper. It was better! Much more enjoyable. 
But the spine was too sharp for my thumb and diamonds came handy to rounded the angles. It would never be a Sebenza spine…. 
Again the control during whittling was much much better. One should never be scared to round the edges for suiting your own needs. 
The handle is very flat on that knife. It’s an attention for people who wish to stash their knife in a pocket or a backpack without leaving a print. 
But a flat knife is not the most comfortable in the palm of your hand… Especially when cutting hard things for a long time. 
I decided to make a quick comparison with the Spyderco Sprig which is a pleasure to use. 
You can notice how the Phil Wilson’s Sprig got a thicker handle. And it change everything when cutting hard things. Also Phil Wilson’s is all about performances. Its geometry is stellar. 
It immediately cuts deep in wood without any real improvement needed…. 
But diamonds were there to be usef. 🙂 
I was able to get thin regular cuts into the wood. So I have decided to try the diamonds on the Gayle Bradley Bowie I have brought with me. This one got a thicker geometry and is made if the same pulverized alloy as the Junction 
You can always improve an edge. 
Used as a light chopper it worked just fine. 
Gayle Bradley has provided a great compact Bowie which can be used as a light camp knife. 
You can see: it’s not a lot bigger compared to my Ed Chempp Bowie. 
And the edge once thinned is honorable. 
Of course it is not as thin as my Pekka Tuominen Urban II for example. And not as aggressive as the Sprig… 
I got…. too much knives on my table… 
An Francesca knows how to prepare the pasta with pomodori. 
Crostini a la Toscane. Poultry liver, oignons, red wine, bread and a Bowie. 
Back in the outside I was thinking of a simple way to see the “impact” of good geometry on whittling. On the right, a single cut if the thin Delica and, on the left, a single cut of the thicker 
Also the Delica was able to cut from the ricasso to the point without any hard pressure. In the end, I had noticed that the Junction was less good than the Sprig and the Delica was still the best whittler in the batch. No matter the steel, for wood cutting, geometry is queen. So I have taken my Bowie back to the diamonds and put a keener edge. Tomorrow it will be hunting day. 
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