Tag Archives: Native

Folders, Review

The Perfect Spyderco Native Exclusive AKA Spyderco C41GPCWBK5 Native 5 Folding Knife 3″ CPM-CruWear Black Plain Blade, Smooth Black G10 Handles, KnifeCenter Exclusive !

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Seven years ago, I was already in love with a KnifeCenter Exclusive Native. The idea of offering a smooth G10 handle was, IMHO, a great EDC enhancement, as aggressive G10 can quickly turn any knife into a pocket shredder.

As you can notice, the Native 5 with its OEM clip can perfectly clip into a watch pocket.

I was certain I had missed the opportunity to own one of those smooth operators made exclusively for KCI when Alex, a fellow member of the Facebook Spyderco Fan Club France, pointed it out to me.
They were still in stock! HERE!!

I have known monsieur Howard Korn, the founder of KCI, since his early beginnings back in the 90s when he was operating almost alone. He even suggested that I design their logo. Howard was among the very first resellers to offer knives on a large scale using a very new medium at the time: the World Wide Web! What a venture… and eventually, what a success!
That was before Amazon, and Howard remains one of the true pioneers in spreading cutlery culture worldwide. Hence the excellent videos now produced in-house.
Once again, it was a smooth transaction from the USA to France thanks to great customer service for a fantastic exclusive. I may be biased, but after nearly 30 years of dealing with KnifeCenter, my experience has always been flawless and inspiring.

Eventually, I found out that I may have bought one of the very last examples of this Native Exclusive because 10 days after my order (June 2024), they were already out of stock.

So what do we have here?

I have written a lot about CPM CruWear!
But this tough and well-balanced alloy, capable of taking a crisp razor edge, is perfect on both small and large folders.
This is a true workhorse steel and one of the greatest high-tech alloys available in modern cutlery. I have even demonstrated how difficult it is to force a patina onto it. This time, with the DLC coating, neither patina nor rust should be a concern.
BTW, DLC (Diamond-Like Coating) is even used for medical implants. It is not toxic.

This all-black version of the Native is ready to be used in all weather conditions.

So here we have a very low-profile package with a non-threatening design, because black knives matter when confronted with sheeple who might otherwise label you a mall ninja carrying a dark saber.

These days, I am reluctant to carry long blades or large folders in the city, and my search for shorter, socially accepted knives — locking or non-locking — has become obvious.
I have previously written about knives suited for city use, and the Native is definitely one of them. The idea is maximum versatility in a tool that should not raise eyebrows: a friendly, non-threatening package. The kind of knife my grandfathers and father used to carry without a second thought — except on airplanes. 😉
When heading into the countryside, I do not restrict myself in terms of blade length, but in big cities I play a very low-profile game and most of the time strictly follow the law, even if I am not particularly worried about police checks.
Hence the Native: the same cockpit ergonomics as Hellboy, which gets a lot of kitchen use now that the Chief has turned into a Chef, but in a shorter format.

There is also a swedge on the blade spine of the Native that is not present on the Chief.

The action is smooth with zero blade play, and a true guillotine drop can be achieved simply by releasing the lock. I have already written about how top notch these Golden-made Natives are in terms of fit and finish, having used them since 2011.

This linerless version is, to me, the best Native design ever produced, and this Exclusive represents the best of the best. In these years dominated by titanium frame locks and Axis-style locks, the opportunity to own a truly great lockback feels precious.
And this one, for me, is the Last of the Mohicans!

Review

NATIVE CHIEF™ REX 45 SPRINT RUN™ – C244GBORE – The Joker !

6 Comments

“It’s been a long road
Getting from there to here
It’s been a long time
But my time is finally near…”

Yes, it has been 22 years (since 1999) that we have been waiting for the Native Chief to be produced.

Sal Glesser said:

In 2008: “We only made one prototype. The model never went into production.”

In 2017: “The Native “Chief” has been on hold for some 15 – 20 years. I imagine we can get it to queue if there is demand. I’ll watch the thread. The Shaman is designed to be 3.5″ blade length which is legal in more places that the Chief’s 4.0″ blade.”

In 2018 “Working on the refinements for the 3rd prototype. We work on roughly 20-30 designs at any given time…. We’ll use a Golden back lock.”
Then…
“I’ve been carrying a “Chief prototype. A 20 year old “sal” design with modern “Eric” mods.” had written Sal Glesser in March 2019.

As shown on Eric Glesser video “Native Chief Breakdown”, the prototype looks a lot like the finale version.

Here is also a video from Wouter (Spydercollector) presenting the production sample:

Also, knowing the Vanilla version released in 2019, all made in their new facility in Golden Colorado Earth, was in S30V, waiting for a Sprint Run was mandatory in my case.
I got my eye on the Rex45 Chief before even to be able to get the Tree Rex Shaman. Rex45 seems to me a great steel for such a “toothpick”. Last year I had the chance to get a Tree Rex and my experience with that alloy made the wait of the Chief even longer.
You can read my thoughts about CPM REX45 here:

https://nemoknivesreview.com/2020/02/07/the-tree-rex-also-known-as-the-shaman-in-cpm-rex-45-and-dymondwood/

To quote Spyderco’s site:
“Crucible® CPM® REX® 45 is a super-high-speed particle metallurgy tool steel enriched with large volumes of cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium. Its high cobalt content increases the steel’s attainable hardness and enhances the positive properties of the steel’s other alloys. The addition of vanadium promotes the formation of vanadium carbides, which provide high wear resistance, fine grain size and increased toughness.“

CPM Rex45 is just great: no chipping, pleasant to keep ultra sharp with only some leather + compound stropping: a great super steel. Just be careful with its dust with 10% of toxic cobalt, better be safe than sorry.

OK, my Chief was expected for the first of April, hence the name “Joker”. The slim shade and the burnt orange color scales also inspired me… (Certainly not the Joachim’s or Jared’s crappy interpretations, much more Ledger and Bolland.)

Back to the knife: stretching in length the Native is a beautiful result. Since the Native model people were asking for a longer version and a shorter version, they have been heard.

Right out of the box, the Chief felt very angular: sharp edges on the scales, gritty G10, and a lot of hot spot on the choil/ricasso and the blade spine.
My Mandy City felt the exact opposite and it cost me a third of the Chief Price. So I was a little disappointed. It was not love at the first sight. Luckily , I know my Spyderco for a looooong loooong time and get my sandpaper ready.

I have send it under the tap to avoid any G10 dust which are really toxic for the lungs. Now the handle is suiting my taste.

The last experience I got with thick all-G10 construction knife in the Spyderco Family was the great Manix 2 Lockback (sold for 99 euros !) which was a great hard working folder.


The G10 slabs are much more thick than with the steel liners construction.
Quoting Sal:
“Actually Eric and Tom went over this model with the engineers for quite a while before making the decision to make it liner-less. We’ve done a lot of experimenting lately and you can see a lot in the many different designs and options. It surprises me that some would think to make decisions on values without any experience. if we screwed it up, we’ll fix it, but we don’t screw up often considering the many envelopes we’re willing to push.”

Compared to the Police:

You can compared thick G10 and thinG10+Liners.

As with the steel liner’s knives, there is zero flex and zero play, horizontal or vertical. It is like a vault. (My old Benchmade AFCK BM800HSS got titanium liners and flexes a lot.)
G10 is a really solid material. They even makes stealthy fixed knives with G10 blades… A steel liner could also bend and warp, not a thick G10 slab IMHO. Also the Cold Steel Recon folders are steel linerless and Cold Steel’s Recons are known for their sturdiness. I got an XL Recon and the lack of liner is really not an issue.
The blade, helped by two bronze phosphorous washers, chutes free when unlock which is very reliable and easy to learn to put back the knife in the pocket. It is done smoothly and fast.
It is a very secure way to close your knife.

Let’s not forget: a one hand opening knife needs to be a one hand closing knife. The best example is using a knife at the top of a ladder: you want to be able to get the knife back in the pocket easily and safely.

I’m not a huge fan of the hour glass clips founded on the Native 5 and the Delica/Endura/Paramillie/Para3. It has been immediately replaced mine with a Blade4sell small titanium clip.
Let’s do a family photo:

On the Shaman (“made to be a fairly heavy duty folder. Simple, but stout.” according to Sal), the Chief, the Native and the Lil’ Native my favorite clip is that last one.

The Native family is the no “hump” clan of the Spyderco Catalog.
The Chief is co signed by Eric and Sal.

Back to the Orange Chief, I was not really pleased also by its edge geometry. I felt it thick behind the edge. Even if the knife was razor sharp out of the box, it could not pass my plastic bottle test which consist in cutting the butt of a soda bottle by the center which is thicker.
The thin Manly City was able to do it right out of the box, as were able my Swayback, my PPT or even my Delica too for example… The champions being the Michael Walker and the Nilakka.
It is a matter of “deshouldering”, convexing the edge as always.

Diamonds are super steel best friends.

And now it is able to pass the test. 🙂
But let’s do it again for good measure.

Once thinned with diamonds, I usually strop it for a nice shining results. So far I need more elbow grease but it slowly get better and better.

Also the choil was very sharp to my taste. A little diamond filing and it was much more finger friendly.

So far, the Chief is a slim knife but destined to be very polyvalent. When the Shaman is very outdoors oriented, the Chief finds its place also in the kitchen.
It takes time to built a natural patina on Rex45 but it will come later after some fruits and hot meats.

The orange scales make it very table’s friendly too, despite its very pointy shape which could make sheeples nervous.

In a plate nothing force you to keep the edge perpendicular to the surface. I have found REX45 being hard to dull on plates anyway. It is a very easy going steel.

Another easy going steel is K390 found in the Police Model. You can see it is a tad longer than the Chief with also a thinner stock blade.

The Chief is elegant and certainly one of the most beautiful design in the Spyderco scuderia. Their backlock is so solid, the handle will break before it. Sal Glesser knows that making a longer version of the Native was not as simple as a sketch on a drawing board. You can watch the video at the end of this article about that.

The double signature, Eric and Sal.
Folders, Review

Lil’ Native seasoned by JD – Lil’ Pocket Big Knife !

2 Comments

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This is a follow up review from last year LUCKY MEETING THE SPYDERCO LIL’NATIVE BY JD

I got the opportunity to carry JD Native avter he has used it for months (since october).

Now the Lil’Native is smooth and easy to open it and close it but more interesting, JD as refined the edge to some sort of pseudo scandi grind !

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And this knife is cutting so well…

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Push cutting through bottle’s bottom is made easy with that new geometry.

 

JD has made a beautiful regular thin edge from the choil to the tip.

 

The very solid construction, glass smooth action and thin edge turned the Lil’ Native into a very impressive knife. Again this is SPyderco specialty to bring short powerful matter separators. The lock is strong, the blade is strong, it is a very capable tool in a compact size. The belly also helps for push cuts.

Really impressive EDC knife.

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Folders, Review

Manix 2 Lockback C101MBGP2 — Native 5.2 Grand Daddy !

3 Comments

This version of the Manix is equipped with one of the strongest lock ever produce by Spyderco in a light package. We are touching here a “Knife of Excellence” and one of the best Eric Glesser’s design. Sadly it is discontinuited in 2019 but this is also the last chance for you to get an absolute fabulous workhorse at a great price. Mine came for 99 dollars…

Can you imagine better bargain for an all made American knife of high performance ?

The operation of the lock goes deep in the notch while unlocking.
And the G10 is factory smoothed (I have used 800 grid to get it even smoother later)  and the action is perfect. Lockback lovers can only fall deeply in love with this one.

The pivot screws are huge even compare hardchore folders like the Yojimbo2 and it is only a part of the enhanced strength of this version as also the blade is a little thicker than normal Manix 2 version.

Here the blade thickness is 0.145″ (3.7 millimeters)
against the usual Manix  thickness of 0.125″ (3.2 mm) !!
Half a millimeter in black thickness is a simple way to have a stronger blade.

G10 is extraordinarily strong and with such thick scales this version of the Manix do not need any steel liners which can rust or get dirty too easily, especially if they are skeletonized !! So this thick G10 use is a great plus in my book: the Manix 2 Lockback is easy to clean and easy to check for grim … It’s a plus for hunters which use their knives in the fiels were hair and blood can get inside the handle. I should also mention than this one, like all my Native 5 got ZERO vertical play and his so smooth it is fun to flick open.
Also don’t forget you can make stealth fixed blade (even Fred Perrin made Balisong’s blade and handles) only with G10: this is a real solid material.
Here the blade is made of S30V. Spyderco knows how to heat treat than steel so this is a no brainer.

The plain stell back space and thick G10 slabs of the handle are just wonderful to avoid blisters. This is where you recognized a tool you can use hard without hand sore.
The balance of the knife is also improved with this full G10 construction, the sweet point is just under the second horn of the handle not the one of the choil, the other further back.
Well it is a lightweight linerless handle construction, fine-textured G10 scales and a stainless steel backspacer ! There is no lateral movement. You know my favorite expression “built like a tank“… so here we go !

The tolerance and the QC are really high. The action is smooth and the blade locks with a firm “KLAK!!”

As you can see, as much as I love the Shaman design, this Manix 2 is the true daddy of the linerless G10 version of the Native. Again a very solid and light EDC.
In both the ergonomy is at its zenith: large choil, no jimping madness the handle spouses your palm.

Both are made in Golden, Colorado, a plant with now very high tolerance and excellent quality control: the blade is perfectly centered.

So what do you got here ? A incredibly solid and versatile outdoors knife ! Easy to clean and maintain, rock strong locking system and of course the full flat ground leaf shape blade which is a must in cutting control. Strong lock, stronger blade, great ergos… This is really a shame this knife is discontinuited …
Perhaps its reincarnation can be found in the Spyderco Chief found in this review from April 2021.

https://nemoknivesreview.com/2021/04/01/native-chief-rex-45-sprint-run-c244gbore-the-joker/

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“We were sanding in the rain – like we invented sanding
There’s a light in the sky from a million street lights
And we danced all the steps from all those old time movies
Rolling down the hill with laughing hearts…”

Folders, Review

MANLY PEAK S90V — THE BULGARIAN WONDER AT WORK.

5 Comments

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The Manly Peak is a workhorse. So, it has been put to good use in various tasks.

The main features of that folder are a very thin geometry and a zero play mid backlock.
It has not developed any play and the edge has ever been thinned for outstanding results.

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Tomatoes are great for testing. As you can notice, it was a very easy task to cut through the skin.

The same for any fruits it was confronted to. The thin and long blade gives a lot of hand control when peeling and cutting or on the cutting board. No pitting on the S90V alloy after intense and daily kitchen duty.


Pushing the envelop, I have thinned both my S90V Native and S90V Peak. I was inclined to think that the Native 5 with its belly would be better than the Bulgarian folder but in fact not. The thinner grind of the Manly got better results on hard plastic and when the Native was stuck, the Peak was going through like the Nilakka or my Opinel would do.

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I was even able to do multiple cuts on the same bottle butt. This is really impressive. Let’s not forget that should should have the same results on a 45 euros Peak with D2 steel.

The mechanism feels a little smoother now on opening and closing but it is also due to a drop of nano oil.  The clip is really perfect, it is deep, secure and smooth. It has been well thought and I really wish the future generation of Manly folders will be likewise equipped.
So the Manly Peak is really a high quality workhorse in terms of reliability, power cuts and ease to wear. This is a serious tool for any users, from the LEO to the ELU.  It’s a thrill to see it compete against folders which can reach 4 times its price and see how easily it can beat them. Now this is a stiff mechanism “à la Cold Steel” and you will need some open and close mileage so that it folds and unfolds with ease. Once in action though you have a pocket lightsaber able to work hard and keep going. Highly recommended!

More Manly folders here.

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last edited by Pascal Jaffré on 18 jan 2018

Advice, Folders

Short Locking Folders — A plethora of choices !

3 Comments

Those are the knives I choose when going out. I prefer a 3 inches locking blade.
From left to right we have got: the Falcon, the Wolfspyder, the Native 5, the Delica, the Techno and the Chaparral. They are just examples of knives I have got around and which fit the purpose to carry a non threatening but useful locking knife.  You could easily add the Lil’Nilakka which are the favorite EDC of JD and Pjaffre.
As far as I love my Para2 or my Sliverax, I tend to go shorter on the blade and keep the 4 inches for in-house uses unless I’m going in the woods. Also, most of the chores can be done with a 3 in blade without rising any eyebrow.

If you think to go thin in stock, the Delica and the Chaparral are the way to go. You can notice on the picture how thin the Delica goes and with the KnifeCenter special edition, your edge is made of HAP40, a steel which refuses to chip.

Lockbacks are in fashion since… the Buck110. On the three pictures, only one has got vertical play: the Delica. This tiny play is only felt when cutting on a board and won’t bother you.
The Chaparral has a hidden pin which acts as a second locking system ala Triadlock. The Native 5 has got very high tolerance and none of them I have handled has shown any play in any direction. Let say, in that matter, that the Delica although an old fashion folder with her own character, has the best thinner slicer of the bunch and her blade shape gives a lot of polyvalence. The Delica is also the only short folder I can Spyderdrop. It is made possible by the full steel spacer’s weight. Spyderdrops is the fastest way I know to have your knife ready to cut. It’s also the safest as you are holding it by the blade.

You can notice, there are a lot of materials for the handle. Titanium handle are great as they can be easily cleaned but can be scratched easily too. G10, I do love, especially thick G10 with no liners like found on that Native 5 version and the Cold Steel Recon 1 collection. Pakkawood is a new thing for me. It’s got a warm feeling and I can rinse the handle under the tap with no after-thought. Carbon Fibers (CF) are actually very resistant to abrasion. Your knife can fall and be kicked, the CF handle will not show any scars.

Now I do cut hard material by pushing with my thumb on the back of the blade. This is also why I tend to favor a thicker spine. The Techno is king in that matter, but lately I have discovered how much the Falcon and the Wolfspyder are great. What makes the Wolfspyder very special is the ease you can twist the blade in the cut thank to her lack of blade’s height.

You can notice the amount of pocket lint in the handle, giving you an hint on which knife I carry the most. You can get a lot of great locks: RIL’s, Compression Lock… The new Lil’Native offers a very small package (I think it’s the shortest of Spyderco’s with that lock nowadays) and the choil makes the blade even shorter on that design.

To have or not to have a choil ? On a very short folder, a choil can take a lot of edge off. The good old Delica shines again but the Wolfspyder and the Techno are beating her choil-wise; they both provide one of the best solid locks with the maximum edge possible. IMHO for the 3 inches folders, choils would be really important if the knives were slip joints. They are still important in my books on longer folders which are used harder, like on Millie,

Strangely short folders are often used out of their scope like a Pradel would be. Mondane chores and abuses can occured very easily. This is also a reason why I tend to choose strong locks and tips on my 3 inches folders. When it’s possible I also choose tool steels which can provide better lateral strength.

Delica: No real choil, vertical play, very thin blade, very thin spine. Bonus: spyderdrop.
Falcon: Choil, thick spine, nice belly but not deep carry clip. Bonus: great flipper.
Lil’Nilakka: No choil, deep carry clip, thin blade. Bonus: very thin geometry.
Native 5: Choil, thin spine, thin blade but not deep carry clip. Bonus: great ergonomy.
Techno: No choil, deep carry clip, thick blade and thick geometry. Bonus: built like a tank.
Chaparral: choil, deep carry and thin spine and thin blade. Bonus: idem pin lock.
Wolfspyder: no choil, thick blade, deep carry (now). Bonus: thin scandi edge.

The most eye candies would be the Native 5 and Falcon and the most surprisingly effective in cutting power would be the Lil’Nilakka and the Delica…
The easiest to carry would be the Chaparral which is the thinnest of the bunch.
That said my best pick for hard workers would be a deep carried, solid lock, no choil, strong, thick spine and thin geometry folder: the Techno and especially the Wolfspyder.

They are just a few example of brainstorming for choosing a 3 inches folder to carry.

Oh well, there is also the Kopa… Guess I need to start this over !
The Kopa has got a choil, no vertical play, can be spyderdropped…
Dragonfly? Where?!

More on https://nemoknivesreview.com/2017/10/05/choosing-a-knife-for-the-city/

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last edited: pjaffre 03 jan 2018

Folders, Review

Spyderco C41GPFGR5 Native 5 — A Smooth Operator.

6 Comments

20171208_130139-012017345095.jpeg Every Spyderco’s fan needs an all American Made Native. Why? Because it’s one of the short folders well designed to accommodate every type of hands. It is like a super Delica: wider, stronger, with zero vertical play and as recently I have offered a Native to a friend who use it for hunting, I needed a new one. There is a lot of choice those days, with a lightweight version, even with a Maxamet blade. Maxamet is one of the new Über Super Steel and I have a Para3 ordered with Maxamet. There is also a carbonfiber version with S90V and even one to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Spyderco with Damascus blade, also a S35V blade with G10 and one with a flutted titanium handle… Many choices. 20171208_120241-011309705577.jpeg Anyway this Knifecenter Native special edition brings one of the most amazing steel available: S90V on a stunning dark green smooth G10 handle. In the 80’s Phil Wilson was making fillet knives in CPM420V (S90V previous name) and find out it was exceptional in terms of edge retention for filleting salmons. It’s not a new steel but certainly one of the uncanny in terms of behavior: it looses it’s razor edge fast but seems to keep a keen working edge forever. Spyderco use diamonds wheels to work on it and it’s really a steel which refuse to give away its molecules. So you can use it on cardboard and any abrasive materials without worrying to lose its edge. But what that Knifecenter’s exclusive Native brings also is a lighter construction for the handle: they are no steel liners. The slabs of G10 as thicker for good measure. You can notice also the construction is very cleverly made as in hole screw holes for the clip (they are 4 position you can use, tip down, up on both side), you can see some steel. It means they are hidden nested construction under the G10 slab. 20171208_120329-011500186881.jpeg But the only steel parts visible are the spacer and the lock (pictured here before sanding). It makes a very clean design. And also a knife more impact resistant. I have had steel liners knives warped after a fall. A tiny tiny change which made the blade touch the liner. You oblige to bend it back. Also steel liners are a place were rust can appears and you cannot spot it. So the more G10 the happier I am, as I need to rinse my knives often under the tap. Also the balance it now just perfect: just behind the pivot. Also there is only 2×3 screws in its construction, the pivoting part of the lock is a pin not a screw like on the majority of Native. You can find that pin on the lightweight versions, but also the new carbon fiber version C41CFFP5 which also share a S90V blade… Again, the less screws, the better. (Screws can get loose and be lost) This is the same kind of construction found in Cold Steel Recon 1. But also, the G10 in the Native is smooth as a polish piece of ebony. This will save your pocket’s lips, trust me on that. They are jimping on the blade, on the top and on the choil so there is no problem with wet palms to held the knife. G10 is an amazing material (Glass fiber mixed with epoxy) and I love to sand it to my taste. But this time I will focus on the edges. Again, be careful not to breath the dust of G10, it’s very not good for your health.

 

At first I wanted to rounded the handle like the new Shaman (a bigger version of the Native with a compression lock) but the second screw of my Native is too close to the edge. Rounding it would be an issue. At least I wanted to feel no sharp edge under my fingers. The Native did not have sharp edges, it has some very nicely squared angle like a musical instrument but to sharp for me. Even if It gives some kind of Bauhaus style to the handle. Very classy. 20171208_125932-01358522911.jpeg Anyway, sanding is a way for me to appropriate that knife, to custom it to my taste. Rare are the knives I did have the urge to do it but it’s also a pleasure to twist it to my likings and I prefer it that way. 20171208_125928-01124803101.jpeg The Native is, like my Delica, my Falcon, my Techno, my Lil’Nilakka, a locking non threating knife I can carry in the city. It’s in my eyes a little “Clip-it” perfect to be EDCed. So I will keep the black clip as it gives a very low profile for a knife which is not deep carried. We will see how long the black coating will remain.

20171210_130738-011515207884.jpeg20171208_142047-01757854268.jpeg And of course it was able to push cut through a plastic bottle butt with ease. More to come soon. 20171208_130333-012021035791.jpeg 20171208_162319-011347483770.jpeg

Review

Native 110V Sprint run used as skinner.

3 Comments

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It’s in Italian as it was filmed in Tuscany after the hunting linked here.
But I think you will enjoy to see how the Native 5 S110V blade goes well on skinner hares job.
The walker is here.  And Valter review of it is here.
FYI hare hunting is a traditional hunt for the poormen to put meat on the table.

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Folders, Photos, Uncategorized

SPYDERCO NATIVE C41CFP5 – CPM110V Three years update.

2 Comments

wp-image-1801371413Last year, Jim Ankerson made a Military CPM110V test and was able to “cut 6,000 linear ft of cardboard checking every 500 ft for phone book paper sharpness, would still slice phone book paper after this stage, zero edge damage.” He had stopped but ” it could have cut a lot more. I try and keep the cardboard to a reasonable amount.”
For Euros, this is 1829 meters ! CPM110V is so special to him that it’s his Bladeforum’s profile picture. This is special stuff as seen in my Manix 2 review here.

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It’s been three years since I got my Native 5 in CPM110V and 6 years since I use a Native 5 as one of my EDC: friendly size, great ergos… Time to look at it.
First of all,  I have never touched up the blade. Some stropping but not a single ceramic touch. With its factory edge, the blade looks like new: no scratches at all and the Carbon Fiber handle is pristine.  Those materials are hard and made to last no question this folder is a knife made to be some kind of time capsule. Its backlock is one of the strongest  in the knife industry behind the triadlock and has developed zero play which is great because I got many backlocks with vertical play even out of the box. Spyderco backlocks have undergone many refinements and through better manufacturing tolerances are among the safest and easiest locking systems to operate. To quote a forumite: “the engineering wizards at Spyderco have (IMO) outdone themselves”.

The Native is a must-have for any knifenut and got a near cult following aura. First thing, it’s an all American made knife which is IMHO better than the Seki’s and also it has been designed to be a great EDC. A totally polyvalent knife. It has even been chosen to be the symbolic knife of Spyderco’s 40th Anniversary with a Thor Damasteel blade special CF edition. Now it also exists with flutted titanium handle, full carbon fiber handle and S90V blades and lightweight with Maxamet and 110V…
It’s easy why people are collecting them and clipping them with pride.

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Eventually, during this 3 years I have never used “hard” my Native 5. Simply because the false edge is not thumb friendly. I do push the blade with my left hand thumb when whittling. It has been used in the kitchen, but not that much as its blade is short. It has been used for sausages processing and mondaine tasks. I would have use it as much as my Chaparral… And as the Native is overbuilt, it handles on those task with ease.
Also the handle is a little on the squarish side. I have sand it but even though it is not as ergonomic as a Yojimbo2, the Manixes or the guardless Nilakka. So it is not appealing me to use it hard even if I know the construction can handle it.

My Native is some kind of overbuilt Gentleman folder. I carry it mainly in the city or in office environment. I know it will 200% reliable and with his thin edge the cutting tasks will be done in a blink. Unless It has failed on a cutting the plastic bottle butt but it was not its fault. The plastic was 4mm thick !

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If you want to learn more about Natives:
A 2012 video from MrBlonde (Spydercollector) shows the history of the Native.
Also Paul Beretta (The Deacon) has a great post on his site about it.
The Native was also used for Bladeforums exclusive knives many years.

Folders, Photos

Spyderco Native C41CFP5 – CPM110V and Carbon FIber handle Sprint Run

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Native 5 SPrint Run CPM110V

Exactly three years ago, on 1st october 2011, I had received my Native 5. You can still read how ecstatic I was toward that great ocket knife: solid, ergonomic, easy to carry in the pocket watch. I was especially amazed by the strong lock back with zero blade play and the new easy to polish on leather S35V steel.
Three years later, the Native 5 is getting a spectacular emotionnaly overloading Sprint Run: CPM110V blade and Carbon fiber handles. In 2012 (or 13) the Spyderco Forum knives was also a CPM110V Native but with a green diamond G10 handle.
This time some grammes are outed as Carbon Fiber is lighter than G10.
Mine is as flawless as my first Native. The blade action is smooth as ever and I can generate any play vertical or horizontal. The grind is a little thicker compared to my S35V version but not a big deal as the knife came as a razor.
Again I have installed a Delica 4 blacked clip for low profile, as I carry the knife tip up in my pocket watch.
CPM110V is a great steel that I was not able to really dull yet on my Dark Blue Manix 2. That steel seems to be fresh up easily with a dozen of pass on a white ceramic.
I’m very happy to continue the testing on one of my favorite plateforme: the Native 5 ! Again Spyderco is a figure of pionneer giving the chance to use the best high tech metallurgy on their best refined design.
More soon…. So stay tuned.


The Pink, the Sprint Run, The S35V and the Dark Blue Manix 2.


The Carbon fiber is on the right.


Yin and Yang…