This is my second Native Chief, and it is a Factory Second bought in a 2023 Mystery Box:
“This limited-edition Exclusive version of the Native Chief™ was specially manufactured for St. Nick’s Knife Factory (stnicksknives.com) and is only offered through their sales channels.…
…Our Red & Black Holiday Sale starts December 1st at 9:00AM MST! This online-only event will feature deep discounts on select factory-second knives, two different Mystery Boxes containing seconds of special high-value models, Sprint Runs, and Exclusives.“
Red and Black? This one was definitely made for that box! 🙂

Which means it has some cosmetic flaw I was not able to spot.
The action is rock solid — in fact, much more solid than my previous Chief, the Mighty Rex 45 Orange Sprint Run: the Joker.

I have heard that CPM Magnacut could be a stainless CPM 4V.
What I have heard over the years is how CPM 4V is tough and strong. The toughest steel used in Spyderco was CPM 3V used in the Tuff by Ed Schempp.
4V is used in cutting competitions alongside CPM M4. It is tougher than A2 or D2, and also tougher than M4.

What is the advantage in a folder like the Chief?
Simply look at the blade shape:

The Chief’s blade is more pointy than the PM2.
To quote Spyderco:
“This advanced alloy was specifically developed for demanding industrial applications requiring high degrees of both toughness and wear resistance. The PlainEdge™ blade is full-flat ground for a superior balance of strength, edge geometry, and point utility, and features a stealthy black Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating that also helps protect it from corrosion.“

Yes, this is a good thing because with only 5% chromium, CPM 4V can rust.
DLC helps eliminate that concern for this folder.

There is also some reminiscence of the Benchmade AFCK in M2HSS.
It was 25 years ago that this co-designed folder with Chris Caracci and Sal Glesser introduced a rust-prone tool steel on a modern “tactical” knife, protected by a black coating.

So peace of mind is a real advantage in a workhorse knife.
In the signature theme of St. Nick’s Exclusives, the linerless handle of this knife is constructed with vibrant red peel-ply-textured G-10 scales. To complement the blade’s low-profile DLC coating, the four-position pocket clip, lock bar, and all other handle hardware also have durable black coatings.

So what do we have with this Hellboy’s blade of choice?
A long folder with no hump on the blade — very slick.
A tough, pointy design you can use hard.
A very strong lock — backlocks are among the strongest locking systems around.

Quoting Sal in my previous Chief review:
“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.”

Now that Spyderco is promoting a lightweight FRN version of the Chief in CPM Magnacut, this is a good opportunity to step back in time and enjoy this incredibly slick and tough piece of equipment from a few years ago.

For my own adjustment, I have sanded the G10 so it is less harsh on my trousers.

The edge is already de-shouldered with diamond stones, and now I will tune it further to my preferences, as CPM 4V is not only tough but also strong.

I also replaced the original clip with a deep-carry Chinese clone.

And off we go!

Edit: I am back on the OEM black matte clip, which keeps less of the knife in the pocket. Deep carry is not mandatory on this one.
The Chief needs to be proud to be red!