My trusty Spyderco blade
Ok, got a second for a new blog post. And, since its a crappy weekend, figured I’d do a little gear review. Here are my personal feelings about a critical piece of outdoor gear.. the pocket knife.
I am a pretty huge fan of pocket knives, have been since I was a kid. I own a few, but usually only carry one or two different styles on any given day. One of my preferred styles is definitely an oldy, but a goody… the Spyderco Endura. The design has been around since 1990 and the good folks at Spyderco keep punching them out. They have tried to improve on the original design… with an Emerson hook to speed up blade deployment and serrations on the blade. But, if you ask me… the good old fashioned plain edge Endura is the pinnacle of single blade, lock back perfection (not that you can ever find them).
So, why the Endura? Well, it is the definition of simplicity. With its large thumb hole grip and basic lock back mechanism… there is really little that can go wrong with this piece. Moreover, its light weight, good steel, and robust construction make this blade an every day work horse. The Endura’s steel liners give the knife rigidity while saving crucial ounces. I will caution that this blade probably would not fit the bill as a survival or bushcraft knife… although, I bet it would work in a pinch. It probably would not hold up to heavy use like batoning through firewood day in and day out. But, thats not what it was designed for.
At any rate… this is a great knife. But, you know me… I have to modify my gear to really be happy with it. The only modification I make to these knives-other than sharpening-is to coat one side of the handle with a little JB weld under the pocket clip. Why the hell would you do that… you may ask? Well, the ergonomic grip texturing on these knives is so aggressive it can really wear out your trousers where you clip it on the top of your pocket. Applying a smooth layer of epoxy over the texturing really gives your pocket a break and, since its under the clip, doesn’t interfere with your grip.