Spyderco Sliverax Flipper Knife Review

Spyderco is a cutlery company that is based in Golden, Colorado. They produce knives and sharpeners and actually pioneered many features that are now common in folding knives, including the pocket clip, serrations, and the opening hole. Spyderco has collaborated with 30 custom knife makers, athletes, and self-defense instructors for designs and innovated the usage of 20 different blade materials.

Spyderco was founded by Sal Glesser. The first product Spyderco produced was the Portable Hand in 1976, this “spider-shaped device”, was a series of angles, ball joints, and alligator clips that helped people such as jewelers and hobbyists to work with small parts. Glesser and his wife Gail converted an old bread delivery truck into a motor-home and traveled to shows. As they became more successful, they graduated from the bread truck to a truck and trailer. They settled in Golden, Colorado in November 1978.

Spyderco began producing knife sharpeners in 1979 and produced their first folding knife, the C01 Worker, in 1981. This knife was the first to feature a round hole in the blade designed for fast, one-handed and ambidextrous opening, which is now the company’s trademark. Additionally, the company claims that this was the first knife to feature a pocket clip on the right side of the handle.

Most knives produced by Spyderco are folding knives of various designs, blade steels, handle materials, and locking mechanisms (including two patented proprietary locks); however, they have also produced fixed blade knives for various purposes.

A large part of Spyderco knife production is outsourced to foreign contractors in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Italy, and China.

Spyderco knives are respected for their simplicity, reliability, good ergonomics, and functional aesthetics. They are popular with many markets including private citizens, fire and rescue personnel, and law enforcement officers.

For his many influences in tactical knife design and many collaborations with custom knife makers, Sal Glesser was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 2000 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia.

Today we will be going over Spyderco’s Sliverax Flipper knife that features a Carbon fiber and G10 Laminate handle and a CPM S30V satin blade. This knife has a very traditional look to it.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of CPM S30V steel. This was developed by Crucible Steel in 2001, with the aid of Chris Reeve who is a knife guru. This is an American made powder steel. It was designed primarily as a cutlery steel and has a lower Vanadium content compared with S60V and S90V to allow for easier grinding. This steel is currently used extensively in high end production knives. Just like 154CM, it has a good compromise between all three steel attributes. Even just five years ago, S30V had a higher price, but as the market has continued growing and newer steels have come out, it has fallen in price and prestige. Although it steel gives you all of the original qualities that it first provided. This steel is known to have the perfect balance between strength, toughness, and edge retention, which is a hard balance to achieve. Really the only drawback that this steel has been reported to having is that it is pretty hard to sharpen and work with.

The blade has been finished with a satin finish. This finish is created by repeatedly sanding the steel in one direction with an increasing level of fine abrasive. This finish is the most popular blade finish that is used on the market today, because it gives such a classic look to your blade. In terms of luster, the satin finish lies right in the middle—in between the polished blade, which is very reflective, and the coated finish, which is matte. This finish is designed to show off the levels and fine lines of the blade’s steel.

The blade has been carved into a leaf shaped blade. This is the signature blade shape of Spyderco. The style of blade got its name because of its resemblance to the foliage of a plant. This was in part a stylistic decision to make the brand’s knives stand out form the crowd, but it also allowed for the inclusion of Spyderco’s signature oversized thumb hole—which is used as a n alternative to a blade flipper. Leaf shaped blades feature a drastic thumb ramp over the thumb hole which usually features grip jimping, and then a straight downward slope toward the point. The belly of the blade follows a slight convex curve toward a harsh point. When Spyderco describes the leaf blade shape they say, “A blade shape developed and refined by Spyderco. It is similar to a spear point, but not completely symmetrical, and has a more acute point and typically no swedge.”

This blade has been designed as an everyday carry knife, so Spyderco has paired the leaf blade style with a plain edge. The plain edge is more equipped to take on a wider variety of tasks than a serrated edge is. The plain edge is better than the serrated when the application involves push cuts. And, the plain edge is superior when extreme control accuracy, and clean cuts are necessary, whether or not the job is push cuts or slices. For example, the plain edge will work better for applications such as shaving, peeling an apple, or skinning a deer. This is because all of those applications involve either mostly push cuts or the need for extreme control.

 

The Handle:

The handle on the Sliverax features a carbon fiber and G-10 laminate handle and stainless steel handle liners.

Carbon fiber is actually a generic term than encompasses the material that have been made out of strands of carbon being woven together and then set in a resin. Carbon fiber is extremely strong, but surprisingly lightweight for the strength that you get behind it. Unfortunately, it is pretty expensive because of the time consuming process it is to create this material. And, although it is extremely strong, it is far from indestructible and does suffer from being brittle. Carbon fiber is brittle because all of the fibers are woven together in a single direction as opposed to being woven haphazardly. So while the handle is going to be practically indestructible in that one direction, when it is stressed in other directions, it will start to break apart. And, because it is brittle, it will rack if it subjected to sharp impacts.

G10 is the common term for a grade of fiberglass composite laminate, which is a cloth material with a resin binder, that is used in a number of everyday carry knives. This material is very similar to carbon fiber when it comes to properties, but they are made through a very different process. The manufacturer makes G10 by taking layers of fiberglass cloth and soaking them in resin. The manufacturer then compresses the layers and bakes them under pressure. G10 is immune to corrosion and rust, is easily textured, and can come in a variety of different patterns. And similarly to Carbon Fiber, G10 tends to be on the more brittle side and does not resist impact well.

The liners on this knife are made out of stainless steel, which provides excellent durability and resistance to corrosion. But, it is not particularly lightweight. Because the stainless steel has only been used as the liners, the added weight will just be added heftiness, but will not weigh your knife down.

The handle has a unique, exaggerated shape that you are not going to find on many other knives. The finger groove is deep, but still elongated. After the finger groove finishes, the handle flares out in an exaggerated curve. Because the finger groove is so deep, it has created a finger guard to protect your fingers from being sliced if you accidentally slip. This is a flipper knife, so the flipper acts as an extra finger guard when the blade is opened. The spine of the handle also features a curve, which helps give you a more comfortable grip on this knife, in case you will need to be using it for long periods of time.

On the butt of the handle, there has been a lanyard hole carved into it. Many people recognize the benefit of using a lanyard on a tactical blade or a hunting knife, but few see the true potential of using a lanyard on your EDC knife. Also, a lot of people feel like the lanyard is just for looks, and while it does add a touch of personal style, it also plays a bigger role. Pocket knives are often kept in your pocket, and many are mostly concealed in your pocket. If you are trying to draw your knife in a hurry, you aren’t going to be able to do it. With a lanyard though, you can easily grasp the lanyard and whip your knife out. Whether it is for opening a letter, or defending yourself, you’ll shave seconds off of withdrawing your knife if you use a lanyard.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is reversible for either right or left hand carry, but is only eligible for tip up carry. This is a wire clip, in a sleek silver that matches the rest of the hardware on the Sliverax.

 

The Mechanism:

The Sliverax is a flipper knife that features both the flipper protrusion and Spyderco’s trademark thumb hole. This knife also sports Spyderco’s Compression Lock.

The flipper is a small, sharks fin shaped piece of metal that extends out of the spine of the handle when the blade is closed. To open the knife using the flipper, you manually pull back on this piece, which flips the blade open until it locks into place.

The other way that you can open this blade is by using the classic round thumb hole. This hole was introduced in the 1980s. Opening a folder equipped with a thumb hole is just like using a thumb stud; by its very design, its ambidextrous. And, unlike the stud, it does not protrude from the blade, which is a characteristic loved by many knife enthusiasts.

This knife is equipped with Spyderco’s Compression Locking mechanism. This mechanism uses a leaf-like spring form a split liner in the handle to wedge laterally between a ramp on the blade tang and the stop pin (or anvil pin). Developed and patented by Spyderco, this locking mechanism provides extreme lock strength and ease of use.

 

The Specs:

The blade on the Spyderco Sliverax measures in at 3.48 inches long, with a handle length of 4.52 inches long. When this knife is opened, it measures in at an even 8 inches long. The knife weighs in at 3.3 ounces. Many people prefer their everyday carry knife to weigh in right around 3 ounces, so this Spyderco blade fits the bill perfectly.

 

Conclusion:

Designed by automotive engineer and knife enthusiast Paul Alexander. the new Sliverax is the sum of style and sophistication. Much like his Ouroboros, this slimly profiled knife presents a deep groove for plenty of blade control and the ergonomics keep it comfortable in the hand. Flipper knives are all part of the folder knife category and are easy operated thanks to a pronounced tab that protrudes out of the forward part of the spine and/or thumb hole. This particular flipper utilizes Spyderco’s patented Compression Lock™ mechanism–allowing users to safely close the blade with one hand without ever having the operating hand come near the cutting edge. and the ball bearing washers translates to smooth fluid action. This model, the C228CFP, features a carbon fiber and G-10 laminate handle, nestled stainless steel liners, a leaf shaped style blade in a satin finish, Spyderco’s trademark round hole opening feature and the reversible pocket clip allows for tip up carry only but is eligible for a left or right hand carry option. This knife is going to become your new favorite EDC knife, so come pick up yours today at BladeOps.