Spyderco Spin FrameLock Knife Review

Spyderco is based in Golden, Colorado. This knife company produces knives and knife sharpeners. Sal Glesser is the man behind this company, with the very first product being the Portable Hand in 1976. This was a spider-shaped device, with a series of angles, ball joints, and alligator clips that helped people such as jewelers work with small parts. Sal and his wife converted an old bread delivery truck into a motor-home and traveled to different knife shows. As their success grew, they moved from the bread truck to a truck and trailer. They settled in Colorado in 1978. This was the year that they began producing knife sharpeners and three years later, they produced their first folding knife. This was the first knife to feature a round hole in the blade designed for fast, one-handed and ambidextrous open, which is now Spyderco’s trademark. Spyderco also claims that this was the first knife to feature a pocket clip on the right side of the handle.

They are actually the company that pioneered many features that are now the standard in folding knives, including the pocket lip, serrations, and the opening hole. A large part of Spyderco production is outsourced to foreign contractors in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Italy, and China. Spyderco knives have a reputation for their simplicity, reliability, good ergonomics, and their functional aesthetics. Their knives are popular with many markets—from private citizens to fire and rescue and even to law enforcement officers.

Spyderco has collaborate with 30 custom knife makers, athletes, and self-defense instructors for designs and have innovated over 20 different blade materials.

Spyderco is a high quality brand that is going to tackle your needs effortlessly. Spyderco knives are also a good budget choice, because they usually won’t break the bank. That being said, you also don’t have to worry about these knives lacking quality—they are still made with high quality, durable materials. Not only will they be able to assist you with your needs, Spyderco knives are going to look good while doing it.

Spyderco is known for producing limited edition models, which they refer to as sprint runs. These limited runs are usually versions of discontinued models with different blade and handle materials, although some are completely new models. Today, we are going to be going over the Spyderco Spin FrameLock knife with a handle made out of Nishijin Glass Fiber, which does happen to be included in one of their sprint runs.

 

The Designer:

The main man behind this knife is Eric Glesser. He is known to be the second most important designer at Spyderco and is Sal Glesser’s (head designer) son. He has been working under the instruction of Sal throughout the years and has created many of Spyderco’s most well-known knives such as the Tenacious, Manix 2, and Dodo. Knife designing must run in his blood because he has a fantastic understanding of knife designs and ergonomics. Eric has become a bigger presence in the Spyderco company and we expect to see his phenomenal designs for a while longer.

 

The Blade:

The blade on the Spin is made out of VG-10 stainless steel. This steel is a cutlery grade stainless steel that is produced in Japan. The G in the name stands for “Gold” because this steel has reached a gold standard. This steel was originally aimed at Japanese chefs, but it quickly found its way into sports cutlery and for good reason: this steel holds an edge fairly well and has exceptional ability to withstand rust. VG-10 steel is a high carbon steel, which gives it its durability that it is known and loved for. This steel is very hard and you can achieve a very sharp edge on this knife; unfortunately, it has been prone to chipping.

This knife has been finished with a satin finish. This is the most popular finish on knives in the market today, because it offers you such a traditional look. This finish makes it so that the blade color doesn’t steal the show—it blends in, but in a good way. This finish is very medium in terms of luster—the mirror polish finish is definitely more reflective than this finish and it is not as matte as a stonewashed finish. This finish is created by repeatedly sanding the blade in one direction with an increasing level of an abrasive. This means that the sandpaper used to sand the steel will continually get finer and finer. The resulting metal shows of the bevels and the fine line in the steel exceptionally. The satin finish is a classic and will never go out of style. This was also the perfect option for the Spyderco Spin because the handle is supposed to steal the show.

This knife features a Wharncliffe style of blade. This blade shape is very similar to the sheepsfoot blade, but should not be confused with each other because they do have very different purposes. The classic Wharncliffe blade basically looks like a drop point blade that has been flipped over, meaning that the straight edge is the sharp edge. However, this Spyderco blade does not sport the traditional Wharncliffe blade, instead, the blade is much more triangular with both edges (the sharpened and unsharpened) being straight. But, when the unsharpened edge gets near the tip, it does curve, so as not to create a pointy tip. This creates a false-point, meaning that you the point itself isn’t’ sharp. This feature of the blade style is one of its perks, but it also is one of the drawbacks to this shape. For starters, this false point means that you are much safer when using this knife: there is no way that you are going to accidently stab yourself or someone else. However, this false point also means that if you are in desperate need of piercing or stabbing something, you are not going to accomplish that. Really, you have to look at what you hope to do with this knife before deciding if the Wharncliffe blade style is going to be a hindrance or a perk. The history of the Wharncliffe blade style does get muddled, with a few different stories claiming to be accurate. But regardless of the history, the Wharncliffe blade shape proves to be a very useful blade. This is also a great everyday blade if you work in an office setting, because the Wharncliffe blade excels at slicing open boxes, envelopes, and other basic everyday uses. On the flip side, this knife is not going to be very good for preparing food because of its lack of belly.

This Spyderco sports a plain edge. This enables the Spin to take on a wider variety of tasks and it will provide you with much cleaner cuts than a serrated blade would. Additionally, the plain blade makes sharpening this blade a breeze, and you can get it sharper than you could if it was serrated. Since this knife is going to be more of a general-utility blade, the plain edge was the perfect option for it.

 

The Handle:

The handle on the spin knife is made out of Blue Nishijin Glass Fiber on one of the handle scales and a traditional stainless steel handle scale on the other side.

Inspired by a centuries-old traditional Japanese weaving style called Nishijin, the highly polished glass fiber scale reveals a complex internal pattern that is strikingly beautiful. The stainless steel handle provides the knife with excellent durability and resistance to corrosion, but it is not lightweight. Because it is only one of the handle scales, this should not weigh the knife down too much, instead, it just adds the durability and heftiness that you desire out of your knife. The stainless steel handle scale has a few perks form being strong and durable to just how corrosion resistant it is. However, this scale is going to be more slippery than the Glass Fiber handle scale. The stainless steel handle scale has also been finished with a satin finish, to perfectly match with the sleek blade.

On the butt of the handle, there has been a lanyard hole carved out. This is definitely a smaller knife, and you can actually attach this to a lanyard and wear it around your neck if you desire. If that is not something that you would want to do, you can easily attach a traditional lanyard and carry it how you normally would.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The Spin comes with a three-screwed stainless clothing clip that positons the knife tip down in a pocket and also offers a way to money-clip your cash or attach to a necktie. This stainless steel clip is highly polished and the screws keeping it attached to the handle match with the rest of the hardware on this knife. This pocket clip is longer, so it will stay snug in your pocket, perfectly concealed.

 

The Mechanism:

This knife features Spyderco’s trademark thumb hole to assist you in opening it. This mechanism has been around since the 1980s and although you might find the thumb hole on knives made by different brands, Spyderco is the one that perfected it and then made it wildly popular. Opening a folder that has been equipped with a thumb hole is exactly like using a thumb stud. Because of the very design, it is always going to be ambidextrous. And, many knife enthusiasts actually prefer the hole to the stud because it does not protrude from the blade. To use the hole, you get traction with your thumb through the whole and then manually flip the blade open. It is simple, it’s easy, and there is no way that the hole can malfunction. There is no better opening mechanism.

This knife features Chris Reeve’s Integral Lock Mechanism or the RIL that will lock the blade securely open. This locking mechanism was created by the custom knife maker Chris reeve and is a design modification of the Liner Lock. He altered it so that the knife sues the handle scale as the lock’s liner. With the back portion of the handle doubling as both handle and lock, the need for internal liners is eliminated and the knife can be manufactured incredibly slim, yet still very strong. This is another reason why the stainless steel handle scale is such a benefit—it houses the RIL mechanism that will securely lock the blade open. The stainless steel gives it the sturdiness to work correctly at all times, working to never fail you.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this bite size knife is 1.812 inches long with a thickness of .093 inches. The overall length of the knife when it is opened is a micro 4.125 inches, sporting a closed length of 2.438 inches long. This knife weighs in at a measly 1.3 ounces—the perfect size and weight to constantly have on you, preparing you for whatever might come your way.

 

Conclusion:

The Spyderco Spin, designed by Eric Glesser, now comes with the special Blue Nishijin glass fiber handle. This handle is ancient Japanese inspired and provides you with a unique look that you are not going to find anywhere else. The opposite handle scale is stainless steel, to give you the extra weight you need to really get behind your cutting. This knife boasts a Wharncliffe style, VG-10 stainless steel blade that is perfect for serious detail cuts. This steel is low maintenance, resisting rust effortlessly to make your life a little easier. The locking mechanism was designed by Chris Reeve and uses the handle scale as the lock’s liner. The Spin comes with a pocket clip that can be doubled as a money clip. This clip is designed for right-side tip-down carry to ensure both convenience and ease of access. This limited-edition Sprint run puts a new “Spin” on a classic Spyderco design and is sure to be in high demand. Pick up this limited edition Blue Nishijin glass fiber version of the Spin today at BladeOps.