Pass around of my Spyderco C160 Foundry!

[MacLaren]

LOL, its gonna be about impossible to top Radioactives review and photos :)
Nice job brotha

[gbelleh]

I noticed the Comedy Central logo resemblance too. :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

RadioactiveSpyder’s Visit with the Spyderco Foundry: Day 2

Hi again everyone! I had the chance to spend some more time today with the Foundry and get some pictures with another knife whose blade shape very much resembles that of the Foundry: the Spyderco Hungarian designed by knife afi and designer Szakonyi Gábor. Both blades are CTS-XHP (as is the Domino in my posts above), and share the same lines: the straight spine, full flat grind and sweeping tip. I very much like using this steel in my Domino - it combines many of the qualities I like about good working steels like CPM S30V and real hard steels like ZDP-189. I'm sure the steel chemistries speak to this steel having such features, but I won't get into that here...

On to some pictures! (I've also dumped today's pics into the Photobucket folder found via this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ntleh315wivd ... TEPia?dl=0
Seems like pics are still not showing up without a major section of the right side being chopped off.)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hope you like this set of pics! Cheers all and Happy Labor Day weekend! Radioactive :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

LOL, its gonna be about impossible to top Radioactives review and photos :)
Nice job brotha

You've got quite the eye as well, Mac! Plus with your ever-growing family of Spydies, I'm sure you'll come up with some cool shots. Cheers, Radioactive :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Another small cool thing I noticed was how the rear backspacer was attached. It's held on with just two bolts, with one side being attached to the forward end of the spacer and the other side being attached to the rear end of the spacer. The lanyard hole goes through the middle. Very cool!! I tried to capture it in this first image cropped from one above (the second screw you see on the right side is the clip screw, attached lower on the scale than the backspacer as shown in the second pic here):

[PayneTrain]

And man, it sure does look like a giant Manbug, and the handle is definitely Domino-inspired. So maybe it should be the Manino?

DomManO!

At first I was thinking snub nose Military blade, but the similarity to the Manbug is pretty apparent. Either way, I really like the look of it.

[GoldenSpydie]

Great pictures, as always, Radioactive!

The pictures are showing up just fine for me.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hi all, well my visit with the Foundry has ended and it's now safely off to Strong Dog (insured, I'll send you tracking number GS). I did not have much of a chance to take any more pics yesterday, I figured a day at the beach with the kids, while a good photo opportunity, would not be the best environment for it...

I did have a chance to play with it a bit last night as I might when considering a purchase at a knife store - how does it feel in hand under tight working grip, what would it be like to cut with, how easy was it to operate (lock-wise), etc. I couldn't help having my Domino out and open next to it too, as I have a special bond with that beauty and it's very similar in ergos. The Foundry grip was very comfortable "across" the handle on my palm, after all it's basically a Manix/Domino frame with a back end intermediate between the two. However, while in full grip, I found it a bit too thin and the clip would immediately become a hot spot during extended/heavy cutting. The jimping was nice and basically identical to that on the Domino (size-wise, numbers of teeth). The clip itself was GREAT!! I love deep carry wire clips and this is a great new XL version, very stout. I'd love to see it more and hopefully this is the one used on the upcoming Slysz Bowie.

This leaves my final thought: would I buy one? That depends I guess is the honest answer. If Spyderco does release this model to the public, I'd likely pick one up. If it remains exclusive to Carpenter employees, it will continue to command a premium price of $250-$300 or higher. Given that I've only seen two or three ever come up, I don't think they'll be readily available anyway. So given all that, what I am ready for and just likely got a taste of is that upcoming Slysz Bowie!!! If that has fuller scales but much of the same nice features as the Foundry, it will be a home run!

My many thanks to GoldenSpydie one more time for this great opportunity and it was a real pleasure to handle a fairly rare Spyderco. Radioactive :)

[MacLaren]

Great job man.

[GoldenSpydie]

Thanks Radioactive!

I hope you enjoyed your time with it.

I got your email with the tracking number--thanks. That's a great idea for personalizing the box! Here's what Radioactive said:

"I put a small sticker of mine on the bottom of your black box. I figured maybe the others could also put a little sticker special in meaning to them on the bottom, sort of like those old steamer trunks with all the postage stamps from across the world."

I think that is a great idea--if other people would like to do it also, that would be awesome!

[MacLaren]

Yes!

[Strong-Dog]

Wow, can't wait! I just want to make sure you got my correct email to use, bob609330@gmail.com. Just because I haven't receieved any related emails, and don't want you to think I'm ignoring you. Thanks for the chance!

[GoldenSpydie]

I couldn't think of a good reason to send any group emails. So far, we're just using email for tracking info. I will be sending you the tracking number shortly. :)

[salimoneus]

No offense, but just not really seeing the point of this pass around. First off nobody can really carry the knife, sharpen, or cut much of anything with it. So what's left to do, just to hold it in your hands I guess? Second, it's such a limited production, that it likely won't be available to the general public in any way shape or form. So if you end up "loving it", too bad, because you can't get one. I would think one set of pics and a review should suffice, all this just seems a bit silly to me, but by all means have at it :spyder:

[Strong-Dog]

No offense, but just not really seeing the point of this pass around. First off nobody can really carry the knife, sharpen, or cut much of anything with it. So what's left to do, just to hold it in your hands I guess? Second, it's such a limited production, that it likely won't be available to the general public in any way shape or form. So if you end up "loving it", too bad, because you can't get one. I would think one set of pics and a review should suffice, all this just seems a bit silly to me, but by all means have at it :spyder:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I am participating because I love knives. I don't care that I will (probably) never own one or can't use the knife, I will get to experience a knife that the majority of people never will. And if I can write up a review and take some pictures to go along with that, then it's a plus for people that are curious. Plus, with (I believe) between 6-8 people participating, we will get a variety of opinions and perspectives on the knife. Who knows, maybe Spyderco will see this thread and realize that if it was released to the public they would have an instant winner.

[GoldenSpydie]

No offense, but just not really seeing the point of this pass around. First off nobody can really carry the knife, sharpen, or cut much of anything with it. So what's left to do, just to hold it in your hands I guess? Second, it's such a limited production, that it likely won't be available to the general public in any way shape or form. So if you end up "loving it", too bad, because you can't get one. I would think one set of pics and a review should suffice, all this just seems a bit silly to me, but by all means have at it :spyder:

First off, do you really expect me to let people use and greatly devalue what could be the rarest Spyderco in my collection? I mean, if you're willing to let people do that with your knives, more power to you! But I don't see any pass arounds that you have created.

Second: "So what's left to do, just to hold it in your hands I guess?" That's exactly the point. Bonus is that people can compare it to their other knives and take pictures.

And finally, I'm not making anyone participate. In fact, it wasn't even my idea. :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

The blame can be placed squarely on me for this pass-around.

It's based on (what I think is) a cool concept that I first learned about from perusing this and other knife forums. I believe the PITS folder just finished a British Blades forum pass-around from Sal. I appreciated the opportunity of GS generously offering several of us the chance to handle this rare knife. I have plenty of CTS-XHP blades to cut, sharpen etc. to try the steel.

Hopefully some others on this forum find some benefit from this thread, and I think that's true from comments above. If you don't find any benefit to this process, please just follow those old kindergarten rules: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. My two cents...

[PayneTrain]

So what's left to do, just to hold it in your hands I guess?

Yes, pretty much. Come on, you're already on a internet forum for knives, you're one of us. You know you want to hold it too! It's just like getting to see one at a store or at a show. Just to get a chance to form an opinion on a unique knife which you obviously don't need because you already have at least one knife in your possession, but you're still interested in and may want. I expect that I will really like this knife and shamelessly beg across this forum for its release to the public, and whether or not it happens that's all part of the fun. We're all just a bunch of weirdos having a little fun, there's really nothing more about it to get.

I for one can't wait to get my hands on it...which I will dutifully wash, of course :D .

[SpyderNut]

I agree with the others (even though I opted not to participate in the pass-around). To me, the pass-around is a lot like being able to drive an extremely rare, vintage car (e.g. a 1931 L29 Cord). I know I'll probably never own one, but I'do sure as heck jump at the chance to drive one.