ark, street beat, or swick...?

[ladybug93]

i've been considering all three of these for a while now. the swick started it, but the wait made me consider the other two as viable options. so, what are your thoughts on each for an edc fixed blade? and which would you prefer and why?

i like both se and pe, so that's not a deciding factor for me. i'd also still be carrying folders, so it's not a replacement for anything; more of a fixed blade augmentation.

[TkoK83Spy]

*cough* *Guardian 3* *cough*

[RevMike]

My vote would be ARK or SPOT but I have no experience with the Swick or Street Beat. I think I'd definitely take the ARK.

[Evil D]

They're all so different, very hard to simply compare them to each other as a basis of which to buy, it's more about what you want to use it for.

Example, the ARK will be the most comfortable as a neck knife by a wide margin.

Ergonomics are another big difference, all good just different.

Do you really want to do "fixed blade stuff" with this knife? What kind of real uses? Camping etc? I'd go with a Street Beat, it's the most practical for general use and probably the strongest of the three.

I like the ARK for being small/light/thin and for having amazing serrations. The Swick is on my watch list. The Street Beat is sadly one that I really like but almost never use, if it came down to a small fixed blade of this size range it would absolutely be my MagnaCut mule.

[JRinFL]

I have 3 Swicks, an original, and two from the first follow up release. My hand never warmed up to the design and I'm not really looking for the latest one. Highlight of the design is very high retention in the hand.

The ARK is excellent, however it is tiny. It was meant as a blade you would have with you *all* of the time, so size matters.

Street Beat is an all-arounder. Good at most things you would want a knife to do without being too much of anything. However, it is the largest of the three which might be an issue for you. When the Perrin Subway Bowie drops, that might be the ideal EDC fixed blade from Spyderco.

Rick's recommendation of the G3 is spot on at least until the Subway Bowie arrives.

[Mushroom]

Those are three very different designs. For what you’re looking for and among those three options, the Streat Beat would be my first choice. The other two models just feel more specialized to me. Also, they both have small blades and they don’t exactly offer the full benefit of carrying a fixed blade as an EDC.

[Matus]

Out of these 3 only the Beat is a 'normal' knife so to speak, the rest are little neck blades. I have bought SE Ark many weeks ago, but most likely it got lost in the shipping

Spyderco is not super focused on general use fixed blades (and I think that is a wise decision as that is a VERY strongly populated market) but on a task-specific knives and I like that. Have a look at the White River Knives M1 for example if you want a compact EDC fixed blade. But again, there is a TON of compact fixed blades out there.

I would love if Spyderco would make a more general use EDC knife (I could imagine a slightly more stretched Ark with some 3" blade and 4-finger worthy handle), but I understand that that is not their forte.

[PeaceInOurTime]

Of the three I only have experience with the ARK. It's a good knife if you understand it's limitations, being a tiny fixed blade. Mine has seen alot of carry time and use. Wish it had a more substantial handle and negative blade angle. Love it, though.

I've been looking forward to the Swick.

[aicolainen]

The subway Bowie is a no brainer for me, but it could obviously take a while.
The Swick is interesting enough that I want to try it. Might not be for me, but I could see some use cases where that kind of retention would be favorable.
I might end up getting an ARK as well. I was a little bummed out when the SE version was discontinued just around the time I became aware of the model, but even if I’m missing out on that incredibly thin SE edge, I’m kind of interested to see what this thing can do with a toothy low grit edge.
Hope that helps

[kerrcobra]

Street Beat LW. Hands down. I love it. It's my favorite Spyderco. I also have the Ark SE, but it's got too small of a handle for it to serve me as an EDC fixed blade. Street Beat LW has the most comfortable handle I've ever felt. I also second Rick's suggestion of the Bradford Guardian 3 - I have ~15 of them and the handle is very comfortable for a medium-sized hand.

[vivi]

Swick isn't out yet.

Ark is too small for me to use as my only knife. Works well paired with something larger though.

My suggestion is definitely the Street Beat. Large enough to handle any EDC task, small enough to carry anywhere in comfort.

review here - viewtopic.php?t=89161

Confused by all the suggestions that are not Spyderco.

I've handled the guardian 3 and it's nearly the same size as a Street Beat with (IMO) a less ergonomic handle. If the SB is too big the G3 would be too.

The White River knives are nice but don't really do anything the Street Beat doesn't. They're very similar designs.

Try a Street Beat. It's one of the best FB's on the market, and I've tried countless options in this size range from Cold Steel to Busse.

[PeaceInOurTime]

I've occasionally had the thought to re-handle my SE ARK with something a bit more comfortable to use (and slightly change the blade angle). But, I'd hate to make such a major modification to a discontinued model. Maybe someone will be willing to try it with a PE model? There are plenty of talented members here who could probably make it happen.

[Manixguy@1994]

*cough* *Guardian 3* *cough*

The enabler has spoken - cough , cough . Dan

[ladybug93]

I've occasionally had the thought to re-handle my SE ARK with something a bit more comfortable to use (and slightly change the blade angle). But, I'd hate to make such a major modification to a discontinued model. Maybe someone will be willing to try it with a PE model? There are plenty of talented members here who could probably make it happen.

is the ark discontinued? it's still available from what i can see.

[Mushroom]

I've occasionally had the thought to re-handle my SE ARK with something a bit more comfortable to use (and slightly change the blade angle). But, I'd hate to make such a major modification to a discontinued model. Maybe someone will be willing to try it with a PE model? There are plenty of talented members here who could probably make it happen.

is the ark discontinued? it's still available from what i can see.

The SpyderEdge ARK model was included in last years (2021) discontinued list.

[TkoK83Spy]

*cough* *Guardian 3* *cough*

The enabler has spoken - cough , cough . Dan

Haha! I just have to when it comes small fixed blades. So many different steel options (even Magnacut), handle scale options, 3 different blade profiles and a few different sheath options. In my eyes, they can't be beat.

[PeaceInOurTime]

is the ark discontinued? it's still available from what i can see.

Yeah, like Nick said, only the SE option is discontinued.

[zuludelta]

I have both the A.R.K. (the recently discontinued SE version) & the Street Beat LW. Both great knives. Between the two, I think I've carried the A.R.K. more, but that's because it fills a very specific niche for me as an ultra-lightweight, low-profile, highly rust-resistant, functional fixed blade that I can carry on trail runs (I usually just throw it in a zippered pocket in my shorts or running pants).

I do like the Street Beat LW significantly more than the A.R.K. in terms of general-purpose versatility/utility and (obviously) ergonomics. It, alongside the Ronin 2, is my favourite sub-4 inch fixed blade.

However, what I find is that if I'm in a situation where carrying a Street Beat LW is feasible (either in a pack or as a belt knife), I can usually go up to carrying a Street Bowie or a Waterway with little additional weight/space penalty, and given the choice, I will almost always go for the longer knife, especially if I'm already carrying a folder in my pants pocket.

[JD Spydo]

I love all 3 of those small Spyderco fixed blades. But if I had to pick one of the three I would still go with the original, Micarta handled STREETBEAT model. My only regret is I would still like to try a Micarta version of the Streetbeat in full SE. But for whatever reason they never ever made it available in full SE. But if we ever get going on serrated Sprint Runs the STREETBEAT in full SE will be one I will be asking for.

All three of those models have great overall designs but given a choice the STREETBEAT is still my pick of all the short bladed fixed blade models that Spyderco has blessed us with.

[Matus]

I've occasionally had the thought to re-handle my SE ARK with something a bit more comfortable to use (and slightly change the blade angle). But, I'd hate to make such a major modification to a discontinued model. Maybe someone will be willing to try it with a PE model? There are plenty of talented members here who could probably make it happen.

Honestly, the same crossed my mind. The blade would be large enough for me for basic EDC, but the handle is super short and thin (I mean - it was purposefully designed that way).