Stretch 2 XL in grey G10 and CruWear steel!

[Lo/Rez]

it still blows my mind that so few seem to care that they have to worry about getting the best of a store's stock of a $285 knife.

Not everyone has the same standard. I ground this blade to a 1200 grit belt finish and it meets my standard. I sold it for less than I paid for the Spyderco.

[aicolainen]

So my XL finally arrived on Wednesday, and while I already left a pretty wordy post on my first impressions over here: viewtopic.php?p=1730327#p1729999 it would be rude to ignore the OG XL thread.

I'm not going to repeat what I've already said, other than it's a really nice knife. It's no doubt the best built knife I've ever had from Seki. By my standards it's dang near spotless - which even makes it one of my best built Spydercos overall.
It's rather expensive, much heavier than I normally prefer and way bigger than my preferences and anatomy would normally steer me towards. Yet I have no regrets. It's heavy and I will never require the added structural integrity this provides over the LW, but that dense feeling, perfectly executed full metal back spacer and smooth operation is a joy to experience.

I was too late to the show to get in on the Stretch 1, and knowing that my hands are smaller than most, the increased handle area on the 2. Gen turned me off in fear that it would be too large. When the XL LW was released I feared it would be even less suited for me, but the linerless design and impressive blade to handle ratio still made this a more intriguing option, especially if released in, an almost inevitable, salt option.
When this version was released, I was both surprised and disappointed that Spyderco would go through the hurdles of "re-engineering" the the knife to add liners and G10 scales that I didn't even want, before they picked the low hanging fruit and released a Salt.
To say I had no interest in the G10 Cruwear initially is putting it mildly, but something must have happened along the way. One thing I know to play a role is seeing pictures featuring both the S2 and S2XL and realizing how little grip space is added to the XL.
Something else that might be playing into it, is an increasing interest in thin folding knives. While often not the most comfortable to hold, they ride very comfortably in the pocket. A real awakening in this regard was when I got my first stainless steel Spyderco in the form of a Harpy this winter.
So here we are in backwardsville, and I own a linered, non-stainless, super expensive S2XL before I've even tried the LW. It wasn't the smartest way to go about it, but luckily I can say I'm very happy with my decision and with my sample (which unfortunately seems to be somewhat of a gamble according to this thread). And while the handle could surely accommodate a larger hand, it's designed in such a way that it still feels great in my hand. Enough so that I'm now totally convinced I'll get a salt version whenever Spyderco gets around to it, and it'll probably replace my pac salt in most applications where I use it, if not all.


Not much in common beyond arriving- and being picked up on the same day. I guess both are also designed with hunting in mind, but I predict one of these will spend infinitely more time hunting than the other. Happy to have both and look forward to putting them through their individual paces.

[kennethsime]

Checking in here, has anyone managed to find micarta scales for this bad boy yet?



Pic for attention.

[Manixguy@1994]

Checking in here, has anyone managed to find micarta scales for this bad boy yet?



Pic for attention.

I wish ! I have gave up on RGT and if they did more than likely with my luck it would be righty only . I have my fingers crossed RCBladeworks will possibly make scales in the future since they just dropped to more Spyderco models very recently . I need to contact them and ask if it will be possible in the future. Dan

[cabfrank]

At least the grey G10 is awesome though.

[Manixguy@1994]

At least the grey G10 is awesome though.

I agree I also like the neutral color . If can’t change scales easily live with the G10 . Dan

[Stas]

Checking in here, has anyone managed to find micarta scales for this bad boy yet?



Pic for attention.

I may be wrong, but for achieving a nice fit, the only way to go is a custom-made micarta for your specific example. Such construction involves G10 scales, full stainless steel liners, and a steel backspacer being machined / finished together, and I imagine it involves some amount of wabi-sabi from one example to another.

To illustrate, here is an example of a (rather obvious) flaw on Dragonfly, where the error on stainless scale finishing repeats on the G10 liner as well.


I was thinking about going with micarta for my S2XL too, but so far, I'm happy with grey G10 as it's one of my favorite flavors :)

[kobold]

Man oh man do I want one of these, and man oh man do I want to throw some Micarta scales on it. Unfortunately, that's going to be a $350 knife at that point. But man, what a knife.

Hi, just a quick q, where can we find micarta scales for this?

[Manixguy@1994]

Feeling the Stretch XL love . MG2

[cjk]

still one of my favorites.

[kennethsime]

Man oh man do I want one of these, and man oh man do I want to throw some Micarta scales on it. Unfortunately, that's going to be a $350 knife at that point. But man, what a knife.

Hi, just a quick q, where can we find micarta scales for this?

No luck yet, I’ll keep asking though. The model is basically begging for micarta.

[kobold]

I asked cuscadi yesterday, they said they could do it, but because it would be the first for them, i would have to send them the knife. I am still thinking about it, also I will ask them if sending just the scales would be enough.

[kennethsime]

I asked cuscadi yesterday, they said they could do it, but because it would be the first for them, i would have to send them the knife. I am still thinking about it, also I will ask them if sending just the scales would be enough.

Did you go ahead with the Cuscadi order?

I emailed Suingab and Cuscadi last night. Suingab said no, Cascadi said that they would have a knife in just a few days to use as a template, and they could make me a set in OD Green Canvas Micarta for €95.

Money is tight right now, and I probably shouldn't... but man oh man, do I want to.

[kobold]

I asked cuscadi yesterday, they said they could do it, but because it would be the first for them, i would have to send them the knife. I am still thinking about it, also I will ask them if sending just the scales would be enough.

Did you go ahead with the Cuscadi order?

I emailed Suingab and Cuscadi last night. Suingab said no, Cascadi said that they would have a knife in just a few days to use as a template, and they could make me a set in OD Green Canvas Micarta for €95.

Money is tight right now, and I probably shouldn't... but man oh man, do I want to.

Not yet, I am still waiting for an email from my local brick and mortar knife shop telling me the knife has arrived. And who knows, maybe I will like the G10 and just Rit Dye it instead. That's something I wouldn't mind playing with anyway.

I guess Cuscadi was talking about my knife when they wrote they would have a knife soon?

I also contacted rippsgaragetech, still waiting for their reply. They have mostly ultem, teratuff, micarta and Ti, while Cuscadi does some amazing stabilized wood / burl materials I don't really see anywhere else.

Yes, money is tight over here too, but I only bought one fixed blade this year and this is my first folder. I think this knife buying pace of one fixed blade + one folder per year is just right for me.

[kobold]

So my copy arrived and the first thing I did was to take it outside and cut up three pumpkins comparing it to these other two folders of similar size. In use it felt closer to the Chief, probably because of the same lock and almost identical blade size/geometry. I was wearing gloves and it was no problem.

A few side by side shots:






It really gives the most blade in the smallest size possible.
I am very satisfied and unaware of any flaws so far (it's flawless! ).
Stropped it on diapaste loaded leather and was amazed how quickly it became shaving sharp compared to S110V. Also, I moved the clip near the blade for a Military-like appearance.

Finally, a word of advice: if you are new at disassembling Seki City knives (like me), maybe just maintain it without disassembly.

[Manixguy@1994]

Hi Kobold , so glad you are happy with the Stretch XL G10 . I was fortunate to get a very nice example and have three XL models and hope more variants will be made in the future . Dan

[kobold]

Hi Kobold , so glad you are happy with the Stretch XL G10 . I was fortunate to get a very nice example and have three XL models and hope more variants will be made in the future . Dan

Thank you Dan, I am not even sure how could it be improved at this point.

Have a very happy new year!

[Hopsbreath]

Finally, a word of advice: if you are new at disassembling Seki City knives (like me), maybe just maintain it without disassembly.

Posted elsewhere about a Police I changed scales on a couple days ago. Even with some Seki-City disassembly experience I still found it a bit difficult putting that thing back together. A second word of advice, put the lock bar in last.

[Wartstein]

Finally, a word of advice: if you are new at disassembling Seki City knives (like me), maybe just maintain it without disassembly.

Posted elsewhere about a Police I changed scales on a couple days ago. Even with some Seki-City disassembly experience I still found it a bit difficult putting that thing back together. A second word of advice, put the lock bar in last.

This is how it works for me, and pretty well too.
Actually never tried any other method.

[Ramonade]

Ordered ssome gold CF for mine. It should be here soon