A step into the modern world with the Lil Native / thoughts
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 1:47 pm
Hello everyone,
thank you for all your kind replies to my first thread (Recommendations for a European traditionalis), I've now got my first Spyderco knife and I'm going to tell you all the things you already know about anyways, but I'm just pretty excited.
After checking out all of your suggestions I got my wife involved - as any responsible man does
So I showed her some pictures of the Delica, the Native 5 (the one I initially wanted), the PM2 and so on. Then the Lil Native showed up and she said it was "cute" - this basically meant I got the "approval" to start out with a somewhat premium knife which - lucky me - was also on stock in the backlock version at Knives and Tools. So I immediately ordered it and it arrived a week ago.
Here it sits next to my previous EDC, a Nontron Violon Slipjoint from France.
The last week has been testing, cutting everything you can imagine and taking it with me basically everywhere except the bathtub.
So I wanted to share my thoughts on here:
First of all, it is smaller than I've expected, but due to the handle design it fits like a glove, way better than I would have ever expected. It feels like an extension of my hand when cutting. Very intuitive, very safe. I could not have wished for more. The level of control provided by it's ergonomics is astounding.
I'm left handed, if I carry it tip up with the clip in the factory position it feels perfectly natural to pull out the knife and open it up left handed. The clip sits on the same side as my fingertips, but the way I pull it out I can open it up with my thumb without the need to turn it around. I love it - especially since most of my knives don't allow one handed opening and I refuse to add thumb-studs to my folders. To me, it feels amazing, and I get a great grip on the knife this way. One handed opening and closing works excellent, no need for me to relocate the clip on the knife.
The knife also made it's way into my office, which I share with 2 women. They are used to my pocket knives, and they reassured me that this knife is as non-threatening as a knife can get - that to me is a great feature and a compliment to this design. Being able to pull out a knife I enjoy using without making people around me uncomfortable is something I really care about. The Lil Native hits a perfect score here.
Cutting performance - fantastic, what else can I say? I'm used to XC75 carbon steels, T12 stainless and 420HC - so it will be interesting the first time I have to sharpen S30V, I'm really looking forward to it. But as of now there's no need to anyways, and I'm interested in how long the factory edge will withstand the abuse of a shipping department - cutting through cardboard boxes, tape, opening letters, an occasional apple - it all works as good as it could get, the ergonomics and blade length perfectly suit my everyday needs at work.
Another thing - it's unbelievably lightweight, it feels like my lightest Opinel knives, while at the same time feeling like a tank in my hand. The ergonomics are just on point.
At first I was afraid the G10 scales will feel cheap or like plastic, especially since I'm used to wood handles, but they feel and look nice, it just needs some getting used to for me personally. This is not a critique, I knew it wasn't gonna have the same feel as a wood handle.
Clipping it to my pocket is quite challenging, the G10 texture is a little bit rough and the clip pretty tight - which may be the only downside I have noticed by now. On the other hand I don't risk losing it this way, so this might be a feature anyways. I like the looks of the clip.
I'm sure this knife won't leave my pocket for a long time, and I hope it will stay in production as well - I'm used to long lasting designs and it feels good to know I am able to get another one if I ever need to replace it.
It's been just a week and I'm already hooked, I could not be more happy with my purchase.
What a great knife!
Edit: It is not ideal for cutting Camembert, but that's a good reason to still carry a classic French folder as well
thank you for all your kind replies to my first thread (Recommendations for a European traditionalis), I've now got my first Spyderco knife and I'm going to tell you all the things you already know about anyways, but I'm just pretty excited.
After checking out all of your suggestions I got my wife involved - as any responsible man does
So I showed her some pictures of the Delica, the Native 5 (the one I initially wanted), the PM2 and so on. Then the Lil Native showed up and she said it was "cute" - this basically meant I got the "approval" to start out with a somewhat premium knife which - lucky me - was also on stock in the backlock version at Knives and Tools. So I immediately ordered it and it arrived a week ago.
Here it sits next to my previous EDC, a Nontron Violon Slipjoint from France.
The last week has been testing, cutting everything you can imagine and taking it with me basically everywhere except the bathtub.
So I wanted to share my thoughts on here:
First of all, it is smaller than I've expected, but due to the handle design it fits like a glove, way better than I would have ever expected. It feels like an extension of my hand when cutting. Very intuitive, very safe. I could not have wished for more. The level of control provided by it's ergonomics is astounding.
I'm left handed, if I carry it tip up with the clip in the factory position it feels perfectly natural to pull out the knife and open it up left handed. The clip sits on the same side as my fingertips, but the way I pull it out I can open it up with my thumb without the need to turn it around. I love it - especially since most of my knives don't allow one handed opening and I refuse to add thumb-studs to my folders. To me, it feels amazing, and I get a great grip on the knife this way. One handed opening and closing works excellent, no need for me to relocate the clip on the knife.
The knife also made it's way into my office, which I share with 2 women. They are used to my pocket knives, and they reassured me that this knife is as non-threatening as a knife can get - that to me is a great feature and a compliment to this design. Being able to pull out a knife I enjoy using without making people around me uncomfortable is something I really care about. The Lil Native hits a perfect score here.
Cutting performance - fantastic, what else can I say? I'm used to XC75 carbon steels, T12 stainless and 420HC - so it will be interesting the first time I have to sharpen S30V, I'm really looking forward to it. But as of now there's no need to anyways, and I'm interested in how long the factory edge will withstand the abuse of a shipping department - cutting through cardboard boxes, tape, opening letters, an occasional apple - it all works as good as it could get, the ergonomics and blade length perfectly suit my everyday needs at work.
Another thing - it's unbelievably lightweight, it feels like my lightest Opinel knives, while at the same time feeling like a tank in my hand. The ergonomics are just on point.
At first I was afraid the G10 scales will feel cheap or like plastic, especially since I'm used to wood handles, but they feel and look nice, it just needs some getting used to for me personally. This is not a critique, I knew it wasn't gonna have the same feel as a wood handle.
Clipping it to my pocket is quite challenging, the G10 texture is a little bit rough and the clip pretty tight - which may be the only downside I have noticed by now. On the other hand I don't risk losing it this way, so this might be a feature anyways. I like the looks of the clip.
I'm sure this knife won't leave my pocket for a long time, and I hope it will stay in production as well - I'm used to long lasting designs and it feels good to know I am able to get another one if I ever need to replace it.
It's been just a week and I'm already hooked, I could not be more happy with my purchase.
What a great knife!
Edit: It is not ideal for cutting Camembert, but that's a good reason to still carry a classic French folder as well