Spyderco Tenacious Folding Utility Pocket Knife with 3.39" Stainless Steel Blade and Durable Non-Slip G-10 Handle - Everyday Carry - CombinationEdge - C122GPS

I was looking for a new EDC knife, and settled on this one. I have never had a Spyderco before, but had always admired them. My two previous EDC's were the Smith and Wesson SWAT and the Smith and Wesson M&P w/ assisted opening. I decided against assisted opening on my new EDC, due to questions about the legality in Michigan. I asked several LEO friends of mine, and got different answers from them all. I liked the assisted opening, but didnt need it. I decided to try out a Spyderco, and after doing a little research narrowed it down to the Tenacious and the Endura. In the end, the Tenacious won out due to its value for the money. No doubt, the Endura is a great knife, and has a better steel, but it was also twice as expensive. I decided to get the less expensive Spyderco, as it was my first experience with the company, and I wanted to see how I liked the knife and design. It comes with a FFG blade and G-10 handle and a decent steel in 8Cr13Mov.It arrived promptly with Amazon Prime. Came in a nice Spyderco box. In the box was warranty info and a nice description of the knife and the inspiration behind it. The knife came in a plastic sleeve, and there was padding inside the box. The knife came very sharp. I stropped it a few times, and it was razor sharp, basically right out of the box. It was a little stiffer to open then I expected, but not bad overall. I imagine it will loosen up some with use. There was zero play in the knife when opened, and the liner lock was excellent. (Another reason for choosing the Tenacious over the Endura was that I prefer liner locks to locks in the handle, for ease of one handed closing.)The only problem I had with the knife, was self induced. As I said it was somewhat stiff out of the box, so I attempted to loosen the main tension torx screw to loosen the action. There is, very much, a sweet spot with this knife, and it came in it from the factory. I loosened it just a touch and the blade began to squeak a little when opening and closing. I oiled it, and the squeak did not go away. I tightened it back to where it came from the factory, and the squeak went away. I tried to loosen it again, slightly more this time, and the centering of the knife came off center, and it became clunky and difficult to open and close. Tightened it back to where it came from the factory and it was perfect again. This was not overly tight, I just hoped to loosen it a little so it could be flicked open slightly easier. I have read this will happen with use, as the ball detent needs to wear down a little. Again, it still opens smoothly and crisply, just takes slightly more effort than I prefer.Other than that it has been great. Very sharp. I cut my finger slightly playing with it, and didnt even notice it until later that night as the cut was so clean I didnt even feel it. This is, without a doubt, one of the best knives I've seen at this price point. I would say it is better than my SWAT knife, and on par with the assisted opening M&P knife. Only more time will tell if I like it better than the M&P. It doesnt open as quickly, but can be opened very quickly when needed.As for the size, it is just about perfect. The blade is a little wide considering its length, but that is to make room for a large Spyder hole, big enough to use with gloves. I definitely like the hole better than thumb studs I've had on previous knives. It felt very solid, and a little thick and heavy in my hand; not necessarily a bad thing. It is in my pocket right now, and literally disappeared when clipped to the pocket. I literally cant feel it in my pocket, and have checked several times to make sure it is there, which it has been every time.The reason it has always been there, is the excellent clip on the knife. At first when opening the knife, I thought it was stiff; way too stiff. I didnt think I'd be able to clip it to my pants, it was that stiff. I did try to loosen that also, but found it did not help at all. So back to the factory tension on those torx screw as well. Went to clip it on my pocket and, sure enough, it went on a little stiff, but not too badly at all. And it holds TIGHT! That knife is not coming loose from my pocket unless I move it. After wearing it for a while, I actually really enjoy the stiffness of the clip and think it will work great.I guess my bottom line with this knife is, dont mess with the screws other than to take it apart to clean it. It wont help loosen the clip, and the tension screw for the blade definitely has a very specific sweet spot of tension (the one it came in from the factory). I loosened them, tightened them, took it apart, cleaned it, oiled it, put it together. Played with it for about an hour and ended up with it right back where it came from the factory, and overall very happy with it.Again I wanted to check out a cheaper Spyderco before dropping $60-100 on a knife. I got this one for about $35 and it seems like an excellent value. Many features found on more expensive knives found on a $30 knife. If I scratch it up, break it, lose it, etc. I wont feel like I lost part of my life savings. The build quality is great and I wouldnt hesitate to buy another, or a more expensive, offering from Spyderco in the future.

I originally purchased this knife 2 years ago and after only a month I gave it to a co-worker who was carrying a monumental piece of junk and could not afford any better. I had every intention of purchasing another but only recently replaced it. I have been carrying this knife again for the past few weeks and I refuse to part from this one. It is light weight, tight fitting, slim, sharp, and the blade deploys as fast as an open assisted knife. The ability to position the pocket clip in all four positions just add to the versatility of this knife. Too many lock back knives come the the pocket clip set to carry tip down and no way to change position. I prefer tip up so I can add a hangman noose lanyard to the knife making it easy to pull out of my pocket while sitting. The liner lock snaps into position very tight when the blade is opened, and there is no wiggle in the blade at all. gimping on the spine along with the rise in the back of the blade allow your thumb to stay in position while performing heavy cutting jobs. The overall fit and finish are excellent, exceptional when price is considered. I have paid $100 for knives that were simply not as well made as this one. A higher end blade steel would be nice but the 8cr13MoV used in this knife is very adequate and holds an edge well even after a day of heavy use. I prefer combo edge blades in my EDC lock back knives but I also have the plane blade version of this knife. I have a choice of several Kershaw, Buck, ZT, Benchmade, and SOG knives but find myself choosing this one over the others more times than not.I now have several of these knives. The price allows you to have several, I now have one in the car, one in my bug out bag and one plain blade and one combo blade on my bedside table for daily carry.

Background:The Spyderco Tenacious and the SOG Flash II are popular choices and because I have both in half serrated, and they are in the same price range, I compare them both here. The flash II is more popular in stores and I think Wal-Mart even sell them.I have had and still have several Flash II's and one Spyderco Tenacious. I have carried both as EDC for extended periods in tough use, so thought I would add my experience with them. I currently carry the flash II and a SAK, but carried the Tenacious and SAK for about a year and still have it and prefer it in the woods. I have carried Benchmade's, but they are a little expensive and I fear loosing one. I fly the airlines a lot on spur of the moment notice and have given several knives including at least two Flash's to TSA having no time to go back and store/ship it or something. I gave one to some Mexicans doing drywall work in the terminal in front of TSA screening rather then give it to TSA. I try to keep a knife in my desk, boat, backpack, and a couple of cars. So more expensive knives haven't been indicated for me.I carry a folder clipped inside the pocket (clip outside), with the point down, weak hand side.Spyderco Tenacious:Pros:Solid construction. Feels better then the Flash in use (in the hand). It has aluminum sides under the G10.Good blade steel. Better then the Flash II IMO. The 8Cr13MoV sounds better when sharpening too. Ha. But, that may be due to the heaver construction of the whole knife, less dampening due to the aluminum sides under the G10, and the thinner blade near the edge (flat ground). So even though the edge is thinner, and I have put a finer angle edge on it, the Tenacious holds an edge better.Blade shape - really nice for a wide variety of tasks with a wide leaf shape. Leaves plenty of room to get your thumb against the spider hole to open the knife.Good lock up. I don't like liner locks much, but it locks solidly and secure.Size of the Blade. I like this size knife for EDC.Easy enough to open with either hand.The belt clip is more durable and versatile then the Flash. The Flash clip breaks at one of the multiple 90° bends. The Tenacious clip is lower profile, stronger, grips better in a pocket, and can be mounted up, down, left and right.Cons:Difficulty closing with one hand: I am not a big fan of liner locks, but I like them much better then spring detent locks like old school pocket knives. I pretty much cut a thumb pad off once with a Tenacious so maybe some of it is psychological. You can get your thumb caught and sliced in the blade trying to close it with one hand. Just pushing the liner lock in will will drop the blade against your thumb if you hold it in the wrong position. Not a problem with two hands using the other one to control the blade closing, but with a bolt lock on the side you can close it with one hand and never need to get your finger/thumb under where the blade goes.Heavy (this is not a big thing for me, but it is noticeably heaver then a flash due to partial aluminum sides under the G10).Made in China. But, quality and steel is very good in the case of this knife, so Made in China" is more about ethics and politics then quality in this case.SOG Flash IIPros:Assisted opening. Get it past 5 or 10° with light pressure on the thumb and it snaps open. Great one handed operation, even if injured. A little more wow, or cool, factor then the Tenacious.Light weight. Feels quite a bit lighter then the Spyderco. Perhaps even less then substantial (personal preference). The flash is all plastic actually glass-reinforced nylon (GRN). It has some kind of metal bushing between the blade and (GRN) sides.Size of the Blade. I like this size knife for EDC.Lock up is solid, as far as staying open/not closing. There is a little slop though when open in both directions. I have never tried to tighten it up. I have never worried about it closing on me in use.Safety. You can lock it so it wont open in your pocket.Easy to sharpen.Made in USACon's:Slop when open. Not bad, but not as tight as the Tenacious.I have had it come open in my pocket a couple of times in active situations. It wasn't locked when this happened. Pretty scary. I knew it was open, or partially open; in one case when I reached in my pocket and cut a fingers, and two other times when I felt the point sticking into the front of my hip. In the later two I stopped moving and then moved real slowly until I got it folded back up and under control. Front pocket, bad place for an open knife. For some reason a Benchmade Barrage assisted open has never come open in my pocket. Of course the Benchmade is a great knife, but at more then twice the cost. I think the flash lacks a tendency to stay closed. Better spring assisted knives seem to have more force toward closed until you pass the point where it springs toward open. It's not like the safety is a plus, so much as it is just plain needed, because of the tenancy to come open if the thumb nut is bumped in the pocket. However, the safety will come off, or turn on, in pocket. This further aggravates the above problem.Steel is softer then Tenacious and doesn't hold an edge nearly as well. Easy to ding and dull the edge. Supposed to be AUS-8, 56-58 Rockwell (same hardness as Tenacious's Chinese 8Cr13MoV, but I perceive all three Flashes to be softer than and not hold an edge as well as the Tenacious based on use and response when sharpening ).I have broken 2 belt clips. SOG replaced them for free though. There is a place on there web sight for this.Belt clip can be mounted for left or right but not up or down. It only mounts for point down (that is it will be point down if opened).Fairly complicated to disassemble if needed to clean. Goes with the territory for an assisted.Summary:I like both knives for different reasons.I give the edge to the Tenacious for the Blade design & hardness, build construction, and belt clip. Opening is good and easy but requires moving the blade all the way open, or a strong flip on a well broken in knife.The Flash II is lighter (may be good or bad). I like the bolt action lock better, mainly for ease of closing with one hand, and the spring assist opening it great. The flash has more pzazz.Both knives are about the same price $30 to $45 depending on options and seller at the time of this post, with the Spyderco starting on the lower end of the overlap price range and the Flash topping out the range.A cross between these with the Spyderco blade design and steel, assisted opening and an axis type lock like the Flash, would be real cool. Better then either one IMO. My Benchmade Barrage is the best of both worlds or better, and I like it better (who wouldn't), but too expensive for EDC for me.Conclusion:I have to say the Spyderco Tenacious is the more practical choice and probably a better choice for most applications.Best choice is to get them both.Hope this helps someone decide.