Spyderco Native5 Knife

I was perusing my Amazon Wish List awhile ago and was surprised to find a couple of pocket knives near the bottom of the list. I tend to populate my Wish List in an ongoing manner whenever something of interest grabs my attention (which happens far too often). I must have added the knives to my Wish List a long time ago when I was suffering from a bout of Pocket Knife Acquisition Disorder, and before I purchased my Cold Steel Tuff Lite. The knives I found lurking deep in the bowels of my Wish List were both Spyderco knives: the Delica4 (ZDP-189 blade steel version); and the Caly3 (carbon fiber version).

Seeing those awesome Spydercos again triggered my Add-to-Cartitis, and I made up my mind to acquire one of them. I struggled with my choice, so I did a search for "Delica4 versus Caly3" and spent the next day or three reading and watching far too many reviews of both knives. I deleted the Delica4 from my cart after convincing myself that the Caly3 looked better and appeared to have a more modern design. I was about to pull the trigger on the Caly3 when I read a review that mentioned a knife that I had never heard about before: the Spyderco Native5.

Spyderco Native5

I can't recall where I read the Native5 review, but I do remember that the writer considered the Native5 to be an improvement over the Caly3. I think it had something to do with the lock and/or the pivot design, but whatever it was, I was sold (because I believe everything I read). It didn't take long for me to delete the Caly3 from my cart, navigate over to Blade HQ, and buy the Native5 (G-10 version).

The Native5 gets its name from the fact that it is made in the United States (Golden, Colorado to be exact). This knife is beautiful, and it has the best fit and finish that I've seen thus far, which really doesn't mean much because I haven't seen many knives and I only have a very small collection at this time. This is my first knife with G-10 scales, and I really like the material. G-10 is not as high-tech or trendy looking as carbon fiber, but it still looks awesome, it has a great feel to it, and by all reports it is very strong and tough.

G-10 Scales

The brushed/polished steel and black colorway is impressive, and it makes the Native5 look more like a "gentleman's" blade rather than some radical steroid-laden tactical knife for use in hunting honey badgers. The machining of the parts and the assembly tolerances are nearly perfect. Check out the next picture, which shows the back lock mechanism and the edges of the steel liners; it's tough to distinguish the liners from the back lock:

According to Spyderco, the blade is made from CPM S35VN steel (by Crucible). Don't ask if that is good or bad, because I'm not really sure. It sounds impressive, though. The blade is three inches long, which is exactly the size that I was looking for. The blade is flat ground, it has a nice finger choil on the bottom and jimping on the top, and of course it features the obligatory Spyderco thumb hole.

The knife is weighty even though it features "dual skeletonized liners" for strength. The Native5 employs a pivot bushing and is assembled using Torx screws so that adjustments can be made if so desired. Even the pocket clip is designed well: it is polished nicely; it has the little spider icon engraved on it; and it can be installed in four different positions (right-handed, tip-up carry for me, thank you very much).

To be honest, I use my knives to open boxes and envelopes, slice pizzas and burritos when in tactical gastronomic situations, and to cut an occasional string or thread. I admit that any decent butter knife could probably satisfy my everyday cutting needs. That said, I DO appreciate high quality steel, nice blade shapes, and knives that hold sharp edges. I feel that the Native5 is more than satisfactory in this regard. Moreover, the Native5 looks and feels better than any other knife that I currently own. This knife will spend more time in my pocket than any other knife in my current collection. No contest.