Spyderco Native 5 Lightweight Folding Pocket Knife, Plainedge

I love this knife. I have carried a Spyderco Delica 4 and the smaller Dragonfly for years. Although the Delica is a great knife and served me well, I was never thrilled with the look of it. The blade narrowing near the pivot just gave it an urban street look to me and I feel a little self conscious depending where I am using it. Not to say its a bad knife, I have several Delica's. They are good knives. I really liked the Native's blade and handle from the catalog picture and the actual knife did not disappoint when I got it in hand. It just felt right and looked good too. I thought long and hard about whether to get the Native with the FRN hangle or G10. I decided to go with the FRN because of the weight. The FRN model does not have liners and it is lighter, but there is nothing flimsy about this knife. It is perfectly capable of doing anything I need. It feels more secure in my hand than the Delica for heavier cutting jobs. At 2.5oz, it feels comfortable in my pocket. In fact, lighter than my G10 Delica. The knife came nicely sharpened. Of course I had to dull it up shredding cardboard boxes and cutting rope. It held its edge great. It didn't stay shaving sharp, but it kept cutting until I got tired. It was easy to touch up on the Sharpmaker. I have many Spyderco's and this is the first that easily matched the 30 degree Sharpmaker angles with little to no work on my first sharpening. The S35VN steel sharpens a lot like VG10 but stays sharp longer. Its impossible for me to say how much better than VG10 so I'll just leave it at "I'm very pleased with this knife. No regrets. Love it". That said, being a collector/user, I ordered the S110V version to compare. Like the S35vn, the S110 lost its shaving edge during the cardboard shredding. Also like the S35vn, it kept cutting until I was tired. But its much trickier to sharpen. I can do it pretty quickly on diamonds though. I still struggle to get it hair popping shaving sharp but its not worth the trouble because it will quickly get back to a utility edge. On the plus side, that utility edge seems to last forever. I realize I might not be experienced in proper technique with s110v, but I I prefer s35vn. Its just easier to keep the s35v really sharp and its no slouch on edge retention. When its slightly dull, I can bring it back in seconds. I don't do a lot of rough heavy duty cutting. My everyday cutting is more like opening plastic sacks, padded envelopes, cloth bags, cutting string, bubble wrap and some rope. I prefer a level of sharpness that is tough to get and keep with the s110v. The s110v seems to quickly fall below what I want. It often fails to cleanly slice through some of those thin plastics and paper that I cut. I'd say the s110v is more toothy and requires more sawing when cutting certain things where the s35vn stays sharp enough to push through. With either steel, you are getting a great knife. If you are on the fence of what steel to get, I'd say unless you are really looking to try an S110v knife, go for the S35VN. It won't disappoint. If you are not an experienced sharpener, I would also steer you to the S35VN. S110v is different, not necessarily better. As a side note, Spyderco is changing the s35vn to s30vn on the FRN Native sometime in 2018. It should not be a noticeable change.

Originally, I wasn't planning on writing a review for this knife but after putting it to the test I feel compelled to testify. Was initially deciding between the Native 5 and the Manix 2. I bought this one because I personally liked the overall shape & size of the Native 5 better. Wanted to get the G10 scales but that's almost double the price of the FRN, so I settled with the FRN. Main points: - It's the lightweight FRN so it is extremely light, almost to the point where it may feel like a cheap knife. But after testing the knife, it is most definitely not cheap. It is very solid and well built. - The blade comes extremely sharp and it retains its sharpness. - Was initially hesitant about how I'd like the lock back as I never had a knife with it before, but after playing with it I like it a lot. It's fun to play with, and to me the blade feels more securely locked with the lock back. I'm not as worried about accidentally folding it on myself. To close the knife, you need a legit press down on the lock back. - Took it out camping and did some cutting, carving, and even chopping/hammering. I was very pleased with its performance. I felt that I put it to some serious use, some might even consider mild abuse, but it held its own very well. It retained a sharp edge, the locking mechanism never failed during hard use, and it developed absolutely no blade play. If I had to complain about something it'd be that although the FRN scales give you really good grip, it has potential to tear up your hand a little bit if you're doing hard work without gloves. But it's no biggy. I'd rather have reliable grip with this sharp blade. Overall, I'm very pleased with this knife. I'd definitely recommend it.

Got this sooner than expected, so have been carrying for over a month now. Before knife arrived, I checked out reviews on YouTube and was a bit apprehensive with some of them. They claimed new frn handle was too boxy, contrasting the well-rounded earlier model Native. I have Byrd Meadowlark 2 and Cara-Cara models with lightweight frn handles, and they were way too boxy and uncomfortable for me, so I considered cancelling my order for this Native 5 Lightweight. It's a good thing I didn't, since I was able to see that the handle on this is way better than the Byrd handles. Those handles have a really boxy edged frn, made worse by a slightly sharp inner edge (between the lip of the handle and the inner texturing), making them feel very angular and uncomfortable. on the Native 5, the outer edges are slightly more rounded, and the inner edge blends slightly into the bi-directional inner texture. You can feel this by running your thumb accross the handle surface - the native 5 only grips or catches when you go against the grain of the bi-directional texture, but side-to-side is fine. Blade is of thick stock, about 3.5mm thick. Lock bar is even thicker, a full 4mm thick. So this knife is definitely no Delica. But weight is definitely low, because of two things - the full flat ground blade, with small swedges on top, and the lack of any metal liners. The frn scales look sturdy enough for any task this knife might be used for, as in spite of the thick blade stock, it's not a heavy use knife. These scales are actually milled out inside, to make them even lighter. Although it has a lightweight handle and a thick blade, it's not blade-heavy - balance point when open is about at the lockbar pivot - quite ideal actually. The handles also have a big, circular Spyderco logo in the center, rather than the old oval logo with the knife name and the Spyderco name. Pocket clip actually rests on this smooth circle, so clipping and pulling out the knife is smoother than earlier models. Pocket clip is also unpainted stainless, which I prefer since the painted clip has a tendency to scratch up and look less than perfect after awhile. As mentioned, the lockbar is very thick, and lockup is very good. The notch in the blade where the lockbar catches has a deep semicircular cut, which holds any dirt or crud that would prevent perfect lockup, so it's quite secure. Not found on other Spydercos is a bit of jimping on the lockbar itself, which blends smoothly into the jimping on the blade. Quite a nice touch, actually. The s35vn blade came very sharp, and has an unusual finish. It's a satin finish that is not shiny - quite unlike the CTS BD-1 steel finish on my Manix Blue lightweight, which has a similar looking satin finish but is very shiny, so much so you don't want to handle the blade and mess it up with fingerprints. The Native 5 finish is smooth and cleans up well, but really does not have any sheen to it. Some may like it and some may not. Overall, I'm really happy with this knife - I wanted to get a Native 5 G10 earlier but was unable to because they ran out. Maybe the G10 model is more robust but I think this FRN model is better for EDC because of lighter weight. Really good addition to any collection.

I didva ton of research and wanted a premium steel made in the USA knife that I could carry. Based on the knives I have and use most, a 3” blade and overall near 7” works best and this or Benchmades mini grip fit the bill. $100 is more than enough for a knife and more seemed like overkill. I have another Spyderco that has really grown on me and just love the more interesting and symmetrical shape. I was worried that the FRN would feel cheap but it doesn’t. The texture is great, the knife is amazing. Razor sharp, awesome finish and great point on it. I really love the made in golden, Colorado, USA, earth on the back. Ergonomics are perfect and has the forward Choil for bigger hands, but I can use the knife without. I bought this pink one so that I could dye it, probably a deep blue or red. I must say the Pink is actually a pretty nice and vibrant color and for a good cause. Love that Spyderco hole too, but it will take time to break in the action with the back lock. This thing is sturdy, light, and super functional. Sadly, my fiancée, who isn’t into knives one bit, grabbed it from me about 10 seconds after i opened it and claimed it for herself. Had no idea how much it was or anything about it, but as picky as she is that should tell you everything you need to know. She loves it and fiddled with it all night during a movie. To address other reviews, yes the picture is dated. Spyderco went from s35 to sv30. I had to do a tad bit of research to know that there’s not a human in earth that can distinguish between the two for using it. They’re both great steels and unless you for some reason need a touch up on toughness, then I guess pay $40 more for something else. Kinda silly to give zero stars for since it’s NOT a fake, and not really inferior in any way.

Trying to round out my collection of Spyderco knives, I really wanted the Native 5 lightweight as another option for my EDC rotation, and I wasn’t disappointed. Sharp out of the box, easily carried, and the CPM S30V steel is easy to resharpen after being close to being abused. It’s a hard knife to pass up if you’re on the fence for a quality, lightweight, and durable blade that you’ve been looking for. I know, I’ve been carrying a less expensive knife for a long time, for cutting boxes and stuff, but once I got this, it helped me understand why value isn’t always a lower price, it’s also how much time you spend fixing something that you shouldn’t have to fix every week or so.

This is my third Native after having been without one for a decade after my last was tossed by the TSA when I forgot to remove it from my briefcase before going through airport security. It's an outstanding knife, fits my hand perfectly and cuts like a demon's claws. I had to knock one star because they changed the unlock mechanism since my last two knives. They increased the travel and pressure required to disengage the lock. On my old knives, I was able to disengage the lock with my index finger running length-wise against the belt clip and the ball of my thumb applying pressure to depress the release (allowing for very easy and smooth one-handed closing of the knife with no part of my hand in the path of the traveling blade). I'm still able to achieve that same grip, but the travel I'm able to achieve is no longer sufficient to release the lock. To achieve the necessary travel/pressure, I have to use the tip of my thumb in a full-hand grip, meaning my fingers are now in the path of the traveling blade and I have to use my other hand to carefully close the blade after releasing my grip on the handle. This was pretty disappointing as the easy flick of the wrist to open the knife and similar one-handed motion to close it was one of my favorite aspects to my old Natives. Still good, but really disappointed with the change.

I have only had this knife a couple of weeks. It arrived extremely sharp. (Barely beaten by out-of-the-box sharpness by a Centofante 3.) It has retained it's supremely good edge, without needed to be touched up or honed, only an occasional leather stropping. I use this knife in my workshop daily, everything from cutting cardboard, to occasional scraping of dried glue from the joints of an old chair I am repairing. It is not only sharp, it is exactly the right size and contour (both blade and grip) to just feel like it longs to be used. The extreme light weight might put some users off, not feeling quite as heavy as it's size would seem to indicate it should. But it is by no means flimsy, even though it is lacking liners. The initial feeling of possibly being too lightweight for a serious working knife is immediately overcome when you grip the knife, especially when using the choil for the index finger. Only one thing keeps the knife from being perfect, and it is cosmetic rather than structural: the back spacer, the filler piece that runs between the scales behind the backlock. It is the same black FRN material the the scales are made of, but it has some side to side ridges on the top to apparently resemble jimping. It seems to add nothing to the gripability of the knife (which is plenty good already thanks to the pleasant looking texturing of the FRN scales). To me, these ridges look odd and out of place. Kind of like watching a pretty, well dressed woman entering a room, admiring her, and then noticing she is wearing clunky overshoes.) If this Native is as popular as it hopefully will become, maybe someone will market a replacement spacer to improve the looks of the texture of this one flaw (in my opinion). Oh well, it is still, to paraphrase Jimmy Stewart, a Wonderful Knife.

This is a great EDC. It rides light and small in pocket and the fit and finish are excellent. This is a very low key knife, what sets it apart though is that there's no other brand name knife on the market that weights this little, uses CPM S35VN steel, made in the USA and costs $75. If you're looking for a lightweight, high quality, high end steel, user knife at an affordable price, this is it. A few things to note about this knife for prospective buyers: -This knife has a shorter handle which makes it easier to carry in pocket. The trade off is if you have large size hands, using the handle alone you'll probably only get a 3 1/2 finger grip. I prefer using the forward choil, which gives me more control of the blade and plenty of room for a 4 finger grip. If you have large hands and don't like using the forward choil, this may be an issue for you. -This uses a strong lockback. The deployment requires a good amount of force if you want to be able to flick this knife open quickly. Most folks end up doing a slow, controlled deployment with their thumb. -The Spydie hole is a love it or hate it feature. The hole is, by design, machined fairly sharp. Not enough to cut you, but you'll definitely feel it. If you're not use to it, give it time before you make up your mind. -The handle is made up of FRN to save on weight. This is also a love it or hate it feature. I prefer FRN because of the weight savings, others hate it because they think it looks and feels cheap. Good luck on your knife purchase, hope this helps!

Ich hatte mir das Para3 Lightweight und das Native5 Lightweight bestellt um eine Entscheidung für das eine oder andere Messer treffen zu können. Nachdem ich beide Messer in der Hand halten konnte, war meine Entscheidung ziemlich schnell für das Native5 gefallen. Es hat für mich alle Eigenschaften für das perfekte EDC. Aber auch das Para3 ist ein absolut tolles Messer, letztendlich muss muss jeder die Wahl für seine eigenen Bedürfnisse treffen. Der "Spielspaß" bei Spydercos ist zweitrangig für mich, Haptik und ein alltagstauglicher Messerstahl sind für mich vordergründig und bei diesem Messer optimal für mich. Der satinierte S30v ist einfach genial für mich, genau wie der äußerst zuverlässige Backlock. Egal wie man sich entscheidet, gönnt Euch so oder so einfach was gutes zu Weihnachten!

Acier de très bonne qualité, design sympa

Produto original. Entregue conforme anunciado

Excelentes acabados. Muy ligera y extremadamente afilada. De tamaño apropiado y fácil apertura a una mano. Una edc ideal.

Excelente acero, compacto, y liviano debido a su falta de alineadorers de acero los cuales en realidad no son necesarios ya que este cuchillo no es para uso rudo; un perfecto EDC el cual tiene un precio justo, no como la gran mayoría de modelos de la marca Benchmade o ZT los cuales si bien son más vistosos, se vuelven un poco más un artículo de colección que una herramienta de corte, que es lo que son en realidad.