four-way clips?

[justdavid]

Sal,



Some Spydies (e.g., the steel Endura and the Vesuvius) have clips that'll convert tip-up to -down. Others have swappable left/right clips. Has any thought been given to incorporating both, for four-way clips, in models like the Delica, Endura, or Vesuvius?



Not sure I'd have a _need_ for something like this; just curious. ISTM like something that would let everyone have whatever clip-method they wanted.





jD.

[John Frederick]

Hi David and welcome!

Very few knives are designed like that. Why? I think the main reason is asthetics. How a knife looks is more important than how it performs when it comes to the average joe. A four way clip design leaves 9 open screw holes in the handle and many people don't like that look. I've seen it described as a swiss cheese handle.
Also many clip attachment designs are only left/right reversible. Take the Endura/Delica models for instance.
Cost of manufacturing is also a consideration.

I would also like to see more 4-way clip designs out there but I don't think that there is enough demand for it.

[Carlos]

Hi jD,

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

[Sword and Shield]

Hi JustDavid! Welcome to Spyderland! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

The idea seems practical to me, as this would satisfy anyone's idea of correct clip placement. As John said, the major problem is one of aesthetics. 9 open holes in a knife detract from appearances.

Another problem may be corrosion. Since these screw holes may need tapped metal threads, the problem of corrosion may increase, unless a highly stainless steel is used.

Keepin' it real...real sharp, that is.

[Blades]

Welcome to the forums, justdavid.
I think John is right. All those holes in the knife would look bad. Unless of course the whole handle had holes and only a few would accept the screws. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>


Blades

[SpyderNut]

Welcome justDavid to the place where money is 'invested' on Spydercos!

Ahh, good to have you aboard, mate!<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

I have always thought that the 4 way clip idea was unique, but as the others have mentioned, there are some drawbacks. If you are interested in getting a 4 way clip knife, I would recommend that you check out the Spyderco &quot;Q&quot;. This is the only Spyderco-made knife, that I know of, that uses the 4 way idea.

Good hunting! <img src="tongue.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

~Spydernut

&quot;When in dire need, begin to worry about your cash.&quot;

[Rookie]

Welcome to the forums JD.

In the land of knives, Spyderco is king.

[J Smith]

I would like to see more that could be changed to tip up or tip down.If the calypso jr could be switched to tip up I would have one in my pocket now.

Jeff

[justdavid]

Thanks for all the welcomes.

hough it wouldn't bother me, I can see that some people might have aesthetic problems with nine (as opposed to three, c.f. the steel Endura and Vesuvius) empty holes.

Hadn't thought of the corrosion problem. It might be solvable by sending along nine tiny little screws, like a lot of rifle mfgrs ship in their receiver holes. But that'd give nine (more) little screws to lose, and another aesthetics faux pas.

I kinda like the idea of making the whole thing look like Swiss cheese, only tap 12 of the holes, but would a compression lock be usable in such a thing? (I've been impressed by what I've read of it.)

I've handled a couple of Qs, and they don't really strike me as a hard-use knife, not as much as my Lightweight Dragonfly and nowhere near my Lightweight Endura.

Ah well, just a thought.


jD.

[shootist16]

My Spyderco Ocelot is set up for all four methods of carry.

Dennis Bible www.theleadingedgeonline.com

[recoil]

The Ocelot Prototype is set up with the 4 way clip option but the holes are hidden nicely by the black paw prints in the green G-10. I don't know if the production Ocelot will be equipped with this feature.

recoil

[justdavid]

I really really like the look of the Ocelot -- especially because it looks capable of all the sorts of things I need to do with a knife, without looking &quot;scary.&quot; Is there any info on it anywhere? Steel used, edge types that will probably be offered, sizes, etc.?

This is one of the Custom Collaborations? I'm guessing from the eye-like sigil on the blade, but I don't recognize it.

Liner lock, or compression? (I'm hoping the latter.)

If it's a compression lock, and the production model keeps the four-way feature, the only way I won't buy a couple is if my hands don't like the grip. And the next Spyderco I find that my hands don't like, will be the first...


jD.

[yog]

Hi Just david.

The Ocelot is a custom colaboration with Tim Wegner, it is the next evolution of the Wegner skinner. The &quot;eye&quot; logo is Tim's name around a paw print.
The knife is 7.5&quot; overall, with a sharpened portion on the blade of around 3&quot;. The blade is of BG-42 wich appears to cut as agressivly as CPM-440v and is described as having a good an edge retention as 440v if not better.
It is a compression lock, the first I have had and I really like it. The compression lock means it is every bit as smooth opening as a liner lock, but much stronger.
One feature that is not readily obvious is that the metal portion of the choil is grooved like the top of the ramp so the grip is very secure.

The good news is that the steel will remain top notch on the production model, Sal said &quot;We've not yet decided on the steel, but it will be something fairly exotic for edge retention&quot;, Carlos thinks it might stay BG-42.

The not so good news is that the production model will be FRN instead of G-10. The good news is that the pugs (indented paw prints) will remain.

More good news is that Sal recons that the price will be under $100.

"Walk softly, but carry a big stick."

[Brian]

I'm still not entirely positive of how a compression lock works.

&quot;Cash, I have faint memories of that stuff.&quot;

[yog]

Think of the compression lock as a liner lock, but on the top of the handle instead of on the bottom.
The practicle difference is that on a liner lock the liner is flexed in order to lock up, this means the liner is weekest down it's length, which just happens to be where most of the force from the blade is. This creates a theoretical weeknes in the lock, I say theoretical because all my liner locks have showed no signs of weeknes, but then again I have never had a cheep liner lock.

On the compression lock the liner is also flexed along it's legnth, but the force from the blade is perpendicular to the line of the flex, meaning that there is a good 8/9mm of straight steel behind the lock. It looks as though for the lock to fail 4 pins, the pivot, and the section of the handle that the liner is nested into would all have to fail in order for the lock to fail.

"Walk softly, but carry a big stick."

[justdavid]

yog,

Thanks for the descriptions, especially of the compression lock. I hadn't gotten around to looking up an explanation of same, and now I don't have to.

Will the handle retain the four sets of threaded taps for the clip?

Any idea about the handle colors to be offered? I haven't had any problems with the FRN on my couple of Spydercos, so I'm not especially mourning the decision to go with it instead of G-10, but I do kinda like the look of the one in the pic that recoil posted, green and all. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>


jD.

[nomaded]

From what I've read (mostly here and at BF), is that the scales on the Ocelot will be green and black FRN; green on the surface and black in the paw prints.

I'm definitely looking forward to the Ocelot. I definitely want something that's just a bit bigger than the Wegner Jr., and a better chole (is that the right term?) for the index finger, than what's on the Wegner and Wegner Jr.