You may remember the Matriarch, a slightly smaller version of Spyderco's big intimidating "Civilian" folder with the wicked recurved blade. It's been out of production for years, but it looks like Spyderco did a "Sprint Run", where it's available in limited quantities for a short time. This time around, the Matriarch is sporting a brown handle, made of FRN (fiberglass reinforced nylon, like Zytel).
Spyderco says:
"The female leader of a herd of elephants is called a Matriarch. The Spyderco Matriarch came about in the 1990s after a South African distributor requested a lightweight folder similar to the Spyderco Civilian.
He wanted the attributes of the Civilian with its tremendous cutting effort but in a smaller size and thicker at the tip of the blade for general use. We made him the Matriarch which eventually was discontinued but is being revived for a limited time during the summer of 2010 as a Sprint Run.
The Matriarch handle in coco-brown features the Volcano Grip FRN handle to ensure solid grip performance while cutting.
Shaped like a backward “S” and full at the belly, the VG-10 blade is available with a SpyderEdge or PlainEdge. With the curving thick tip, both edge configurations are highly effective when cutting using just the tip or when using a full arm motion. A left/right hand clip affixes the folder to carry tip-up in a pocket.
The Matriarch is a highly refined and coveted design we believe will offer years of serviceable use."
Indeed. This would make a fantastic urban carry knife, as just the looks alone would be enough to make a mugger think twice, and if one had to use it, you'd be shredding flesh like a lemon zester.
So far, these are available for a short time @ Knifecenter.com
and Knifeworks.com.
At discount sites, they should be just under $70.00 USD, which is not a bad deal at all, considering a standard Spyderco Endura will set you back about $60.00 USD.
I have found Spyderco's Japanese output to be of very high quality, at least as good, if not sometimes better than their American knives. I own the Ed Schempp-designed Persian, and it is a tight, clean piece of work, which also came out of their Seki City factory, where I believe Moki knives are also made.
Specs are as follows:
Blade Length: 3-5/8" (92 mm)
Cutting Edge: 3-1/4" (83 mm)
Blade Thickness: 1/8" (3 mm)
Closed Length: 8-15/16" (211 mm)
Overall Length: 4-7/8" (124 mm)
Hole Diameter: 15/32" (12 mm)
Blade Steel: VG-10
Weight: 2.6 oz. (74 g)
Handle Material: Brown FRN
Made in Seki-City, Japan
2 comments:
Wicked looking knife, and I like that. But what does one use these on?
One would have to make a convex strop for it, wouldn't one? Doesn't look easy to sharpen.
Yeah, I'm assuming this blade style is geared toward defensive applications, though give me a Swiss Army, Leatherman, or any number of less weaponized-looking knives for the same purpose. With the fully serrated model and the fine tip, I suppose there could be some crafting applications (lol). My guess would be also, that as a maritime knife, that blade would do very well on materials like rope.
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