Spyderco Chicago Carbon Fiber: Discontinued for a reason

[darkchild57]

I was looking for one of these at first but after seeing how small they are I decided against it. I have a Cat and the CF on there doesn't look much better. The edges are not done well and there is slight fraying in some areas. Still, I think this a cool knife to own. Too bad you can't have locking knives.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@darkchild57 Yeah man, they are tiny. The blade lends itself well to boxes, but even cutting small veggies etc can be a bit of a challenge.

That is properly poor about the CF on your Cat being sub standard too - pretty shoddy on Spyderco's part for not having better overseas QC. Some solace can I suppose be taken on the way this one was discontinued, apparently due to the poor QC.

Cheers for watching man, and sorry for being so behind on your videos - been in the middle of nowhere!

[spydercofan99]

Nice vid man!!! cool knife!!!.......i subbed :)

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@spydercofan99 Thank you for the kind words man, and for subscribing. I greatly appreciate it. Any suggestions, questions etc, just fire away. Cheers once again man

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@LegendofHogger Yeah man, those things are beastly. Certainly make one - they're badass

[Gunsfromholland]

So if i understand you richt, you can not have a knife with a lock?

Well that is a stupid rule.

Great review!!

Greetings from Holland.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@Gunsfromholland Spot on man, spot on. No locking folders allowed for carry - not even a Spyderco Ladybug! Unless you have due cause though, so if you were going bushcrafting for example, or fishing, you can carry whatever tools you may need.

Cheers man - very kind of you. Greetings to you too man, all the way from southern England

[jcwoodstl]

I guess I fucked up when I carried a full sized, liner locking, spring-assisted opener during my visit to Chicago a couple weeks ago... They won't let me carry a gun in the God-forsaken state of Illinois (one of the few you can't carry in) so I figured the knife was probably okay. Guess I was still breaking the law... Nazi's..

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@jcwoodstl Hahah man, you did indeed. I don't know the ins and outs of the actual Chicago knife law, but from my research into the creation of this knife, it would certainly seem you may have blown their laws right into touch!

I've never understood why in some places you can CCW, but at the same time you can't carry an auto knife. I've never really got that.

At least Chicago is being consistent - banning everything! Incidentally, I think those who passed the law should be banned...

[WanderingWallaby]

Looks very similar to the Spyderco squeak in many aspects - but I don't have the specs to hand. Of course, the Squeak is a slippit, and so UK legal out of the box; it also has FRN scales and made in Italy. But superficially the same size and type

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@WanderingWallaby Absolutley man - identical in design and blade length, effectively just added a liner lock, CF and S30V to a Squeak to make the Chicago. Do you have one? I have never exerienced the Italian made Spydercos - so I'd be interested to see how they hold up.

Thank you for pointing that out about the Squeak though - cheers

[WanderingWallaby]

@TheEnglishRedneck45 Yeah; got one recently as the UKPK still looks a bit big, despite UK legality. The Squeak took a while to get used to, being so small - one handed opening tricky at first. It's kept its edge so far. THe spydiehole feels a bit unfinished, but not bit problem. Otherwise I can't see any of the Chicago issues.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@WanderingWallaby True true, the UKPK does indeed look rather large - I wish people would understand that it is entirely legal though. Most people seem to think that any knife is illegal to carry, which is a pain in the ass!

Very interesting about the Squeak - and very good to hear it doesn't have the issues of the Chicago. Sounds like Italy may be the way forward! I would like to try out that Bohler N690 steel - seems to be damn decent stuff. Cheers once again man

[WanderingWallaby]

@TheEnglishRedneck45 Have you seen stschmalhaus has just posted a vid about the Squeak, comparing it to the slip joints and the Chicago? He's done a better job than I could ever hope to!

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@WanderingWallaby Thank you for drawing my attention to it - he does indeed do a good comparison of them. Maaan does that dude have a lot of knives! To be able to show the UKPK, Urban, Chicago and Squeak in one video, is certainly an achievement. Cheers once again

[electrophile77]

What are the knife laws in the UK? Is 2 inches your limit to how long the blade can be?

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@electrophile77 The law in the UK is that unless you have a valid reason for carrying a bladed tool, it must be a folding knife with a cutting edge of no longer than 3 inches. In practice however, this has extended to the folding knife must be non-locking, and the overall blade length and (not just the cutting edge as the law actually states) must be sub 3 inches. A hefty pain in the ass.

Cheers for watching electrophile

[TheDishD]

Great reveiw there TER, i have to say it has never floated my boat, i dont know why but it just does't, esp now that you show th poor QC on the carbon fiber, keep up the great vids, best wishes and take care

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@TheDishD Cheers man, and neither has it ever floated my boat! I just bought it as a small project to see if I could make it UK legal, and also semi as a possible gainer in value. I have never done so before - investing in knives is generally not well advised in my book, unless you really know your shit, which I do not! It was discontinued quickly, and I bought it cheap, so perhaps it may pay dividends. If not, alas!

Cheers for watching man - definitely not a recommended Aussie purchase.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@mrmilleniumproof Oh, sorry man, I thought you meant the burr on the blade edge - I get you now though, That tang that sticks out of a friction folder for opening is not counted no, as you correctly said - it is behind the pivot and inside the handle when the blade is open, so it cannot be counted.

Cheers

[SurviveToLife]

great review of that knife, indeed, why bother with that little wimpy knife, but like you said, it is to look good from afar :-) nicely stated!

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@SurviveToLife Cheers man, that is very kind of you. And it is indeed wimpy, looks rather like a baby rodent to me - rather chubby, for such a small frame. I must say it looks good on this camera! It's good at arm's length in real life, but any closer, and I start to see imperfections that irritate me.

I unfortunately can't lay claim to that phrase - MyHollowpoint, who has a channel here on YouTube, I would say has the patent on that phrase. It is a phrase of great truth though! Cheers

[SurviveToLife]

@TheEnglishRedneck45 Thanks for the lead! I look forward to checking his channel. Thanks for your vids man.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@SurviveToLife No worries man, and my pleasure. Cheers

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@mrmilleniumproof There are a variety of options - as you mentioned, friction folders are pretty popular, but we can also have slip joints, such as on Swiss Army Knives, or the Spyderco UKPK etc. Also, Spyderco came out with the Terzuola, which just uses ball detents to hold the blade open - so that's legal carry too.

With regards the law details - technically it states the edge must be below 3 inches, but in reality, any metal infront of the handle must be below 3 inches! Pain in the ass.

[wmpyr]

excellent detailed review. Thanx also for your info on the H1 steel. they should come up with a knife that doesn't lock for your guys in the UK but then it has a manual lock that you can engage, as long as you don't engage the lock it should be legal :)

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@wmpyr Thank you man, that is very kind of you. And no worries about the H1 stuff - it seems like a great practical steel, but I sold my Pacific due to disliking the tip, and the hollow grind. Furthermore, I just can't seem to get along with FRN handles. I've just got used to G10, Micarta etc, so FRN feels rather strange to me now.

I shall have to look into that - could be a very nifty way around the law. Cheers for the idea man, excellent ingenuity. I'll have an ask around.

Cheers man

[X4CTO]

It's a shame they didn't do a better job on the Chicago. It really is a good looking design I think, but those machine marks dragging against the liner would drive me crazy no doubt. I mean even the little Spyderco Ambitious is machined well. I tend to prefer larger blades myself, but people get all ass hurt when you pull out a 4 inch blade in public, lol.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@X4CTO Amen man, amen. I really don't understand how that one could have got past QC with all that shit. That being said, some other people on here who managed to get one of these, seem to adore theirs, so mine might be just be one of the properly bad ones.

I'm a fan of larger knives too man - I got myself a blacked out Millie a couple of months back, after all your videos on them. It is always by my side whenever legally possible. I fucking love it.

Cheers for watching man, I appreciate it

[X4CTO]

Yeah I've seen some positive reviews on them indeed.

Sorry to hear yours was jacked up though... still makes a nice little non-locking everyday use blade though indeed.

I love my little Spydie Kiwi, and it doesn't lock. =)

Yeah I noticed your Millie in the video here as well... such a great knife for almost everything in my opinion.

That's one of the only knives I put above the Enduras... if not the ONLY one.

Glad to watch my friend... got some more free time actually, haha.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@X4CTO Shit man, of course - how is Texas holding up to Ms. Irene's rage? Sounds bloody crazy over there, it's all over our news. Perhaps this one isn't them time for you to be doing your storm chasing! Would make for one hell of a rush though.

Stay safe man - Irene sounds like a bitch.

[X4CTO]

We're doing good here in Texas... well it's actually been so damn hot, but Irene is not really going to get to us I don't think... it's more on the eastern coastline. We will probably get a little something in the future from the Gulf of Mexico though... and we could really use some rain, we're having a drought here right now.

Yeah I've never messed around with hurricanes to be honest with you... even a category 1 hurricane can carry winds stronger than some tornadoes.

Same to you my friend.

[TheEnglishRedneck45]

@X4CTO That is certainly for the best man - not being in Irene's way can only be a good thing. Cheers once again man

[X4CTO]

Absolutely... I agree.

You're welcome brother.

Talk to you later.