Spyderco Modification

[Brent Yamamoto]

That’s correct. Gotta keep fingers out of the way. Practice it slow until you’ve got it solid then speed up.

[Brightlightman]

Yes, I'm having to do the same.

[krav51]

Just ordered both the knife and the ring,thanks for putting this info out there Brent!

[StealthNeighbor]

Thank you, Brent, for this innovation...

My "evolution:" (note: I've always carried a knife on both sides of the body)

- pair of Karambits from Ernie Emerson that I had for years (one opening forward and one rearward)

After training one-on-one with John McCreery and reading Gabe's commentaries about the "specialization" of a curved blade versus the simplicity / ferocity / effectiveness of a straight blade:

- one Cold Steel Voyager XL (primary hand / forward grip; thumb stud removed to stop my pants pockets from being shredded) and the forward-opening Krambit (support hand / reverse grip; okay, I did say "evolution" versus "revolution"...at my age, it's a process, not an event!)

After seeing the speed of a fixed-blade and knowing that "fingers become flippers" when the stress is on (and folders, while convenient and concealable, may not always open - or be accessed - when rolling in the dirt):

- one Cold Steel Voyager XL (primary hand / forward grip) and the S.I. Gang Unit (either hand, but handle towards the support side)

Carrying an S.I. G34, I was having issues with the Gang Unit taking up so much horizontal belt space (even though I love that width and sharpness!); I then played around with Ka-Bar's TDI fixed-blade (whose handle was slightly more accessible for me...but whose sheath was, and is, a literal POS -- which is why I had it for years but NEVER carried it) and carried it only after switching to the PHLster TDI Fightworthy Sheath:

- one Cold Steel Voyager XL (primary hand / forward grip) and a Ka-Bar TDI knife (in PHLster Fightworthy sheath)

I was then introduced, by accident, to the Bravo Company fixed-blades which, unlike Ka-Bar's TDI knife, have that "ring feature" like the Karambit that I was oh, so familiar with...so I switched once again:

- one Cold Steel Voyager XL (primary hand / forward grip) and a Bravo Company Colonel Blade NCO (primary side but handle towards the support side)

This last combo was -- I thought -- the "cat's meow" and my Neanderthal finally became Sapiens....but 2 things happened to make me re-think things:

1. Brent's Endura / split Signet Ring combo; and

2. Taking my kids to Disneyworld for the first time.

I did a "dry run" (the evening prior to Day 1) to the Security line to see what the "official" story was...and was told that only knives with an approximate 3" blade was permissible.

(Gabe might be proud that I did sneak in, on the last day [yesterday], my Voyager XL...just to see if I could; easy-peasy!)

While -- like the way I felt about the karambits, way back at the beginning of time -- I truly love my Voyager XL, it is a BIG knife...and it must be opened one-handed via gravity, whereas my Karambits opened "on the draw" due to the Emerson Wave feature...

With Brent's "split ring" modification, I'm looking forward to transitioning back to a somewhat smaller folder that can be opened "on the draw." Thus, the next step should look like this:

- one Spyderco Endura (primary hand / reverse grip) and a Bravo Company Colonel Blade NCO (primary side but handle towards the support side)

Perhaps, someone else might benefit from knowing that things as simple as carrying blades can evolve over time...just like Gabe has shown us with his EDC pistols, battle carbines, PDWs and shotguns....

Brent, thanks again!

[Barker]

Received the ring and waived endura Friday. Had it together with the ring cut by Friday evening. Thanks.