While all other Spyderco knives were produced in Japan or the USA, Spyderco decided to release a new model which is entirely made in China earlier this year. It is the C122 Tenacious.

It is the first „Made in China“ knife from Spyderco. This fact and its very low price (MSRP: $49.95) made me curious so I decided to order one.

The handle

You won’t note any difference to other Spyderco knives at the first glance when you take the knife out of its box. The G-10 on the handle just looks like the G-10 on other models and the workmanship seems to be on the same level aswell.

The pocket clip of the tenacious can be positioned in four ways (tip-up/down for right/left handed users). It is not coated and bears Spyderco’s bug-logo. The logo seems to be lasered on the clip and not stamped like on other models (e.g. the C11 Delica 4) which is interesting but nothing negative.

Taking a look at the spine of the knife reveals that it has two steel liners and an open spine. In my opinion the latter is a big plus because you can clean the knife thoroughly without the necessity to take it apart for this task. Another good thing is that the liners are skeletonized, which means lower weight.

The shape of the handle is quite well done. I can hold it very comfortably but it might be a bit large in small hands because it is somewhat wider than the handle of a Delica for example.

The blade

When you open the knife, you’ll find a blade that has is leaf-shaped. It definitely has some points in common with the blades that can be found on the Dragonfly, Calypso Jr. and the Manix. It features a full flat grind (another big plus for me) and bears Spyderco’s bug-logo and some text aswell. The inscription is located very close to the handle (as usual) and reads “Spyderco”; “8Cr13MoV” on the left side and simply “China” on the right side of the blade.

The edge runs all the way down from the tip to the handle. There is no ricasso and no choil. In my opinion this is a small negative point. Judging only the looks it’s good. It really fits the overall design! Thinking about usage, it is negative for me. Let me explain…

I’ve used a Calypso Jr. for quite some time and I also use a Dragonfly frequently. Both knives have a choil, so if you close one of these knives, you simply can press down the locking bar and let the blade fall on your index finger. This is also the case with front-lock models that don’t have a choil – the Delica 4 for example. In this case the ricasso of the blade will land on your finger and you won’t cut yourself. If you tried that with the Tenacious (pressing the locking liner down and letting the blade fall down), you might cut yourself badly if you are used to use knives where this is possible. You shouldn’t meet trouble halfway but sometimes the strangest things happen so please be careful when you close your Tenacious one handed.

Other than that the blade is really nice. Especially the thumb-ramp is really nicely done. It supports you really well and the jimping on it does not feel too aggressive.

8Cr13Mo…what?

8Cr13MoV is the steel the blade is made of. It is a Chinese steel which has been in use by Spyderco for quite some time on their “Byrd” line of knives, which are also made in China. If you wonder what kind of crazy name 8Cr13MoV is, there’s an easy explanation. It’s not a trade name like D2, 440C or ATS-34, but the technical description of the main components the steel consists of. In this case the alloy consists of (in %) 0.8 Carbon, 13 Chromium (Cr), 0.15 Molybdenium (Mo) and 0.10 Vanadium (V), so 8Cr13MoV gets a sense now. The rest of the alloy is 0.40 Manganese, 0.20 Nickel, 0.02 Phosphorus, 0.01 Sulphur and 0.50 Silicon.

It is difficult to compare to other steels used by Spyderco, because none of them is similar in its composition. Having no own experiences with it, I have to rely on what others wrote about the steel on forums. After reading a lot of it, it can be said that the most people tend to see it as a little bit better than AUS-8 when it comes to edge retention and maintenance. I’ll definitely update this text as soon as I have some experience with this knife and its steel.

My conclusion

I think that the Tenacious is a great knife for the money. Actually I am convinced that you won’t find a better knife for the same money. I also think that Spydercos decision to produce a knife in China was right, because now many people can afford a Spyderco knife who probably couldn’t before and the quality and workmanship of this knife is definitely not typical Chinese but typical Spyderco.

My knife does not have any bladeplay right out of the box. I’ll definitely keep an eye on that. The lock also seems to be very well done and I think that I won’t encounter any problems with it. Excellent for a knife that can be bought for about USD 30!

I really like the design of the knife. To me it really looks very appealing. What I don’t like is the edge which goes all the way down to the handle. I would have preferred a solution similar to the Military, but this is only a small negative point. Simply be careful when you close your Tenacious one handed!

Overall I think that the Tenacious is a very good knife so I’d say get one and try it for yourself! Although the C122 is a very inexpensive knife it doesn’t look cheap so it would also make a nice present which for sure will be appreciated.

More pictures…

Please watch the video below for some more pictures of the knife.

Cheers, Rob

September 2008