Spyderco Resilience scales

My first exposure to Spyderco was back in 1993 when I received one as a bridal party wedding gift. I don’t remember which model but I carried it for years and it served me well for all those random cutting tasks. Since that time I have had at least one in my EDC folder stable and rotate it into service frequently. The attention to what really matters in a folder keeps me coming back to Spyderco

Being in the Leather and Knife business my friends often look to me for advice on what is the best value in a folder. Spyderco is my top choice in the ‘Bang for the Buck’ category. In their Value Folder Line are four folders that are affordable and still have outstanding performance. The latest in this line is the Resilience.

We have already looked at the Persistence in the Value Line in another review. The Tenacious is a bit larger than the Persistence and the Ambitious a bit smaller. The Resilience tops the line with a massive 4.2 inch Flat ground blade made in 8Cr13MoV steel. Overall length is 9.3 inches and a closed length of 5.2 inches. While this is quite large for an EDC, the flat profile sits well in the pocket and doesn’t have any more bulk than a folder much smaller. To keep the folder open Spyderco incorporated a Michael Walker Liner Lock with skeletonized steel liners. All this coolness is wrapped in black, textured G-10 scales. Swinging the beast of a blade out of its lair is butter smooth thanks to the phosphor bronze washers and screw together construction makes it simple for those who like to take them apart. The blade is .12 inches thick and tips the scale at 5.4 ounces. Spyderco also added versatility with the clip by giving you the choice to carry Tip up, Tip down, Left or Right carry. Being a lefty living in a righty world I have adapted to carrying a clipper in my right pocket. Just to see how it would carry I switched the clip to carry in my left pocket. The Spyderco Hole is perfect for gripping the knife and flicking it the blade open.

I’ve been carrying the Resilience for about a month. I am getting goodies delivered regularly at the shop and reducing the random boxes to a manageable pile was a breeze with the Resilience. It comes from the factory with a wicked sharp edge and maintains its sharpness throughout the cardboard cutting flurry. The slight belly right near the tip gives you plenty of flat edge for trimming the leather ends off of my sheath blanks. I was hunting the weekend before Thanksgiving and had every intention of field dressing a deer with the Resilience. However the local deer had other ideas and avoided the crosshairs…. With the jimping on the spine I would not have any problem holding onto it while taking care of my game. While taking a break back at the truck, I used the Resilience to dispatch my killer salami and Gouda cheese with ease. The flat ground blade made short work of the apple lurking in my lunch bag as well.

With all that has been going on lately, getting into the woods has been a challenge. This hasn’t stopped me from striking a Firesteel with the spine. I tried using the trademark Spyderco Hole for sparking the firesteel and it showered the floor with sparks! The sharp spine also flings sparks like Thor throwing lightening. Having a large flat section, the blade makes awesome fuzzy sticks and can notch as well as a table saw cutting a dado. The rock solid lockup of the liner lock provides a great alternative to a fixed blade when the need arises. Just taking physics into account I wouldn’t subject any folder to the stresses of what a fixed blade could handle, but by exercising caution the Resilience can take on many of the tasks left to a fixed blade. Whether it be hunting, hiking, or daily use you can’t beat the beast of the Value Line, the Resilience.

This weekend was unseasonably warm in my neck of the woods and I was able to get some remodeling updates done outside. The Spyderco worked perfectly for trimming cedar I put around the new window. I also used it to slice up some Styrofoam for around the windows. My first choice was a box cutter but it seemed to bind in the material. So I reached for the Resilience and it slid through like warm butter. After using it all weekend for various tasks around the homestead the edged was still sharp and only required a little stropping to get back to hair shaving.

MSRP is at $69.95 and a little searching on the InterWebs you can score one for around $45. This price is right in line for my frugal friends and is a lot of knife for the money!