Spyderco Police 4 Lightweight Folding Knife 4.38" CPM-SPY27 Satin Plain Blade, Cobalt Blue FRN Handles, Lockback - C07PCBL4

Description

SP07PCBL4: C07PCBL4 Police 4 Lightweight CPM-SPY27

Spyderco Knives

Developed exclusively for Spyderco, CPM-SPY27 is a remarkably well-balanced steel that can only be found on Spyderco knives. It contains a proprietary mix of alloys, including vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, and nitrogen. The state-of-the-art Crucible Particle Metallurgy process enhances this advanced formula to produce a microstructure that delivers outstanding hardness, corrosion resistance, and edge retention.

CPM-SPY27 is now showcased in several more established Spyderco models, where these knives take full advantage of CPM-SPY27’s remarkable properties to deliver outstanding cutting performance and reliability. They are paired with handles featuring machined textures and ergonomic shaping for a secure, comfortable grip.

The features of these elite knives are faithful to the standard versions of each model, combining proven design with the superior qualities of CPM-SPY27 steel.

Seasoned Spyderco enthusiasts know that Spyderco model numbers are sequential to the chronological development of the knives they represent. With very rare exceptions, like the C06 Tusk, the lower a model's number, the longer it's been around.

Based on that rule, a quick scan of the current Spyderco catalog will reveal that the C07 Police Model is the oldest Spyderco design currently still in production. The secret to its longevity is not only its iconic status as one of the preeminent tactical folders of all time, but also its ability to adapt, evolve, and constantly earn new followers. The latter quality is clearly evident in the latest version of this venerable design: the Police 4 Lightweight K390.

EVOLUTION OF THE POLICE MODEL

When Spyderco literally defined the form of the modern folding knife back in 1981, some of the very first end users to embrace their unorthodox designs were law enforcement officers. They immediately recognized the advantages of clip carry, swift one-handed opening, and a voracious serrated cutting edge and quickly became some of their most devoted customers. As their early models became the "go-to" cutting tools of savvy officers, they also began asking for a purpose-designed Spyderco folder optimized for their needs. Specifically, they wanted a slim, easy-to-carry knife that also offered a hand-filling grip and a substantial blade that could work as both a utility tool and a potent back-up defensive weapon in an officer-survival situation.

In 1984, Spyderco responded to that calling with the original Police Model. Designed by company founder Sal Glesser, the Police was crafted entirely from stainless steel. Its long, hollow-ground blade had a promi­nent swedge (unsharpened back bevel) to ensure an acute point and was paired with a smooth, square-edged stainless steel handle, a stout lockback mechanism, and a clip configured for right-side tip-down carry. For left handers and officers who wanted the knife as a handgun-retention tool, dedicated left-handed versions were also produced.

In the early 1990s, the Police Model's design was refined to include chamfered handle edges and a revised lockback. The second-generation version also inspired a number of different variations, including knives with aluminum, titanium, G10, and carbon fiber scales, various blade steels, and even all-black versions. Years later, the handle was also updated to accept a versatile, four-position clip, that provides a choice of tip-up or tip-down carry on either side of the body.

While the "old-school" Police Model continued its reign, in 2008, it was joined by the Police 3, which was very similar in design, but boasted a number of key differences. It featured full stainless steel liners, high-traction textured G10 scales, a four-position pocket clip, and a broad, full-flat-ground VG10 stainless steel blade with an index-finger choil. That knife also earned a devoted audience—and some strong customer feedback that ultimately led to the even more refined Police 4, which Sal Glesser admittedly tuned to meet the needs of a broader audience than law enforcement officers alone. According to Sal, "I designed the Police 4 to include what I would like in a knife, more than what a LEO might like. It's still a kissing cousin, and large for most people. I widened the blade, enlarged the hole and selected a steel that I like to use."

Although very similar in overall spirit and construction to its predecessor, the Police 4 incorporates a number of subtle, but significant, ergonomic refinements. Perhaps more importantly, it marked the transition from a stainless steel blade—a longstanding Police Model tradition—to a tool steel blade crafted from Böhler-Uddeholm K390. Renowned for offering an exceptional combination of edge retention and toughness, K390 is ideally suited to the challenges to which Police 4 users typically put its long, broad, full-flat-ground blade.

Throughout its evolution, the Police had always been constructed from solid materials that offered serious heft to match its hand-filling size. While that certainly appealed to many end users, others preferred the lighter weight and enhanced grip texture of Spyderco's lightweight models. In 2019, they bridged the gap between these two schools of thought by creating the Police 4 Lightweight.

Its design profile is identical to the G10-handled Police 4, but its handle is constructed in the style of our tried-and-true lightweight models, featuring skeletonized stainless steel liners, injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) scales, high-traction Bi-Directional Texturing, and a full-flat-ground VG10 stainless steel blade.