Resilience Family
Seasoned knife enthusiasts know the best way to get superior performance is to invest in high-quality products. Since Spyderco produced its first knife in 1981, their focus has always been on making the absolute best cutting tools possible and educating our customers to appreciate their advantages. While that approach has been extremely successful, they also realize that many knife users are budget conscious.
To meet the needs of those on modest budgets and others for whom expensive knives are not a good fit, a number of years ago they created their Value Folders. The products in this family proudly include all the time-tested features and benefits of their premium CLIPIT folding knives but deliver them in a more economical format. To do this, they made very calculated compromises in the materials used. By focusing on the use of domestic Chinese materials like 8Cr13MoV stainless steel and locally sourced G10, they were able to keep production costs to a minimum. At the same time, they worked extremely hard to partner with manufacturing resources that offered superior craftsmanship and consistency at affordable prices. They also fine-tuned their production methods to achieve maximum economy of scale. Ultimately, these strategies paid off and their Value Folders—led by their flagship model, the Tenacious—earned a devoted customer following and the enviable distinction of being some of Spyderco's best-selling products.
One of the core design principles of the Value Folder family was to keep the key features and dimensions the same, while scaling the overall sizes of the knives to suit different hand sizes, blade-length considerations and user preferences. As such, the "cockpits"—the critical spatial relationships of the pivot pin, the lock ramp, and the Trademark Round Hole—are extremely consistent. Like full-sized, compact, and subcompact pistols that share the same critical operational dimensions, these designs have a lot of "common ground."
For most hand sizes and cutting chores, the Tenacious remains Spyderco's most popular Value Folder. However, for users with large hands, those who routinely tackle demanding cutting chores, and folks who simply prefer big-bladed knives, they "upsized" the Tenacious to create the Resilience. At 9.4 inches (239 mm) overall and proudly sporting a 4.2-inch (107 mm) blade, the Resilience is more than 20% larger than the Tenacious. First introduced in 2011, the original version of the Resilience features black peel-ply-textured G10 scales supported by full stainless steel liners. The liners are skeletonized and joined by stainless steel standoffs to create an open-backed construction. Together these features reduce the knife's overall weight and give it an amazingly deft balance for its size. The stout liners also form the foundation of the knife's sturdy liner lock mechanism, which locks the blade securely open when in use.
The "business end" of the original Resilience is full-flat ground from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel—a durable, reliable blade steel that provides an excellent balance of edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. Its full-flat grind creates impressive edge geometry for extreme cutting efficiency and, unlike most Spyderco folders, its edge extends the full length of the blade. Because it has a minimal ricasso—the unsharpened, full thickness section of the blade nearest the handle—it offers superior control and leverage when cutting near the "heel" of the blade and exceptional cutting power when the full length of the edge is brought into play.
To ensure ease of carry and immediate access, the Resilience includes a heavy-duty four-position pocket clip that is easily configured for left or right-side, tip-up or tip-down carry. This allows the user to easily configure the knife to suit personal carry preferences, hand size and deployment tactics and is a particularly important feature on large knives, which often work best when carried tip down.
Resilience Lightweight CPM S35VN
The 8Cr13MoV blade steel of the standard Resilience and Resilience Lightweights serves the needs of most knife users extremely well. However, some fans of Spyderco's Value Folders have expressed interest in upgraded versions of the same designs featuring higher-performance blade steels. To answer that calling, they also created a version of the Resilience Lightweight that proudly showcases CPM S35VN blade steel. This premium American-made material is a martensitic stainless steel produced by the powder metallurgy process. According to its maker, Crucible Industries, it was designed to offer improved toughness over CPM S30V—a respected industry standard—while also being easier to machine and polish. By adding 0.50% niobium, they rebalanced its alloy chemistry to form niobium carbides along with vanadium and chromium carbides. The niobium carbides replace some of the vanadium carbides to make CPM S35VN about 15-20% tougher than CPM S30V and more resistant to edge chipping. Since vanadium and niobium carbides are harder and more wear resistant than chromium carbides, CPM S35VN also offers excellent edge retention, especially compared to conventional high-chromium steels like D2 and 440C.
By making the significant investment to ship US-made steel to China for use in the Resilience Lightweight CPM S35VN, Spyderco will achieve a marked improvement in edge holding over 8Cr13MoV and literally usher in a new era in the evolution of this workhorse design. This elite version of the Resilience will also be available in a choice of two edge configurations—PlainEdge and CombinationEdge—and will feature vibrant blue FRN handle scales. All other features—including its sturdy liner lock and four-position pocket clip—will be consistent with the standard versions of this model.
The Resilience is an extremely capable design ideally suited to the needs of users with large hands and those who simply prefer a more substantial folding knife. No matter which version of it you choose, we are confident it will serve you and your wallet well.
Spyderco Knives, Spyderco Resilience Value Series Folders, S35VN Blade Steel, Zytel Handle Material, Folding Knives, Folding Knives Liner Locks
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