Knife Review - Spyderco Perrin PPT Folding Knife

I've been looking for a new folding carry knife for a while. I thought I had found my knife with the Blackhawk Hornet II, a very lightweight and handy little knife. Unfortunately, as you can rread about in this previous entry and check out this video on my youtube channel.

Criteria for my new knife:

1. Tip up carry
2. Right hand draw
3. No thumbstud on the other side of the blade that might catch on clothing (see above links for why)
4. Light-medium weight but I wanted something sturdy for more heavy duty tasks
5. Smallish-medium in size - enough handle for a full grip and a decent sized blade (around 3 inches)
6. Plain edge - NO MORE SERRATIONS!!! I don't like them anymore, I'd rather just have a good, sharp edge.
7. Something good for EDC - easy to carry, comfortable handle, good cutting edge, easy to sharpen, hopefully not too "scary" and "tactical" looking.
8. Good handle grip and ergonomics
9. Prefer to not use a standard lockback mechanism, I just don't care for them much

That covered most of it. What I ended up looking at was the spyderco knives, due to the non-thumb stud openings. The knife that jumped out at me was the Spyderco Perrin PPT. I liked the look of the handle ship, the aggressive G10 grip, the blade shape, the use of a liner lock, etc. Best of all, it didn't have the enormous bulge around the opening hole like most spyderco knives. Decided to give it a try and I am glad that I did.





Positives:

1. Lock seems solid
2. Blade is well-centered when closed
3. Good handle ergonomics in forward grip, acceptable in reverse grip.
4. Lots of spine jimping
5. Clip has adequate grip
6. Love the blade shape
7. Sharp out of the box
8. Easy opening
9. Heavy duty yet feels light in my pocket (don't notice I am carrying it)

Negatives:

1. Price - it's more than I wanted to spend, will set you back around $130-180
2. The deep-carry pocket clip. I don't like them, I'd rather have more handle sticking out. For some people, this would be a big positive.
3. The clip pokes into my hand some. If you were using this blade extensively, lots of carving for example (not that I would recommend that), I think my hand would get quite sore.
4. This is a minor point. Like other Perrin knives that I have seen, there is great jimping on the handle. The problem with this blade is that the jimping near (and inside) the handle is almost pointless as it is lower than the surrounding liners. Easier to see on video. There is also a break in the jimping over the thumb hole. The higher jimping is excellent.

Overall, I am pleased with the purchase if a little pained at spending so much. I've switched to this blade as my EDC folder, I'll give you a later update to let you know how it progresses. I know I am behind on video reviews but I will try and do one soon.

As much as I liked this knife, I'm not sure if it will hold mass appeal. The blade profile, the clip position (it's angled), the cost, the handle shape - they are all a little unusual.

Update May 15, 2011: It's only been a couple of days since the review was posted but I have a couple of new points to add:

1. It's a good thing this knife has the style of clip it does as the clip isn't that tight? strong? not sure what the term is. It doesn't grip very tightly to the side of the handle. With the very grippy handle and the deep carry clip, this hasn't been a concern so far though I generally prefer a very tight clip.

2. Accessing the spyderhole for opening is a little awkward, it is inset into the handle more than most Spyderco knives. This is a feature I actually like (I don't like that bulge on the blade) but it does make deployment less certain. To improve this I have attached a zip tie to the hole, essentially adding a thumb stud in front of the hole, give me more traction - HUGE improvement so far, we will see how it lasts long term.


Specs and info from www.spyderco.com:

length overall 7 3/8 in. (187 mm)
blade length 3 5/32 in. (80 mm)
blade steel CPM-S30V
length closed 4 1/4 in. (108 mm)
cutting edge 2 11/16 in. (68 mm)
weight 5.3 oz. (150 g)
hole diameter 9/16 in. (14 mm)
blade thickness 1/8 in. (3 mm)
handle material G-10

Spyderco PPT by Fred Perrin

Fred Perrin doesn’t sit still, figuratively or physically. He’s perpetually in motion, like a bullet-train picking up speed as evidenced by his resume. Fred has been a world-vetted Tae Kwon Do and stick-fighting champion, a French Army Commando, professional writer, martial arts instructor and one of France’s most recognized professional knifemakers and he’s only in his forties.

Full of innovation, his recent alliance with Spyderco results in the Perrin PPT folder. P.P.T. refers to the folder’s three designers; Fred Perrin, Philippe Perotti and Sacha Thiel.

The lock is a crossbreed annexing components of both Michael Walker’s LinerLock® and Chris Reeve’s Reeve Integral Lock. It functions as a frame-lock but a black G-10 scale overlaying the lock makes it appear closer to a LinerLock. The black G-10 handle scales are milled with corrugated creases for skid-free and ergonomic handling. Its full-flat ground CPM-S30V steel blade is a modified-Wharncliffe profile with a finger choil and spine jimping and a tapered spine-swedge. Screw together construction makes cleaning and adjustments simple. Left/right deep-carry pocket clip and handle lanyard open the door for endless attachment options.