In this #HeavyRotation review, we look at an EDC knife I’ve consistently carried for a few years now, the Spyderco Tenacious.

Pros:

• 1 Handed Opening
• G10 Supergrip handle – Feels great – The standard for a higher quality knife. 
• Thin & slim, doesn’t hog the pocket
• Affordable / Expendable / Replaceable $48 – You won’t be afraid to actually use it
• Feels like a nice knife

Cons:

• Clip makes the knife sit high and exposed in the pocket, more likely to snag or fall out.
• Not made out of the world’s strongest steel. 

Bottom Line – The Beauty of The Expendables,  you’ll use them til they break or you lose them. This is a workhorse that FEELS AMAZING AND THAT won’t break the bank or the blade. $48 @ Amazon

Why You Should Trust This Review:

Pragmatically speaking, in my view, an Every Day Carry (EDC) knife should not be some $300 Lamborghini blade. 

Pro Tip –  Most dedicated review sites love reviewing high end, expensive gear, and recommend it for every day use. Why?  They often have affiliate deals and often get a slice of the action. So the more expensive the gear, the bigger the paycheck. There’s nothing wrong with selling something you love, but in terms of Every Day Carry, and just good financial sense, so many sites push only the premium, high dollar goods. Here’s what you can count on from us, if it doesn’t fit the use-case, we’re not going to recommend it, and if we do, we’ll call out the reason for the deviation. 

$300 on an EDC knife, is a show knife, not a knife you use without hesitation. There are better places to spend that kind of money. That said, a $10 beater you picked up at a gas station will break when you need it most. So that won’t work either Ultimately, depending on your job, it may only ever be used as a box opener, rope cutter, and camping essential. A good EDC knife is expendable and affordable but by no means, cheap in terms of quality.

Heroik EDC philosophy comes down to pragmatism bordering on essentialism.

we follow the UMADE framework: Use-case, Mobility, Affordability,  Durability, and Execution (UMADE).

Use Case: Consider What You’ll Use It For

Primarily urban, as I don’t get out in the woods half as often as I’d like. Would I use this blade in the zombie apocalypse, or Highlander scenario? Nope. Let’s be honest, an EDC blade is going to see more action cutting up Amazon Prime boxes, opening mail, cutting para-cord and other ropes than anything else.  

Mobility: How well does it travel on your person and/or in a ruck?

For a knife, mobility means a small, thin, footprint that I can open with one hand. I don’t need a big, heavy, blade to hog the space in my pocket and make life uncomfortable.

*Important Note* – Ideally you want a blade with a clip that allows it to sit low  in the pocket, so it doesn’t fall out easily and it is is out of sight and out of mind for everyone else but you. The Tenacious clip does not win me over here and I almost never use the clip. I carry it in my pocket, which would delay my response time significantly in a personal defense situation. However, the G10 handle and thin profile make it easy to pluck from a tight pocket with a two finger grab.

The thumb-hole opener – The big “hole” in the blade is where you place your thumb to open it with one hand. This is is a simple solution that just works. Don’t get me wrong, I love Benchmade’s opening and locking tech, but this works and removes unnecessary weight.

 

Affordability: Is it one of those things you use or just take pictures of, to post on Instagram?

This blade is about $48 or less. Prices on Amazon vary based on your account and the device you use and your cookies. You read that correctly. That is a subject for its own article. Regardless, this is an affordable, Honda Accord of a blade.

 

Durability: Will it stand the test of time?

For EveryDayCarry, I don’t recommend purchasing a knife built to last forever, somewhere in the middle is great. If you’re like me, you’ll lose them. I love nice blades and I carry them from time to time, or bring them on various adventures. But the added cost of a blade creates a reluctance to use it, and a lot of lost utility value if you lose it. An EDC blade should be like a Honda Accord, it runs forever, you quit it before it quits you. Generally, you get bored and buy something else. The Spyderco Tenacious fits the bill.

 

Execution: How well does it do it’s job?

These are the factors we look at when deciding what to carry. But..really, the UMADE framework is a fancy way of covering up for the fact that I flip kayaks and lose everything in my pockets, so this is why we can’t have nice things. I lose sunglasses, portable speakers, batteries, knives and everything on any number of urban and outdoor adventures. So, this means I generally have a $50 or less budget for knives and sunglasses, though I often aim for closer to $20 for sunglasses, as they tend to be more fragile and need frequent replacing. The SpyderCo Tenacious is about $48 (give or take on Amazon) and fits the bill. 

To The Blade!

Is it made out of the world’s greatest steel? Nope.

It’s made of Chinese steel 8Cr13MoV, which tends not to be as good as the higher end stuff, but still great for everyday use.

If you want an S30V blade I recommend the SpyderCo. Paramilitary 2, or Para 3. I loved my Paramilitary 2, and sadly, lost it. Maybe I’ll find it around the house somewhere, but for the cost of a Paramilitary 2, I could buy about 3  of these Tenacious blades. 

Will this blade impress your military buddies? I DOUBT IT.

Probably not unless they’re Air Force or Army (Green Beret and Rangers excluded) :). This knife however, will impress your wife and your daughter’s college savings fund. Take whatever the difference is between this and the expensive BenchMade you’d lose, like I have, and tuck it away in savings or retirement, and taste a bit of pride in #Adulting.

The Tenacious has a straight blade which is easy to sharpen, and for my mainly urban and rope uses, I prefer it over a serrated blade, as I often lose my rat tail sharpeners as well. 

The Tenacious has a G10 handle that I love – it will not slip. The grip is great. I also own a thick Benchmade 551 blade with a plastic handle (they use the word polymer to sound sophisticated I’m sure) that just feels cheap in comparison – though it might have a better blade, the G10 handle feels better.  If I was more responsible, and didn’t lose things, or money was no object, or the mission gets heavier, and I needed a better blade, I also love the Benchmade Griptillian. it runs for about $125 – $160, depending on the flavor you get.

I carry this knife everywhere except of course, to the airport. If it suffers the fate of so many before it, and heaven forbid, I lose it; I will survive, and replacing it won’t cost an arm and a leg. This means less time deprived of an EDC Knife, and more time equipped. Score: 4 / 5 – I love it and wish the clip was better. $48 @ Amazon