Since its original release in 1997, the Native has been a mainstay of the Spyderco product line and a flagship of their American-made stable of knives. The design has evolved steadily over the years, reaching its current state of the art in 2012 with the release of the Native 5. The latest addition to the Native lineage is the Native5 Lightweight, which combines the Native5’s engineering refinements with the weight-saving advantages of an injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handle.
Proudly manufactured in their factory in Golden, Colorado, the Native5 features a spear point blade made from premium CPM S30V stainless steel. Its full-flat grind, distal taper, textured index-finger choil and thumb ramp, and understated swedge collectively offer a distinctive appearance and outstanding edge geometry and point utility. The blade is supported by a highly refined back lock mechanism that takes this time-tested lock design and elevates it to a new standard of engineering and manufacturing excellence.
The linerless FRN handle features Bi-Directional Texturing™ for an ultra-secure grip and reduces the overall weight of the knife to a scant 2.5 ounces. The handle also houses four sets of threaded inserts molded directly into the FRN. These allow the improved hourglass clip to be positioned for left or right-side tip-up or tip-down carry. A generously sized lanyard hole also provides a handy attachment point for lanyards, fobs, and safety lines.
A highly advanced evolution of a time-honored design, the Native5 Lightweight is an incredibly capable, pocket-sized cutting tool and a shining example of Spyderco’s commitment to making even their best products consistently better.
This is a great little knife. It is a nice form factor, very solid built knife. The serrated blade has its obvious benefits, but having it serrated with S35VN steel puts it in another class. At less than USD100, it is very good value for money in my opinion. Very good experience dealing with National Knives as usual.
