Let’s see I have a new Spyderco for you today, which would be an accurate statement
if I said that last year in February.
June.
August.
Whatever.
Last year.
The Polestar named after some constellation shit or someone over at Spyderco has a crush
on a stripper.
You know I don’t bother to look anything up.
It’s a lot like the Tenacious but got that nice steel, pretty handle, and that higher
MSRP.
So let’s look at the dimensions of this shining star of Spydecros value or budget
series not named Byrd… like the overall length and weight.
The tenacious dimensions are in parenthesis.
Blade size and cutting edge I’m in love with a stripper.
Handle size and grip area.
How old is that song.
Spine thickness and handle thickness.
My majority tween audience may not get it.
Tallness?
What’s a tween?
A while back I read on Spyderco forums or blade forums… a post from Sal or maybe his
kid whose name is Tom, Jr, Bill?
Felicia?
That either the goal or the aim was to provide an alternative to the tenacious but with finer
materials, but keeping the value see Chinese labor aspect to the knife.
Which is fine because the Chinese are much better at edge grinds anyway.
Not better than Chris Reeve’s ex wife!
Well the main upgrayedd is the BD-1.
Which if you also google 8cr13Mov versus BD-1 you can too read people speculate which is
better despite doing any real testing or owning and comparing both objectively.
We all know that this hobby is more about subjectivity than objectivity anyway.
But yeah BD1 drop point with a flat grind.
The Tenacious has a similar blade with the same basic style but the cheaper Chinese steel
and not that good American Carpenter shit.
But basically the cutting edge on the Tenacious is a fraction of an inch longer.
The Spyderhole on the Polestar is slightly larger in diameter.
Ever since my first Spyderco, the Endure 4, flat grinds with sharp edges have been my
favorite general purpose blades.
My perception is they slice better.
The Polestar’s deployment is good… not as slow as the kickback based delica or endura
that take a pretty hard flick for a quick deploy.
This one I found has gotten better with time- not quite as snappy as the Tenacious- you
still need a good medium flick for opening.
Putting some 3-in-1 on the pivot did help a tiny bit.
Also the flush mount pivot screws are more visually pleasing on the polestar instead
of the whatever extra screws we have lying around look of the tenacious.
A sentence that makes me question what my life means at this point now that I’m comparing
screw aesthetics between two goddamn pocket knives.
The tenacious deploys easier and faster though- with a much lighter more feminine flick of
the the middle finger- I wonder if that middle finger flicks are feminine guy is still around.
The knife is a bit too small for my hands for an easy thumb deployment.
Who knows what your hands like.
I know, Pornhub!
Both knives employ a liner lock that are comparableish…
however the jimping on the liner lock is finer on the Polestar, much like the blade spine
too.
I really like Spydercos jimping on the Endura and Para Military 2, and the Polestar has
that same fine texture without being sharp.
The handle on the Polestar is a textured G10, that’s bi colored, it’s called gray is
product descriptions, I see a hint of dark navy blue in it, it has more grippy texture
than the Tenacious.
However I did buy my Tenacious used from eBay specifically for this comparison and also
because I really needed another knife I didn’t use.
Both handles are similar construction, the Tenacious has 1 more standoff both are open
backed designed.
The lanyard sleeve hole on the Polestar is slightly bigger in diameter to accommodate
thicker paracord I assume.
Both knives have skeletonize liners, which means they have weight saving holes drilled
on the inside.
Sorry about saying they were made from human bones last time- I felt real bad about that.
Both knives have a similar weight and hand feel when gripping them, however it could
be said the tenacious is slightly more comfortable because the edges of the G10 have an additional
bevel that makes it a little more comfortable.
Both knives have pocket clips positionable to 4 places, tip up tip down blade backward
or forward in whatever pocket you choose!
Of course I prefer tip up blade backward in my right pocket, even though most of my pocket
carry is limited to an interior suit jacket pocket- where it really doesn’t matter.
Ok doesn’t matter at all.
My theory is that a few knife self defense classes made a big deal of fastest out of
pocket deployment- and somehow it filtered out into group think.
Personally I never had a preference before I started reviewing knives.
And if a knife doesn’t have a quick deployment whats the point anyway.
Whats the point of anything anymore.
Comparison.
First the Tenacious and the Polestar side by side.
Let me make this as simple as possible…
the Polestar looks nicer and has in theory a slightly longer wearing blade steel and
a slightly more textured exterior.
The Tenacious black handle is kinda bland, but it deploys faster and feels better in
the hand.
You might have to sharpen it more often that’s it.
The Polestar cost about $62 until Spyderco raises their prices next year I assume.
The Tenacious starts at about $43 for a basic model… or in my case $27 used on eBay.
Although for some assholes a used Tenacious is worth I see one sitting for a buy it now
on eBay for $42.
Eat a dick.
Same basic proportions between the two.
I’ll stick with the Polestar for the duration of the comparison section.
Delica?
This is too small of a knife for me but a lot of people like it.
Again my rule of thumb…
I carry a Leatherman Wave… the knife I carry needs to have a significantly larger blade
and be much lighter, otherwise carrying a small knife is a waste of a pocket.
I often use the other functions on my multitool more than my knife which is why I tolerate
the weight of the Wave.
Now the Spyderco efficient?
Its a nice fast deployer… the handle is a bit too small for me though.
I like a handle that fits my hand properly and a blade somewhere between 3 and 4 inches.
Now the Para Military 2.
My favorite Spyderco.
Fast deployer good steel, comfortable handle.
Blade size is the same about , but I prefer the deployment and lock up on the Para Military
2 Let’s throw in a Benchmade- how about the full size griptilian since the mini is
more proportional to the Delia.
I prefer the Grip I think, I like the blade steel and it’s a durable knife.
Now the Ontario Rat II.
Smaller, comfortable handle…
however my rule about the Leatherman Wave applies to this knife.
It’s too close in size so I’ll never carry it.
Are we done?
I think we’re done.
The Tenacious has been a knife people have asked me about for a while.
It’s ok… but I’d rather carry the Endura 4, the Spyderco Full size Military or the
Para Military 2.
The Military and Endure both have larger blades with a slightly shallower belly, and don’t
have big trades in weigh.
The para military 2 is just a better deploying knife.
The Tenacious and Polestar are good knives…
I’d pick the Tenacious… even though it ain’t as nice looking…
the nicer looking ones cost more.
AAnyway the point of the review is for my tastes there are better spydercos because
of better blades for just a little more money…
and the blade, weight, and maybe figitability is why I like Spyderco.
If you need a reasonably fast deploying knife thats under $50 there’s nothing wrong with
the Tenacious.
I already had those knives before I bought the Tenacious.
In fact when I bought the Endura I was well aware of the tenacious, and still bought the
endura.
I think at the time it was because I was conscious of country of manufacture and blade steel.
I care less about that now.
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