I collect knives, and in addition to the Spyderco Tenacious, I have three other "good" folders of about the same size & weight, suitable for every day carry. All are well regarded in their price classes ($40.00, $90.00 and $120.00).
From among these choices, the knife that I am carrying most often these days is the Tenacious. Admittedly, a part of the reason for that is that this knife is newer than the others. But some new knives I have received over the years (Christmas, Birthdays, etc.) found their place in a drawer pretty quickly. Newer or not, I wouldn't carry this knife if I felt that it was notably inferior to the others.
First, the blade: The Tenacious offers a hefty chunk of steel, especially compared to most other knives at this price point. The modified leaf shape, non-serrated design is very close to the optimal drop point style I prefer. Adequate blade thickness together with the flat grind and wide chord design give this blade extra strength. I'd expect this knife to perform well even for rugged duty tasks. I respect - and never deliberately abuse - my knives. But I don't baby them either and so far these expectations (over about 3 months use) seem well founded.
The Tenacious has some niceties and features that are not usually expected at this price point. The G-10 scales and the smoothness of blade deployment, for example. The pivot tension is user adjustable. I also like the fact that the pocket clip can be switched around to suit user preference. Last but not least, the skeletonized steel liners and a hefty liner lock give this knife a solid feel. (Some people don't like liner locks but unless you are a lefty, I don't know why. They are used on some of the most expensive, custom built folders and with good reason - there is no locking design that is inherently stronger).
I can see just two areas where the Spyderco's designers cut costs on this model. The 8Cr13Mov blade steel seems like pretty good quality - probably comparable to AUS 8 (which was considered absolutely top quality not too many years ago). But it isn't D2 or S30V (see the $90.00 and $120.00 folders mentioned above). The other area where Spyderco cut cost is going with Chinese manufacture. Labor is apparently pretty cheap over there. But you wouldn't know it from the Tenacious build quality.
This knife is amazing. It has all the features of a much more expensive knife without the price of one. The g10 checkering on the handle fits snuggley in my hand, The blade comes shaving sharp out of the box, and it flicks out extremely fast for a un assisted blade. The only draw back to this knife is the blade steal. 8cr13mov steal is kinda on the soft side and my blade after a weeks worht of use is now no where near as sharp as it was out of the box. So if you plan on buying this knife id invest in a spyderco sharpining tool too.
