I bought my first Spyderco Endura sometime in late 1993 / early 1994 from the Post Exchange on Ft. Carson, CO for $35. That was probably the most useful, durable knife I have ever owned! In fact, I bought my dad one for Christmas and he used it solely for cutting carpet; which it did easily. Unfortunately, it came loose one late night in the back of a UH-60L Blackhawk in northern Iraq on my last deployment. I imagine it was either kicked out during one of the refueling stops and a refueler now owns it, or the crew chief found it during his post-flight.
I tried going with out a Spyderco for a few months but couldn’t do it. While home on R&R (rest & recuperation) leave last July (2007), I went to a local knife shop and picked up the newest Spyderco Endura model, the Endura 4 FRN (C10BK) (http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=208). It is quite different from the original and I almost didn’t buy it. However, I’m glad I did.
This new design is very comfortable in my hand. The 13mm opening hole is very easy for me to reach, and the fiberglass reinforced nylon handle has a bi-directional texturing that gives it a great grip. There are also stainless steel skeletonized liners in the handle that help add stiffness and strength to the knife without increasing the weight much. I did notice it is a bit heavier than my original, but not enough for me to care. The blade hinge is set into phosphor bronze sleeves making for a very smooth opening. Another nice feature in this knife is the screw construction so you can disassemble the knife for cleaning. The screws go into the stainless steel liners, not the nylon, so they are VERY secure. You can also move the clip to one of four different locations on the knife depending on whether you like it to sit “lefty” or “righty”, blade tip up, or blade tip down. I have discovered through this trial and error, that I prefer my knife to be “hinge up” when I tuck it into a pocket or beltline. This prevents the tip of the blade form catching on clothing while I draw it out, thus opening it into myself.
Speaking of the blade, the new VG-10 blade design is a flat, saber-ground design with an almost rounded tip. This gives the blade tip incredible strength against breaking off. The blade’s spine has perpendicular lines cut just forward of the hinge and behind the opening hole swell so that your thumb won’t slip while using the knife. I personally prefer the fully serrated blade over the smooth or combo-edge. I have found the serrations will maintain their cutting ability even if I’ve allowed the blade to become very dull. Serrations are also ideal for cutting through heavy material. I’ve used mine to cut radiator hoses and fan belts with ease while doing maintenance on my truck. I went years without sharpening my Endura before I found a good sharpening tool.
That said, I strive to maintain a good edge on all my knives as it’s just safer to use a sharp blade versus a dull blade. The main problem with the serrated blades is that they are difficult to sharpen effectively. I use a round diamond stick that has the groove cut in for sharpening fish hooks (found in the camping section of stores). This has allowed me to effectively sharpen the smaller serrations. I recently found a tapered round diamond stick that also works pretty well.
This knife set the bar for me on one-handed opening knives. I have several others, but in my humble opinion, nothing else I’ve tried comes close. This is the main one I carry (and carried through two tours to Iraq). There are many knives out there with fancy “assisted” opening mechanisms, special “wave hooks” cut into the spine of the blade close to the hinge, as well as many other designs. I’ve had several of these come open in my pocket while I attempted to pull them out. That is unacceptable to me. I don’t know, maybe I’m an idiot; but I want a knife that is “idiot-proof”, especially if I desperately need it. The Spyderco Endura fits the bill. It's tough, maintains its cutting ability even when "dull", and is the easiest one-handed folding knife I've ever used.