Shaman Lightweight

Shaman LightweightThe Shaman is Spyderco's dedicated harder use folding knife. Featuring a stout, saber ground blade and hand filling contoured handle, this knife is ready for whatever you can throw at it. The design takes inspiration from the Native platform, which was designed to not have the typical Spyderco hump created by the round opening hole. This keeps the knife narrower in the pocket and changes the ergonomics. The Shaman also has a similar forward finger

The Shaman is Spyderco's dedicated harder use folding knife. Featuring a stout, saber ground blade and hand-filling contoured handle, this knife is ready for whatever you can throw at it. The design takes inspiration from the Native platform, which was designed to not have the typical Spyderco hump created by the round opening hole. This keeps the knife narrower in the pocket and changes the ergonomics. The Shaman also has a similar forward finger choil to enhance cutting control all the way out to the tip.

The Shaman Lightweight takes all the excellent features of the regular Shaman, but replaces the contoured G10 handle scales with a similarly shaped injection molded FRN (Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon) handle. The FRN scales are contoured just like the regular Shaman, but have a molded pebble texture for increased traction. FRN molded scales reduce the overall weight by 9% and significantly reduce the price. Spyderco uses CTS-BD1N, a staple of US-made Spyderco lightweight models, for the blade steel.

Notes

This is a great model for the Spyderco ecosystem, in my humble opinion. It brings a more stainless steel than the S30V featured on the G10 model (I use BD1N blades in my kitchen frequently!) at a much more reasonable price point - nearly $100 (over 1/3!) less than the G10 version. These new FRN scales are also great - they feel just as solid as the G10 ones while offering the hand-filling contouring you're used to but with the addition of a coarse texture for the nonslip grip you're used to with Spyderco's FRN offerings. 

Regarding the name "Lightweight" - it's not actually that much lighter than the G10 version. The Bodacious is actually still lighter than the Shaman LW. The LW terminology from Spyderco typically refers to the scale material being FRN or a similar polymer. All that to say - don't let the "Lightweight" name fool you, this is still a knife capable of heavy duty, built to the same standard as the original G10 version.

For people who want a quality beefcake knife that they can depend on at a reasonable price, I now have a very easy recommendation to make with the Shaman LW.

Technical Specifications