Spyderco 2012 Prototype – Foundry (Carpenter)

This knife was introduced as a prototype last year; back then it was known as the ‘Carpenter’. It still is being developed for the Carpenter Company. The intention is to have a folding knife made using 100% materials made by Carpenter, with the first run going to its employees.

The knife looks and feels like a solid working folder. The blade is around 3,5 inches long and made from Carpenter’s CTS-XHP steel. According to Spyderco’s testing, the steel’s performance is similar to powdered stainless D2. The handle on this proto is made from Bio-Blu which probably won’t be used in regular production. To me, the material felt a lot like a titanium alloy. It’s reasonably lightweight and the scales were finished like a fine polish. All the edges on the handle were nicely rounded for that ‘melted’ look and feel.

The elongated milling marks at the base of the integral locking liner are the shapes that Spyderco R&D came up with as being the best way to make the locking liner of this handle material.

The tip wasn’t yet perfectly finished on this prototype, you’ll notice that mostly in the spine shot, but I’m sure this will be fixed in final production. I think the Foundry would make a great working folder for a wide variety of utility chores.