The Native 5 Lightweight was a nice surprise, as I didn’t remember seeing this version last year. The handle has no liners in it, but there are little steel ‘barrels’ with threading in the handle, for a positive lock-up of the clip screws when you want to set up the clip for e.g. left-handed or tip-down carry. This one’s definitely on my wish list.
SpyderCollector 
[…] Native 5 Lightweight, Paramilitary 2 Composite, Lum Tanto Sprint […]
Looks fantastic, thanks for sharing! I’ve been waiting for them to upgrade the FRN version of the Native. Any word on when it will go on sale?
Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that Spyderco doesn’t really ‘do’ specific release dates or months. I expect it to come out this year, but I woulnd’t know anything more specific than that.
The Native 5 looks as smooth as any – my EDC is a native 3 with a wireclip – but it does make one wonder.. Why does part of the spyderhole have to be occluded by the handle material when closed ? It seems like this is a perennial feature (native 1,2,3,4,5)
Even a junior knife like the sage 3 does not have this quirk…..
That’s a good question, I don’t know why Spyderco does this for the Native design. Perhaps enlarging the cutout in the handle throws off the ergos a bit too much for most users. It hasn’t bothered me though, deployment with the sharp cornered spyderco holes is always positive.
[…] Spyderco Native 5 Lightweight prototype: https://spydercollector.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/spyderco-2014-production-sample-native-5-lightweigh… […]