Many knifeknuts enjoy shooting photos of their orange handled knives in the Fall. I’m no different. This one is a vintage sprint run from about 20 years ago, the C80OR Dodo.
At first glance, the only difference from the 2005 production model appears to be the orange G10 handle. If you look closer, however, you’ll notice that the spine of the blade and back spacer now feature a satin finish, instead of the bead blasted finish of the original production Dodos.
Blade
Some find the Dodo ‘ugly’, but I’m pretty sure they haven’t handled or used it. The Dodo just has this awesome handle design that is both comfortable and it locks securely in your hands. Now, I’m far from the authority on so-called hard-use of pocket knives, but I did use one of my original Dodos to cut out carpeting of a friend’s house and the knife was an amazing performer. The reverse-S blade shape is great for lighter everyday cutting tasks too. It’s a superb box opener to start with, and you’ll find that you can do a lot more than you’d think, like peeling fruit for example. The full size handle offers tremendous control of the 2 inch blade.
Martial Blade Craft
Those who are in to martial blade craft might also appreciate the Dodo; it is easy to deploy and features a secure lock and great handle design. I imagine the blade design makes for an excellent ‘let go device’. It reminds me a lot of the Fred Perrin La Griffe design, but folding and ‘sans’ the iconic index finger hole.
Extinct
I think it’s interesting how this design never stayed away too long. Spyderco introduced the design in 2003 and discontinued it in 2005. This orange sprint run was the first ‘resurrection’ of the C80 in 2012. It was followed by another sprint run with a carbon fiber handle later in 2012. In 2019, Blade HQ commissioned a dealer exclusive of the Dodo in M4 steel and a Jade G10 handle, followed by a serrated version in May 2022. This is one Dodo that doesn’t stay extinct for long (sorry for that pun, it’s kind of mandatory when you write about the C80 😉).
Overall
With its bright orange handle, the Dodo is not just a cool collectible. It’s also easy on the eyes of many non-knife people. Even with that ‘evil’ looking reverse-S blade shape. Highly recommended, 5 out 5 stars, as my 10 year old daughter would say…
See more details of the Spyderco C80 Dodo on SpydieWiki and Spyderco.com, or read my earlier review of the Dodo. You can also see more images of the other Dodos in my collection or check out my post about the C80OR prototype.
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