102. You flipped it open and closed 102 times! That has to be a record ...record for how little life I have.

To be fair, and to prevent this from being an epic pile-on, I don't think Smock meant to 'rip people off' nor that he's unethical. I think he took too many paid pre-orders without thinking, and buried himself, and he's had some medical issues in trying to dig out. It's one of those things that doesn't make it practically better, but serves as a meaningful distinction between outright scam artists and people who are trying, but have made serious mistakes. He continues to tell me (and others) that our knives are coming. And perhaps they are. You'll hear about it when it arrives. So, I'm not happy about the situation, and it would be unethical of me to pretend that's not a thing and just not mention it, because this knife will probably spur some interest in the custom. But I also don't put him in the same light as somebody who makes bad knives knowingly, who re-sells production knives from overseas as hand-made customs, or just takes the money and runs. I do believe he's trying. But I also have to tell it like it is, and this was a real balancing act for me. I hope I managed. But at worst, I know I've tried.

Between knives and AR 15 assembling I've launched my fair share of detent springs into orbit around Venus.

"I mean it's not like it's a sackful of hedghogs." Best. Sentence. Ever.

The compression lock is one of my favorites I hope they start doing the button compression on more knives

I agree that flipper tab configuration is REALLY fantastic, I hope that gets incorporated in more knives. It's one of those designs that is so simple and obvious you wonder why it has not been in use for years. _"Blink twice if the lanyard people have you at gunpoint."_ That one cracked me up.

The scales are almost like camouflage for your table.

Incredible review with deep personal conflictions, yet 👏 being the professional and giving this knife it's justified review, way to go Nick, you inspired me, one of your best reviews ever!!!!!!

I agree about the flipper tab, when I first saw it I was skeptical until one flick 😂 works so good.

As you guessed, the second detent is to keep the knife from falling open when the button is pressed. Kevin actually explains it in a video on his channel, though I forget which one! Cool that it actually also helps with the action.

Thanks for the review Nick! I’m new to your channel and new to knives. I’m in love with this knife. Just love the way it looks. Was going to get the Benchmade Bugout but may get this instead. Thanks!

I'm pretty sure that spyderco has said at one point in time that the 2nd detent ball was there to make safer while in the pocket so when the button is pushed it wouldn't open in your pocket

Literally what I’ve been waiting on since the disassembly!!!!!!!!!

"I am not a Spyderco." - Nick Shabazz I'd get that on a shirt

Great review. This is one of my favorite knives in the last few years, at any price! But at less than $200?! It is freaking amazing! I'm already excited for the sprint runs down the road!

Great video as usual, love the channel. I would like one but it would be my ENC, every night carry, just to flip nonstop while watching TV and have for miscellaneous cutting purposes around the house. It wouldn’t replace any of my EDC blades for daily rotation. Needs to be lighter, different handle materials and color. Perhaps a variety of blade shapes as well and a deep Cary pocket clip to be considered for EDC for me.

I just picked one up for 160$ online hell of a deal. I was looking for some clarity and you helped alot thanks man. I needed a blade like this

I can't wait getting one ! really like the concept of this knife. I'm a big fan of Spydercos but what bugs me is the delay between new product announcement and time they are available at dealers ! Lately Spydeco has announced several new products for 3-4 monthes but none of these are available at European dealers so far : Para 3 lightweight, Kapara, Smock ... just to name a few and this really pisses me off ! It's (mass) production knives and not custom knives but the leadtime to procure them is sometimes longer than for custom models ! The Smock was introduced more than a year ago and not yet available ... what a mess

Nick, thank you for the review. I'll take the large easy to sharpen blade over the standard Spyderco blade any day. I agree with you on the Lanyard issue.. Spyderco is very likely sending you the cream of the crop. The Para 2 in M4 you sent my way was the finest example of a PM2 I have ever seen. Hmmm.... You nailed it with this review. : ) Thank you again!

Thanks for the review. Looks like an interesting knife. I got out of the custom knife buying business a long time ago. Too difficult and annoying working with the custom knife makers. I had a poor experience with a custom knife maker who also happens to make designs for Spyderco. Without getting into specifics, I will just say that many custom knife makers have poor communication skills.

Absolutely love my Smock. Only change I’d make is swap the pocket clip out for a blackened wire clip. It would make the knife much more sleek and clean looking!

Hey Nick, about the lanyard hole on this model specifically, Kevin said in a recent video about the Smock that when he initially designed this knife almost 3 years ago for Spyderco, lanyards were in vogue and everyone was bugging him to put them on his customs etc, so he included it on his Spyderco design. Fast forward through the development process and 3 years later now that the knife is released, suddenly everyone hates lanyard holes and wants it gone. It just happened to be a crappy case of changing trends on a product that was a long time in development. That doesn’t excuse many of other Spyderco’s horrible offenders, but it makes sense in this case.

I personally love the way the smock looks, i hope they make more sometime. Id drop the money for it just because it looks awesome and has some neat design choices, the blade shape is cool and the steel is also pretty nice

Really nice looking knife design looks.

Writing this in April of 2020. When this knife came out, I didn't feel that compelled to get one. But I relented when knifejoy released the smooth g10, 20cv version. It doesn't happen very often to me, but it has exceeded my expectations. I didn't think the forward choil would be very usable, but it is. Didn't think the blade length would be enough for me, but it is. Was concerned if the flipper tab would be fidget friendly, but it is. Came extremely sharp out of the box. Granted the button lock isn't as drop smooth as my Protech mordax, but a quick little wrist flick and it drops easily. I ended up falling in love with it!

Great job as usual Nick, although I wanted the custom from Kevin. I opted out partly because of the Spyderco Smock in the works. I did preorder this and I'm still waiting almost a year now. Sorry you haven't recieved your custom yet. I've emailed back and forth with Kevin and he seams sincere and like a good man. He is offering some customization on the Spyderco guess I won't sign up for that if I ever get mine? Thank you for a honest fair review despite.

Having this knife in my hands for only one hour, I believe it is going to be my favorite Spyderco and will move to a prominent position in my knife collection. I was drawn to this knife by the blade profile which is unlike all the leaf shaped Spyderco's I own. I like the that the flipper does not have a tab poking out and provides a second way to open the knife. The button blade release allows the blade to fall shut. I agree with Nick that little gimping on the top corner of the flipper and smaller gimping on the back of the blade would be improvements.

"Baweeeng! Off into orbit around Venus" I'm laughing my buns off...

I know I’m in the minority here but, this is the first spiderco knife I’ve fallen in love with.

I just got a Spyderco Smock.I am pleasantly surprised with the flipping action, it is fast.I agree with you about the handle scales,Spyderco could have done better.Aside from that I think it is a keeper.Thanks for your review.

Shout out to the Dividend for also managing a low profile tab... and the curve helps the ergos.

I wish they have a version that put the button on the other side and a better clip and I would be seriously tempted. Love the way that action works.

Nick, not sure if you knew this but Kevin Smock used to live in BRIGHTON, MI. a few years back. I live up by Flint and ended up buying a lot of his knife shop machines when he was making the move to Texas. Like, when I met him he had just made his first shortened spyderco southard.

Where is the video to the disassembly of this knife? Thanks for the great review!

Nice review Nick. Thanks. ... From seeing it online, my first impression of the Smock was that it's a gimmicky knife of little use to me. It has a fairly short cutting edge in relation to the OAL. Not a fan of hollow grind on a utility blade. ... But there's a lot of interest and demand for the knife. What was I missing? ... I really appreciate your candor at pointing out the many downsides to the knife. I agree. The knife is of no interest to me. ... Many of your commenters hope for a button compression lock on existing Spyderco models and on as yet to be introduced designs. The way I see it, as you pointed out, until they solve the engineering necessity of a ridiculously wide choil on relatively small EDC pocket folders, we'll see more of these fundamentally flawed blades. ... If I feel the need to fidget, I'll dig out my old Duncan Imperial yoyo and walk the dog!

This is a master piece...hopefully they make a XL version of this without the jimping... this could improve the ergos alot...

Great review, Nick. I very much like the idea of the compression button lock, but I really dislike the extra length for the lanyard hole and the low clip placement. I may wait until version 2 fixes those items.

My og benchmade 482 would tell you it has a nac-lock but really it’s a compression lock. Glad to see the lock still being used

i love my para3 and pm2 id love maybe to see the botton tried on either i was just playing with my para3 and i think it would be kool to see , good review bud 🍺🍺🍺

As a lefty and owning the Smock. I carry it as is!.. and tip up right pocket. It is both great in my "learned to right hand carry" as it is my dominant left hand. I don't think I'll accidentally hit the compression lock where it rests in left palm. Problem is I automatically try to reach for lock button when left handed carry and... damn! I'm pressing the clip!

I have a love hate feelings about your videos. I love all the knives and your bluntness, but hate them because I'm broke and can't get a cool 🔪.

I put some round strong magnet on my pm2 to convert it button lock like operation few years ago and posted on spyderco forum.

I seem to recall you at some point reviewed a custom, which had licensed the compression lock, but used a button to engage it. The hookback on the "finger choil"? Kinda seems excessive to actually having a choil because you want to, rather than you have to.

Have you tried the PM2 Ultra from Blades we love? It has the same button activated compression lock as the smock and, with no blade modifications.

I really hope Spyderco implements that button compression lock on more models.

Im buyin this thing now thanks for the review!

Weird is fine by me as long is it's aesthetically pleasing and it has no fatal flaws. I'm with you on the scales though. I have sub 20 dollar knives with CF over G10 and I can't see paying this price for that. It's just a CF thing with me. If it had solid CF, I'd probably suck it up and get one for a little more money. Now, if the damn Kapara's would ship, that would be great!

I have one and love it. Nick is right, the fidget factor is through the roof.

Ordered mine halfway through this review! 😎🤘🏻🇨🇦

I ordered this knife last night, I really am enjoying this review nick, thanks

Hey nick I have a question. Which one should I buy I look for great ergonomics but wouod buy both but can only afford one. As a collector what would you suggest the smock or the buck markmanship?

Love this knife but wish it were made in the USA. Hope the button lock is on the next PM2 release.

Nick, I like this one overall. With regard to the lanyard hole, of which I also do not use, folks I know remove the clips and leave the knives in pocket using the lanyard to pull from said pocket. This is curious to me but that is what some do.

Really disappointed about the ergos, to be honest, I love how the locking mechanism looks, I'd love to have a PM2 successor using the button compression lock.

I got into pocket knives because of my love for cooking knives. I carry pocket knives now primarily for on the go food prep and for basic tasks involving the cutting of organic materials. I'm not a heavy duty knife user like a tradesman but I am a daily user. This Spyderco reminds me of the Japanese kiritsuke fish prep knife and is actually the first Syderknife I've seen that would be a candidate for my edc uses.

This knife looks like it belongs to a gentlemanly space-assassin.

i would LOVE a smaller and lighter version of it.

I think Spyderco may have listened. I finally got around to picking one of these up and the edges all appear to have been broken. Not quite chamfered, but certainly not as sharp as what they appeared to be in your video. I do wish they would come out with some option for scales. I don't mind these, but they aren't the nicest I have seen by any means. However, I will take the small win with the edges getting knocked down and I'm happy it seems as though Spyderco is listening to its customers. Just wanted to share, thanks for all your videos. You are the batman, Nick!

Can't wait for you to do disassembly video on Spyderco Autonomy 2.

I agree with your thoughts on the custom blade shape compared to this one.

I cannot decide between the smock or kapara, which do you like more?

I love my Spyderco Smock...new scales and a deep carry clip from Etsy and boom! Perfect knife. At least for me.

I’d call that a neo-lambsfoot blade profile. And, I think I saw Eric blink twice on one of the SHOT Show videos. Well done.

Which one do you prefer.... this or the Kapara if you had to pick one to use.

The cutout for the button lock should have been modded to make it work better as a finger choil. I like the way it looks when closed but but not so much when open. Otherwise a home run. Spyderco's carbon fiber & G10 laminate is far and away my favorite. I don't like it as much as solid carbon fiber but it looks much better than the thin, slick, sticker-like carbon fiber laminates most other companies use and also retains some of the grippiness of G10 without being overly aggressive.

Really interesting knife but I`ll wait for a sprint run in a more exciting steel. S30V is great stuff, but I am kinda overfed on it, I`d like some Cru-Wear or LC200N please Spyderco :D

I am so getting one.... I like everything about it 👍🏻

This is also much more lefty friendly than most compression locks (other than left-hand specific models)

I’ve been waiting a while to get mine and now that I have it you were spot on. The ergos are The smocks biggest downfall. I love the blade. Agree they should have just done a full finger choir because I cannot tell how to hold this knife.

I really like the blade. Looks like a great utility knife.

How do you feel about the SLT "flipper tab" deployment? I've not handled a Smock, but the zt0055 is an absolute dream in the deployment department and currently reigns as my favorite flipper tab.

I really wish Sal would give more comment on why the compression lock was originally patented to have a button (that's where Smock got the idea), but they changed their minds. Is it a concern about accidental release? Is it the tiny amount of extra manufacturing complexity? Is it the awkward choil? I'm more excited about the Ikuchi, but the Smock really looks like a gem.

How does the action compare to the boos blade hound?

If it was possible, it would have been great if they could have moved the push button forward or made the diameter of the button (between the scales at least) smaller so the finger choil/cut out area didn't need to be so big. Not sure if that would be doable, just a thought I had. That being said, I still love mine and love carrying and using it.

I’ve wanted one of these since they launched, as of this writing they’re more than $200 on Amazon. After watching your review I’m thinking of pulling the trigger. I agree that the originality of this design, coupled with Spyderco magic makes it worth the price of entry

Did you ever get your Smock built? I have one on order.

I love mine. It is very lefty friendly. But the two weak areas for me are the finger choil needs to be like the Massdrop Dao. That would be more rounded and more functional. I also think the clip placement is too low. It needs a deep carry clip. You are right the lanyard lobby is winning.

I love function over form, but that blade shape....I guess I'd need to try it to find out.

Additional bonus: no top cut out for the traditional compression tab means no risk of blade edge sticking into the cut out and cutting you?

I could easily be wrong but i believe in pa that would be considered a gravity or automatic knife if they didnt have that second detent and that makes it easier for me to consider purchasing

Triple treat opener wicked Sweet is it better then the shaman?

Nick, what do you think about spyderco contracting with Lynch or Mxg? We spend 30 dollars after the actual purchase of the knife?

“The wife is not a big fan of this styling”..😂 ..said no man ever lol Glad we cleared that up.

Seriously, what percentage of knife owners use the lanyard hole? Probably less than 10%. Idk, but it’s probably low, so it’d be fine to make some knives without it, since there are so many with.

I had to go get my knife to flip open after the first 15 flips of this video lol

Nice review

Nice unbiased review Nick. The leverage from the button should always give 100% contact so it should be better, good observation. Also, I just checked, I've been on Kirby Lambert's books since 2014. Still waiting. Geeze louise. Cheers, Andrew

Is the smock better, the same or worse than the kapara?

Would like to see a comment from Smock on this video. I love the knife. Love it. But three years that’s, well not good.

I was told by an employee at Spyderco Golden Colorado USA earth that the second detent is there for legal reasons. He removed his and it falls free from pressing the button. It does make it feel a bit more like my mantra but it still feels great

17:15: ‘ a sack full of hedgehogs-ergonomics’!? 😂😂😂😂😂😂 The turn of words you use👍. A very good and interesting review. Thank you Nick!

Mine came with a pretty unimpressive detent, which is more in line with my experience with taichung Spydercos, especially their flippers.

Hey nick what do u think about the KnifeJoy exclusive spyderco smock with cpm s20v ?

The voxels cracked me up. The need to explain it's not the car cracked me up even more. Keep it nerdy!

If you think it's fun now, if you take our the detent ball and spring, the fidget factor at least doubles. I'd go as far to say the 2nd detent nulls out the ball bearings. It's a better knife, IMHO, without the 2nd detent.

Hey Nicky. Did you ever receive the smock custom yet?

I would have liked contoured g10 over that handle. Sure some people like it but personally it looks to me like when companies try to make g10 look like CF

Been looking for a button lock to add to the collection, so this video is appreciated. Any suggestions to some other good button locks for comparison?

when will this be more readily available ? I definitely want one !

Quit selling me knives, Nick! It’s becoming a problem, haha. Thanks for another great video!