I like big knives and I cannot lie

Watching this video multiple times while waiting for mine to be delivered. I love the sound it makes when the blade closes into the handle. Very excited for it to arrive!

Hi Nick, thanks for the video! I enjoyed your thoughts on the Amalgam, and I'm glad you liked it more than you thought you would =D

So you're telling me someone at Spyderco needs to be sent to detention?

Interesting reverberating sound upon closing. Thanks Nick!

Really cool knife out of left field there. Looks like your new 0452 stand in 💪🏻

That ping it makes when it closes gives me the same feels a Zippo lighter's opening sound. I love it.

Looking at this from a hunting perspective, it's damn near a perfect folding knife. The choil makes it great for sharpening on a stone, the blade shape is prefect for skinning, the way the grip and the flipper nub are shaped act like a hilt so when your hands are inside and animal (usually cutting an esophagus) you know exactly where your danger zone is. I'm thinking of replacing my fixed blade for this...

Dang... You flipped this knife like 100 times in this video... It must be awesome!!

Seems like a Spyderco take on some of the Hinderer ZT designs in a compression lock format. Blade shape is certainly close to the 0562, would love to see a side by side.

You’re so right this thing is absolutely huge but I totally love it! My better half got it for me for our anniversary and it’s such a great knife. I carry it when I know I’m going to be doing good prep or if I feel like a bit better self defense. Overall I absolutely love it. My only complaint would be the detent but the longer I have it the better it gets. Thanks for your hard work brotha, appreciate you

It's a great looking design and shape. I'd love to see a compact/mini version of it with a 3 inch blade.

This is a cool knife. Flippers from Spyderco are exceedingly rare, and I think this design was done well, and priced fairly.

I’m so happy to get a good look at this great blade. Want this thing soo bad. Usually can only afford 1 maybe 2 knives a year so this is in the running!

Thanks for sharing this cool looking blade. At first glance it reminded me of the Benchmade Proxy. Most people know from my channel that im not into bigger folders, but this one is for sure catching my eye. thanks Nick

I love the acoustics of it closing so much.

That semi choil and the blade shape makes me think of a flipper version of the Spyderco Brouwer

I've been debating the Amalgam for a while now and it's still very tempting but I just got a Spyderco Canis last week ($238 at BHQ). It's a nice knife but there are a couple things I'd like to change, the G-10/CF laminate scales being one of them. Overall, I've always been happy with the Tai Chung Spydies I've bought. Their attention to detail is outstanding. I'm glad you compared it to the Brouwer, that's another one I've considered. I had no idea the size difference was so big.

If Hinderer ever collaborated with Spyderco, I'd expect the results to look a lot like this. I'm not a fan of a lot of Spyderco knives, but I definitely want to check this out and see if the ergos are better than their other offerings.

Nick your hand is in my wallet again! This is exactly what I expected the Gayle Bradley to be. I've been wanting a flipper with a compression lock too, and at under $200 ! Thanks Nick!

Here we are, approaching September of 2023. White Mountain Knives up in New Hampshire, had one or two of these on hand, brand new, sealed, in pristine condition, and I grabbed one with 10% off. It ended up costing me $207.90, with no sales tax and free shipping (which seemed like a sweet deal and bargain to me). I have a feeling this is going to be one of my go-to EDC knives, for a long time... If you're going to go swimming, you may as well get wet!

Yes....Thaichung needs some detent coaching from the boys in Golden. The Sage 5 also suffers from the same issue and has plenty of ‘detent slop’ to boot.

I too hope that Spyderco engineers “spend a weekend at Detent Camp”…. Thanks Nick!!!

If I showed a folding knife that size to my fully sarcastic and skeptical daughter, she’d say, “Dad, that is so ULTRA.”

I'm going to agree with you about the Shaman being a big enough "Big Knife" & now that I put an ODC-CME on it, I like it even better!

really do like the look of this one..

Waiting for the Smock!

I almost immediately modded mine, removed the flipper tab, widened the choil and enlarged the detent hole a smidge. I can now front flip it very reliably :D

This will be my first pricey spyderco but I'm definatly ordering this. Thanks for turning me on to it I love a big knife and a choil.

This knife looks like a complete win 👍 great review nick!

If they take out the flipper and strengthen the detente its an instant buy for me.

This is on my short list!... still waiting....

Can the Carbon Fiber laminate be removed easily? I really like everything about this knife but I can't stand how that laminate looks

I dig the size..good review Nick

I've been wanting to purchase this knife since January! So I had to wait on the review to see if the detent was dialed in because let's be honest spyderco has been slacking in that department. So now I know before I bought it. Thanks nick! 👍

Been seeing reviews on the Amalgam and the Brouwer. Well explain. SUBSCRIBED!!!

Excellent review as always. Another very interesting piece from Spyderco

Nick what you think about using teflon tape instead of threadlocker???

Saw you on blade hq bro!

Is it 175 or 130 ? You said both

The way I look at the amalgam is I say it is like a very refined military

Nice blade. Thanks Nick!! Hava great day!!

3 pm2 I purchased have very different detent. One very strong, one strong, one weak. My Caribbean also has a weak detent. I think there is inconsistency for detent not only for compression flipper but for all compression lock.

Ergos look great, great size to weight ratio, all around useful looking good size blade.

Nice. Probably going to pass on this one as I already have a number of longer edc blades. Still, I do likenthe looks of this over the Para series and even the Manix and I love my Manix. Thanks for the video, great as always, Nick.

Yeah I’d rather the scales to be g10 not both g10 and carbonfiberish. I’m just not a fan of carbon fiber generally. I feel the same about the Kapara but thankfully they have after market scales for it. Not sure for this knife. The scales though wasn’t enough to stop me from buying this knife.

A compelling review, Nick. Thinking on one, since I can get a 10% discount from WMK. I have the Ikuchi which you reviewed and it was a finger saw, what with that Paul Alexander wheel and a detent which was waaaay too strong for the design. Fortunately, detents on these compression lock folders are easy to fix by gently bending the spring bar on the liner to increase or decrease the tension. Great review, thanks! 👍🔪👍

If it were shrunk to delica/mantra size, it would be very appealing, with the seemingly nice ergos to boot

My favorite Taichung, Taiwan Spyderco. Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with the Amalgam. It's practically perfect if you want a knife that's on the bigger end of the scale. All it needs is a slightly stronger detent. If I was to have only one knife for everything, the Amalgam would be on the list of knives to consider.

I love large folders.

Pass on this one,I still prefer the Shaman. In England I’m going to have to pay £175.00 for the Shaman,in dollars a lot more than Americans have to pay!

I want one. I like big knives, even though I am not supposed to be carrying them where I live. I am not always here in the city, and when I head out of this city, I can and do carry a bigger knife. Pretty classy looking edition from Spyderco. The detent is standard Spyderco. My PM2 and Manix 2 and even my Para 3 all can be shaken out. Unless you get one of their back locks like a Delica, you can pretty much count on the detent being weak. I really would like to see them correct that, but I won't hold my breath..look how long we have been asking for a sharpening choil, to no avail. Spyderco is going to do what Spyderco does, and I guess they feel they sell enough of them that they don't really give a shit what we would "like" to see.

Without the finger choil and flipper tab, it would ideal, but those are not deal breakers. It is nice to see a less vulnerable tip.

Grabbing mine tomorow and i cant wait!

We really need a comprehensive list of compression lock models that don’t have the tab pass-through issue. It’s an absolute dealbreaker for me

Hey Nick! I was curious if you were planning to look at the Spyderco Tropen at some point? I know it isn't your normal style, but with all the controversy regarding the exposed edge and stuff, I would love to hear your thoughts on the knife as a whole.

A little criticism of the compression lock system: I honestly would much rather have a liner or frame lock on my knives because while a compression lock is safer to operate because your fingers aren't in the way when the blade closes, it's very awkward to operate; it's kinda like a backlock and liner lock had a kid. I have to put my finger in a very weird position to be able to close it, which squishes my finger tip. But on a liner or frame lock, while my thumb will be in the way of the blade when it swings close, it's much easier and natural to operate.

Just got mine today and i believe spyderco may have listened to the detent complaint as mine feels very nice and takes quite a bit to shake open. It still can shake open but nowhere near the one nick got for this review.

This one interests me, appreciate the review. I'm hanging out for the Kappara, please get one of those on the channel asap, you'll love it Nick, I've handled a few of Alistair Phillips customs & it is a truly awesome design. Thanks

This knife has been out for at least 4 years. Why do I suddenly have FOMO like it was released yesterday and there are only 2 remaining in the world? Don't laugh, this happens to you too...

Been waiting all year for this. They still won't say when to expect it. 😡

That’s a Kevin Cleary knife for sure.

I really like this channel, but as soon as he starts talking I check to see if the speed is too fast. Btw, my wife says I have a little bit of a belly and a nice tip as well.

I wish the PM2 had a more robust tip like this

Is the compression lock a little different on this knife, in contrast to the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or Para 3 or Yojimbo or Yojumbo, in that the Amalgam doesn't have the stop bar right above the compression lock? I kinda want to order an Amalgam just to see how it's different now!

The amalgam will be my first spyderco bc i just dont like the look of those leaf shaped blades...the weak detent is a bummer. I have a realistic view of what these things are...a useful piece of pocket jewelry and the fidget factor is a big determining factor for me. Hoping that this is the first in a long line of sexy flippers

Great review! Whenever detent is deemed suboptimal, I’m not sure what to make of it, because I’ve seen significant variation in detent on different examples of the same knife. Reviews of the ZT 0609 described the detent everywhere from somewhat too strong to way too weak. I sent my Arius in for service. I hadn’t mentioned it as a problem, but the detent went from slightly weaker than I preferred to strong and perfect, in my view. Seems it’s hard to know what the detent should be from evaluation, no matter how thorough, of only one knife. Any thoughts?

Anything thai chung is gonna be amazing

Dear Nick Just got my amalgam in the mail and you are 100% right about the detent. Why is the PM2 dentent stronger than the amalgam??? I bet this has to due with production at the taichung factory dentents on all usa made knives are much stronger.

As a guy with fairly large hands, I was looking forward to this one a lot...however, my issue with it lies in the same place that it does with all compression locks, and that is when I am holding the knife in the standard position my thumb hits at least part of the lock cutout. And that is very uncomfortable when pushing down to cut through something. When I need to give some pressure to actually cut things and I end up pushing my thumb joint into a sharp(ish) corner or edge, I no longer have any interest in using the knife. That was the flaw with the PM2 and the rest of the compression lock knives for me. All they need to do is move that lock back about 1/3 of an inch and they would be much much improved and I would probably start to buy them again. I was a massive spyderco fan and collector until the compression lock became such a big focus of theirs.

Shake test!!! Thank you! critical info for me. Detent strength is often described in subjective terms but my state is a shake open = illegal state.

Blade shape reminds me of a hinderer you just reviewed. With a different grind.

I am anticipating the drop on this knife. I hope they fix the detent on it if not o well. Hey nick are ever going to review the 5 bladed case knife.

I get the hole is an iconic piece of like the para2, but i find it annoying when they put unnecessary holes in every knife, theres no situation where this one should exist

another great review Nick

I like the length and the blade. I know Nick has hands the size of a muppet so this is like a broadsword in his little puppet hand

Overall shape resembles the kizer vanguard dukes.

What's nicer this or shamen?

I wasn't interested in this knife then I saw om knife joy and I thiught to myself let me see if Nick put a review up, and sure enough nick came through as always. Now I want to purchase this knife and beat the breaks off it at work lol. It looks and seems like it feels like a working knife

This knife without the flipper action and a better detent...could be a GEM.

I assume you are not including the compression lock knives out of Golden? Meaning the PM2 and PM3?

That's really nice, defenitly getting one.

This one or Mantra 3 or the Brouwer?? It`s difficult bying a christmas present for yourself.

Well I'm glad I watched the video before I bought it... sucks more stores don't carry these so you can actually put your hands on them before purchasing... I'm not sure how I feel about the flipper tab situation and I'm not going to risk buying it

Nice review and all but I'am surprise by your take on this one Nick, it is after all a freaking huge knife, you once compared the PM2 to a montain ;-)

Does anybody know when it comes out? I have been on the pre-order with Blade HQ for quite a while now.

The Taichung guys absolutely need to fly out to Golden and spend a week in "detent camp". Compression lock tuning is the one area where Golden is still killing Taichung, though they've mastered just about everything else. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Golden has made 9 trillion PM2s for practice.

Choke up for DETAIL WORK

"Detent Camp". Hah! And agree completely about Spyderco needing to attend...

One of the better, if not the best Spyderco folding fight knife. It has decent stopping power for a folding knife.

Wait so you could either use the thumbhole, compression lock, flipper or you could just shake the blade out. Now that's versatility.

looks like a great knife

KZfaq unsubscribed me from you so....I've missed the past 3 video so catching up!

The blade shape looks... Half mast

I really like this knife, but I'll wait until the detent is fixed. Otherwise a perfect knife for me.

Remove finger from compression lock before the flipper tab hits? Kind of like the Sliverax huh?🤔🤔😂😂

It does kinda looks like the zt 0562cf. Kinda looks like a hinderer

Nick I just got the Amalgam and I have a bit of lock stick. What's the best way to fix it?

It would be nice to see a little smaller blade and maybe m390. I would be all over that. Still I think it’s a nice piece from Spyderco

The fact that Spyderco can't seem to dial in a good detent on their flippers is inexcusable at this point. I love the design of the most of their flippers, this one included, but I refuse to spend $170 dollars on a knife that doesn't flip great. When so many other knives in that price range from other companies flip fantastically, it really is ugly that Spyderco flippers always perform in such a lackluster way. It's also interesting to see the inclusion of tip-down carry on a flipper. That seems destined to open up in your pocket at some time or another.