Review: SpyderCo Ouroboros Knife

I got a chance to test a SpyderCo C207G Ouroboros, a unique looking folder. Of all the blades that function as an extension of the hand, this is it.

The Ouroboros is named from an ancient Greek symbol that looks like a snake swallowing its own tail. The parallel between this ancient symbol and a knife is lost on me, but no one can overlook the unique design. 

It’s not a big knife (6.88” OAL), and it’s not heavy (2.6 oz) either.  It is a tip up carry knife that uses the deep pocket wire clip, which can be swapped to either side. The Ouroboros is completely low profile, with a steel liner and G-10 scales. All pins have Torx heads and there is a narrow lanyard hole.

The Ouroboros has a satin finish, leaf shaped blade, which is much wider than traditional knives.  We are not talking about the thickness, which is a svelte .098”. We are talking about a blade that is wide enough (about 1.3”) to capture the pointer finger in the choil, similar to a chef knife, but the relieved grind allows much more control of the cutting surface.

Years ago, my friend wanted to have a precise fit between his competition pistol and his hand. He made a grip stock blank of of clay and placed it on the gun.  He squeezed the clay. He used the clay mold as a guide to mill a walnut stock. It looked a bit unorthodox, but he won quite a few tournaments with it.  The Ouroboros has this kind of fit in the hand.

The Ouroboros looks a little futuristic, but the amount of leverage and precision the user gets is unprecedented. The palm swell in the grip starts where the ring finger lays on the curve, allowing the entire hand to put the power into the strongest part of the blade when using a downward cutting motion. At the same time, the thumb placement on the spine allows extreme precision on the tip. Thus, any user can power cut with it-think of stroking the blade through the entire length of a hanging curtain-and cut intricate fruit sculpture with the same instrument.

I demonstrated the cutting power of this knife by slicing straight down into some plastic bins. My thicker bladed knives didn’t allow the edge to track straight through the thick plastic. They cut it, but the Ouroboros, a full flat ground knife, sliced cleanly through it. On the other hand, the wide blade prevented me from changing direction in the plastic.

I jus want to put this in perspective here. I tried doing this with cheaper blade and the blade broke.  Nope, it wasn’t a Spyderco.

Not only does the Ouroboros design give great leverage, having the pointer finger behind the choil gives the hand great protection. There isn’t any jimping on the spine, where the thumb comfortably rests, but I’d like some on the steel spacer in the palm area.  Since this knife feels like a futuristic Para 2, it’s only a matter of time that someone makes an aftermarket spacer with a little machine work.

Spyderco uses VG-10 for the steel.  This is popular for chef knives because of its relative hardness when tempered properly and fairly reliable stain resistance. I dulled it and sharpened it once, using a Spyderco’s Tri-Angle Sharpmaker. It’s a easy flat grind to maintain and considering how much work it took to dull it, holds an edge like better than most quality working knives.

The Ouroboros uses a compression lock. If you haven’t seen this mechanism, it’s worth just taking a look. This is a split liner, like a liner lock, but it is on the spine, not the blade pathway. When locked, it actually wedges the split liner between a ramp on the blade and the stop pin.  This mechanism is unbelievably strong. Moreover, putting the fingers in the blade path is not necessary when closing.

This knife is the perfect companion to the SpyderCo ParaMilitary 2. It also is well suited for the user who carries a big knife, but has a need for a caping knife. It is easy to maintain and tough enough for everyday use.

The MSRP is $289.95, but I have yet to see it advertised for anything within $100 of this price.