First released in 1997, the original Spyderco Native quickly set a high standard in affordable, full-service, lightweight folding knives. Purpose-designed to offer made-in-USA craftsmanship at an extremely affordable price, it was also the platform for introducing Spyderco's patented reversible "barrel-bolt" pocket clip.
As the Native's legions of devoted followers steadily grew, some end users began expressing interest in an extended version that would offer more blade length and better ergonomics for large hands. Inspired by that idea, in 1999 Spyderco created a prototype of a design they called the Native Chief, which maintained the pocket-friendly width of the Native but extended its overall length by nearly two inches. In true Spyderco style, they then took that prototype "on the road," displaying it at various trade shows and customer gatherings to elicit detailed feedback. They also continued their own in-house development, fine-tuning the design in an effort to fully realize its potential.
Although feedback on the design was very positive, making longer-bladed knives isn't as simple as it might seem. The longer the knife's blade, the longer the leverage arm and the more pressure applied to the lock mechanism. Sorting out these challenges was overshadowed by other priorities and other models, and ultimately the Native Chief ended up lying dormant for many years.
The tipping point in the story of the Native Chief was actually the development of the Native 5—the fifth-generation evolution of its progenitor. The highly refined Native 5 reflects more than two decades of real-world use, detailed customer feedback, and Spyderco's own relentless pursuit of Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.). One of the defining characteristics of this model is its highly refined lockback mechanism. The culmination of years of meticulous research, development, and testing—as well as a significant investment in ultra-high-precision machinery—the Native 5's lockback redefined the state of the art in the engineering and execution of this deceptively simple mechanism. It was also the final ingredient needed to make the Native Chief a reality.
An "extended" version of the timeless Spyderco Native, the Native Chief stretches the overall length of the original design by about one-third while maintaining its slim, pocket-friendly profile. The Native Chief Lightweight continues that evolution, replacing the G10 scales with a lightweight, fiberglass-reinforced nylon (FRN) handle. The injection-molded handle includes high-traction Bi-Directional Texturing and its linerless construction trims the knife's weight by 21% compared to its predecessor. It retains the same precision-machines lockback mechanism and includes four sets of threaded inserts to allow fully configurable mounting of the knife's four-position pocket clip. The blade of the Native Chief Lightweight is full-flat ground from CTS-BD1N stainless steel and features a fully accessible Trademark Round Hole to complement the knife's symmetrical, completely ambidextrous design.
The Native Chief Lightweight's remarkable balance of light weight and full-service cutting performance make it ideal for tactical applications. To make it even better suited to that role, this expression of it adds a non-reflective Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating to the CTS-BD1N stainless steel blade and matching black coatings to the lock bar, clip, and other handle hardware. It is an exceptional synthesis of low profile and high performance.
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