This was a gift from Spyderco for evaluation of the compression lock on a couple of Guntings.
A full description with complete specifications from Spyderco's webpage for the SpydeRench :
People repeatedly ask "When is Spyderco going to make a multi-tool?" 1999 will see the introduction of the SpyderRench, a tool for the next millennium. The T01 SpyderRench includes a real Spyderco knife with a locking full-sized, one hand open/close knife blade and pocket clip, plus much more.
Designed by an aerospace engineer in conjunction with Spyderco’s research and development department, the T01 is made of investment-cast 17-4ph corrosion resistant stainless steel and features an adjustable wrench with an opening capacity of 9/16".
On the opposite end, a 2-setting slip joint pliers fits comfortably in the hand due to the contoured casting, no pinched fingers. A set of four screwdriver bits tuck neatly inside, including a #2 and #3 Phillips head as well as a #1 and #2 flat head.
The user friendly SpydeRench also accepts any standard size bit from your hardware store, including Allen and Torx ® wrenches. In addition, the T01 includes an extended (long-length) bit with a flat head and Phillips head enabling access into tight places (ideal for "tunneled" electronic repairs). This extended bit doubles as a diamond-coated file featuring a concave, convex, and flat sharpening surface.
A unique pivot pin allows the tool to rotate onto an extended position, which locks open creating a full-sized, easy to grip screwdriver and crescent wrench. By releasing the pivot, the screwdriver and knife portion of the tool can separate from the crescent wrench, allowing both tools to be used simultaneously.
440C premium stainless steel was chosen for the full-sized locking blade. Available in PlainEdge or SpyderEdge configuration, the blade has a cutting edge length of 2 ˝” (64mm). Overall length of the SpydeRench is 4 ˝” inches (114mm) and it weighs 7.92 ounces (200 grams). The suggested retail price is $109.95. The SpydeRench is truly a revolutionary addition to the multi-tool industry.
UPDATE : years after this review was written the SpydeRench was retooled and rereleased.
The SpydeRench comes with a crescent wrench and and slip-joint pliers as the base tool(s) instead of the common needle nose pliers which are the base of many multi-tools such as the very popular Leatherman line. The slip-joint pliers are designed to be used when the tool is in one piece while the crescent wrench operates much easier when the tool has been separated.
Using the SypdeRench at work it was clearly superior to the Leatherman Supertool in some respects. It would hold more securely a wider range of bolts and nuts and was much more comfortable to use with high force. Using the pliers the hand was well supported by the main two contact points, the bottom of the knife and the top of the crescent wrench. The crescent wrench is even more comfortable with a nice swell indent for your thumb. The top of the plier can bite a bit into the back of my hand but that is fairly minor.
One of the greatest advantages is that the SpydeRench can be separated and thus the crescent wrench can be applied to a nut while a screw was drove with the bit. This isn't possible with the Leatherman Supertool and had me looking for an additional screwdriver at times. However, opening the tool so as to allow use of the pliers and wrench is a two handed affair which puts the SpydeRench somewhat at a disadvantage compared to the many one handed multi-tools. I also greatly missed the wire cutters which the pliers based multi-tools all have.
As a daily carry piece outside of work I don't have a lot of use for the SpydeRench and strongly prefer a standard multi-tool because of the versatility of the needle nose pliers and the additional tools, mainly the saw.
Finally there is a multi-tool with an actual decent grade of steel used for the blade.
When still attached to the main tool, the knife can be smoothly opened and closed one handed. To close, depress the lock and after the blade falls rotate the tool and use the thumb on the spine of the blade to push it back into place. It is however harder to open than for example a Spyderco Calypso Jr. because of the structure of the lock on the SpydeRench's blade. When the tool is separated into two pieces, the knife is much harder to open one handed with my right hand as there is no right scale for the finger to rest against, left handed openings are still easy. To open right handed it is necessary to flip the blade upside down, open halfway, flip it right side up, and finish the opening. With gloves on one handed openings are easy because of the hole, but closing the blade is not as smooth. With heavy gloves it can be closed by simply depressing the lock while holding the tool like the knife is still in use, using the area under the top joint of the thumb instead of the top, this can unlock the wrench which is a little annoying.
Ergonomics are rather poor. When still attached to the tool, there are numerous "hot spots"; my pinky finger rides right along the bottom jaw of the wrench, the file across the bottom of my middle fingers and on the other side the lock digs under my thumb. Hard cuts, for example whittling on a hardwood dowel, quickly become uncomfortable. A tight full grip also unlocks the wrench by moving the file which is annoying. The knife is more comfortable apart using a grip almost completely on the top of the scale for high pressure work. However in normal grips the single scale is even worse comfort wise than using the blade when the tool in is one piece. In comparison the blades on my Leatherman Supertool are much more comfortable to use. But it is much harder to get them out and put them back in and fact I never use them because of this difficulty. I do use the blade on the SpydeRench because of the ease of access and closing, and for most light cutting (which is all it usually gets) the ergonomics are fine.
Security or grip retention for blade work is even worse than ergonomics. There are no guards and the handle is bare steel. I tried some stabs into pine with a clean solid grip, thumb on butt and would not want to try full force hits. If my hands were sweaty or my grip was other wise compromised then my hand would easily ramp onto the blade. However the security is light years ahead of the Supertool's grip for blade use which offers no retention at all and even light stabs are not sensible.
The lock is not effected by spine whacks, fast or slow on soft (phone book) or hard targets (desk top). I can only white knuckle it open in one way, which is if I hold the blade tip up with the edge facing me. My index finger is now wrapped around the lock and as I tighten my grip it depresses and the blade unlocks.
The blade is similar in shape to the Delica. The primary grind is a deep sabre hollow grind and there is a nice acute bevel and it came with a nice polish NIB which could push shave.
The bits on the SpydeRench will fall out if the tool is slanted down. The Supertool is much nicer to use for most such work because of the stability of the fixed tools. Of course the SpydeRench allows you to interchange the bits with whatever ones you need and with the Leatherman you are stuck with the factory issue. The main problem though is simply the speed of access. You have to remove the file and even then getting the bits out is not easy, I have to use the screwdriver on the file to pop them out.
The SpydeRench can actually be locked in the open position with the blade at 180 degrees to the crescent wrench which allows a longer arm to drive the bits with. The file/screwdriver tool can also be put in the slot for the bits for extra leverage and reach. For the most part I didn't use this feature because when I wanted deep access it was in awkward positions in which case the non-locking nature of the bits was a serious drawback.
The diamond coated file offers a huge advantage over the fixed file in many of the multi-tools as it can actually be used to sharpen the blade. It is also much easier to use because it is lighter and the three differently shaped surfaces allow a wider range of uses. The only downside is the lifetime. Diamond coatings can wear off rather quickly depending on the makeup and how they are bonded. I also didn't like the fact that since the file is also the locking mechanism I was constantly handling it and thus it got loaded up frequently and had to be cleaned. It would be nice if the file was a separate item - but of course space and weight are limiting factors.
To estimate the aggression of the file finish I used two very similar blades, both Stellite 6K blades from Gerber, with only very minor differences in geometry (they are the same model). One belongs to Will York and the other to Dennis Saccher (Cobalt on Bladeforums). I sharpened one with a 600 grit DMT rod and the other with the SpydeRench and sliced up some fabric recording the number of cuts needed to completely go through the roll. I then switched blades and did it again as a consistency check. Both results matched and showed the SpydeRench's file giving a lower performance finish. This could be because it is smoother and thus less aggressive finish, or it could be because the smaller SypdeRench file is not as easy to sharpen a blade with.
| Model | Edge Finish | Number of slices | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerber 6K - D | 600 DMT | 2.35 +/- 0.05 | 100 |
| Gerber 6K - W | SpydeRench file | 2.75 +/- 0.10 | 85 +/- 4 |
| Gerber 6K - W | 600 DMT | 2.45 +/- 0.12 | 100 |
| Gerber 6K - D | SpydeRench file | 2.92 +/- 0.10 | 84 +/- 5 |
Most multi-tools have a lot of other functions that the SpydeRench lacks such as a wire cutter, can opener, bottle cap lifter, scissors, saw, awl, etc. .
The decent blade steel and ease of access is the feature that stands out the strongest to me positive wise about this tool. Second is the removable diamond coated file which allows blade sharpening. On the downside, there are the obvious lack of features in common to multi-tools. I don't see this as direct competition to the pliers based multi-tools as they are overall much more flexible, but depending on exact what kind of tasks you most often do, the SpydeRench could be a better choice.
You can comment on this review by dropping me an email : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com. Comments can be seen in the following ARCHIVED thread on Bladeforums :
Alex Boriqua also did a review of this SpydeRench and you can read the comments about it here :
For further information on SpydeRench you can visit Spyderco's website and their web based discussion forum on Bladeforum Forums.
| Last updated : | 04 : 04 : 2005 |
| Originally written: | 07 : 12 : 2000 |