The Spyderco Ambitious is the smallest member of the Tenacious family. This budget priced folder is near the top of many peoples’ “Best under $40” list.

Spyderco sent us two of them for our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway. We are giving away the first for Day 54 (7/24/19).

If you want to win this knife, you must Register for a free account, and leave a comment on our official contest thread (here)

Spyderco describes the Ambitious thusly:

Tenacious, Persistence, Resilience, and Ambitious are qualities we aspire to when facing challenges. These traits are revered at Spyderco and why we named our line of Value Folders after them.

Our goal is to offer affordable folders with five-star features: G-10 handles, Walker LinerLocks, jimping, lined lanyard holes and skeletonized full-length internal liners.

Feature-for-feature, dollar-for-dollar, performance-for performance, Spyderco Value Folders represent a best buy in the knife industry and the answer to acquiring Spyderco innovation and quality on a budget.

The Ambitious is a small, palm-sized workhorse offering big performance in a compact package.

Specs (from Spyderco):

Overall Length: 5.812 ” (148mm)
Blade Length: 2.25 ” (57mm)
Steel: 8Cr13MoV
Closed Length: 3.594 ” (91mm)
Edge Length: 2.25 ” (57mm)
Weight: 3.oz (85g)
Blade Thickness: .125 ” (3mm)
Handle: G-10
Clip Position: Ambi
Tip Carry Position: Tip-Up/Down
Lock Type: LinerLock
Grind: Full-Flat
Origin: China

Personal Observations:

One of my favorite features of this knife is the 4 pocket clip positions. Not that I diverge from tip-up right hand, but this is a knife meant for a mass-audience. The full flat grand makes the knife very slicey, and 8Cr13Mov is perfectly fine steel for the price and easy to sharpen.

The action is not butter, but not bad either. With practice and timing, you can flip the blade past the detent and make the knife snap open. With such a light blade, there isn’t a lot of room for error less the inertia run out and the blade remain unlocked.

Ergos are not bad for the size, though truthfully I prefer the larger Tenacious. The strategic jimping and textured G10 scales make the knife grippy in the hand, despite its size.

Fit and finish are what set this apart from most budget minded blades. This is an actual Spyderco knife, even if it is made in China, so the finish is better than what you would find in the Byrd line.

Outside Review:

I was happy to find my friend Jeff, akak CutleryLover has a video review of the Ambitious, since I cannot actually test the giveaway knives.

I would like the thank Spyderco for providing 5 knives for our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway.

If you are not yet a free registered user, you can do so here. After that, just visit our official contest page and leave a comment.