I first saw the Spyderco Charisma at SHOT Show in January. Even before I had a chance to really look at it, there was a bit of a wow moment when someone passed it to me and I felt the weight – or more accurately, the lack of it. We toss around the phrase feather light pretty casually, but it genuinely applies here. At just 0.8 ounces, the Charisma is one of the lightest folding knives I’ve ever handled.
Once I got past the weight and looked at the knife more closely, I realized there was more going on. Something this light could easily have been a tiny folder with questionable usability, but the Charisma has a nearly three-inch locking blade and a handle that’s actually comfortable to use. Spyderco managed to make it extraordinarily light without turning it into a compromised novelty.
Designed by Eric Glesser, the Charisma product page lists an overall length of 6.8 inches and a closed length of 3.82 inches. Its CTS BD1N blade is 2.98 inches long, with 2.8 inches of cutting edge. The blade stock is just 0.050 inch, or about 1.2mm, thick.
Like Tim, I too saw the Charisma for the first time at SHOT in January. I consider it more of a well executed concept than a true user, but Tim finds more virtue in it than I.
Read the whole thing at Shooting News Weekly