Bradley Folder 2

Wow as a Spyderco fanboy I must say I can't even nit pick and find a flaw at least for my intended purpose for this knife! Now keep in mind this is not the very heavy duty GB, it's the heavy duty GB2 so don't compare it to the original...this is a gentlemans folder and wow is it exquisite! Now that I said that it is very robust don't let my previous comment make you think different buy one and hold it and you'll see for yourself. I personally don't like liner locks but this one is still a heavy duty liner lock nonetheless especially compared to any other I've ever held! I feel very secure in my mind that it will not close on my hand and to me it is exactly what I was looking for, a capable over built for the purpose church knife ! It has a highly polished exterior, is an insanely sharp slicer right outta the box knife that sits in a drawer in between worship services and only replaces my Manix 2 XL in my pocket then only and once I put a mirror polish on the edge I'm absolutely in love with it I definitely recommend it for an excellent in every way EDC but it's to nice looking for that if it got a scratch I'd be pretty perturbed. In conclusion if you remotely like Spyderco or nice high end knifes in general....you gotta get one for your own and if you want all I've said but even more heavy built then get the first iteration. Great job Spyderco even though I think it should say Golden, Colorado on the blade it's so nice I don't care I'd buy it ten more times over!

The Gayle Bradley 2 folder is an excellent EDC from Spyderco. First of all, the fit and finish are outstanding. The blade is prefectly centered, and opens as smoothly as my Sebenza, which cost 3x as much. The carbon fiber and G10 scales are good looking, and have just enough texture to provide a sure grip even when wet. The M4 blade was not quite as sharp as I would like right out of the box. A few quick strokes on a ceramic rod followed by stropping got it shaving sharp. I will not downgrade a knife for not being super-sharp out of the box, because I will always sharpen myself. Some have complained about the liner lock. They may have soft or weak hands. I did not find it to be a problem. Rather, it engaged perfectly and was very solid. A compression lock similar to the one on the PM2 would have been nice, but I am not here to critcize the designer. I would classify this knife as a "gentleman's EDC," rather than a hard-use knife. For hard use, I prefer a fixed blade. This knife rides low in the pocket, and is very handy with enough blade for everyday chores. At this price ($135), it's an excellent value.

I really wanted to like this knife. I have bought a few Spyderco knives, and generally their knives are just excellent. But this one...not so much. Most Spyderco’s open quickly, and close just as quickly and easily. It is part of their charm. Opening boxes, cutting cardboard, etc. They operate consistently and beautifully.Apparently, this knife is “designed” to be more difficult to close. While I get the concept of safety, as I said, I have other Spyderco knives, and NONE has problems closing prematurely, or “too easily”. The locking mechanism on the Bradley is just too tight, in my opinion. The locking bar ( not the official name of the part) , is intentionally inset, and stiff. Anyone purchasing this knife needs to know that.The blade is excellent, fit is fine. I had contacted the company three times, and was finally advised by a rep why the knife functions as it does.

I received my GB2 today and I will keep it but I'm not as thrilled with it as I thought I'd be.I've owned the original GB for awhile now and I've always considered it to be among the top 3 in my collection of around 20 high end folders.The overall appearance of the GB2 (to me) is nicer than the original due to the larger flared pivot end of the handle and that should aid in the area of safety as well. The liners of the GB2 have been thinned by close to 50% of the original and that has shaved an ounce off the weight of the original; however that really distracts from the beefy quality of the original that I like a lot.The GB2 blade is around 3/16's in. longer, same thickness except at the edge which seems a little thinner as I can sharpen it to a slightly more hair popping edge than the original.Here's where I'm most disappointed: if you read reviews of the original you'll find that complaints are very few, when you do find them they usually refer to the fact that disengaging the liner/frame lock to close the blade can be less than effortless and I'd agree with that but it was never a big deal to me. However because of the liners being so much thinner on the GB2 I assumed that the pressure to close the knife would be reduced, the knife I received was actually more difficult to close and I think that's because the bevel of the flat ground into the blade that the end of the lock engages is steeper than the original and seems to be the source of the "stickiness" of the release.If I was forced to surrender one of the 2 GB's; I don't want to think about it they both have their unique qualities.Update from yesterday: After a lot of exercising the liner lock it's smoothed out considerably and the stickiness is gone so I'm adding a star.Really for the cost this is a great EDC or anything you'll need a really sharp and tough folder.