Spyderco is known in the EDC world for its exceptionally high-quality cutting tools and unique designs. More often than not, their offerings combine those two aspects.
One of the brand’s latest releases, the Spyderco Essenza, continues that trend. It combines these brand hallmarks with an unusual style, a gentleman’s knife, and I love it for all its quirkiness.
Design evolution
The Spyderco Essenza is based on the Raven Knives Design CHNOPS, which Fox Knives produces. However, there are some distinct differences between the original version and this new one.
The biggest change is that the Essenza swaps the original’s flipper deployment for Sypderco’s signature ambidextrous thumb hole.
It’s a design choice that serves a twofold purpose. First, it makes the silhouette far more unique, courtesy of its thumb-hole hump. Second, it makes the design unmistakably a Spyderco knife.