DRAGONFLY™
Featured ProductSKU: C28
MSRP: $100.00 - $175.00
ORIGIN: Japan
The Spyderco Dragonfly is one of the most underappreciated folding knife designs ever produced. Created by Spyderco founder Sal Glesser, it was specifically designed to be extremely compact and pocket friendly, while offering a full, secure grip that is comfortable to all sizes of hands. Although its blade is barely over 2.25 inches in length, when backed by a solid grip, it cuts with authority far beyond its size.
The secret of the Dragonfly’s remarkable design is its index-finger “choil.” Also known as a “50/50 choil,” this feature is essentially a finger groove that straddles the intersection of the blade and handle. It provides a safe, solid purchase for the index finger and, for most users, extends the “real estate” of the handle enough to provide a full four-fingered grip. For large hands that can only achieve a three-fingered grip, the choil still positions the hand further forward to offer exceptional comfort, control, and leverage. It also works in concert with the graceful ergonomics of the handle, which are devoid of “hot spots” and don’t force the hand into a specific grip.
Released in 1994, the original Dragonfly was a proud member of Spyderco’s groundbreaking family of lightweight folding knives, which pioneered the use of fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handles with molded integral pocket clips. Like all the knives of that generation, the Dragonfly featured a sturdy mid-back-lock mechanism and its clip catered to the 90-percent right-handed majority by providing right-side tip-up carry only. Its leaf-shaped blade was hollow ground from GIN-1/G-2 stainless steel and featured a fully accessible Trademark Round Hole™ that allowed swift one-handed opening with either hand. It was also available in a choice of PlainEdge™ or SpyderEdge™ formats.
In 1996, the Dragonfly design was overhauled to incorporate a number of enhancements, including relocating the blade’s opening hole for better leverage and lengthening the thumb ramp. Other changes to the blade included replacing the original steel with AUS-8, switching the grind from hollow to full-flat, and adding a beveled cusp to the spine of the blade. Additionally, the base of the integral clip was extended all the way to the butt end and the handle ergonomics were fine-tuned to provide a more secure grip.
As more and more knife users began to discover the unique functionality of the Dragonfly design, Spyderco also began expressing it with different materials. In 1997, we introduced the stainless-steel-handled Dragonfly, which had the distinction of bearing the “experimental” designation CX05 for a brief period before sharing the C28 model number of its lightweight counterpart. Its full-flat-ground blade reverted to GIN-1/G-2 steel and it became the first stainless-handled Spyderco model to feature a tip-up carry clip.
Consistent with Spyderco’s relentless commitment to C.Q.I. (Constant Quality Improvement), both the FRN-handled and stainless-handled Dragonflies continued to evolve during the late 1990’s and 2000’s.
In 1998, the stainless Dragonfly’s steel was switched to ATS-55.
In 2001, the blades of both versions were lengthened slightly, and in 2004 Boye Dents were added to the lock releases of both models.
In 2007, a version of the stainless Dragonfly with etched handle scales was briefly introduced, in 2008 blade steel of the stainless version was updated to the current VG-10, and in 2009 a “tattoo” stainless model was introduced featuring a multicolored graphic on the handle.
During this period, in addition to these full-production Dragonflies, Spyderco also began exploring limited-edition and Sprint Run™ expressions of the design, including a variant with carbon fiber scales and one with a white FRN handle.
By 2009, many other Spyderco models had already begun incorporating reversible pocket clips to accommodate left-handed users. To catch up to that trend, we introduced a version of the Dragonfly design with foliage green, peel-ply G-10 handle scales and a reversible wire clip. This deep-pocket clip design provided discreet tip-up carry and could be easily switched for left or right-handed users. Together with the other symmetrical features of the design, it made the knife’s carry and operation completely ambidextrous. It also paved the way for a second generation of the lightweight Dragonfly, the Dragonfly 2.