Spyderco byte June 2023 - C239GPOR / C239CFP SUBVERT™
- C239GPOR / C239CFP - SUBVERT™
- MSRP: $576.00 - $600.00
- ORIGIN: Taiwan
Designed by Israeli-born Nathaniel Amor, or “Nati,” as he is more commonly known, the Subvert faithfully translates his custom-made “Sabotage” model into an exquisitely crafted production folding knife. It vividly reflects Amor’s talents as a professional jeweler and goldsmith, as well as his hard-earned appreciation for functional, everyday-carry cutting tools.
Amor conceived the Sabotage model—his first professional custom knife design—while listening to a Black Sabbath rock-and-roll song of the same name. After making the design a reality, it attracted considerable attention in the custom knife community and quickly brought Amor and his work into the limelight.
With that recognition, and the not-so-subtle encouragement of some of his friends, he presented the design to Spyderco for our consideration. Spyderco’s management was extremely impressed with Amor’s craftsmanship and the uniqueness of his design and decided to adapt it to a production version—the Subvert.
THE “STANDARD” SUBVERT
Introduced in 2018, the Subvert is a meticulously crafted folding knife that accurately captures every detail of Nati Amor’s coveted custom versions in an affordable, widely accessible format. The heart of the design is its dramatically styled blade, which is precision ground from American-made CPM® S30V® particle metallurgy stainless steel. Beautifully satin-finished, the 4.14-inch (105mm) blade features a broad profile, a subtle recurve, a pronounced “belly,” and a full-flat grind.
Collectively, these features provide maximum edge length and low-friction edge geometry for extreme cutting performance. To allow swift, ambidextrous, one-handed opening, the blade features a fully accessible Trademark Round Hole™ and a “humpless” spine to maintain a slim, pocket-friendly profile. The blade also rides on twin ball-bearing pivot washers that ensure an ultra-smooth action.
The Subvert’s handle is built on a framework of thick, skeletonized titanium liners that give it outstanding structural strength while keeping its weight to a minimum. The liners form the foundation of a stout LinerLock mechanism, but because they are 0.118-inch (3mm) thick, the Subvert’s lock is more akin to the strength of a Reeve Integral Lock (R.I.L., aka frame lock).
The liners are capped by bright orange G-10 scales that are meticulously radiused and feature a finely machined grooved texture to guarantee a secure, comfortable grip. At the butt end of the handle, the liners are joined by a partial backspacer made from orange G-10.
The backspacer enhances the handle’s structural strength while allowing an easy-to-clean, open-backed construction style. The profile of the G-10 scales exposes a portion of the matte-finished liners to allow access to a generous lanyard hole and to complement the aesthetics of machined accents on the knife’s pivot pin.
Despite its hand-filling size, the Subvert’s handle offers outstanding ergonomics that make it extremely comfortable to use, even for extended periods. To keep it poised for immediate access, it includes a polished stainless steel pocket clip configured for right-side, tip-up carry.
THE SUBVERT SPRINT RUN™
The Subvert is an extremely capable, full-service folding knife that truly reflects the superb craftsmanship and distinctive styling of Nati Amor’s handmade design. To celebrate this unique design and elevate it to even higher levels of sophistication, Spyderco created an elite Sprint Run version. Like all Sprint Runs, it is a limited-edition, one-time-only expression of this model.
The first defining feature of the Subvert Sprint Run is its blade, which is crafted from Crucible® Industries' CPM® 20CV. This highly wear resistant, powder metallurgy stainless steel contains a large volume of vanadium carbides and the highest amount of chromium of any vanadium-rich stainless steel currently available.
The synergy of these elements gives CPM 20CV a remarkable combination of edge retention, corrosion resistance, and toughness, while also allowing it to be relatively easy to sharpen. The dramatic full-flat-ground, satin-finished blade of this Subvert takes full advantage of all these qualities to offer exceptional cutting performance, reliability, and user friendliness.
Equally unique, the contoured scales of this knife are precision machined from solid carbon fiber. The painstaking machining process used to shape the scales’ crowned surfaces also creates a subtle texture pattern for enhanced grip security and reveals the stunning depth and complexity of the carbon fiber's layered construction.
All other features of this remarkable Sprint Run are consistent with the standard version of the Subvert, including ball-bearing pivot washers, thick, skeletonized titanium liners, a stout LinerLock mechanism, and a custom pocket clip configured for right-side, tip-up carry.
No matter which version you choose, the Subvert faithfully delivers the meticulous craftsmanship and premium materials of Nati Amor’s coveted custom design in a production folder within the reach of every serious knife enthusiast.
Designer Profile - Nati Amor
Nathaniel “Nati” Amor is a rapidly rising star in the world of custom knifemaking. Although his passion for knives began when he was a child in Tel Aviv, his path to become a custom knifemaker was uniquely “indirect.”
After completing his standard education, Amor formally trained to become a goldsmith and ultimately worked for 17 years as a professional jeweler. He specialized in crafting men's jewelry, including bracelets, rings, and cufflinks using gold, sterling silver, diamonds, and other gemstones. During this time, his interest in knives continued to grow and he became an active member of various Internet forums devoted to knives and related art forms. As an initial bridge from his profession as a jeweler to the knife world, he also began crafting custom lanyard beads for other knife enthusiasts.
The tipping point for Amor’s decision to try making knives himself came in two forms. First, he took a trip with a poor-quality everyday-carry knife and was extremely disappointed with its performance as a cutting tool. That experience led him to believe that he could make knives that offered better, more reliable performance.
Around that same time, Amor had the good fortune to meet a fellow Israeli countryman and kindred spirit, Lee Lerman, on a knifemaker’s forum. Lerman was also a passionate knife enthusiast who dreamed of leaving his profession as a carpenter to make knives. At age 22, he did just that and devoted his life to custom knifemaking.
Amor and Lerman became friends and soon Nati began sharing sketches of his ideas for knife designs. Lerman provided feedback on the technical aspects of the designs and ultimately mentored Amor on the art of making flipper-style folding knives.
For the next six years, Amor made folding knives solely for his own pleasure. His early efforts averaged about one knife per year and were mostly tanto-style patterns. All that changed, however, in 2016 when he revealed his first professional design, the “Sabotage.” Its exceptional balance of style and functionality attracted a lot of attention in the custom knife community and interest in the availability of Amor’s work skyrocketed. Thrilled by the reaction to his design, Amor promptly changed his career direction and became a full-time knifemaker.
Under his brand name, Black Snow Customs, Amor specializes in crafting large-bladed, tactically themed folding knives that reflect the beauty, precision, and refined aesthetics of his skills as a jeweler. He loves experimenting with exotic materials like mokume gane (a non-ferrous Damascus-like material), MokuTi (titanium-based mokume), zirconium, and Damascus steel and incorporates them into many of his knives. For now, all his models feature titanium LinerLocks and ball-bearing pivots, though he hopes to master the mechanics of other lock mechanisms in the future.
Amor painstakingly crafts his knives one at a time by hand and every one of his creations is a unique, distinctive piece of art. Even his most basic knives sell for several thousand dollars, while those featuring Damascus blades and other premium materials are valued at over $10,000.
Nati Amor is an exceptionally talented designer and craftsman whose talents truly push the envelope of the knifemaker’s art. Spyderco is extremely proud to have the opportunity to work with him and we are honored to share his knifemaking vision with our audience.