Outta the Closet: Southern Grind Spider Monkey

You may be staring at the picture of this knife and asking yourself…where have I seen that blade before?  The answer to your internal monologue — or external if you are one of those people who narrates as they read — is, it was in Issue 21 of RECOIL.  Zac Brown of Southern Grind and the Zac Brown Band made this badass blade that fits right in with a suit or a pair of jeans.

The short pocket clip works well and doesn't stick out as much as others might.

You can pick up a Spider Monkey in two main configurations of the blade: serrated and not.  Then you must make the choice between Black PVD blade or Satin, like the one you see here.  The scales on the handle of this thing are made of carbon fiber and near the butt of the knife are grooves machined into the scale for added grip.  Carbon fiber looks awesome and is a truly amazing material, but it is hell to work with and not awesome for your health.  Kudos to any maker willing to deal with the pain of machining this stuff.

Zac Brown knows how to put an edge on a knife. This guy came hair popping sharp.

The blade of the Southern Grind Spider Monkey is made of CPM S35VN, which is a step above my normal go-to knife steel of CPM S30v.  It provides superior edge retention meaning your sharp stabby remains sharp much longer.  The top of the blade features a section of jimping to rest your thumb. This will give you a bit more control when cutting things fine.  The thumb stud also has some jimping cut into it, thus giving your thumb a surer grip when rocketing the blade out to deploy.

Despite its relatively small size the Spider Monkey is very comfortable in the hand due to the handle shape.

The linerlock of this knife is made of titanium and with the addition of the carbon fiber makes for a light and agile knife.  The pivot features a laser-marked monkey head and the pocket clip has the Southern Grind logo on it.  The pocket clip is set up for tip up right side pocket carry.  The detent of the knife when its closed is nice and sturdy, so no worries of the knife deploying and carving a chunk out of your hand.

The angled butt of the knife makes a great rest for your thumb when held in reverse grip.

Backed by a limited lifetime warranty the Spider Monkey will allow you to righteously proclaim, “I will come at you like a Spider Monkey!” while wielding this knife for many years to come. You can also check them out on Facebook and Instagram.

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