Since I used Sebenza on the job a lot I feared that one day it may be borrowed and will get MIA on the way back. I wanted a rescue knife that was durable yet cheap enough not to attract thieves.

Spyderco C79PS Assist seemed like a right tool for the job. I heard about it last May from Mr. Ritters news flash from SHOT 2003. Two models were presented at the show: plain and one with carbide glass breaker.

Even if first model was available in June, second model didn't hit the store until October. It was a good planning on the part of Spyderco since a lot of people I know liked the knife so much they went out and bought the plain version just to pass it down and buy the glass breaking version later on.

But lets talk about the knife. Straight out of the box knife is super sharp. It feels little light but sits comfortably in hand. I guess after using Sebenza for a while my expectations to the weight and materials increased a lot. First thing that has to be understood is that this is not all around knife. Sole purpose of this tool is to be used in emergencies. I don't see much use for it when camping or traveling but it would be a life saver if you got tangled, trapped or needed to get somebody out.

Blade is 80% serrated and 20% plain. Tip is blunt to safely slip under clothing or seat belts without causing harm to anyone. This was done for safety of rescuer or your own safety just in case your hands are bit uncoordinated due to hypothermia or other factor that may compromise your movement. As mentioned blade is super sharp out of the box. My biggest worry is sharpening it but we will see about that in the future. Knife has a cobra hood that would protect your thumb and assist with opening when you have your gloves on. Knife also can be snapped open by grabbing the blade and flicking your wrist. It puts you at bit uncomfortable situation since upon doing that you will be holding the knife by the blade .

Assist’s FRN handle comes loaded with features. It has a whistle that annoys my dog to the point of madness. It is not loud but with weird pitch that would get somebody’s attention. Placing rope across the handle and closing the blade will change the knife into rope cutter. I tested it with 10mm nylon rope and it worked all right. When you squeeze the blade in you deploy a carbide glass breaker. Now this is not the same type of mechanism you would find on S&W Rescue knives. It is NOT spring loaded. I kind of expected it to be and was little disappointed that it was a lever action. I haven’t tried breaking any windows yet but I will soon. There is a wire clip that seems pretty strong and can be attached to either side of the handle for left or right hand operation. But weirdly enough there is lanyard hole. I will have to come up with some technique to secure this blade to my PFD when kayaking.

In the end I’m happy with this blade. It seems little bulky at first but being lightweight can help you to forgive the size a bit. Will see how it will hold up to the “years” of use. I was bit surprised it didn’t come with the case which would make it so much easier to carry. But I guess that’s why the knife was priced the way it was. It will be hard to get the sheath for this knife due to its width.

Mr. Ritters pictures:
http://www.equipped.org/pp/pic994.htm
Spyderco's site:
Assist on Spyderco site

Matt

Great review. I have eyed this knife since I read about it here on ETS. My first real knife was a syperco rescue, and I have owned about three of them now. I would love to hear about the carbide tip and how it does against safety glass. If you get the chance, let me know.

Garrett