Spyderco's ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10: A Historic Knife Gets Its Most Accessible Version Yet
When Spyderco drops new products, the knife community pays attention. The Golden, Colorado–based brand has spent more than four decades earning that loyalty, building a reputation for genuine mechanical innovation that few manufacturers can match. Since the introduction of its first folding knife in 1981, Spyderco has produced a steady stream of interesting and innovative EDC folders, flippers, and fixed blades. But every so often, a release comes along that doesn't just add another model to a catalog — it marks a genuine turning point for the brand. The ButtonUp was exactly that kind of knife. And now, its most affordable and visually striking version has quietly arrived as a Blade HQ exclusive, priced at just $73.
If you've been keeping tabs on recent everyday carry and knife news, you probably saw that Spyderco just launched a bunch of new products — but you might not have seen the ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10, because it wasn't included in the main announcement. That's because this affordable, approachable knife is a special-edition exclusive to Blade HQ. It flew under the radar of the brand's formal product reveal, which is exactly the kind of under-the-radar drop that serious EDC collectors live for.
Why the ButtonUp Matters: A Mechanism Decades in the Making
To appreciate what makes this particular release significant, you need to understand what the ButtonUp represents in the context of Spyderco's mechanical history. Designed by Eric Glesser, son of Spyderco founder Sal Glesser, the appropriately named ButtonUp boasts a mechanism the brand has — surprisingly — never used before. For a company that has been making folding knives for well over forty years and has built some of the most celebrated locking systems in the entire industry, that's a remarkable statement.
The brand calls the ButtonUp "Spyderco's first-ever manual-opening button-lock folder." That claim prompted some immediate debate among knife enthusiasts, particularly those familiar with the Sage 6, a Spyderco model that also features a button on its locking mechanism. But the distinction is important and worth explaining clearly.
Button Lock vs. Button-Release Compression Lock: The Technical Difference
The Sage 6's mechanism is often misidentified as a button lock, but it's actually something different. The Sage 6 is properly classified as a "Button-Release Compression Lock." The actual lock mechanism is, for all practical purposes, a "left-handed" Compression Lock, since the release movement of the lock bar, when viewed from above, would be from left to right. The button simply facilitates that movement, instead of direct finger pressure on the lock bar. The actual mechanical locking action of the Sage 6 is still accomplished by the Compression Lock.
The ButtonUp operates on a fundamentally different principle. The ButtonUp is a true button lock or "plunge lock." In this lock, the button is driven upward — or, as viewed from the spine of the knife, from right to left — by a coil spring nested in its base. In a genuine button lock or plunge lock, the button itself is the locking element, not a secondary release for some other mechanism. That's the core distinction, and it's what earns the ButtonUp its historic designation within the Spyderco lineup.
The Long Road to a Spyderco Button Lock
What makes this milestone even more interesting is that Spyderco had considered a button lock long before the ButtonUp ever went into production. Sal Glesser himself, who invented the iconic Compression Lock and received a U.S. utility patent on it in 2003, acknowledged on the Spyderco forums that the button option was actually included in the original Compression Lock patent. When he invented the original Compression Lock, the button option was added to the patent — but the company didn't use it for a number of reasons. To make models into Button Compression Locks would require all new tooling, and at the time, "gravity knives" were considered switchblades and were illegal to buy, sell, build, or import. There are also many countries where a Button Compression Lock would be illegal.
Those legal and logistical concerns kept a true Spyderco button lock on the shelf for years. The fact that Eric Glesser finally brought it to market — and in a manually operated configuration that sidesteps many of the automatic-knife legal concerns — is a meaningful moment in the brand's story. The ButtonUp is Spyderco's first manual opening button-lock folder. Designed by Eric Glesser, the ButtonUp combines a high-strength button-lock mechanism with ball bearing pivot washers to yield a very smooth and "fidget-friendly" folder action.
Mechanism Deep Dive: How the ButtonUp Actually Works
Understanding the mechanism helps explain why so many EDC enthusiasts have embraced the ButtonUp as something genuinely new from a brand that could easily coast on its existing reputation. The button lock — sometimes called a plunge lock — is closely related in concept to the liner lock and Compression Lock family, but it achieves its lockup through the button component itself rather than through a flex-bar system.
Just as Spyderco's Compression Lock borrowed from and capitalized on Michael Walker's liner lock, button locks — less commonly known as plunge locks — borrowed from and capitalized on the Compression Lock. Furthermore, the way they function is both remarkably simple and impressively ingenious. When the blade opens fully, the spring-loaded button seats into a recess in the blade tang, holding everything rigid until the user depresses the button to release it. The result is a lock that's intuitive from both sides of the handle and satisfying to disengage — the kind of tactile feedback that quickly becomes a habit rather than a chore.
The ButtonUp is Spyderco's first-ever manual-opening button lock folding knife. It combines a high-strength, ultra-convenient button lock mechanism with ball bearing pivot washers to yield one of the smoothest and most "fidget-friendly" folder actions Spyderco has ever produced. That ball-bearing pivot system isn't just marketing language — it makes a tangible difference in how the blade swings open, giving it a fluid, almost effortless arc that's well-suited to one-handed deployment via the Round Hole.
The Natural Jade G-10 Exclusive: What's Different About This Version
The ButtonUp originally launched in carbon fiber/G-10 laminate scales in either satin or black oxide blade finishes. For all the knives Spyderco has released since its very first folder in 1981, the brand had never made a manual-opening button-lock folder — until this Eric Glesser design, which boasts a 3.27-inch modified clip point blade made of 8Cr13MoV and handle scales made of smooth carbon fiber/G10-laminate. The Natural Jade G-10 variant is a deliberate departure from that original formula, swapping materials to hit a different price point and a distinctly different aesthetic.
This special edition largely remains true to the silhouette. Like its siblings, it measures 7.625 inches, including a 3.375-inch blade boasting a modified clip point shape and Round Hole deployment. The blade is slightly longer in this variant than the base model's 3.27-inch measurement — a detail worth noting for anyone comparing specs between configurations.
It's also made from 8Cr13MoV steel, which goes a long way toward keeping this knife functional in an EDC context while keeping the price affordable. Among budget-conscious EDC enthusiasts, 8Cr13MoV gets a reputation as a workhorse steel. It's not the most exotic alloy on the market, but it holds a functional edge, is easy to touch up in the field, and resists corrosion reasonably well — exactly the kind of no-drama steel that belongs on a daily carry knife that will actually see use rather than sit in a display case.
Weight, Carry, and Everyday Practicality
The ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10 is impressively lightweight, especially considering its full-sized length, clocking in at just 2.9 ounces — and that's including its button lock mechanism and reversible pocket clip. Sub-three-ounce weight on a knife that stretches past seven and a half inches overall is genuinely impressive. It means the knife disappears into a front pocket rather than dragging on the waistband, and it's the kind of weight figure that makes you reach for it every morning without a second thought.
The reversible pocket clip is worth calling out specifically. For left-handed carriers or anyone who prefers a different ride height, the ability to reposition the clip isn't just a nice-to-have feature — it's one of those thoughtful details that separates Spyderco's approach to EDC design from brands that treat carry configuration as an afterthought. Combined with the Round Hole opener, which has become famous for many EDC knives in production since Spyderco's invention, this ButtonUp variant handles exactly as you'd expect from a company that has spent decades refining pocket knife ergonomics.
The Blade Finish and Handle Aesthetic
Where the Natural Jade G-10 version diverges most sharply from its carbon fiber siblings is in its visual identity. The defining characteristic is the handle scales. Crafted from G-10, they feature a natural finish, which gives them their signature semitransparent jade colorway. The effect is genuinely striking — not the flat, opaque green of dyed or painted scales, but a translucent quality that lets light play through the material, revealing the weave of the G-10 beneath.
The handle treatment mates with a satin-finished blade and bare steel hardware, creating a classic jade-and-silver combo that has graced several Spyderco x Blade HQ collaboration drops. The satin blade finish on this variant keeps costs down compared to a stonewash or black oxide treatment while still offering a clean, professional look that photographs beautifully and ages gracefully with pocket carry. The result is a knife that looks considerably more expensive than its $73 price tag would suggest.
The Spyderco x Blade HQ Partnership: A Collector Ecosystem
This Blade HQ-exclusive configuration is actually one you may have seen before, especially if you're familiar with Spyderco's now long-running collaborative efforts with the knife retailer. The natural jade G-10 colorway has become the visual shorthand for the Spyderco-Blade HQ relationship — a signature look that collectors recognize immediately and that carries real secondary market cachet.
The jade-and-silver combo is a fan favorite, and it could be called Spyderco and Blade HQ's signature collaborative look. Previous drops that have worn this colorway include high-profile models like the Paramilitary 2 in CPM-M4 steel, the YoJumbo in jade G-10, and even the discontinued Dodo — each of them Blade HQ exclusives that generated serious demand and consistently sold out faster than most standard production runs. The partnership has become one of the more reliable sources of collectible Spyderco variants for enthusiasts who want something genuinely different from what's available on Spyderco's own website.
The ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10 wasn't included in Spyderco's recent new product announcement. That's because this affordable, approachable knife is a special-edition exclusive to Blade HQ. You can only get it from Blade HQ — meaning you can't even get it directly from Spyderco. That exclusivity, combined with the knife's historic significance as Spyderco's first manual button lock, means this particular variant is almost certain to move quickly.
The Button Lock Trend in the Broader EDC Market
The ButtonUp's arrival didn't happen in a vacuum. It lands at a moment when button locks are genuinely having a cultural moment across the entire pocket knife industry. The trend of button-lock EDC knives has emerged, and numerous brands — from old standards to newcomers — have joined the fray. Understanding why requires a brief look at what happened with Spyderco's own intellectual property.
Spyderco's legendary Compression Lock combines the concepts of a liner lock and a back lock and is, as a result, stronger and more reliable than either. However, Spyderco's Compression Lock technology patent expired in 2021. While the brand still owns the name, other makers and designers can now utilize the technology. This likely led to the recent influx of button-lock knives, which typically rely on the same overall concept as the Compression Lock.
The expiration of that patent opened a design space that dozens of manufacturers moved into rapidly, each putting their own spin on the plunge lock concept. What's interesting is that Spyderco itself — the originator of the Compression Lock architecture that underlies so many of these designs — waited until now to produce its own true manual button lock. The ButtonUp is therefore both a response to market trends and a reclamation of conceptual territory that the brand helped pioneer in the first place.
Pricing, Value, and Where This Knife Fits in the Market
At $73, the ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10 occupies a price point that Spyderco has historically owned: the zone where a quality EDC knife is accessible to buyers who aren't ready to spend $150 or more on a Para 3 or a Manix 2, but who also want something substantially better than the cheap imports that flood the low end of the market. For context, the original carbon fiber ButtonUp retails closer to $100 at other retailers, making the Blade HQ exclusive considerably more accessible.
The steel choice — 8Cr13MoV — is the primary cost-saving measure, and it's the right tradeoff for this market. The modified clip point blade is made from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel and has a full-flat grind for superior edge and strength. That full-flat grind is a crucial detail: it gives the blade excellent slicing geometry regardless of the steel's limitations, ensuring that the knife performs well on everyday cutting tasks even before its first sharpening. A full flat grind is, in many ways, more important than steel grade for real-world cutting performance at typical EDC sharpness levels.
The open-backed handle is constructed with smooth carbon fiber/G-10 laminate scales that are reinforced with nested stainless steel microliners around the pivot and lock in the standard configuration — a construction approach that maximizes strength at the points of highest stress while keeping overall weight low. The Natural Jade G-10 variant applies similar structural logic with its G-10 scales, a material that has proven its durability over decades of hard-use applications from military gear to premium knife handles.
Who Should Buy the ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10
This knife occupies a rare position in the current market. It's simultaneously a historically significant piece — the first true manual button lock Spyderco has ever produced — and an accessible, no-frills daily carrier that won't make you wince when you toss it in a tackle box or leave it sitting on a job site. Those two qualities don't often coexist in the same knife at this price.
For the collector who maintains a jade G-10 Spyderco rotation, the ButtonUp Natural Jade is a mandatory addition. The ButtonUp marks the company's first-ever manual-opening button lock design — bringing a fresh, fidget-friendly mechanism to a platform built for everyday reliability. Having the historic model in the Blade HQ signature colorway is the kind of combination that only comes around once, and previous jade G-10 exclusives have demonstrated strong secondary market value for buyers who miss the initial drop.
For the everyday carry enthusiast who simply wants a great knife for the money, the value proposition is equally strong. The button lock mechanism is intuitive and fast, the Round Hole deployment is a proven standard that works reliably even with gloved hands, and the 7.625-inch overall length with a 3.375-inch blade puts this squarely in full-sized EDC territory — substantial enough for real work but not so large that it creates pocket printing issues in most pants. At 2.9 ounces, it's light enough to forget about until you need it.
A Knife That Earns Its Place in the Lineup
Spyderco has never been a brand that chases trends for their own sake. When the company built the Compression Lock in 2000, it was solving a genuine engineering problem — creating a lock that was simultaneously stronger, simpler, and more intuitive than the liner lock it improved upon. The Compression Lock was invented by Spyderco co-founder Sal Glesser and formally recognized by a U.S. Utility Patent in 2003 — a milestone achievement in folding knife lock engineering that, although often misunderstood as a liner lock on the back of the handle, is actually one of the simplest, strongest, safest, and most user-friendly locks ever developed.
Eric Glesser's ButtonUp carries that same engineering DNA forward. The ButtonUp is a milestone in Spyderco's design history, representing the brand's first manual-opening button-lock folding knife — built for maximum deployment speed and fidget-friendly operation. The natural jade G-10 exclusive doesn't change the mechanism or compromise the engineering. It simply makes it more affordable, more visually interesting, and exclusive to a single retailer that has earned the trust of the Spyderco collector community over years of thoughtful collaboration.
The combination of historical significance, practical everyday utility, attractive aesthetics, and a sub-$75 price point makes this particular configuration one of the more compelling Spyderco drops in recent memory. If the pattern established by previous Blade HQ jade G-10 exclusives holds, availability will be limited and the window to grab one at retail will close faster than most buyers expect. The ButtonUp Natural Jade G-10 is the rare knife that makes sense whether you're buying it to carry every day or to set aside as a piece of the brand's evolving mechanical history — and at $73, making both arguments at once isn't hard at all.
