- Spyderco Dragonfly 2 · Leaf2.25″ blade · 0.093″ spine · 1.2 oz · ~1.06″ tall
Spyderco Dragonfly 2
The Spyderco Dragonfly 2 is a 2.25" leaf folder in VG-10, full flat ground. The handle is FRN, secured by a back lock. It is the lightest of the 61 EDC folders here, at 1.2 oz.
- Blade
- 2.25″
- Weight
- 1.2 oz
- Steel
- VG-10
- Price band
- Mid
Everyday carry in pocket-knife-restricted areas
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against knifeworks, bladehq.
- Blade length
- 2.25″
- Spine thickness
- 0.093″
- Blade shape
- Leaf
- Grind
- Full Flat
- Steel
- VG-10
- Overall length
- 5.563″
- Closed length
- 3.313″
- Weight
- 1.2 oz
- Lock
- Back Lock
- Deployment
- Manual
- Country of origin
- Japan
Why a leaf
Spyderco's signature: belly on both the edge and the spine, meeting at a tip near the centreline. It gives a lot of cutting edge in a short blade, which is why it dominates short-blade EDC.
Every leaf here →About VG-10
The Japanese standard. Takes a very keen edge quickly; loses it sooner than the powder steels.
1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All VG-10 knives
What owners say
Drawn from 1,056 owner discussions of the Spyderco Dragonfly 2 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- The handle punches above its 2.25 in blade: one owner gets all four fingers on it using the unsharpened section ahead of the edge, and another says it performs bigger than its size in both cutting and grip.
- At 1.2 oz it rides in a coin pocket or fifth pocket; owners keep it there daily, and one who carries a larger Umnumzaan alongside says they reach for the Dragonfly 9.5 times out of 10.
- VG-10 is easy to live with: one owner of a VG-10 Delica and Dragonfly finds it very easy to sharpen and maintain and fairly rust resistant, and a first-time buyer says the basic VG-10 model came stupidly sharp.
- Owners keep them for years: one carried an orange Dragonfly for more than five years until losing it, and one owner says the Dragonfly given to their partner is still going strong about a decade later with occasional sharpening.
- Its size and bright colours read as unthreatening to some owners; one carries it in Asian countries with a 6 cm limit and says no one bats an eye, and another calls it small enough to be non-scary but strong enough to be useful.
- Its back lock keeps the blade shut until it is wanted, which one owner prefers on a knife this small.
- Cheap upgrades are available: one owner who added bronze washers reports zero blade play and drop-shut action, and aftermarket micarta scales with a titanium backspacer and washers cost one buyer about $25.
What owners flag
- One-handed opening takes work: several owners say new ones will not flick easily, one needs two hands to close a new one, and one owner of all the small Spydercos calls it not the easiest to run with one hand until it breaks in.
- The back lock bites: one owner caught a ring finger practising one-handed closing two days after delivery, and another was bitten trying to flick a new one.
- The plain FRN feels cheap in hand to some; a first-time buyer of the VG-10 model compared it to a toy, another returned theirs because it felt too light and flimsy, and a third calls a sprint Dragonfly too tiny, with no liners.
- Washers are inconsistent: the integral FRN handle means some knives have none and the blade rubs the plastic, one owner had lock rock from new, and another found a single spacer on both of their own Dragonflies but different layouts in dealer photos.
- Disassembly is fiddly and scale swaps can wreck the action; one owner struggled to slide the blade back in with washers, one got heavy wobble from glow scales and then a stiff knife on the stock ones, and another says the lock became just a suggestion on G10 aftermarket scales.
- The stock wire clip is not deep carry; one owner swapped to a suspension clip because it rode too high, another calls it a cheap wire, and a third is simply not a fan.
- Price grates outside the US: one first-time buyer says it is too expensive in their country, and a UK buyer saw the regular VG-10 model listed at 94 pounds.
- For some hands it is just too small; one owner found their thumb and middle finger too long to flick it, and another says the Dragonfly is smaller than they like to carry.
9.5 times out of 10, one owner who also carries a Chris Reeve Umnumzaan reaches for the Dragonfly instead. Other owners describe the same role for a 1.2 oz knife with a 2.25 in blade that lives in a coin or fifth pocket, often next to a bigger knife, and gets used for the small cutting jobs of a day. Several owners say it was their first Spyderco, and one carried theirs for more than five years.
Out of the box the VG-10 model is very sharp, and one owner finds VG-10 easy to sharpen and fairly rust resistant. The back lock is the friction point: new knives can be too stiff to flick, closing it one-handed bit one owner, and another says it gets manageable once broken in. The FRN handle is integral with no liners, so some knives arrive without washers and rub, and some owners add bronze washers or aftermarket scales, with mixed results on lockup.
One CRKT CEO owner weighed it as a less threatening carry, and opinions split: one owner says no one notices it under a 6 cm limit, while another had a coworker call it scary. A Baby Banter owner prefers that knife over the Dragonfly for its deep carry clip and lower price, one buyer returned theirs for a Lil Native, and another owner eventually stepped up from small knives like it to a Kershaw Bel Air.
Can you open and close the Dragonfly 2 with one hand?
One owner who has had all the small Spydercos says yes once it breaks in and with practice, but that it is not the easiest small knife for it. New ones can be too stiff to flick, and one owner with long fingers could not get a Spyderco flick at all. Closing one-handed on the back lock bit one owner two days after delivery, so keep fingers clear of the blade path.
Is the Dragonfly 2 less threatening than a CRKT CEO?
Opinions split. One owner who carries it under a 6 cm limit in Asia says no one bats an eye at its size and bright colours, while another says it looks more aggressive than the slim CEO, and one had a coworker call it scary. Two others say discreet use matters more than the knife.
Should I get VG-10 or one of the other Dragonfly steels?
One VG-10 owner likes how easily it sharpens and how well it resists rust, and one tester measured a VG-10 Dragonfly at 59.4 HRC. One buyer listed VG-10, SPY27, PD#1 and K390 options and chose SPY27 as the balanced pick, and another owner calls SPY27 an upgrade on VG-10 with the same traits.
Does the Dragonfly 2 have washers, and can I add them?
It varies by knife. One owner's PD#1 Dragonfly had none and the FRN rubbed the blade, another found a single spacer on both their VG-10 and PD#1 knives, and a K390 owner had lock rock from new with no washers. One owner who added bronze washers got zero blade play, while another found two washers gave play and settled on one.
Will aftermarket scales change how it locks up?
They can. One owner's lockup became unreliable on G10 aftermarket scales despite adjusting the spring, and another got heavy wobble from glow scales. Reassembly is awkward because the blade must slide back in with the washers in place.
Features
- Back Lock
- Full Flat grind
- Under 2.5 oz
- Made in Japan
- Stainless blade
