- Joined
- Jun 7, 2002
- Messages
- 3,411
as i mentioned somewhere, i gave away my first spydey, a vg-10 delica to a friend who did work for me. it was a wrench to give it away but the bloke deserved it. and he was pleased as punch with the gift. he never owned a knife close to being as sharp.
but that left me without a sub- 4-inch utility EDC. i EDC either a millie or an endura. i kept the delica mainly as backup. my choices ranged from the sage series to the paramilitary, the gayle bradley, the techno, the caly series. finally i settled on the top -1 choice:
6. sage 1 - well-regarded in terms of F&F, low price, good liner lock, s30v blade. downside are the styling and the ersatz carbon fiber (why?)
5. gayle bradley - this would have made #1 purely on merits of the blade and the steel. but i have a real issue with looks. it just doesn't grab me, try as i might.
4. caly 3/3.5 zdp 189 - said to be seki city's best product. i've had my fill of FRN. now i want to try g-10 with the muscle-bound feel of full steel liners. real carbon fiber to boot! on the negative, i'm not comfortable with laminated blades (dunno why, it may have to do with wanting as much super steel for your money.) also, i'm still upwards along the curve in sharpening zdp 189. vg-10 seems to work better for me (even more than s30v.)
3. techno - not just g-10, i'd like a fashionable titanium framelock to go with my formal attire. my ti-millies are a bit too big to bring to a wedding reception. the techno's small size didn't scare me away. i handled it in a local shop and it was a joy to hold and use. the snag: past my budget just now. i'll catch one later.
2. paramilitary - this would have been a logical upgrade over the delica and i'm sure the jazbos here will recommend it if i posed the question. one local guy is advertising a brand-new black g-10 para for $160, which is already very reasonable, given savings on shipping (at least $12) and import duties (up to $45). i was never hot on the para, having been bitten by the military bug early on, but i'm willing to try it out. i'm not feeling anything negative towards it at the moment, save for occasional horror stories about slow opening or blade play or what-have-you.
but i finally decided on this (picture taken online):
1.
the G-10 was as i anticipated (a thin but grippy package), full SS liners (beautiful!) i've nothing against real carbon fiber but i like my knives a bit on the plebean side, being users. finally, a vg-10 blade over zdp 189. this is a steel that won't fail me. that i know.
just some feedback on my new caly 3.5. at first glance while closed it looked miniscule! i said to myself "that's a 3 1/2 -inch blade? it looks even smaller than the delica!" but i recall people saying how spyderco managed to engineer it to a good blade:handle ratio. the SS spacers gave a feeling of strength and durability. the finger choil was enough for me, i didn't feel scared of slipping forward at all. the handle is designed so that when you're choked up, your hand encounters at least three points of resistance. it's as far forward as your hand will go.
on the negative, i felt the lock notch on the tang looked mighty shallow, and the forward part of the handle seemed narrow and weak. but the blade was rock-steady with no play in any direction. there just isn't the sharp, convincing lock-up that i'm used to with either the delica or endura. the soft engagement is what i'm most un-comfy with right now.
so, this last purchase will likely keep me from any new buys soon, which is good for my bank account.
but that left me without a sub- 4-inch utility EDC. i EDC either a millie or an endura. i kept the delica mainly as backup. my choices ranged from the sage series to the paramilitary, the gayle bradley, the techno, the caly series. finally i settled on the top -1 choice:
6. sage 1 - well-regarded in terms of F&F, low price, good liner lock, s30v blade. downside are the styling and the ersatz carbon fiber (why?)
5. gayle bradley - this would have made #1 purely on merits of the blade and the steel. but i have a real issue with looks. it just doesn't grab me, try as i might.
4. caly 3/3.5 zdp 189 - said to be seki city's best product. i've had my fill of FRN. now i want to try g-10 with the muscle-bound feel of full steel liners. real carbon fiber to boot! on the negative, i'm not comfortable with laminated blades (dunno why, it may have to do with wanting as much super steel for your money.) also, i'm still upwards along the curve in sharpening zdp 189. vg-10 seems to work better for me (even more than s30v.)
3. techno - not just g-10, i'd like a fashionable titanium framelock to go with my formal attire. my ti-millies are a bit too big to bring to a wedding reception. the techno's small size didn't scare me away. i handled it in a local shop and it was a joy to hold and use. the snag: past my budget just now. i'll catch one later.
2. paramilitary - this would have been a logical upgrade over the delica and i'm sure the jazbos here will recommend it if i posed the question. one local guy is advertising a brand-new black g-10 para for $160, which is already very reasonable, given savings on shipping (at least $12) and import duties (up to $45). i was never hot on the para, having been bitten by the military bug early on, but i'm willing to try it out. i'm not feeling anything negative towards it at the moment, save for occasional horror stories about slow opening or blade play or what-have-you.
but i finally decided on this (picture taken online):
1.
the G-10 was as i anticipated (a thin but grippy package), full SS liners (beautiful!) i've nothing against real carbon fiber but i like my knives a bit on the plebean side, being users. finally, a vg-10 blade over zdp 189. this is a steel that won't fail me. that i know.
just some feedback on my new caly 3.5. at first glance while closed it looked miniscule! i said to myself "that's a 3 1/2 -inch blade? it looks even smaller than the delica!" but i recall people saying how spyderco managed to engineer it to a good blade:handle ratio. the SS spacers gave a feeling of strength and durability. the finger choil was enough for me, i didn't feel scared of slipping forward at all. the handle is designed so that when you're choked up, your hand encounters at least three points of resistance. it's as far forward as your hand will go.
on the negative, i felt the lock notch on the tang looked mighty shallow, and the forward part of the handle seemed narrow and weak. but the blade was rock-steady with no play in any direction. there just isn't the sharp, convincing lock-up that i'm used to with either the delica or endura. the soft engagement is what i'm most un-comfy with right now.
so, this last purchase will likely keep me from any new buys soon, which is good for my bank account.
