Caly Super Blue

S

SCREEM

Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
91
So I've had this knife for a while now, It's as close to a grail knife for me so far as possible from spyderco.

the good: This steel takes the sharpest edge of any other knife I own. I get a kleenex push cutting edge easily after a bit of stroping with a 22 degree inclusive edge. I was able to get a really nice finish with some gun blue. The added half inch is really handy over my Caly CF ZDP.

The bad: This knife's handle is flexy compared to the shorter caly zdp, carbon fibre scales would have been my preference for such a sweet blade, the steel...while it takes such a fine edge, the edge folds cutting zip ties at 22 degrees where zdp does not. This is a gents knife for certain the zdp caly with CF scales is much sturdier IMO.

The ugly: My unit has up & down play when locked where my ZDP does not also the scales are not glued to the liner in some areas making even more flex in the handle than normal.

Love this Knife even with my nit picks, thank you Spyderco.
 
I haven't noticed any flexing in the 6 months of use with the handle but I just tried it and compared it to a much beefier G-10 Manix 2 I have handy. I see the same amount of flex and it's probably the limit of stiffness that can be put into a non-nested liner/G-10 scale combo. Compare that to a Para 2 with nested liners/G-10 combo and the Para 2 is much stiffer. That's a pretty interesting observation and I never noticed it on a non-FRN handle. I'll have to compare that to a CF Caly3 when I get home.

I have my edge at 20 degrees inclusive and that's held amazingly well. There were a few times I had to fix some flat spots but that's after some good amount of use. I much prefer that to chipping.

The vertical play is actually minimal compared to other back lock folders and it hasn't gotten noticeably looser than when new. Maybe a tiny amount? If it's too much, I would be tempted to get the lockbar peened a bit. But I would probably send it back to Spyderco for that. I just got a M390 Para 2 so the Caly3.5 not going to get carried as much but it's been one hell of a knife. One of my top 5 favorites.
 
Cutting hard plastic with such a thin edge will usually roll an edge, too much pressure laterally will do it.. The knife itself with that angle is better for cutting softer material, with that kind of bevel cutting really hard thing can potentially chip the blade out. It happened with my ZDP Stretch @ 22 degrees.
 
I own a Caly 3.5 Super Blue and I received it with an edge that is over grinded, the edge has a very poor control in the angle due to poor craftman ability and NO quality control because also Steve Wonder could recognise it as a defective knife.
When I buy new knives I want them as new, as I see on advertising.
I wrote to Spy and after 3 weeks the response is that they have finished them, as it is a limited run, and the only offer by them is the resharpening service.
I live in Italy and I'll not want to pay shipping and insurance and custom fee for just a resharpening service.
THis is not the first time I have problems with Limited run on Spy products, so I think this is my last Spy....I'm tired of expensive knives with poor quality:limited run on my Spy means only limited quality.
Bye bye Spy!
 
Sorry you were not pleased, basetta. Fortunately, your experience is not normative. I own dozens of Spydies, including many sprints and dealer exclusives, and am yet to have my first quality control issue. But with anything made by humans, its always possible.
 
SCREEM, glad your liking the knife:thumbup:



basetta70, I'm very sorry to hear about your bad luck. I've had to send 2 (out of about 12 to 15) back in the past year, which is no problem for me at all, but I do understand how much of a hastle it would be to send one back from Italy.

For factory knives in this price range that can be expected I feel. I think many, myself included, sometimes forget how lucky we are to have a few great knife companies in this country.
 
How hard are you torquing the knife to get the handles to flex? I have detected no handle scale problems with both of my SB's. I also have seen the edge roll on my Super Blue after cutting through hard plastic (ie. those stupid little straps that are all over kids toys). But IMO that is to be expected and preferred over chipping. Cutting through food, thin cardboard and other common items has done no damage to the edge of my SB Caly.

Sorry to hear about your issue, bassetta. Perhaps you might want to save for customs? I've had a couple of Spydies that had blemishes/issues but living in the U.S. makes it easy to send it into Warranty and Repair.
 
basetta70 said:
I own a Caly 3.5 Super Blue and I received it with an edge that is over grinded, the edge has a very poor control in the angle due to poor craftman ability and NO quality control because also Steve Wonder could recognise it as a defective knife.
When I buy new knives I want them as new, as I see on advertising.
I wrote to Spy and after 3 weeks the response is that they have finished them, as it is a limited run, and the only offer by them is the resharpening service.
I live in Italy and I'll not want to pay shipping and insurance and custom fee for just a resharpening service.
THis is not the first time I have problems with Limited run on Spy products, so I think this is my last Spy....I'm tired of expensive knives with poor quality:limited run on my Spy means only limited quality.
Bye bye Spy!
Click to expand...

An uneven grind is not really a problem for me since I usually put my own edges on knives that I will use. Can I see some pics of your uneven grind?

Here's mine before the patina.

sbcaly5.jpg


With patina.

sbcaly9.jpg
 
Back in the day, I had a Super Blue on order with GPknives, but decided to go with the standard Caly 3.5 flavor instead. I think maybe I should have stuck with the Super Blue!

IMG_1915.jpg

Regular flavored Caly 3.5.
 
powernoodle said:
Back in the day, I had a Super Blue on order with GPknives, but decided to go with the standard Caly 3.5 flavor instead. I think maybe I should have stuck with the Super Blue!
Click to expand...

Except for the fact that it's not stainless, I really like Super Blue over VG-10. I cut up a few boxes(well, really more than a few) and I find edge holding to be similar to ZDP and quite a bit more than VG-10. Also the Super Blue seems to be not as chippy as ZDP. It also quite less temperamental than ZDP to sharpen and even just to strop up. You won't regret getting it, if you decide to get one.
 
One thing about my knife hoarding, I mean selection process, is that I'm what might be considered a light EDC user. As such, I'm just as happy with 420HC or AUS8 or whatever as I am the latest high-end steel. What I like about the Super Blue centers as much on aesthetics and appearance as anything. Irrespective of blade steel, my knives just don't chip, roll or get dull quickly because I'm not riding them all day like some folks do.
 
powernoodle said:
One thing about my knife hoarding, I mean selection process, is that I'm what might be considered a light EDC user. As such, I'm just as happy with 420HC or AUS8 or whatever as I am the latest high-end steel. What I like about the Super Blue centers as much on aesthetics and appearance as anything. Irrespective of blade steel, my knives just don't chip, roll or get dull quickly because I'm not riding them all day like some folks do.
Click to expand...

I hear you. It's a great looking knife too. :D
 
Yes mine is not really a problem, I'm an advanced sharpener so it could take a couple of hours to take it as new with mirrored edge finishing.
Hey Singularity, that edge is not the factory edge ;) very nice work, have you stropped it with CrO2?
The fact is that I like new things, when I buy them full price, as new things.
Specially from a well known brand with great reputation as Spy do.
I'll try to publish pics but not sure about how to, I have to work on it :)
 
basetta70 said:
Yes mine is not really a problem, I'm an advanced sharpener so it could take a couple of hours to take it as new with mirrored edge finishing.
Hey Singularity, that edge is not the factory edge ;) very nice work, have you stropped it with CrO2?
The fact is that I like new things, when I buy them full price, as new things.
Specially from a well known brand with great reputation as Spy do.
I'll try to publish pics but not sure about how to, I have to work on it :)
Click to expand...

Yep, finished and maintained with green compound. Yep, not the factory edge. As I was saying, I always put my edges on before I use 'em.
 
basetta70 said:
I own a Caly 3.5 Super Blue and I received it with an edge that is over grinded, the edge has a very poor control in the angle due to poor craftman ability and NO quality control because also Steve Wonder could recognise it as a defective knife.
When I buy new knives I want them as new, as I see on advertising.
I wrote to Spy and after 3 weeks the response is that they have finished them, as it is a limited run, and the only offer by them is the resharpening service.
I live in Italy and I'll not want to pay shipping and insurance and custom fee for just a resharpening service.
THis is not the first time I have problems with Limited run on Spy products, so I think this is my last Spy....I'm tired of expensive knives with poor quality:limited run on my Spy means only limited quality.
Bye bye Spy!
Click to expand...
I'm not understanding here. Did you buy the knife used or new? Is the lock defective? The G10 handles dented or dinged up? Is the clip not correct? Is the blade bent? Are there machining marks all over or sharp burrs on the liners? To me poor craftsmanship would be these things. An uneven edge is hardly a cause for saying that a company is bad. The knives are not custom made to begin with, they are made by human beings so mistakes can happen. If anything you should have reclaimed some of those feelings to the person/store where you purchased it.
 
I love mine,reminds me of xhp the way it sharpens,cuts and holds an edge but it isn't stainless.I use flitz to keep the patina and rust away.
311819_162632713827857_100002433890009_301691_509598808_n.jpg
310524_161016270656168_100002433890009_295368_1417413836_n.jpg
 
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