This is one knife or should I say steel I have been looking forward to reviewing. I did have a Calypso Jr Grey in VG10 which I believed to be one of the best slicing folders around and was equal to the Delica, my normal EDC, in all departments. The Calypso Burgundy is basically the same as the Calypso Grey and out of the box the only 2 features that appear different is the colour of the handle and the lamination line on the Calypso Burgundys blade. On closer inspection I believe that the stock behind the edge on the new Calypso is thinner then on the old model. The lamination line is about 5mms from the edge and at that spot on the blade it is .5mm thick and the blade at its thickest is just under 3mms and at its widest is just over 27mms. Otherwise the blade on the new model appears to be the same as the old. We deduce from this that the ZDP189 core is .5mm thick and the sandwich of 420j2 is around 2.5mm in total thickness.
Cosmetically this knife is nice to look at. The burgundy (maroon) handle is attractive being different without being garish the blade has a gold Spydie tick embossed on the blade, the clip is black with a gold Spydie tick also. At this stage I wont go into the dimensions any further as they appear the same as the Grey model which has been around for a while and reviewed by many. It is really the steel that we are reviewing here as it is probably the first affordable ZDP189 folder to hit the market. According to what I have read the blade has been heat treated to about 63HRC and with the 3% carbon and 20% chromium edge retention should be good.
Out of the box this is the sharpest knife I have reviewed I wouldnt put it down as scary sharp but it is close to it. My first test was to cut a 3/8 manila rope and it did this cleanly without any hesitation and after another 39 cuts making a total of 40 it was cutting just as cleanly. I would rate this better than my ParaMilitary and Delica and this was out of the box. I proceeded to the kitchen and the Calypso Burgundy sliced new carrots cleanly, had no trouble with a ripe tomato and I was able to bone out a chicken leg and thigh easily and cube the meat.
Next, I sharpened a ½ hardwood dowel to a point, sliced a 1-1/2 x 12 x 5/32 leather strip into ¼ inch strips crossways and reduced a 2 x 6 piece of packing cardboard into 1 strips using a push cut only. At the end of these tests the blade would still shave hairs on my arm and the edge showed no signs of chipping.
In conclusion following these early tests I would rate the Calypso Burgundy above the previous grey model, the VG10 Delica and the S30V Paramilitary as far as the above cutting tests are concerned. I know these tests were limited and that more in-depth tests need to be done but the surprising thing for me is that this was out of the box, so far I have not had to sharpen the ZDP189 and when I have to do that it will be interesting to see how it goes on the Sharpmaker. It will also be interesting to see what happens to the edge once it gets used in the field and whether any chipping of the edge is concerned. Normally I would not use this type of knife in the field for general use as I would carry my ParaMilitary for that purpose. Ill reserve my opinion on ZDP189 but first impressions are good and I congratulate Spyderco in giving us the chance to try this steel and in such a good vehicle as the Calypso. Now I cant wait to get my hands on the Blue Delica in ZDP189.
Cosmetically this knife is nice to look at. The burgundy (maroon) handle is attractive being different without being garish the blade has a gold Spydie tick embossed on the blade, the clip is black with a gold Spydie tick also. At this stage I wont go into the dimensions any further as they appear the same as the Grey model which has been around for a while and reviewed by many. It is really the steel that we are reviewing here as it is probably the first affordable ZDP189 folder to hit the market. According to what I have read the blade has been heat treated to about 63HRC and with the 3% carbon and 20% chromium edge retention should be good.
Out of the box this is the sharpest knife I have reviewed I wouldnt put it down as scary sharp but it is close to it. My first test was to cut a 3/8 manila rope and it did this cleanly without any hesitation and after another 39 cuts making a total of 40 it was cutting just as cleanly. I would rate this better than my ParaMilitary and Delica and this was out of the box. I proceeded to the kitchen and the Calypso Burgundy sliced new carrots cleanly, had no trouble with a ripe tomato and I was able to bone out a chicken leg and thigh easily and cube the meat.
Next, I sharpened a ½ hardwood dowel to a point, sliced a 1-1/2 x 12 x 5/32 leather strip into ¼ inch strips crossways and reduced a 2 x 6 piece of packing cardboard into 1 strips using a push cut only. At the end of these tests the blade would still shave hairs on my arm and the edge showed no signs of chipping.
In conclusion following these early tests I would rate the Calypso Burgundy above the previous grey model, the VG10 Delica and the S30V Paramilitary as far as the above cutting tests are concerned. I know these tests were limited and that more in-depth tests need to be done but the surprising thing for me is that this was out of the box, so far I have not had to sharpen the ZDP189 and when I have to do that it will be interesting to see how it goes on the Sharpmaker. It will also be interesting to see what happens to the edge once it gets used in the field and whether any chipping of the edge is concerned. Normally I would not use this type of knife in the field for general use as I would carry my ParaMilitary for that purpose. Ill reserve my opinion on ZDP189 but first impressions are good and I congratulate Spyderco in giving us the chance to try this steel and in such a good vehicle as the Calypso. Now I cant wait to get my hands on the Blue Delica in ZDP189.
Thanks for putting it to the grindstone, so-to-speak. One review like this is worth more than any number of "blah, blah, blahs"