Recommendation? Chaparral LW, ZDP Delica or something else

The new Chaparral LW is only $10-$15 more than the VG10 Delica. I think that’s a pretty good deal.
 
lieferung said:
One of the first images you find on Google, ironically, is for the Delica I bought like this. Beautiful design, it's what the Para 3 should be.
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This is what I saw as well. Will I be paying more for the scales than the knife itself?
 
If she wants her finger out of the blade path a knife with a choil is the way to go. The Delcia can bite you if trying to close one handed. The back locks with choils allow the blade to drop on your finger without any risk with minimal risk. If she wants something larger with a back lock you could look at the Native 5.

If she's open to other locks and wants a choil the Sage 1, 2, and 5 are available (liner, frame, and compression locks).
 
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You wife has good sense. She likes the back lock. If it is just a knife to keep in her purse or pocket to do light work and slicing, then the Chaparral LW is the way to go, for sure. Otherwise, I would choose the Delica (a good choice anyway). I would not choose the Sage. Women tend to like small knives that can be carried in their almost non-existant pockets or in their purses that are already over crowded.

I am a Delica fan, but after I bought the Chaparral LW I stopped carrying the Delicas. The CLW does everything I need to do in a small uber slim package. (However, I do like that the Delica has a finger guard rather than a choil)
 
DocT said:
You wife has good sense. She likes the back lock. If it is just a knife to keep in her purse or pocket to do light work and slicing, then the Chaparral LW is the way to go, for sure. Otherwise, I would choose the Delica (a good choice anyway). I would not choose the Sage. Women tend to like small knives that can be carried in their almost non-existant pockets or in their purses that are already over crowded.

I am a Delica fan, but after I bought the Chaparral LW I stopped carrying the Delicas. The CLW does everything I need to do in a small uber slim package. (However, I do like that the Delica has a finger guard rather than a choil)
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Awesome, thanks so much. I was hoping to get feedback from someone who own both.
 
For the price, the Chaparral LW is tough to beat, and it can probably fit a large spectrum of hand sizes. It's great for my XL hands, but it's fairly small, and I bet it works for small hands as well. It's probably the best slicer of all those mentioned, has great fit and finish and excellent steel.

A lot of people love the Delica, and for smaller hands I imagine that or the Dragonfly will also work well.

If you want fingers out of the way when closing, Spyderco back lock knives with forward finger choils, like the Chaparral and probably the Dragonfly, do well. When disengaging the lock with the fingers below the blade, the ricasso at the finger choil falls onto your finger. Then you can move fingers out of the way to close it the rest of the way. I think the Delica also may be OK, in that there's a fairly big ricasso that juts out, even though there's no finger choil. As already mentioned, the compression lock is great in this respect, so the Sage 5, Li'l Native, and upcoming Reinhold Rhino may work for you. The Sage 5 looks like a great all-around EDC choice, although about $60 more than the smaller Chaparral LW and @$20 more than the Chaparral CF/G-10.
 
JimMD said:
For the price, the Chaparral LW is tough to beat, and it can probably fit a large spectrum of hand sizes. It's great for my XL hands, but it's fairly small, and I bet it works for small hands as well. It's probably the best slicer of all those mentioned, has great fit and finish and excellent steel.

A lot of people love the Delica, and for smaller hands I imagine that or the Dragonfly will also work well.

If you want fingers out of the way when closing, Spyderco back lock knives with forward finger choils, like the Chaparral and probably the Dragonfly, do well. When disengaging the lock with the fingers below the blade, the ricasso at the finger choil falls onto your finger. Then you can move fingers out of the way to close it the rest of the way. I think the Delica also may be OK, in that there's a fairly big ricasso that juts out, even though there's no finger choil. As already mentioned, the compression lock is great in this respect, so the Sage 5, Li'l Native, and upcoming Reinhold Rhino may work for you. The Sage 5 looks like a great all-around EDC choice, although about $60 more than the smaller Chaparral LW and @$20 more than the Chaparral CF/G-10.
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Thanks for introducing me to the Reinhold Rhino. It’s nice, small and similar to the Dragon Fly.
 
Both you and your wife have great taste it seems.

Indeed, both are really great knives (the Chaparral & the Delica). I've had both, and like both very much. I gifted my Chap LW to a very, very good friend and he loves it - no surprise. I have four or five Delicas. They are really, really great EDC knives, In My Opinion. ZDP-189 steel is Most Definitely Fantastic stuff! I am a HUGE fan of it. My VG-10 Delicas get little to no use, because I carry and use my ZDP Delica 99% of the time.

All that said, do bear in mind that:
A lot of folks find the back lock on the Chaparral to be a bit more of a pain to operate than the Delica. Worth considering.
The cutting edge on the Delica is a bit more. I find that better for stuff like: cutting pepperoni, salami, avocados, cheese, bagels, etc... The Delica just handles it a little better, In My Opinion/Experience.

Will I get another Chap LW? Hmmm... hard to say. It really is a great knife - BUT - The overlap between the two is so much that I probably will just stick with what I find has the slight edge (pun not intended), that being the Delica 4 with ZDP-189 steel.

And, only because it's been mentioned... You know this already, as does your wife I'm sure. She isn't going to cut herself, or get bit using a back lock knife... She, like the vast majority of the population, is smarter than that...
Sheesh... I'm only marginally smart, and I've managed to avoid it for very many decades now.

So my vote between the two? The Delica 4 in ZDP-189 steel.

u.w.
 
uncle willie said:
Both you and your wife have great taste it seems.

Indeed, both are really great knives (the Chaparral & the Delica). I've had both, and like both very much. I gifted my Chap LW to a very, very good friend and he loves it - no surprise. I have four or five Delicas. They are really, really great EDC knives, In My Opinion. ZDP-189 steel is Most Definitely Fantastic stuff! I am a HUGE fan of it. My VG-10 Delicas get little to no use, because I carry and use my ZDP Delica 99% of the time.

All that said, do bear in mind that:
A lot of folks find the back lock on the Chaparral to be a bit more of a pain to operate than the Delica. Worth considering.
The cutting edge on the Delica is a bit more. I find that better for stuff like: cutting pepperoni, salami, avocados, cheese, bagels, etc... The Delica just handles it a little better, In My Opinion/Experience.

Will I get another Chap LW? Hmmm... hard to say. It really is a great knife - BUT - The overlap between the two is so much that I probably will just stick with what I find has the slight edge (pun not intended), that being the Delica 4 with ZDP-189 steel.

And, only because it's been mentioned... You know this already, as does your wife I'm sure. She isn't going to cut herself, or get bit using a back lock knife... She, like the vast majority of the population, is smarter than that...
Sheesh... I'm only marginally smart, and I've managed to avoid it for very many decades now.

So my vote between the two? The Delica 4 in ZDP-189 steel.

u.w.
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Thank you u.w. for the excellent feedback and recommendation. So you're saying that the ZDP Delica is a better user and this is definitely what we're after. We do use our knives on the daily for those cheese and bagels cutting task. Good day sir.
 
The Delica has ~0.25" more usable blade than the Chaparral. If you need the extra quarter inch, the Delia may be better. The bigger difference for me is that the Delica handle is 4.25"and the Chaparral is 3.6". The Chaparral has a thinner blade and slices like crazy. The Delica cuts well too. For me the Chaparral is better in the pocket. If it's going in a purse it probably doesn't matter.

All the knives that have been suggested here are excellent and I own (or have owned) all of them. The best answer (imo) is get them in her hands and let her pick. When I tried to guess what my wife would like I was off by a mile.

Images below (from Spyderco.com) of the FRN Chaparral and the ZDP-189 Delica.
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view@2x.png
 
RipD said:
The Delica has ~0.25" more usable blade than the Chaparral. If you need the extra quarter inch, the Delia may be better. The bigger difference for me is that the Delica handle is 4.25"and the Chaparral is 3.6". The Chaparral has a thinner blade and slices like crazy. The Delica cuts well too. For me the Chaparral is better in the pocket. If it's going in a purse it probably doesn't matter.

All the knives that have been suggested here are excellent and I own (or have owned) all of them. The best answer (imo) is get them in her hands and let her pick. When I tried to guess what my wife would like I was off by a mile.

Images below (from Spyderco.com) of the FRN Chaparral and the ZDP-189 Delica.
view@2x.png


view@2x.png
Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback. I just wish there is a b&m store in the Houston area that has a good selection of Spydercos for her pick.
 
It's hard to beat the Chap for a nice looking do whatever knife. It also makes a great companion knife.

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I gave away my vg10 and zdp delicas, kept the hap40. If it wasn't for the chap steel, I'd prefer it.
I ought to try the boomer52 scales and maybe forget the chap forever.
 
jpm2, what's the issue with XHP (Chaparral) and ZDP? Not challenging, just curious.

No question ZDP can be harder to sharpen. It also takes and keeps an edge like crazy for me.
 
The ZDP189 Delica is an absolute workhorse of a knife , its annoying at times to hear criticism of it , often from people who have never carried it for any length of time , or even in some cases never carried it at all.
Because I'm a fancy pants I now carry either a Hap40 or Superblue Delica , but I could and would go back to carrying a ZDP in the blink of an eye and not feel disadvantaged for one second .
Here is a pic of " Old Faithful " which I carried everyday for a very long time .



Ken
 
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