Chaparral Preview/Review

Nice, thanks for the review,

and edited to add, this was the shot that won me over, have one enroute,
unfortunately it will arrive while I'm in Germany, heading there today for 2 weeks :(

chaparral_09a.jpg


Will report back when I return...something to look forward to ;)
G2
 
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Mine arrived today! Might be one of the first to have shipped as the 'Edge-U-Cation' documentation itself says 'August 2011.'

Beautiful knife, and appears in all ways identical to the one DEACON received direct from Sal Glesser. Light, thin, tight lock-up and a perfectly centered blade right out of the box. Anyone waiting for one is not going to be sorry.
 
Although the Caly 3's (G10/VG10 and laminated ZDP/polished carbon fiber) are my favorite best slicer/EDC Spyderco's, I've always wished that they were combined into one. Grippier scales and "long time" edge holding blade. FFG of course and jest a tad smaller, lighter, thinner or even all of the above! Tried the Walker Linerlock (C22CF) but didn't work out. (Just too smooth all over and although surprised at slicing ability, still prefer FFG.) Since the Delica ZDP's are FFG now they're on the way. But the Delica's are for work.
I hope the Chaparral lives up to the promise of "grip-able when slick", slices like a demon, slim, refined and barely noticeable in the pocket Spyderco I have been hoping for. (Whew! Long sentence, sorry.)
And before I forget, this is a most excellent review!
 
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Thanks, fellas. Two differences between the one Sal sent me in February and the production version, neither anything major. First is the production ones have black clips instead of bare stainless, which I think will make most folks happy. The other is that the tang markings use smaller, more compressed, lettering. Not sure why that was done.

2chaparrals_001_002a.jpg

As for edge holding. I bought a house at the end of April, spent the next six weeks packing to move. Decided to use it as an opportunity to give the Chaparral a good workout. Cut bubble wrap and a whole lot of cardboard with it, everything from fairly light stuff to really heavy appliance carton grade that I used to protect my glass curio cabinets. I was very favorably impressed. The Chaparral did it all without resharpening. No chips or other edge damage, lock up still bank vault solid with no blade play in either plane, and aside from being very careful about staples it was not babied. It wouldn't shave hair a the end, or slice newsprint cleanly, but it would slice typing paper cleanly and was still cutting cardboard like a champ when it came time to cut some of those boxes up after unpacking them.
 
Mine was relatively smooth, but not quite like my Caly 3 - that knife is really slick. It looks like there might be a little buffing compound in the action, but it has
been cleaned out with oiling.
I don't have any complaint about my Chaparral - the blade is centered, the action is fine, and the finish is really good.
 
I got mine a few days ago. It is a *great* knife. Compared to my other high-quality small knives (small Sebenza, PT, Shoki) I like it better. Ergonomically it feels a lot like the PT, I think because of the pronounced choil, aggressive gimping and blade shape. Yes the PT blade is thick and the Chaparral thin, and the PT is a Ti frame lock and the Chaparral a lock back. But they both are about the minimum size possible for a four-finger grip and (to me) have similar feel in the hand.

My goal is the largest high-quality folder that comfortably fits in my jeans coin pocket. A Dragonfly is too small. A Delica, small Sebenza, mini Grip all sort of fit, but a little large. The PT is perfect but has a few negatives: doesn't slice that well due to thick blade, rides a bit high due to clip position, etc. The Chaparral fixes both of those. It deploys nearly as well as the PT, with a very fast, secure feel. There's no lateral or up-and-down blade play. It can easily be released one handed by letting the choil stop on your index finger.

The Chaparral lock back feels very secure. You have to really push it to disengage. The CF scales are grippy, not smooth like the Shoki.

I like the Sebenza due to fine tolerances, the cool tactical look of the PT and great ergonomics. The Chaparral doesn't beat them in every area, but combines the best qualities to a sufficient degree that it's very compelling.
 
Good review, on your take of the Chaparral :) Still waiting for mine, should have been in the mail today:(
 
Finally got home VERY late last night, well VERY early this morning ;)
I hugged the wife and then opened the box, I do try to keep things in
some kind of reasonable order :) and the knife is very sweet indeed,
a little blurry eyed last night to really appreciate it, but today carried it
as I went about town, excellent pocket carry, discreet size, pocket clip
does well to keep it from being noticed, blade size, while not large,
but more than adequate to perform most required daily tasks and being
thin, slices very well, really glad to have this one, only problem is, with
all the new scales they will produce, it'll make me want another, wonder
if they will also just market replacement scales??

Thanks again for the review Deacon and Sal and crew, much thanks for
an excellent product !
G2

edited to add a couple of images taken today;

Chaparral.jpg


Chaparral2.jpg


Chaparral3.jpg
 
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been carrying this every day now since getting it and what a nice size knife
love the thinner blade stock on a smaller knife, not for prying, of course almost
all knife makers will state that on the package, but those are more like guide lines ;)
while this being a smaller blade/folder you're not looking to pry with it, just cut
and she does an outstanding job of that too :)


G2
 
Thanks Thom, I'm a lanyard/fob kinda guy, but this knife lacks a lanyard hole,
so I braided the leather tightly around one of the legs of the wire clip and it seems
to work fairly well;
I tried a similar thing on the small Calypso but wrapped around both ends of the wire
didn't care for that as well, as the leather would slip up and down too easily, so
I decided to go for just the one leg...

chapparal_3.jpg


in this shot you can see the wedge of leather that helps keep the skulls from sliding off,
I wedge it into place, slip a piece of plastic between the wedge and leather braid, so I can
then slice off any bit extra that extends past the skull's jaw...
chapparal_1.jpg


chapparal_2.jpg


chapparal_4.jpg


For those that want to see how the leather is braided, Check this thread out

Thanks again Sal and Crew, nice knife! and Deacon, you always inspire ;)
G2
 
That knife is getting under my skin. I know a 2mm blade of S30V will be a nice cutting and slicing blade. I get along with S30V very well. There's something more about the knife though. Every time I see a picture it calls me. The CF looks nice. The fit of the steel on the back looks like a custom. There is something elegant about it and I'm not real big on buying for looks, but I can imagine it performing even better than it looks. I hope they stay on the shelves for a while.

Joe
 
Yah, they did a good job on the S30v, keeps it's edge and gets nice and sharp too
here's a close up of the carbon fiber weave, very cool stuff

chaparral_weave.jpg


G2
 
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