Delica 4 SHORT initial impressions..

archieblue

archieblue

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
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got in from travels late last night and had my D4 waitin at the PO BOX...

Initial impressions are favorable..

Handle to blade ratio is good... I like the smaller blade with a larger handle... much better for me than the BM mini grip...

F&F is good... the knife offers a feel of robustness not offered on other "plastic" knives... BIG fan of the hidden liners.

Smoothest lockback knife I have yet to encounter..

"Spydie" sharp outta da box.

LOVE the "volcano" texture.

LARGE spydie hole is excellent. (same size as the Millie)

the handle is quite comfy in the hand and in the pocket.

nice and light!

The bad: (there's not much)

Spine and hole were almost sharp... nothing a little 1000 grit sandpaper diddnt fix.

THICK blade grind... even though I asked the fine folks at knifeworks to pick the thinnest grind..

edge grind is uneven and wavy...
 
I agree with you on the bad, and it's why I don't own a D4/E4 anymore. I can't get over the fact that the grind stops so low below the hole and I hate the blunter tip. The grind also seems to be very uneven when compared back to front.

I've brought this up a bunch though so I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the few that has a problem with it.
 
I've done some work with the D4, and I'm gonna have to be less than positive on a few other aspects as well... to be included in my YouTube vid... This is nowhere near my first rodeo, and though it is pretty much as expected, performance is sluggish, and edge retention is not great... I'll have to sharpen it to have a real idea of what MY edge can do... The edge sliced paper with ease outta da box, but with a LITTLE cardboard cutting it snagged on thin magazine paper more than I like...

I mainly bought it for regularization of carry along with my fav EDC, the Military... This is to be my "river" knife, where control under sticky situations is the most imparitive... if I REALLY don't like it, it will just stay on my PFD (lifejacket). One thing I can say for SURE is that it will certainly outperform any knife specifically designed for river carry... they ALL suck.

I'm still pegging my impressions under "initial" until I get some more use outta the bugger... Overall, I do enjoy this little package...
 
I should also mention that I prefer not using my EDC to cut cardboard... I gereraly avoid it... but I am looking specifically at edge retention, and I was breaking down a large box to make a fire.. Out of dozens of knives, I've cut cardboard with only a few.. MT Socom, Sebenzas, a Native in S30V, and of course, my S90V Millie... The millie takes the cake here. Suprisingly, touching up the S90V on my Sharpmaker is pleasantly not a problem. It is obvious and undeniable that the Native thus far outperforms the D4.
 
archieblue said:
LOVE the "volcano" texture.

LARGE spydie hole is excellent. (same size as the Millie)
Click to expand...

Actually, the new texture on the 4th gen Delicas/Enduras is now called "Bi-Directional Texturing®" (the waffle pattern of the SALT FRN series with the D/E3 handles still feature the VOLCANO texture) and the hole should be 13mm while the Millie has a 14 mm hole.

The (maybe uneven) flat saber grind is not the best when it comes to slicing or cutting performance compared to a Millie or some other flat ground blade.

If you want some more cutting performance, take a look at the new G10 Flat ground Delica; this model will outperform tha FRN Flat saber ground Delica anytime. It has a higher price tag though.

Alternatively, you could consider getting a Salt 1. This knife maybe would fit your needs better than your Delica4 because it does feature the same large hole size as the Millie (14mm) and has a hollow saber grind which should cut easier that the sturdier Flat saber. Since you seem to use it mainly around water (rivers), it may come in handy that it is 100% rust free, and you can get it in bright yellow.

My atlantic Salt is ground very accurately, so hopefully there are not the same problems with uneven grinds you regularly see on the D/E4's.

The only downside is that you will have to sharpen it more often in the beginning because it work hardens over time (during use and sharpening) to a degree close to VG-10 (SE H-1 seems to be already harder than PE out of the box though because of the intensive grinding process when made).

Let us know what you think about that!

Dennis
 
I agree on the G10 version... unfortunately, $ is tight, and I've disliked the D4 soooo much given in-store impressions, I really wanted to get a perspective only attained with use.. I sincerely respect Sal and his ideas.... I'm really hoping to "understand" this one.
 
Well, then break out your Lansky kit/benchstone/rebevelling tool of your choice and regrind the blade to 35-40° incl. max. and give it your special razor sharpness treat afterwards, and then use the heck out of it :)

it IS a little obese around the tip, but then again, you won't break off THIS tip very easy for sure ;-)

Have fun testing!

...and tell us about it after a while. I would really like to hear what you think about it.

Dennis
 
Congratulations on your Delica4.

Every knife has its strong suits and weaknesses, but as with most Spyderco knives the latter are strongly outweighed by the former.

Use and enjoy it! :)
 
I should also probably mention that since I owned my last Delica 4 I've gotten MUCH better at sharpening with diamond hones and doing it freehand. Due to that I am considering grabbing up another D4 and redoing the edge right out of the box to about 15 degrees per side and seeing how she'll do. I love the Delica so much, I just need to get past the funky grind thingy. :)
 
I find I prefer the D4 SE. With the full SE version, the grind remains even the length of the blade; plain versions seem to thicken near the heel of the blade.
Jim
 
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