disappointed in spyderco

D

dakota1820

Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Messages
96
I just bought a spyderco. I forget the name of it but its made in china and has the 8cr13mov so its the lower end. Yesterday was the first day it saw work. I used it to cut weed barrier while planting. Well the blade chipped and dulled very quick.

It took over an hour to bring it back to an acceptable level of sharpness but the blade still has minor imperfections in it.

This spyderco is worse than my last which I had minor complaints with. Pretty upset in how easy the blade rolled over and chipped.
 
The Chinese models do have a lower end steel so you won't get high-grade performance from them. If you want steel with less rolling problems, check out the Delica or Dragonfly.
 
Low end knife, with a lower end steel using the factory edge I guess doing that kind of work....

I am not surprised at the outcome.

Sharpen it like you did and it should be fine in the future as a beater like you are using it.
 
I've never had any problems with spyderco value line of knives. Besides little things that you can't really complain about on a 30 dollar knife.
 
Are you talking about the mesh fabric weed barrier? If so, how did that chip the blade?
 
Ankerson said:
Low end knife, with a lower end steel using the factory edge I guess doing that kind of work....

I am not surprised at the outcome.

Sharpen it like you did and it should be fine in the future as a beater like you are using it.
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+1

What were you expecting?
 
It took you an hour to sharpen 8cr? Are you sure your problems didn't stem from technique more than the actual steel itself? Also, what were you doing with the knife that resulted in such damage. I have used 8CR pretty extensively, the only times I have experienced chipping was if I hit metal or very hard wood.
 
It took an hour to get the majority of chips out.

And yes some of it was in the top soil but not all and these are tasks I've done before with my old buck knives and they performed fine. It's not like I abused it I just used as a edc knife. It wasn't made to be pretty or fancy just work And apparently spyderco doesn't believe in hard work with these knives
 
When you have bucks that were 30 bucks that perform better than a 50 dollar spyderco and not just a little better but a lot better that is a problem. Heck my 80 dollar spyderco wasn't as good as the buck before it and that buck was 35 bucks or so. That is sad sure it's a cheaper knife but if it can't handle average everyday tasks that is pretty sad.
 
dakota1820 said:
When you have bucks that were 30 bucks that perform better than a 50 dollar spyderco and not just a little better but a lot better that is a problem. Heck my 80 dollar spyderco wasn't as good as the buck before it and that buck was 35 bucks or so. That is sad sure it's a cheaper knife but if it can't handle average everyday tasks that is pretty sad.
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If you payed $50 for a 8cr Spyderco, you seriously overpaid.
 
dakota1820 said:
When you have bucks that were 30 bucks that perform better than a 50 dollar spyderco and not just a little better but a lot better that is a problem. Heck my 80 dollar spyderco wasn't as good as the buck before it and that buck was 35 bucks or so. That is sad sure it's a cheaper knife but if it can't handle average everyday tasks that is pretty sad.
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Then just use a Buck instead of complaining. You obviously don't like Spyderco by the way you're bashing them.
 
The edge on my Tenacious chipped the first time I used it, and I was pretty upset about that. But once I sharpened it back up, it has become a real performer. Right after I finished chopping some wood with it I found that it will still push cut paper with no problem. I agree that the factory edge is weak but once you sharpen it the blade should be fine.
 
Sounds like the soil you were cutting on may have had a high mineral content. I'm not a big fan of 8CR steel or Chinese made knives but many "better" steels are going to chip or roll in those kind of circumstances. I have rocky soil where I live, so I use scissors to cut weed barrier.
 
I agree with Bugout Bill, $50 for a Chinese Spyderco is too expensive (unless you're outside the US). Anyway, if the blade chipped so badly, there might be something wrong with it. Maybe you should contact Spyderco.

I've used a Tenacious and Persistance as beaters to try them out, and while I was unimpressed with edge holding (no surprises there) toughness wasn't an issue. The thin edge rolled a few times, but didn't chip. And about ten minutes on my sharpening stones left it like new.

You mentioned an "...80 dollar spyderco..." which also failed to perform to your standards. What model was that?

Go back to your Bucks if they worked better for you or try out some other brands (Benchmade, Kershaw, etc.) if you're not willing to give Spyderco another chance.
 
dakota1820 said:
I just bought a spyderco. I forget the name of it but its made in china and has the 8cr13mov so its the lower end. Yesterday was the first day it saw work. I used it to cut weed barrier while planting. Well the blade chipped and dulled very quick.

It took over an hour to bring it back to an acceptable level of sharpness but the blade still has minor imperfections in it.
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An HOUR??? What did you do - stare at it until it was sharp? No, seriously - what?
 
When working in the garden watch out for rocks and dirt, they will eat any edge.
 
Brisket said:
Sounds like the soil you were cutting on may have had a high mineral content. I'm not a big fan of 8CR steel or Chinese made knives but many "better" steels are going to chip or roll in those kind of circumstances. I have rocky soil where I live, so I use scissors to cut weed barrier.
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If the OP was forcing a knife through soil, then I can't think of any steel that would stay sharp much longer than any other.

The other thing about edge retention that never gets said here is that virtually all steels have similar retention if you sharpen at sane intervals. Some super steels take 15 times longer than 440c to reach 25% sharpness, but the times to 90 and 75% sharpness are much the same.
 
dakota1820 said:
I just bought a spyderco. I forget the name of it but its made in china and has the 8cr13mov so its the lower end. Yesterday was the first day it saw work. I used it to cut weed barrier while planting. Well the blade chipped and dulled very quick.

It took over an hour to bring it back to an acceptable level of sharpness but the blade still has minor imperfections in it.

This spyderco is worse than my last which I had minor complaints with. Pretty upset in how easy the blade rolled over and chipped.
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You buy a cheap Spyderco with what you describe as a "lower end" steel and are surprised it does not hold up well to the abuse of cutting in the dirt? :confused:

Get a better knife with a better steel. :eek:




Big Mike
 
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