Field utility (cooking etc): Strider SnG / PT, RSK mini to replace Spydie.

M

Mindz_I

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Nov 6, 2002
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I recently completed a 300 mile hike over the course 15 days.

My knife (carried in a little pouch in my bergen) is a Spyderco Calpyso JR (Grey FRN scale model).

I've used this knife now for many trips and never had a problem with it, however this is the first time I've actually had to use it for anything more than cutting cord, tape or opening packets.

Through out the course of the trip the knife performed well at the only task asked of it (opening packets and cutting plastic bags), until it came to cutting up cooked sausage -

(please excuse my lack of knowledge for describing blade shape / geometry)

When slicing the sausage (on the thick plastic it came in) I found that due to the leaf / spear shaped blade of the Calypso Jr, the tip of the blade would unavoidably rake through the plastic and into the ground, unless I finger tip pinched the handle of the knife and sawed (this however was a loose grip and still caused the point to poke the plastic / ground).

--

This has caused me to look at new knives for this task (read "he's found a new excuse to buy a knife" ).

My first choice was the Strider SnG however, talking to a friend who owns one he's of the opinon that the excessively thick blade may hinder the large majority of the tasks the knife would be used for, therefore my mind moved to consider the thinner PT.

Additionally the same friend (with the SnG) frequently complains that he can't really open his SnG one handed due to the excessive stiffness of the blade. I'm not sure if this is something that wears in with time but one handed opening is something I value greatly, as more often than not producing a knife and stowing it again will happen whilst one of my hands is still holding the thing to be cut.

Does anyone here have experience in the tasks described? Does the SnG perform well in these tasks? Would the PT perform better or would I be loosing alot by going for the smaller, thinner sized knife?

My other option in the form of a RSK mini is more of an after thought. I like the blade shape but find the handle lacks a little something asthetically and have heard of issues with chipping of the S30v - I'm sure it'd do what I ask of it very well, but would it be noticeably better than the PT / SnG?

When it comes down to it I really love the aesthetics of the Strider SnG / PT but don't want to sacrifice performance simply for looks. I know Striders are either a love them or hate them looks wise and I fall into the former, so would make small sacrifices.

This question doesn't really come down to cost (I'm happy to pay extra just for aesthetics). However, what I'd like to avoid is paying extra for something if it performs worse.

Therefore I'm curious if anyone has experience of these knives in similar enviroments / tasks that I describe and can tell me of their suitability and if the different blade shapes (higher points / more belly) would be an improvement over the calpyso in the tasks described?

Thanks kindly for any help
 
I purchased an SnG as my "do everything" knife, with an emphasis on camp cooking.

I prefer to carry it clipped to my left-front pocket. The "tip up" carry, combined with the non-ambi pocket clip combine to create a very unsafe condition.

Basically, it managed to slice me a couple times when I tried to put my hand in my pocket or retrieve the knife.

Now its relegated to the safe until I figure out another way to carry it or get the pocket-clip reversed.

IMG_5403.jpg
 
Mindz_I said:
When slicing the sausage (on the thick plastic it came in) I found that due to the leaf / spear shaped blade of the Calypso Jr, the tip of the blade would unavoidably rake through the plastic and into the ground...
Click to expand...

If I'm reading this correctly, you were holding the sausage on the ground with one hand and slicing with the other? You'll probably continue to have this problem, regardless of which knife you use.... Have you considered a small cutting board? :)
 
Michael:

Sounds like a bit of an issue :( I'd be carrying mine vanilla RHS so that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Andy L:

Nice looking knife, but not really to my taste. Where would one pick those us out of interest?

BuckyKatt:

Yeah, the sausage in question comes wrapped in a thick PVC-type sheeting that was used as a make shift cutting board.

I actually have a small snowpeak cutting board but the extra weight is a little too much for it to usually find a place in my pack.

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I've also just stumbled upon the smaller manix from Spyderco. I canned a Spydie Military prior to the Calypso Jr as I found the tip was far to fine for my purposes. Is the Manix an improvement over this?
 
From a pure slicing aspect, the RSK or mini RSK are excellent choices. I've had no problem with any S30V chipping and think it's more an exception than common. As for the asthetics of the handle, it's not G-10 or anywood burl, but it's very functional and lighter than most other options.
 
If that's the way that you are cutting the sausage, you just aren't going to get around the problem. As long as a knife is sharp, it's going to do that. Even a sheepsfoot blade would cut through the plastic, when cutting in that manner. I highly suggest using some sort of cutting board, even if it is a sliced up milk jug or something. You need something hard to cut on.

On the subject of the SNG. It's a great knife, when carried firmly against the seam of your pocket, on the right hand side. Anything other than that, and the carry gets dicey. I have had unintentional openings just from using sweat pants, which did not hold the knife in place hard enough. I'd feel safer with a knife that has a spring assisted method of holding the blade closed (Spydie lockback). One hand opening is not really an issue with the latest generation SNGs. I believe that Strider enlarged the opening hole some time back.

I personally think that the Calypso Junior was an excellent knife choice for your journey. It's a very light knife, has a good strong lock, good steel, and excellent cutting efficiency. The Caly Junior is a knife that leaves little to go wrong. As much as I like my SNG, I can not pay it the same compliment. If you want a practical utility knife, stick with Spyderco.
 
ras;

Thanks kindly :)

Buzzbait;

It's not the blade cutting into the plastic - that I expect. My point (albiet haphazardly described) was that to cut on the plastic with the Caly Jr, I had to hold the blade totally parrallel to the plastic or the tip would rake through the plastic as it had very little belly.

At the moment I'm thinking it might be best to use the Caly until I damage it then replace it with something else ...
 
What about the Spyderco Chinook? Or an Opinel? Buck 110? I don't know how much belly you need, but those always sufficed for me.
 
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