Hard use ZDP-189

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k9stang

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Dec 2, 2013
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I couldn't find what I was looking for with the search function although I'm sure it has been discussed before. Anyway, how does the delica ffg zdp-189 hold up for hard/ border line abuse use?

I do industrial maintenance and currently carry my 940 with s30v blade. The 940 has never ceased to amaze me with how much it can do with no bad side effects. I got a delica zdp-189 for my birthday recently and would like to begin using at work.(I do love a delica by the way). The blade being ffg seems a little flimsy for some of the stuff I do with the benchmade.

I really don't want to ruin such a nice delica. I'm thinking I should get the saber grind vg10 delica like I use to have. I never felt like I was going to damage that one.

Any opinions?
 
It has a tendency to chip easier then s30v or vg-10 in my experience. It probably wouldn't be my first choice for a super hard use knife. I definitely wouldn't pry something very big with my zdp knives. I would probably find something with a more robust blade for a true hard use knife. The saber grind delica might fit the tasks your needing it for
 
k9stang said:
I couldn't find what I was looking for with the search function although I'm sure it has been discussed before. Anyway, how does the delica ffg zdp-189 hold up for hard/ border line abuse use?

I do industrial maintenance and currently carry my 940 with s30v blade. The 940 has never ceased to amaze me with how much it can do with no bad side effects. I got a delica zdp-189 for my birthday recently and would like to begin using at work.(I do love a delica by the way). The blade being ffg seems a little flimsy for some of the stuff I do with the benchmade.

I really don't want to ruin such a nice delica. I'm thinking I should get the saber grind vg10 delica like I use to have. I never felt like I was going to damage that one.

Any opinions?
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Ive done robotic maintenance in the past when zdp189 was my carry knife .

At the factory angels zdp is OK you may get a little microchipping or rolling but nothing major , the edge retention is worth it IMHO.

I did have problems when I took an endura down to 10dps, first wire i cut with that edge chipped the blade pretty bad .

Since then I've microbeveled it and I don't take it below 20 degrees for the actual cutting edge if it's going to work and I've been fine.

Sounds like we do a lot of the same things at our jobs and as long as you don't reprofile it or go through a cable tie wrong or something like that you'll be fine .

My main issue with zdp wasn't the chipping it was corrosion . I'm in the south in an auto plant around robotic welders temp in there is about mid 80s year round and we haft to wear 8oz fire resistant clothing with Kevlar sleeves and gloves over our forearms and gloves down to the wrist it's hot .

If I didn't have say tuff glide or something like that on a blade if I worked a shift and didn't wipe the blade it would have some rust on it . Light coat of tuff glide or clp and I was good to go though.

Another knock on the spyderco is the lock and pocket lint because of my uniform my pockets had a lot of lint and if lint gets in that lock it can make it close /not lock properly just make sure you keep the lock face clean and you won't have any problems .
 
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Thanks for the replies so far. Spartan, we do do similar work. As amatter of fact I was a service tech for a robot manufacturer for 10 yrs. I had a saber grind delica 4 back then in vg10. It did everything and anything I ask of it. I think I will probably keep the new one for home carry and use the 940 or pick up a saber grind delica for the rough stuff.
 
Just re-profile it to no thinner than 20dps and chipping shouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
k9stang said:
I can't really carry an endura comfortably. They are just a little too big. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Any other suggestions are welcome.
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If Delica is ok, but not Endura, perhaps Stretch? The handle is slightly longer than Delica (closed, almost same length) but has better grip & blade longer blade.
VG10 is currently discontinued but I'm guessing soon will be produced with new Stretch 2 format.

Sone dealer still have older VG10 stock and sometimes it appears on the exchange.
 
The strech would be something to check out. A local dealer had one in damascus awhile back so I didn't ask to look at it. Does anyone know what the strech 2 is all about?
 
how come it's chipping? Japanese kitchen knives use ZDP and real thin edges....hmmm.
 
I'm guessing it has to do with the edge geometry and the steel pump housing it got into when I cut off the plastic water line. I am going to increase the angle a little and see if that helps.
 
k9stang said:
The strech would be something to check out. A local dealer had one in damascus awhile back so I didn't ask to look at it. Does anyone know what the strech 2 is all about?
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Have it too, I prefer it to the endura or delica. Stretch is one bad slicer , love the egos too . I've got a user if interested hit me up .
 
spyken said:
how come it's chipping? Japanese kitchen knives use ZDP and real thin edges....hmmm.
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Maintenance work is hard on a knife , I've been doing it for years. Your elbows deep in something with a mad boss man wanting you to hurry up with and maybe the right tool is away from you so you reach for your knife a lot . You may haft pop off a cable tie or pry open a valve ,cut thick wiring , have a stubborn seal and when your trying to hurry up and do it sometimes you don't do things the right way like pop off a cable tie by putting the blade under and twisting vs cutting .

Had to replace a part on a robot one day , line down is costing 10k per minute. 5 bosses staring at 3 maintenance guys. Bosses trying to lend a hand slowing you down more than anything though .

I grab my endura to open the box and without thinking I just went into the box , blade gets caught up and I put more force on it ...it was a staple.. Like I said in maintenance it's the work but mainly at least in my shoes it's the hurry up get this going that makes you get a little careless especially with your own tools.
 
k9stang said:
Thanks for the replies so far. Spartan, we do do similar work. As amatter of fact I was a service tech for a robot manufacturer for 10 yrs. I had a saber grind delica 4 back then in vg10. It did everything and anything I ask of it. I think I will probably keep the new one for home carry and use the 940 or pick up a saber grind delica for the rough stuff.
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We use the fanucs. All major auto companies as far as I've seen use the same big old yellow robots . I hear those things in my sleep...lol along with hold , manual teach , dammit give me a master lol..
 
Spartan00 said:
Maintenance work is hard on a knife , I've been doing it for years. Your elbows deep in something with a mad boss man wanting you to hurry up with and maybe the right tool is away from you so you reach for your knife a lot . You may haft pop off a cable tie or pry open a valve ,cut thick wiring , have a stubborn seal and when your trying to hurry up and do it sometimes you don't do things the right way like pop off a cable tie by putting the blade under and twisting vs cutting .

Had to replace a part on a robot one day , line down is costing 10k per minute. 5 bosses staring at 3 maintenance guys. Bosses trying to lend a hand slowing you down more than anything though .

I grab my endura to open the box and without thinking I just went into the box , blade gets caught up and I put more force on it ...it was a staple.. Like I said in maintenance it's the work but mainly at least in my shoes it's the hurry up get this going that makes you get a little careless especially with your own tools.
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This is what very few knife owners understand. Those of us who do this type of work subject our cutting tools to a whole different world, one which is 1000x more harsh than average. For me, there are no knives presently produced which satisfy my needs in this environment.
 
jpm2 said:
This is what very few knife owners understand. Those of us who do this type of work subject our cutting tools to a whole different world, one which is 1000x more harsh than average. For me, there are no knives presently produced which satisfy my needs in this environment.
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For me it's a brand that gets ripped a lot on here , known for corny testing videos .

They perform so well for me not because the locks are so strong , but because the steel is softer ,so it can take a little for than a brittle steel.

In my work you haft to trust you have good gear and that gear had to perform everytime I need it to. I don't need a thick blade either I need a cutting tool first but if I need to pry with it I'm going to do it , not abusing it I have a job I haft to do .

I've had a more than a few knives labeled as hard use etc. Problem with those is they don't cut . Don't get me wrong now the frn Spydercos have been great too.

Your right though before my job I'd have knives for years and they look brand new .

A week on my job they are scratched ,dirt coating coming off ,pocket clip all scratched up I've put some miles on them real quick . I'll admit I get a chuckle sometimes with these so called "abuse test" it's daily tasks for somebody that really needs a knife everyday . And no offense to anybody that carries a Medford or strider or hinderer to a desk job to open mail , different strokes for different folks, I just like my knives to cut a little better
 
Spartan00 said:
For me it's a brand that gets ripped a lot on here , known for corny testing videos .

They perform so well for me not because the locks are so strong , but because the steel is softer ,so it can take a little for than a brittle steel.
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You don't need to go soft to avoid chipped edges. I've found that I almost detest rolled edges as much as chipped ones, but fortunately haven't had to put up much with either in the last 25 years, after discovering high speed tool steels.

Other than blade steel...
blade length, handle length, ergonomics, lock, blade profile, blade grind, etc all come into play as to what satisfies my needs in a work knife. Some of these attributes are in some knives, but no knife with all of them, hence my dilemma.
 
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Have you looked at an original gayle bradley? They can still be found new and I carry one in a coal power plant environment with little issues with corrosion. M4 is good stuff.
 
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