Help me choose a Salt

A

augustus88

Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
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I'm looking to purchase a Spyderco Salt with yellow FRN handle.

Salt I - Compact size with good all around blade shape

Atlantic Salt - Useful blade shape. Questionable looks growing on me. Very easy to sharpen.

Pacific Salt - Larger all around blade. More traditional Spyderco looks.

Tasman Salt - Interesing looking hawkbill blade design. Probably not good for cutting bait. Hard to sharpen.

I need a saltwater friendly folder to take hardcore fishing on my boat about 70 times per year. I'm talking about ride hard and put away wet kind of use(after a quick freshwater rinse). I live in a very salty, hot, humid climate so the Salt series sounds like the perfect knife.

Knife has to cut......
Monofilament line
Spectra braided line
Bait on a cutting board(small fish, shrimp and occasionally squid)
Seldom cut rope but you never know when you'll need to cut rope off the prop.
Plastic lure packaging
Vienna sausages (I know they're nasty but a must on any fishing boat) ;)

Which model should I get? PlainEdge or SpyderEdge?

Here's my current small Spyderco collection.
Large Manix PE
Caly 3 PE
Black Micarta Kopa

Thanks for any input.
 
I would go with the SE Atlantic Salt. Or just save yourself the headache, buy one of each, then decide.
 
While I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of cutting bait, perhaps a plain edge would be preferable to a spyderedge. It would figure to give you neater, cleaner cuts for anything soft and squishy. I have a Pac Salt and while it's a full size knife it's very lightweight and easy to handle. In outdoor/wilderness venues I always prefer to have more blade rather than less.
 
I'm no fisherman, but I bought a SE Tasman before going on a fishing trip off the coast of FL, and it did everything I asked for and more. Granted, i wouldn't use it to clean any fish. However, it zipped through the squid we were using as bait with no problem. I opted for the SE as I figured if it got dull I could still saw with it. I never needed to, though:) It kept its edge all week.
The next one I plan on getting will be the Tasman in a plain edge, I think. I can sharpen it pretty easily on a butchers steel. I work around chlorine and other nasty stuff, so a knife that does not rust is a HUGE benefit. Not one bit of problem in about 3 months of use. The hawkbills are great working knives, and the salt series is as tough as they come in harsh environments.:thumbup:

Jake
 
Tasman Salt. I'm a whitewater boater and deal with monofilament line, rope, and webbing in the course of rescue work. Tasman Salt SE is best of breed with these chores in mind. Curved blade makes a more efficient cut per stroke. Have many years experience with the Merlin, which was replaced by the Tasman.
 
Put simply, to fulfill all the task with the BEST ability you would need two. Either will get uit done but two mean more spydercos!
1. SE Tasman, cutting all fibrous matierial and works like a beast. It could just be hard to sharpen the SE, PE hawks are incredibly easy to sharpen. And they are just awesome knives, hawks are amazing knives.
2. Pacific PE, pulls off all the detailed work like cutting bait and weenies XP could also be a good backup to the tasman should it fail for some stellar reason (EG: An f-22 Raptor took the knife into the jet engine and it broke the turbine).

Have fun!

SS
 
Thanks for the input. The Tasman is my preference based on looks and the Atlantic is really growing on me. Maybe one of each in my future. You realize my wife is going to kill me. Thanks for contrbuting to my eventual demise. ;)
 
A serrated edge would be the way to go if you were cutting a lot of rope, but for the things you listed, a plain edge would be best. My suggestion would be a plain edged Yellow Atlantic Salt.


- Frank
 
Thanks for the input. After reading all the suggetions and looking closely at photos of each model, I ordered a Yellow Plain Edge Atlantic Salt and a Sharpmaker Set from Knifeworks. They should arrive on Friday.

I hope the Sharpmaker is as easy to use as reviews suggest.

Thanks again for the help.

Four Spydercos and one Byrd in three weeks......... I gotta stop! It took five years to collect my previous six knives.
 
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