Must you have the newest steel? ZDP-calypso?

Walking Man

Walking Man

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I'm curious about how many of you feel the need to rush out and get a knife when the LATESTandGREATEST(tm) steel comes out. The reason I am asking this is because a fairly new user came on this forum and asked which knife he Spyderco should buy, and some responded that the new Caly. jr. with ZDP steel looks really great. IT'S THE SAME KNIFE!!!! I just can't help but thinking that if it weren't offered in that steel, it wouldn't have gotten recommended. So I guess what I'd like to know is, how do you react when there's a new steel that was just put out by.... (fill in the blank here) usually Spyderco or Benchmade...
Do you lust to rush out get one to see how it performs?
Myself, I'd just prefer to wait. I've noticed that 95% of the time, the stainless flavor of the day that initial performs "AWESOME", usually turns into....
"marginally better than ATS34" within around a week. :rolleyes:
 
was thinking the same :D
Just come back from holiday and see all that posts about this new knife, etc..
"Color was uggly, blade was fantastic, etc..."
So i thaught: "not for me, i like benchmades, not those girly spydies :cool: "
then i check some sites for other stuff, see the new Caly Jr at 62 usd, and ...
i was catch ! :D
mainly for me it's the price that decided !
(and also the look and the fact that i have'nt small EDC like this one, and also that i am a knife nut ! ;) )

probably others have quite similar reasons !
 
The Calypso Jr. is a great design that stands on its own merits, regardless of blade steel, I think, and the introduction of a new super-steel simply bumped its price/performance ratio up another notch.

Regardless, these companies tend to introduce the super steels on their better/newer designs, and it offers another incentive to try them out.
 
yes, I must. I must.
:D

of course, it's not as if I don't buy a lot of other spyderco knives as well.
 
Considering the Calyspo Jr. is a very popular knife, and that just about every limited run of them goes quickly, no matter if its new steel or different handles, i would say yes. You re correct in saying its the same knife...which might just be why people are buying it, the steel probably has very little to do with it.

Of course it is the first affordable(read: sub $200) knife to use ZDP, so alot of people are picking one up to see what the deal is. Just my $.02.

Cheers.
 
I bought one. I hadn't considered a Calypso before but after seeing the pictures of the new one and everything, I was won over. It really wasn't the steel - I would've been happy with the VG-10.

The handle color was actually a plus for me. With the endless sea of black knives out there, this one actually had some personality.
 
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors. The new calypso is just a marketing gimmick. Glesser indicates as such in the spycerco forum. Fancy steel, plain edge, different color, likeable but discontinued design, no re-tooling, limited number produced, higher than average price...money in their pocket. Not for me, I've already got all the FRN medium sized knives I need.

After a few years collecting knives, you realize the steel of the era phenom will always be here. For example, where is CMP440V, the hot steel spyderco was pushing only a few years ago? D2 was hot, then not, then hot again, but never in a spyderco 'cause its not a new steel. Hell will freeze over if they ever used a non-stainless carbon steel. However, Spyderco's base endura stainless handle model is still a great seller in AUS6...so hyped steel can't always be better.
 
Sorry to say this but I think 80% of Calypso purchasers did because of the new steel. I did! Never owned a spyderco before but I will be looking at their blades from now on. Marketing strategy? Of course!
 
brownshoe said:
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors. The new calypso is just a marketing gimmick. Glesser indicates as such in the spycerco forum. Fancy steel, plain edge, different color, likeable but discontinued design, no re-tooling, limited number produced, higher than average price...money in their pocket. Not for me, I've already got all the FRN medium sized knives I need.

After a few years collecting knives, you realize the steel of the era phenom will always be here. For example, where is CMP440V, the hot steel spyderco was pushing only a few years ago? D2 was hot, then not, then hot again, but never in a spyderco 'cause its not a new steel. Hell will freeze over if they ever used a non-stainless carbon steel. However, Spyderco's base endura stainless handle model is still a great seller in AUS6...so hyped steel can't always be better.
Click to expand...

I think I hear the worlds smallest fiddle playing just for you. :rolleyes:
 
brownshoe said:
However, Spyderco's base endura stainless handle model is still a great seller in AUS6...so hyped steel can't always be better.
Click to expand...

If you're saying that CPM440V, S30V, VG-10, ATS-55, etc., and in particular the ZDP-189 used in the limited Calypso Jr. run aren't significant improvements in blade steel at a similar price-point to an AUS-6 bladed knife, you must not use your knives much.
 
brownshoe said:
However, Spyderco's base endura stainless handle model is still a great seller in AUS6...so hyped steel can't always be better.
Click to expand...

It's a great seller because it's affordable and also because some people like stainless handles more than plastic, IMO.

I am one of those people who appreciates a steel that holds an edge for a good length of time. It isn't just hype. I cut plastic and cardboard at work. At home I cut cardboard for recycling. Having carried a SOG AirSOG for a while, I can say that AUS6 is not the preferred steel for me.

A carbon steel would be nice, but consider that people want a knife that won't stain and rust easily. Especially your average Joe or Jane who doesn't know much about knives and probably doesn't clean and oil their knife much or at all.

You also don't need the toughness of carbon steel in your average EDC folder, unlike a big fixed blade.
 
I bought one as the steel's characteristics intrigued me, not the fact that it is 'new' steel. So many of the production folders have such a narrow range of hardnesses. 64 is quite a jump and I wanted to see for myself what difference in use increased hardness gave and this knife at this price made it possible to do so. I would have bought a William Henry were it not so prohibitively expensive.

I think many have jumped on the chance to buy this knife for similar reasons.

It's not quite the same knife is it though? NIB the edge is more acute, and the edge retention of ZDP-189 is meant to be greater than that of VG-10. Therefore making it better for someone who can't or won't sharpen (for whatever reason) because it will cut longer between sharpenings.

It took me a long time to buy a folder made in S30V, not so with this knife.
 
brownshoe said:
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors. The new calypso is just a marketing gimmick. Glesser indicates as such in the spycerco forum. Fancy steel, plain edge, different color, likeable but discontinued design, no re-tooling, limited number produced, higher than average price...money in their pocket. Not for me, I've already got all the FRN medium sized knives I need.

After a few years collecting knives, you realize the steel of the era phenom will always be here. For example, where is CMP440V, the hot steel spyderco was pushing only a few years ago? D2 was hot, then not, then hot again, but never in a spyderco 'cause its not a new steel. Hell will freeze over if they ever used a non-stainless carbon steel. However, Spyderco's base endura stainless handle model is still a great seller in AUS6...so hyped steel can't always be better.
Click to expand...

That's not very nice. Of course it's marketing, that's simply good business. Sal IS in a business, you understand. And he's making money off of this knife from people like us who are willing to send him money for them. So? How is that any different than business as usual here?

And it's not like the ZDP Caly is any more expensive than any other Spydie. It's a medium-priced knife like any other, I see it going for $60-$80. If you don't like it and you have all the FRN mediums you need, then there's no need to bash anyone else who does want it, even those of us steel junkies who have to have the latest and greatest, even if it turns out not to be so great.
 
Hi Walking Man.

It's a "steel junky thing". I'm a steel junky and I likes to play with the latest technology in steels. Spyderco has introduced a number of new steels to the market.

I played with ZDP and liked what Hitachi did. I figured if I liked playing with it, then there's probably a few others that would enjoy playing as well. The Caly and Delica handles are already tooled so it was possible to provide the "taste" for a lower cost to the ELU.

Kinda like tasting the latest flavor ice cream yourself.

Hi Brownshoe, I don't know that I'd call it a marketing gimmick, our sprints usually sell out due to the small quantity.

If the market doesn't like the ZDP, I'm sure I'll find out. If the market says they want more ZDP, I'll give it to them. I guess that's marketing gimmickry.

sal
 
brownshoe said:
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors. The new calypso is just a marketing gimmick.......... so hyped steel can't always be better..........
Click to expand...

If you cruise over to the spyderco forum here on bf, you'll notice that Sal asked all the spydie enthusiasts which design they wanted the new steel in first. The resounding answer was calypso jr. Now, not so surprisingly, the online dealers sell all their stock of the zdp189 caly in short order, as in a matter of days. This sounds like a classic case of supply and demand if you ask me. Not to mention a company that produces what apparently a lot of people actually want.

Isn't their a bridge with your name under it somewhere?
 
I think if your question really is "must you have the latest steel", you've done yourself a disservice by tying that into the zdp calypso jr. as the prime example. In my opinion, and the opinion of many others, the Calypso Jr. is one of the greatest designs ever and still is without peer as far as its strengths -- and I was saying that back when it was being made with 8A. Many of us absolutely love this knife, and given the excuse to buy another one, at an affordable price, with a new steel that might have really interesting performance properties ... this knife is a no-brainer for anyone who is passionate about high-performance cutting tools and materials.

Now if you hadn't brought up the zdp Calypso, my reply would be more cautious. Like Sal, I'm a steel junkie as well, as are many here on the forums. Let's face it, we're here because we love knives, and anything that drives the state-of-the-art forward is naturally interesting to us. That said, though I generally do run out to try out the latest steel, once I get a gander at how it performs, I don't feel any need to run out and only buy that steel. For example, now that I have a feel for S30V, I absolutely do not exclusively buy S30V knives ... I buy based on the total package, which includes but is not limited to steel type.

Joe
 
brownshoe said:
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors. The new calypso is just a marketing gimmick. Glesser indicates as such in the spycerco forum. Fancy steel, plain edge, different color, likeable but discontinued design, no re-tooling, limited number produced, higher than average price...money in their pocket. Not for me, I've already got all the FRN medium sized knives I need.
Click to expand...

It's a shame to take a shot at Sal like that when Spyderco is one of the few production companies that actually comes on here and talks to the users and tries to make products based on what they'd like to see. You may call it a gimmick, I call it delivering what the customer asked for.
 
I see no need to line Glesser's pockets and his fellow spyderco investors.
Click to expand...
I like lining my pockets with Spydies. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
 
I don't care what anybody says, I think Sal and Spyderco is the best. Being able to buy the new steel at $65.00 compared to the other at $300.00...
 
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