My first spyderco

[capnsutton]

Boker Exskelibur is really a great slicer. VG10 is also a good steel to put a keen edge on.
But I have to warn you about their inconsistent fit and finish issues. You may get a great one or end up with a sloppy one.
I have two of them, one good and the other not so.

With that said, I think you should also look at Spydiechef. LC200N is similar to carbon steel regarding its sharpenability and keenness to me.
The blade stock is relatively thin, and the flat grind is deep to make up the thin edge.

The SpydieChef with LC200N is an excellent choice. It holds an edge very well and is corrosion proof. It's easy to maintain a very sharp edge with light sharpening and strop.

 

[capnsutton]

View attachment 793908 I have both Nick.
Both are insane slicers, but I’d give the edge to the Caly. Think it’s a bit thinner behind the edge.
ZDP is an awesome steel!! XHP is no slouch either.
I carry the Domino much more than the Caly, but mostly for the fun fidget factor.
Caly is a back lock, flickable, but not a good fidgeter.
I got the Caly on sale for $104 on sale a few months ago. At that price, no brainer!
Joe

The CF Caly 3.5 with the ZDP-189/420J2 is a bargain even at $185. Since the ZDP-189 edge is so hard, a strop is all you really need between sharpening. Better grab one quick from a reputable retailer as these are Out of Stock with Spyderco.

 

[whp]

I will never say PM2 is inadequate.

Compared to the ones I listed and think good slicers, the blade stock and/or the edge are thicker.
Making thin slices is not a problem because the material would curl away from the blade.

I once tried to cut a cucumber and a potato in half with PM2, but they just broke up in the middle.
Spydiechef did a lot better, if not great.

Of course, it may not be relevant because I would not use PM2 for food prep.

Good illustrations.
I imagine you were trying to push cut the vegetables rather than slice them. That may be a function of the relatively short blades for kitchen work.
While not as good a slicer as my Stretch, I can't believe I couldn't t slice through a cumbers or raw potato with my PM2 if it was properly sharpened. Now I have to go try it!

 

[whp]

My Stretches with ZDP189 and with HAP40 steels are great slicers. The Bradley2 is also fine.

 

[nick_30]

That illustration reminds me, believe it or not, the BM 808 loco was .018 behind the edge. Super ergos, but I am not a real big fan of s30v, dulled to fast compared to my contego, so I let it go.

 

[whp]

Just to check out the above posts about food prep with the PM2.
Helping fix dinner tonight, I used my PM2 to cut the end off a large raw sweet potato. About the same diameter as a fairly large cucumber. Pretty dense
material. Could slice without a problem, but couldn't t push cut. And my knife is very sharp. Not the same slicer as thinner blade but could certainly do that job well enough.
Like all great compromises, the PM2 does every thing pretty well but can t excel too much at one function without detracting from another.

 

[miso2]

Yep.
My understanding is that draw cut makes the angle, which the cut material has to go through smaller. I might be wrong, though.

 

[nick_30]

Wow...and now the spyderco southard is on sale for 175.00 at blade hq. That is one I have always wanted but doesn't really fit my needs right now.
I'm guessing spyderco is going to be coming out with some really nice knives for 2018 with how many good ones they are discontinuing.
They probably have to step it up to keep up with the market, same thing everybody is doing