My New Chaparral 1

[danthaman1980]

Ok guys, so last Wednesday I received my new Chaparral (CF / CTS XHP). Although it came to be brand new, in sealed plastic - out of the box I was slightly disappointed. Although the fit was perfect, lockup was perfect, and CF scales were perfect, there were two small issues with the blade early on. First, there were two stains on the blade, one on each side. On the logo side, an inch to inch and a quarter long dark gray line parallel with the edge, about 1/3rd of the way up from edge to spine, which appeared (to me) to be something like adhesive residue from some type of tape. On the other side, a similar looking line near the belly of the blade, about 3/4" long and running at a slight upward angle along the belly. Initially, I tried to remove the stains with gun oil, but to no avail. The second issue; the knife was not very sharp out of the box. Too dull to shave arm hair. Quite atypical for Spyderco.
Well, in spite of the initial issues, I'm happy to report some significant improvement. I spent some time over the weekend removing the stains with some Flitz metal polish - and the stains are now gone. I also spent a good amount of time sharpening the blade. This was my first experience with XHP, and although it is difficult to sharpen, it is well worth the effort - I finally achieved not only a 'hair popping' edge, but was able to get up just into 'hair splitting' territory. So, in spite of the initial trouble, I think the knife is now close to perfect.

 

[shuutr]

congrats. I love the chaparral. great choice and glad you have it tuned up how you like it. Enjoy!

 

[ShinyEdge]

Mine came spyder sharp but I also had issues. The edge around the hole was sharp and it would hurt my thumb a lot. Also, the lockback was kinda hard to disengage but after a week it became easier to manipulate. Well, this is really a great knife, I really like the pocket clip. Enjoy this little knife!