Native vs Delica

Which one do you prefer?

  • Delica

    Votes: 36 52.2%

  • Native

    Votes: 33 47.8%
  • Total voters
    69
knarfeng said:
I've got three Delicas and my daughter carries one which I have handled. Out of four examples, none has any of those negative properties, other than being made in Seki, which I do not consider to be a negative.
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I wish I had your good experience, then. I've had one good Seki folder (police 4) out of 7 knives from Seki. Meanwhile, I've probably had dozens of Golden models and been happy with all of them.
 
I enjoy both models, but I agree with a post above that the only way to know is to handle each. I think if you put 100 people in a room and let them handle both models about half would go each way.

The Native 5 fits my hand better ... the Delica isn't uncomfortable. The Delica has a slightly thinner blade, but both cut very well. The Native 5's tip is a bit stronger than the Delica's, but I don't plan on using either of these models for anything where crazy toughness is needed. Both carry easy and out of 3 Native 5s and 4 Delicas they all operate very smoothly and are centered ... no complaints.

I do prefer the G10 model Native 5s ... I do have one Native 5 Salt with FRN scales still on it. And I put after market scales (custom G10) on all of the Delicas I've kept. I think that made a huge difference on the Delicas for me.
 
marrenmiller said:
I wish I had your good experience, then. I've had one good Seki folder (police 4) out of 7 knives from Seki. Meanwhile, I've probably had dozens of Golden models and been happy with all of them.
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I've seen these reports of bad QC in Seki models, but I've got three that are all good. You also get some people saying the QC for Golden models is bad, but I've not seen it either.
 
Coincidence. Poll on the company forum happening right now:
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chalby said:
I've seen these reports of bad QC in Seki models, but I've got three that are all good. You also get some people saying the QC for Golden models is bad, but I've not seen it either.
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To be honest, I usually assume that most people who say that Seki knives are good aren't checking knives like I do. Not a knock on anyone, but I'm picky.
 
marrenmiller said:
To be honest, I usually assume that most people who say that Seki knives are good aren't checking knives like I do. Not a knock on anyone, but I'm picky.
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That's no doubt true, but funnily enough out of the seven Spyderco knives I have, my Native 5 in Maxamet has probably got the "worst" QC with the blade being slightly warped and had uneven grinds before I sharpened it. My Delica is slightly off center, but is otherwise pretty perfect. The other two Seki models I have (Pacific Salt 2 and Endela) are both perfectly centered and grinds are even etc.

I'm not super picky about cosmetic stuff though.
 
marrenmiller said:
To be honest, I usually assume that most people who say that Seki knives are good aren't checking knives like I do. Not a knock on anyone, but I'm picky.
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Seki knives in general? That’s a whole different ballgame. I’ve had many Seki made knives that are excellent, including folders with no blade play. And I also am a stickler for blade play.

If you’re only referring to Seki made Spyderco folders, I’d understand why you say that. I’ve had 3 out of maybe a dozen that exhibited blade play when forced.
 
I vote Delica over native if you are talking regular models. I never tried the high end sprints and whatnot of the native because the ergonomics weren't working for me. I do want to try a Native chief sometime to see if it fits better because I like the look and longer blade. For lightweight EDC use it is very hard to find fault with the Delica. I carry one fairly often but sold off my any natives I ever tried. I have a preference for an Endura or Manix2 over most others but the Delica is a great little knife.
 
jux t said:
Seki knives in general? That’s a whole different ballgame. I’ve had many Seki made knives that are excellent, including folders with no blade play. And I also am a stickler for blade play.

If you’re only referring to Seki made Spyderco folders, I’d understand why you say that. I’ve had 3 out of maybe a dozen that exhibited blade play when forced.
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I'm only speaking about Seki Spyderco models. I wouldn't mean to suggest that an entire city is incapable of making a good knife.
 
I like the Seki models and I trust the Seki factory them more when it comes to bringing out the best properties of their blade steels. I have not experienced any problems whatsoever with Seki made knives. A Chinook 4 that I handled was amazing in fit, finish, and build quality. I like Seki made K390 because I hear nothing but good things about it. If one can live without stainless I think a delica and even a native are perfect models for that steel.
 
I like the Native more than the Delica, but because my Native is a Salt line knife, it's going to be held in reserve for those occasions where that is something I want. A lot of people have their fingerprints on the creation of the Native (Eric Glesser, Tom Sachs, and Doug S.) and it's one of the few knives that has neither bearings nor washers in the pivot (I think using the FRN handle material in the pivot this way is called a bushing pivot).

The Spyderco knives I use the most though are the Manix and Police models. I'd also have an Endura by now, but every time I get close to buying one some other knife goes on sale.
 
Native looks better to me though I have never tried one. Why? The thick blade (as compared to Delica).
 
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