New User, first post. Spyderco Caly 3 Super Blue

C

clj94104

Joined
Jul 30, 2013
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Hello all. First post so please bear with me.

I am just getting into knife collecting, and love my Spyderco knives. I only have two thus far, and Endura 4 and a Delica 4 both in VG-10. The past few days I have been looking into expanding my collection and the Super Blue steel caught my eye. I never tried a G10 scale, and went to a local shop to try one. They didn't have the Caly 3 Super Blue I was eyeing, but I saw what all the rave is about when I handled another style equipped with G10 scales. So I went ahead and ordered from the vendor I found that had a few Caly 3 Super Blues in stock.

I know this steel patinas, and that doesn't bother me. I am however worried about rust and care of the blade. I live in FL, very close to the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore it is always hot and humid. Do I need to worry about rust or corrosion? If I do, what steps need to be taken to preserve this beautiful blade?

Thanks in advance,
Chris
 
Hey Chris! Welcome!

Sorry I don't have any experience with Super Blue, but I would imagine keeping her wiped down with Militec, Ballistol or similar when not in use should be about all that is needed. Hopefully someone with first hand knowledge will chime in.
 
The Super Blue will show small pits, maybe bits of material embedded in the steel. My Caly 3 SB hasn't shown any other signs of corrosion or rust. Because I use my knives occasionally for food prep I use mineral oil on the blade...every time I use it. No patina yet and that's fine with me, if I want to see a patina I've got plenty of traditional high carbon folders that fit the bill.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. At first I was considering letting it patina, but now I think I want to keep the blade as new. Use it occasionally as a carry knife.
 
You guys may think this is corny, but I was reading that some consider this steel to be a modern day Tamahagane steel, and I just think it should be cared for as such. The carbon content is right in line. It's a really cool piece.
 
Congrats, you will like it. The Caly 3 is my favorite pattern. Living in FL near the coast myself, I honestly would be a little worried about rust. I get a little here and there even on my VG-10 blades. Maybe consider forcing a patina. I have a Caly 3 and 3.5 in super blue, but they both live in my safe inside their rust inhibiting papers. I like the Salt series for using around the water.
 
I have one that has a forced patina and it looks great.

Its pretty humid here atm and ive got TINY bits of rust on it without any oil on it. I think if you get a patina on it and keep it wiped down with a good oil you should be fine im guessing.

I think youll love it, its a beautiful knife, very comfy and cool steel. Cant beat it. I like it way more than my sebenza.
 
Hi Chris,

Welcome to our forum. If you're into steels, Super blue is defeinately one to play with. Gets very sharp. Does require a little more care than a stainless like VG-10.

sal
 
Thanks for the kind words and responses guys. Sal, its an honor to be able to have you join the conversation. I really like the fact you are offering such an unusual/rare/exotic steel in your knives. I will be purchasing the Endura and Delica Super Blue sprints as well.
 
I just got it in the mail! I love this knife. It is perfectly balanced, and it looks gorgeous. Not that I don't like the Delica, but this thing feels like it belongs on a whole different level. I immediately hit it with a Tuf Cloth and switched it out with the Delica in my pocket.

I am a relative novice at sharpening, and just got a Sharpmaker. What degree should I use to touch up the edge on my Caly 3, Endura 4, and Delica 4? All are FFG, should I use the 40 or 30? I practiced on a couple knives already in the kitchen and older folders, they all turned out awesome. Used the 40 on those.

Thanks for the help guys!
Chris
 
Hey Chris,
I don't own a sharpmaker, but it seems that you can get crazy edges with that thing specially with the UF stones. For VG-10 I'll stick with 40 degrees. But if your Caly is ZDP or Superblue I'll go with 30 degrees all the way because they can handle it.
ZDP is a little more brittle if you use it mindless but super blue is tough enough to hold the low angle.
 
lutejones said:
Hey Chris,
I don't own a sharpmaker, but it seems that you can get crazy edges with that thing specially with the UF stones. For VG-10 I'll stick with 40 degrees. But if your Caly is ZDP or Superblue I'll go with 30 degrees all the way because they can handle it.
ZDP is a little more brittle if you use it mindless but super blue is tough enough to hold the low angle.
Click to expand...

The Caly 3 is the Aogami Super Blue steel. So a 30 degree edge would be best then?
 
As you can see on the link in my last post my super blue caly3 is sharpened about 20-25 degrees inclusive and it has held about 5 months only with little touch ups on ceramic and strop.
Anyway it depends on how you use the knife, but for every day use I think it holds up lower than 40 all the way.
Keep in mind that super blue is used on high end Japanese kitchen knives at angles near 10 degrees inclusive and it cuts a long time.
 
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