Pro-Venator/Pro-Grip II

[Frosty]

I'm looking at getting a new knife, I've had a Delica for a little over 2 years now. (Great knife may I add) but I've decided to get another knife. Looked at allot of different knives yet I come straight back to Spyderco, nothing else like it.

I saw a picture of the Pro-Venator and I had the same feeling when I first saw the Delica. Before I go out and buy it I wanted to see if there is anything bad you guys have to say about the knife.

1 Question though. From the looks of it the Pro-Venator was renamed the "Pro-Grip II" but when I look at the specs each knife has the same specs other than the type of steel the blade is made out of. GIN-1 for the Pro-Venator and ATS-55 for the Pro-Grip II. So my question is, are these 2 different models or just the Pro-Venator renamed. Also what is the difference between the GIN-1 and ATS-55 Steel and if given a choice what type of steel would you rather have? Thanks for any info

 

[Longden]

Frosty, I believe Sal Glesser had mentioned (before your forum membership ... use the search function for details) that this was the case. The Pro-Venator was simply renamed and may have included a steel upgrade.

ATS-55 should hold its edge better than Gin-1, since ATS-55 has many properties like ATS-34, another widely used and popular blade steel. I don't know the exact differences in characteristics, since I've never had a Gin-1 knife, but Spyderco's mini-catalog lists the blade steels they use along with their chemical composition. ATS-55 has higher carbon, lower chromium, added cobalt and copper, etc ... whatever that does for you.

I've given the Pro-Grip (the zytel handle version) to my daughter who loves it, but I preferred the same blade style in a thinner package, so I went with the Wegner Jr (which also sports a locking liner vs the lockback on the Pro-Grips).