Spyderco Chaparral

Battle Creek Knives · Oct 31, 2011

I've been waiting for this knife to come out for a long time now, now that they're out in production I picked this one up last week. After opening the box and had the knife in hand I love the design, feel and ergonomics like I thought I would after reviewing pictures for about a year or so.

Upon closer inspection of this beauty I found several flaws, first that caught my eye was the edge geometry, the grind is off pretty bad, secondly it did not come "Spyderco Sharp" like most of my other spydies (wouldn't even cleanly push cut paper)

, and lastly the CF scales were poorly sanded at the finger groove area before the actual choil.

I have its bigger brother also (Sage 1) as you'll see in the pics, which had no flaws, and came 'Spyderco Sharp'

, easily push cut paper, shaved hair etc, etc...

Soooo, whats the deal??? Is this a fluke??? Did I get a lemon??? or is Taichung falling short on their fit and finish??

Overall I really like the design of the knife regardless of the flaws, it rides extremely well in the pocket, is light, and fits great in the hand... this is the first run of what spyderco calls the "gentleman's folder".. Would I pay $110+ had I seen the knife in person?? Hardly not.....

Spyderco and other company's claim sending their knives overseas, employs people here in the states...

perhaps it employs salary personal to the tune of maybe several sales and marketing people, but what about hourly employees?? hmmm, seems like it would work out better in the states for all of us, and after seeing the quality of this Taiwan knife I'm embarrassed to tell a non-knife person what I paid for it... they'd think I was a sucker, after all its made in Taiwan.. but I digress..

My specs of the knife:
Carbon Fiber Scales
S30V Steel
6 5/16" oal
2 5/16" cutting edge
2 3/4" blade (handle to tip)
1" wide at the widest point of blade
2.24oz ... (Sage 1 is 2.94oz)

shown with Sage 1

seelow123 · Nov 1, 2011

Great review!

I would contact spyderco about the problem, they might have a QC control problem like they did with the chicago. Or maybe you did just get a lemon. My sage 3 also came with some pretty bad edge geometry but it was very sharp.

Striderco · Nov 1, 2011

Thats too bad. Love me a good Spydie! It pretty much seems like the sage with a diff lock! I wont be buying a Chaparral! Send it back, get a replacement, see how that one is!? If it has the same issues get a refund!! Best of luck!!

arty · Nov 1, 2011

Mine was fine. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought a second. There was a little buffing compound in the works, but that was gone with some oiling.
Mine came sharp. The only other knife that now shares pocket time is a Michael Walker in CF.

OrdnanceBubbaUSMC · Nov 1, 2011

Being made in Taiwan doesn't have anything to do with it bro - my $38 Large Voyager was extremely sharp with perfect fit and finish - made in Taiwan. You probably just got a bad one.

Since you already have at least one other pretty carbon fiber folder, get two USA made Native's for the same price as a Chaparral. Even more S30V steel and don't think the carbon fiber handle is worth $50-60

Sal Glesser · Nov 2, 2011

Battle Creek Knives said:
Overall I really like the design of the knife regardless of the flaws, it rides extremely well in the pocket, is light, and fits great in the hand... this is the first run of what spyderco calls the "gentleman's folder".. Would I pay $110+ had I seen the knife in person?? Hardly not.....

Spyderco and other company's claim sending their knives overseas, employs people here in the states... perhaps it employs salary personal to the tune of maybe several sales and marketing people, but what about hourly employees?? hmmm, seems like it would work out better in the states for all of us, and after seeing the quality of this Taiwan knife I'm embarrassed to tell a non-knife person what I paid for it... they'd think I was a sucker, after all its made in Taiwan.. but I digress..

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Hi Battle Creek,

Sorry for your disappointment. I thought to point out that the steel for this knife is made in Syracuse, New York, employing Americans. The clips are made in Colorado. The knife was designed in Golden, four of us involved in that project, which took a long time. Purchasing the steel, shipping it to Colorado and then to Taiwan does required knowledgable crew.

I would be curious where you can get a 100% USA made CPM-S30V lock-back folder with carbon fiber scales, comparable quality and ergos for the $110 paid?

sal

Battle Creek Knives · Nov 2, 2011

Sal, thanks for taking the time to explain how business is done, and I'm sure it takes a lot to get the production set up. My point is merely more of a surprise rather than a complaint, when I was a kid ANYTHING made in Taiwan was garbage and was inferior to say the least, of course much has changed over the years, obviously.. But to a non-knife person, having them handle this knife and look it over not knowing what it cost would feel it was decently made, now if you throw in the cost in that scenario it may play out different..

I've bought, sold,and traded a few spyderco's over the years and this is by far not up to spyderco's standards, almost to the point of "I can't believe it passed QC", its feedback like this that helps business, and I'm just pointing out that maybe your boys in taiwan are letting their guard down...

let me ask you this, how much would this knife cost to be made in USA?? $40 more?? I'd gladly pay it...

Thanks for your concern, and your customer service..

Sal Glesser · Nov 3, 2011

Hi Rob,

Thanx for your support and kind words.

We originally hoped to make it in the Golden plant, but despite constantly growing our Golden plant, we're at capacity just making what we're making. If it were not for out Taiwan maker, there probably wouldn't be a Chaparral for many years. I believe the cost of manufacture would be higher by some if made in Golden. We don't make knives in Taiwan because it's less expensive. By the time we ship steel, or clips, or wood from the US, the savings is not large. We make our knives with this maker because he's very good.

Non knife friends would most likely not appreciate the Chaparral. The knife was designed and built for afi's.

Taiwan is getting a reputation for very high quality in many industries. Don't confuse Taiwan with China and don't confuse "Taiwan" knives made in China with those made in Taiwan.

Perhaps you got a really bad one, but I must say compliments in design and construction of the Chaparral have been exceptional. Yours is a rare complaint. If you are unhappy with the knife, I suggest you return it where you got it or send it to us for a "look-see". If it's bad, we'll replace it.

sal

Traveler 2 · Nov 3, 2011

fwiw I believe this was a Friday unit.....mine is perfect and shave sharp, love everything about it but wish the price was not as high. I'm sure your dealer will assist, that edge geo is sub par for a $100 knife.

Siggyboy · Nov 7, 2011

I have a Chaparral and love it. It is an excellent combination of features and size for an EDC when you don't want to carry something bigger. I understand that when Spyderco has set the bar so high, imperfections can be quite disappointing, especially at this price point. Still, the knife is a great design and a great product no matter how you slice it.

gentemanndvm · Nov 8, 2011

rob, you turned me onto this knife over in the Becker Forum when i was looking at small edc's. got mine in yesterday. like you, love the design, love the ergos, love the look. really like the knife a lot. but there are also a couple not perfects. i'm hoping i can work them out, b/c this one could be right up there with my small sebenza and benchmade mini-grip (w/spydie hole) for favorite work/office carries. needs some help first, though.

-both the liner lock and the pivot action are way tougher than they should be. started out gritty and tough, now smoother, just tough. it's actually hard to press in the backlock when i close the blade. and the open-shut action is smooth, but tighter/harder than i expect it to be on a spyderco.
i know you're not supposed to do it, but as a reference point i cannot flick this one open unless it is already 90* open when i start. the pivot is that tight. VERY different than my Native, which is smooth and easy on both the pivot and the backlock.

so i think i'm going to take it apart, clean it, lube up the pivot point, and see what that does for the pivot action. i'm guessing it'll help a lot. i don't know how to make the backlock less stiff though. i'll see what i see once i get in there, but my skillset maxes out at clean and lubricate, so i probably won't screw with it at all.... i'll keep you posted, i know you were wondering what mine was going to be like.

michor

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quick update 11/9/11 - took it apart, cleaned it, lubed it last night. lots better. pivot screw tightness was a huge factor not only in blade ease-of-opening, but also in lockback depression difficulty. wierd. maybe lockback button/lever contact with liners instead of bar torsion/angle? anyway, lots better. i'm going to cycle it a lot this week, see if it continues to improve. i really like this knife. fit/finish/ergos will put it into my top5 for small/office edc's as long as the blade action and lockback stiffness continue to improve (to normal high level sypderco caliber).
mpg

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update the last 11/12/11
way way way way better.
smooth easy action on the blade and the lockback now. loving this blade more every day. great small edc knife for me. fit and finish are excellent on mine, definitely gets a high rating from me. mine was just a too-tight pivot screw issue. thanks again for turning me on to this one. love this blade!

Battle Creek Knives · Nov 20, 2011

gentemanndvm said:
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quick update 11/9/11 - took it apart, cleaned it, lubed it last night. lots better. pivot screw tightness was a huge factor not only in blade ease-of-opening, but also in lockback depression difficulty. wierd. maybe lockback button/lever contact with liners instead of bar torsion/angle? anyway, lots better. i'm going to cycle it a lot this week, see if it continues to improve. i really like this knife. fit/finish/ergos will put it into my top5 for small/office edc's as long as the blade action and lockback stiffness continue to improve (to normal high level sypderco caliber).
mpg

------------------
update the last 11/12/11
way way way way better.
smooth easy action on the blade and the lockback now. loving this blade more every day. great small edc knife for me. fit and finish are excellent on mine, definitely gets a high rating from me. mine was just a too-tight pivot screw issue. thanks again for turning me on to this one. love this blade!

sweet !!! Glad you like it, I too think its right up there in design etc.. I don't have any of the pivot issues you've mentioned. But I'm glad to hear you've worked out the kinks, to be honest I read your post in the Spyderco forum and was feeling a little shame for recommending this blade to you.. I think I'll just keep mine as is, by the time it takes to send it out I can address the issues myself, besides the cost of shipping

.. my only complaint is quality control, it doesn't take a knife expert to see the flaws I got in mine..

Many will think I'm being to critical, maybe in part because I make knives part-time I am, but this can be seen by the untrained eye without a doubt.. especially the sharp part, never bought a spydie that didn't push cut paper..