Spyderco Pacific Salt and H1 Steel in General: Your opinions?

K

KnifeMakeReplicate

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Jun 14, 2015
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For those here who have one, or, have seen them, what do you think of the Pacific Salt, Atlantic Salt, Salt 1, Caspian Salt, Aqua Salt, and other Spyderco Salt knives, with the Japanese H-1 stainless steel blades? What are some of your favorite uses of them?
 
The really are for use in marine environments. I've cut a few thousand saltwater fish with a USN Catcherman. H-1 is a fun steel to "learn" edge retention (straight edge) for me is not amazing (scales on some saltwater fish are tough and can really dull an edge). Supposedly, spyderedge in H-1 is great in terms of edge retention. (I will hopefully test full spyderedge.

H-1 is fun to use in a marine environment.

I carry a H-1 dragonfly as my "office knife" - clip removed. Lightweight and sharpens up really easy. (In this case no marine use, I had a "vision" of using it as a bait knife but that would not be a fitting use for the pretty little yellow dragonfly. Office use at lunch and opening various packages and the mail is perfect - H-1 not necessary but again a fun steel to "learn".

Surf Gringo will likely chime in.

Jack
 
Welcome to BF, hope you enjoy your stay.
I have an PE Aqua and Pacific Salt and love them both. The one knife I don't have to worry about rust issues. They hold an edge fairly good, but not ideal for some.
You'd probably get more input in the Spyderco Forum.
 
My H1 knife spends a lot of time on my tool belt. Keeps a descent edge for what it gets used for but nothing like s30v and really same or a little less than Vg-10
 
I got a Tasman Salt PE I put wave on and I love it. Got a Salt 1 and Ladybug that were yellow which I Rit dyed black. Didnt have to worry taking them apart or worry about rusting. H1 is SurfinGringos favorite I believe he did a writeup.
 
H1 is cool because you don't really need to worry about cleaning it, but the edge retention is not as good as some of the other steels Spyderco uses. I have 2 Dragonflys- a VG10 and an H1 and a Salt 1 and the VG10 Dragon slices paper a lot easier than the other two knives with H1. That said, they're all sharper knives than anything I have owned in the past.

I worked as a deckhand on fishing boats and while I would love to have had an H1 blade on the deck, I personally wouldn't use it at the fillet table- that spot is owned by my commercial Victorinox knives.

I would only consider H1 if you spend a lot of time in salty environments. Take care of whatever knife you end up buying and it'll last you ages.
 
I bought a Pacific salt off the exchange here and use it constantly for food prep. I think I have cut all my apples and bananas with it since having it. I would say that as a knife its great for cutting fruits and veggies, not sure about meats but would imagine it would do okay. I really just enjoy the fact that it is rust proof and when cutting food all I have to do is run it under water to clean it and I can wipe off the water I see and not worry about it rusting any parts I haven't dried. I have yet to touch the edge up after all the prep it's been used for so I would say it excels in this area. No EDC use other than opening a letter or 2. I think it would make a good office carry if needed, but for tougher use I'd go VG-10 or S30V maybe superblue or ZDP-189
 
The serrated H1 holds an edge much longer than plain edge H1. I find my serrated Tasman Salt holds it's edge even better, possibly due to its edge being in a concave radius(??). The teeth seem a little more reinforced than on a standard-shaped serrated blade. I've sometimes rolled H1 serrated teeth a bit during some use, but fixed it easily with my Sharpmaker.

As far as plain edge H1, IMO VG-10 plain edge holds a much better edge for my uses.

Those who say H1 doesn't hold an edge well must be talking about plain edge.

I don't mind that H1 scratches easily. It's a user steel for me.

Jim
 
Where's Surfingringo? He'll have a great deal of info for you on most of those models, and definitely on H1. I'd defer to him.
 
I work at a whole sale nursery and use a modified Atlantic salt every day. Serrated h1 is one of my favorite steels, it stays sharp for a long time and sharpens easily. Plain edge h1 on the other hand, I don't waste my time with it.
 
SE rocks, PE meh. You can put it in the dishwasher. My LBHB goes in my swim trunks for an emergency tool at the pool. You also can sweat on H1 until the cows come home with no rust worries. I lost a LBHB on a trip and ordered a replacement before I even returned home. It is that useful
 
Hi Replicate, absolutely get yourself a Pacific Salt! Great design for work and hard use. The FRN design has no liners to collect dirt or gunk but the knife is still very strong. Action is good, lockup is tight, and H1 is an amazing steel. The steel is quite soft at the spine and harder at the edge which makes the blade exceptionally tough. It will never ever rust. I can guarantee you that. I have had them on the saltwater in a kayak daily for some years now and if i can't make them rust then its just not going to happen.

As far as edge retention goes, there is a huge difference between serrated h1 and plain edge. Serrated h1 is extremely hard and has best in class edge retention. Plain edge h1 is meh...ok. I won't go into the work hardening explanation of that now but there are many threads on here you can find about that. Anyway, all of my salts are serrated for this reason.

As a general use, fishing, outdoor, camping, or just hard use knife, the salts can't be beat. Best value in the entire Spyderco lineup in my opinion.

FWIW, if you don't already own any serrated blades, don't be nervous about sharpening them. Its very easy with the sharpmaker and they are really mean cutters when you keep them razor sharp!
 
The H1 blade has never rusted ever on any of mine.Some of the hardware used(stainless)in the knife construction will show some surface oxidation over time if exposed to salt water.Its the best pocket knife available for salt water fishing in my opinion.I believe Surfingringo wrote an article in Blade magazine recently that explained some of his opinions and experiences with The Pacific salt model.Was a cool read and I enjoyed reading it.......
 
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salmonkiller said:
The H1 blade has never rusted ever on any of mine.Some of the hardware used(stainless)in the knife construction will show some surface oxidation over time if exposed to salt water.Its the best pocket knife available for salt water fishing in my opinion.I believe Surfingringo wrote an article in Blade magazine recently that explained some of his opinions and experiences with The Pacific salt model.Was a cool read and I enjoyed reading it.......
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Hi Salmonkiller. The pocket clip is titanium i believe, but there is a small metal washer on the clip. I have left mine in the boat and after weeks it will show a bit of rust leaking from the clip area. The rust is only coming from the tiny washer though and can be wiped away with a rag. I took mine to the Blade show and showed the washer to Sal so hopefully they will start using a brass or some other non ferrous washer. The actual H1 seems to be incapable of rusting.
 
I have rust spots on my H1 blade where the Spyderco bug is lasered into the blade. My guess is that the lasering changes the properties of the steel in a way that it makes it vulnerable for rusts. I also have some rust coming from under the handle of my Caspian Salt, i don't know where it comes from but it's there wich is weird because H1 can't rust.
 
There way I see it, there are two strong selling points for H-1. The first is that it's rust proof, not just "rust resistant". The only way you can induce corrosion on H-1 is to expose it liquids or gases so caustic that they'd kill you. The second is that, when serrated, it offers better edge holding than most other steels. That makes it a great choice if you're looking for a serrated knife, even if rust resistance is not all that important to you.

As with most things, there are negatives as well. For one, among the steels Spyderco has used over the years, plain edged H-1 is at the low end of the edge retention spectrum. The flats of H-1 blades also tend to scratch fairly easily, compared to other Spyderco steels. And, with few exceptions, Spyderco has only used in in conjunction with unlined FRN handles which don't appeal to everyone.

I don't live near the water and strongly prefer plain edged knives, so I normally carry knives with VG-10 blades. Still, whenever I need to walk my dog in the rain, I carry this modified Atlantic Salt to eliminate any need to worry about rust. I'm also considering buying a yellow Assist Salt for my car.

maple_wharn_atl3.jpg
 
Another big plus for the Salt line of folders, at least for me, is that they are very lightweight since they have no steel liners like the Delica, Endura, etc. I often carry a Salt 1 SE clipped inthe waitband of my bathng suit and I absolutely can't feel the weight. It's the knife I edc in the tropics and it's been snorkeling, diving, sweat on etc. No rust except from the clip washer, but that is minimal. I leave it uncleaned for days on end. Another aspect of H1 is that it scratches very easily, if that matters to you. I sometimes think it will scratch just from a firm wipe with a rag. the scratches don't make a difference, of course, unless you care about that stuff. My Salt 1 lives in the bag I keep attached to my bicycle when I'm not travelling.
 
I agree with all positive things everybody has said so far. I have a couple of plain edge Pacific Salt folders. They serve as summertime waistband carry knives and also running knives. They are very light, so I hardly notice having them on me. When I get home all sweaty, all I do is quickly rinse the knife and that's it, I never have to worry about rust.
Plain edge H1 is not the greatest performer, but it easily performs all the cutting tasks an office nerd like me might ever encounter! :D
 
Jim malone said:
I have rust spots on my H1 blade where the Spyderco bug is lasered into the blade. My guess is that the lasering changes the properties of the steel in a way that it makes it vulnerable for rusts. I also have some rust coming from under the handle of my Caspian Salt, i don't know where it comes from but it's there wich is weird because H1 can't rust.
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Hi Jim, thats not the H1 rusting, it is some sort of residue left from the engraving I have heard. Mine all show a little rust there the first day or two in the ocean (it can be wiped right off) but once the residue is gone then it never happens again. Not sure about the Caspian as I don't own one. Maybe the pins on the handle?
 
Yeah I noticed that on the "H1" on my Tasman the first day I had it on the water. I wonder if they use a chemical mask or etching agent and that is what it is from?

Anyways, it wipes off and doesn't seem to come back.
 
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