The Last knife I will be buying for awhile and why I chose it

Allen R.

Allen R.

Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
2,908
Well with a new addition to the family supposed to be here Christmas Day, the wife is on me about buying knives. So I had a discussion with her and we came to an agreement that I could buy one more knife for the time being but said knife was going to haft to last me for awhile as she's not going to be working for awhile etc. I looked , and looked , and looked , at probably every company , and knife in their line up, I did this for 3-4 days actually as this is a pretty big deal for me. I have several knives I have owned before but sold or traded and thought hmmmmm, Do I want to get one of the knives I regret getting rid of or try something different all together? Well I am a long time Spyderco lover, but I have strayed away from them for a while for no other reason except to see what else is out there, but as far as price for materials , and the way Sal &co conduct themselves I came back to Spyderco. That was the easy part, when I decided a Spyderco was going to be "the choice", I browsed every knife in the lineup, watched too many videos and finally made a decision. Caly 3.5 in Zdp-189, I have a few spydies in zdp-189 and I love the steel, That along with the wire pocket clip, and handle material made for a sweet looking knife. I also read just how well these things cut and how thin they were and it was all over with, ordered her last night, and she's set to be here Tuesday.

Then I continued reading, I'm the type of guy that I don't believe a lot of things I read online , but I heard some people having issues with their knife, Have any of you Caly owners had any major issues that would make you either not buy the knife again, or make you regret buying it?? I'm confident the knife will be GTG and if It had ANY problems I know spyderco would take care of it, but I would just like to know if these knives are prone to having certain issues? Also Glamour shots of the Caly 3.5 next to other spydies or knives would be appreciated if anybody just has any lying around...
 
Not CF zdp, but you get the picture...

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I never realized just how ugly the Caly 3 is :D I think I love it. Good choice Allen! And congratulations on the little one.
 
I don't care for ZDP-189 (to hard for ME to sharpen) but my Caly 3.5 in VG10 has bumped every other knife I have from my pocket. Imo this knife is perfect.
 
The 3.5 is a nice one. I could probably live with just that one, but it would be hard!
 
IMO Moki makes the best lockbacks in the world. They do great work for Spyderco on the Caly's, and I doubt you'll have any type of problem with it. I think you'll be surprised at just how well its made.

Congratulations on the baby !!!
 
I don't have the ZDP version but I do have one of the Super Blue 3.5s and it is an amazing EDC/kitchen duty knife, probably my favorite for that. Don't have any complaints with it's size or ergos, in fact it has some of the best ergos I have seen in any knife. Most knives I don't like the hump right in front of the thumb but it just works on the 3.5

Now here are some glamour shots of mine. You may notice the clip on mine is shorter than usual, I swapped a Dragonfly Salt clip onto mine after anodizing it. Just something I wanted to try and I like how it worked.

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I think you've made a GREAT choice. This is my most carried knife. Packs a lot of blade in a small, thin package. A real thing of beauty. The CF is easy on the pockets and the wire clip makes it the best. It has to be good to take the place of my Sage 1.

You will love it. Congrats
 
I too would have only favorable things to about my VG-10 Caly 3.5. It is a nearly perfect EDC. It is no wonder it featured as Sal's very own EDC of choice.
 
My Caly 3.5 came from the factory very gritty. I washed it with hot water and soap several times. Each time I thought I solved the problem, but after a little time in pocket the grittiness came back. So I removed the pivot screw and took the blade out. I noticed some debris (steel shards?) which I removed. I then sanded the inside of the liners (knife not technically disassembled, just the blade), but some gun grease on the blade and put it all back together. She's nice and smooth now. It's my work EDC right now and it's awesome. It is my only Moki knife, but I have to say it has the worst fit and finish of all my Spyderco's. From other Moki knives I have held I would have to say Seki has them beat. But ymmv. Congrats on the knife.

My wife is due in December too. She keeps telling me I have to stop buying as well for all the same reasons you stated. I'm having a hard time though. I just picked up a grey G10 Jester bnib that I couldn't pass up. Soon the Karahawk will be here and I've been waiting all year for it. And now, I've found a bnib Caly 3 in Super Blue that I might have to buy. Good luck with just one and congrats on the baby!
 
Glad you settled on a winner, Allen. The Caly is a champ in my book. No matter how excited I get about acquiring a new knife, the Caly eventually ends up coming with me for EDC. Just an amazing knife.
 
I love my caly 3. I have purchased other knives since I got it but nothing has kicked it out of my pocket for any length of time.
 
I hope it serves you well. My second child (daughter) is due Jan 8. I have been scanning the exchange for the past 6 months or so trying to find good deals on LNIB or slightly used Delica's Endura's to pack away in the safe. I am anticipating what you are, my 2 kids will get the utmost priority and hey at least I will have some Spyderco's in the safe for when I need to put a fresh horse in the line up. Managed to find 4 LNIB Endura's and 2 NIB Stretch's, think I have 215 bucks in all of them. I bought a brand new Delica and am glad I did, what a nice blade for shorts and T shirt weather.
 
The Caly 3.5 is an interesting style- I like the slim blade shape. The slim handle makes that Stretch really look fat, might be too slim for me.
 
Luckily I have some spydies in Zdp-189 and I love the steel, Yea it takes longer to sharpen but IMO it is worth it and the edge it takes is amazing, my zdp endura us 20 degrees inclusive up to 3000 grit , then I free handed it on the spyderco UF benchstone and stropped, I let 2 guys use it last week , and both got cut and didn't realize it until they felt blood running down their hands :D . I love the Idea of putting the dragonfly clip on the clay, as I have a zdp dragonfly and I always just pocket carry it , so I may give that a shot just to try it out, Thank you all for your input.
 
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