The Spydiest of Spydercos Has Arrived: Delica in SPY27

[jsg71]

I thought the same thing so I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[jmh33]

I just got my Delica a few minutes ago but first impression is great. Super sharp , and love the color. I was also happy to see they went the non-coated clip which really looks good to me.

Black clips are a mistake!!
Flows better with the stainless!!
John

 

[stillshot2]

Black clips are a mistake!!
Flows better with the stainless!!
John

Especially when it's the only black part on the knife, like when the scales are a different color than black.

 

[jmh33]

Especially when it's the only black part on the knife, like when the scales are a different color than black.

Much better!!
John

 

[brownshoe]

For me (and limited use on a Spyderco Native 5 lightweight SPY27) SPY27 is above VG10 in all around performance. Below is a composition comparison between both steels.

Composition & Properties Comparison:​

Property	VG-10	SPY27
Maker	Takefu (Japan)	Spyderco + Crucible (USA)
Carbon	1.0%	1.25%
Chromium	15%	14%
Vanadium	0.2%	1%
Cobalt	1.5%	1.5%
Molybdenum	1%	2%
Niobium	None	1%
Edge Retention	Good	Better
Toughness	Decent	Slightly better
Corrosion Resistance	Excellent	Excellent
Sharpening Ease	Easy	Moderate (still very manageable)

SPY27 not only has a higher alloy content than VG-10, but it's also a powdered metallurgy steel, whereas VG-10 is an ingot steel. For me, SPY27 feels closer in performance to S35VN than VG-10—but it's noticeably easier to maintain.


When comparing steels, I usually focus on corrosion resistance, edge retention, and toughness, and I benchmark against the steels I’ve used the most: VG-10, S30V, and S35VN.


Knife Steel Nerds has a great analysis on SPY27 here:
SPY27 Analysis – Knife Steel Nerds


From that article:

• Corrosion resistance:
  SPY27 – 7.9
  VG-10 – 8.0
  S30V & S35VN – 7.8
• Edge retention (CATRA at 61 HRC):
  SPY27 – 128
  VG-10 – 103
  S30V – 144
  S35VN – 134
• Toughness:
  SPY27 seems to be at least as tough as S35VN, and in my experience, it performs better than VG-10 in that regard.

While I still think VG-10 is a solid steel (and I wouldn't hesitate to carry it), if I had the choice, I’d go with SPY27 each and every time.


To me, it’s just so cool that Spyderco’s most iconic model, the Delica, now comes in a steel developed by Spyderco themselves. It really feels like the perfect marriage of design, steel, and brand philosophy.

There was no testing in support of that article. The author states at the end: “Unfortunately, I am probably unlikely to get flatstock for experiments due to the steel being exclusive to Spyderco.“ That makes it all basically a guess.

The Delica is just a smaller Endura which is the iconic Spyderco knife.