VG-10 Calypso Jr.

Spyderco has previously made a version of the Calypso Junior with a smooth micarta handle and an AUS-8 blade. I prefer the lighter textured handle of the new version. The new version is actually the Calypso Junior Lightweight. The FRN handle is part of the means of achieving that lightweight characteristic. I find the thin blade with the fine point serves 99% of my real needs. I use the can opener or screwdriver blades on my SAK for the other 1%.

I have several knives that fall into the same size category as the Calypso Junior Lightweight. They are certainly more rugged, but decidedly less usefull. Among my primary demands on a knife is the ability to effortlessly open cardboard boxes. Heavier knives don't slice through packing tape with a light stroke across the surface of the box. They also don't slice through heavy carboard anywhere near as easily. Yes a box cutter can do these things, but it makes a lousy scalpel and is lousy for work like whittling. The Calypso Junior Lightweight is closer to the utility of a classic pocket knife like a stockman. The design is elegant and opens particularly easily one handed. The last time I went rapelling with the guys from work I clipped my Calypso Junior Lightweight to my shirt where it would be easy to grab with either hand. I knew that in a pinch I could get it open and slice a rope, harness, or clothing with minimal chances of dropping it. One of the things the texturing is good for is to insure your grip during an awkward opening process.

The grey handled model was in fact produced due to popular demand from sophisticated knife users on Bladeforums. I got the original black handled lightweight version when it first came out. I got my grey one at the outlet store the first day that they became available. As an example of sophisticated user acceptance, Joe Talmadge gave them to all of his groomsmen. It may not hit your sweet spot as an EDC, but it does for a lot of other officianados.
 
Jeff,
You're right on the money--the Calypso Jr. is great.

After much searching, I found my wife a serrated-edge Micarta Calypso Jr. and a plain-edge Micarta one for myself.

It is really the perfect EDC.

The only knife I love more is my G-10 flat-ground Police model--but it is a bit large for an EDC, so the Calypso Jr. is THE ONE.

The only thing that would make the Micarta version better would be a more rounded cusp and VG-10.

Allen.
 
Gee Dave, I'm sorry. I liked your review and I thought it had a lot of significant information. I just took exception to your dismisal of the design as off target for sophisticated users. I can see your point that the design isn't real rugged or solid like a metal handled model. It will never be to everyone's taste or fit everyone's application. Just because I give you an argument doesn't mean I don't think your observations have merit. If you have a copy of your review I hope you will put it all back.

I was looking forward to having my comments picked apart. I made some fairly bald statements that I expected to see rebutted. There are an awful lot of knives out there that might compete in performance with a Calypso Junior Lightweight and have a nicer feel or look. I was hoping to extend your review, not discredit it.

Again, I'm sorry if I came off like a stuffed shirt. I was writing in a hurry and I wasn't as careful of my tone as I would have been, given more time. I really liked your review.
 
Hi, Jeff, and thanks for clarifying. No hard feelings, and my apologizes for any personal offense I may have given.

Some of the remarks in your first post do sound pretty dismissive. And then, capping it off with an argument from authority in the final paragraph ... well, it just hit a nerve. Particularly coming from someone whom I consider to be one of my friends here.

I'll share with you my reaction at the time, immediately after reading your reply:

Others may have the patience to reply to someone who's argument is, "How many knives have you made?", "Joe knifeknut left these to his friends and pallbearers in his will", or any similar argument from authority, but I don't. When I post my findings and opinions, I'm afraid they have to stand on their own merit alone (if they have any.) I'm not an ABS member. I've only made a few, crude workshop blades. I'm not even a BFC Gold Member&#8212;hell, I'll never even hit 1000 posts to these forums in my lifetime. <g>

If the standard around here is "sophisticated user acceptance" then my opinion evidently is of no interest, and probably never will be by those kinds of standards.

Now, a bit of context ...

I've been getting a bit discouraged with my knife hobby lately anyway. It seems like I can't buy a knife or knife accessory sight unseen lately without getting a defective one that slipped through lax QC. Fortunately, I'm in this hobby more for the intellectual interest, and if I learn something from the experience, even if I wind up with a knife that I can't/won't use, or where I feel that the manufacturer really didn't provide value for my money, in the sense I think most here would expect to receive value, then that's OK, too.

I've already learned some very valuable things from the Calypso Jr. If you recall my review, there were some glowing remarks. I feel I was able to remain fairly objective, despite having to return the first knife, and being sent a replacement knife that many here would find unacceptable (vertical blade play.) But that experience in itself is going to factor in to one's assessment of a company and the products it manufactures and sells. Wouldn't it for you?

Anyway, that's where I'm coming from. Where I'm going, well, I don't know, although "outta here" is a distinct possibility.

The only thing I really wanted to debate with you about the Calypso Jr. was using it as a whittler, because I can't see that at all&#8212;seems to me you'd either have to have the patience of Job, or be whittling balsa, to choose this knife for whittling.

But that's just my opinion, and sophisticated users may not agree, so ...

Again, I hope there's no hard feelings.

With Best Regards,
Dave
 
Hello Dave, I consider you a friend here as well. I don't harbor any hard feelings, just mortification that I should have discouraged you. It is really hard in email or other brief print messages to communicate the personality of the writer. Most of us don't have open-ended time at our disposal and we just don't think or type fast enough to get across more than a fraction of what we mean and how we intend it to be taken. We are really still strangers and we don't have the luxury of building on a history of shared jokes and stories.

I really wanted to start out my original reply with a joke. It would have put my old friends in stitches, but without knowing your background in detail I didn't know if you could even identify the comedic reference. It comes from about the second season of Saturday Night Live. At that point Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin are doing the satirical Weekend Update news show. They have this section called Point/Counterpoint where they give dueling editorial commentaries. The joke is when they go over the top with wild personal slanders. In order to set the tone of my response as a joke I wanted to start off with the beginning of Aykroyd's classic rebuttal to Curtin's scathing denunciation of him and all similar "conservatives". If you know the bit it starts off "Jane you ignorant slut." Among my close friends that would be recognized as sort of a challenge to a friendly verbal duel. A duel where nothing is to be taken as seriously intended and where the antagonists will attempt to take on the most extremely polar viewpoints. It's sort of like playing tag and having some other kid come up and say, "Tag, your It".

I gave up on starting my comment that way, it had much too high a risk of being taken as serious (demented, but serious). I tried to think of some similar kind of joke, but I just couldn't think of anything that would be universally interpretted as a joke or as indicaticative of a somewhat light-hearted intent. I didn't think any of the smilies could carry a fraction of my attitude. So in the end I got in a hurry and just wrote down my "Counterpoint" to your "Point". I was hoping that I had conveyed to you enough of a sense of my respect for your contributions and insights in our previous comuniques so that what I said would not be taken as a serious indictment, just some flack from a friend who wanted to play. Aah, the danger of the printed word. Well it's more the weakness of any communication with someone who doesn't know you well. I've seen some amazing confusions in a work environment where close associates miss each other's intent in conversations.

I hope that we can stay in touch and that we can learn to read each other better. I'll give you a headstart. I am almost never completely serious about anything I say. Even in a serious conversation I will usually try and frame the issues as ironic or humorous. On the forum I will leave out much of the humor because it is often interpretted literally. In technical matters I will try and distill my suggestions or observations down to the clearest description I can compose. To keep it simple I will leave out exceptions and doubts. That doesn't mean I don't see exceptions or have doubts, I just think their inclusion would obscure the information that I am trying to convey. In person I'm a hell of a nice guy :D

Back to responding to your recent comments:

I can see how you'd get discouraged, if not real pissed off, about receiving faulty knives from major manufacturers. In years gone by I saw so many faulty lockbacks that I would never buy one without sifting through the dealer stock and checking each one looking for the best. I hadn't thought about it, but that is what I did when I got my two Calypsos. I went to the old Spyderco Outlet Store and hand selected my black handled model and a couple years later went to the new store and hand selected my grey handled version. If you hadn't raised the issue, I doubt that I would ever have remembered doing that. Maybe there are QC issues particular to the CJ's that escaped my attention. I have generally had good luck buying knives online. In the last 6 years I have only received one faulty knife. That was a Boker with a lock that was not effective. I have fixed knives for years so I am a bit inclined to just fix minor problems without that registering in my memory. In some ways I am a sophisticated, but not overly critical knife consumer. In general I have been pleased with the workmanship of Spyderco knives.

I share your interest in the technical aspects of knives. I buy lots of knives to explore the perforance of different alloys or different unusual knife features. Most of these spend most of their time in drawers between tests. I thought you did a nice job of describing the performance of both your Calypsos (the defective one as well as the sloppy one). I thought you gave credit where credit was due as well as providing nice numerical performance results. I liked that you refined the edge before completing your test. That makes it more useful for me since I am never content with a factory edge. It is interesting to see that brittle edges can slip by QC at a company like Spyderco. I think that is why it is common for production knives to be softer than customs. I have a Spyderco Starmate that I am not all that happy with because the 440V blade is only hardened to around 55RC. I like the harder VG-10, but you can see how that adds to the company QC challenges.

As to using the Calypso Junior for whittling, I am talking about some utilitarian wood shaping. A classic example is the making of triggers for animal traps. You often need to make straight-walled notches in small branches for things like a figure-four deadfall. Another task that I consider whittling is making skewers or arrows by splitting and shaping rough branches or boards. What I'm not talking about is art/hobby whittling like making an interlocking chain. For detailed whittling I usually use a stockman pocket knife. Most of the work is done with the short spey and sheeps foot blades. For general shaping of wood without complex interior cuts the thin flat blade of the Calypso Junior Lightweight works well. The point can do some detail work, but the blade is too long to make complex point work very safe.

Thinking happy thoughts :cool: ,

Jeff C.
 
Dave I just glanced through the review friday as I was leaving work (no internet at home - in the stone ages here), and was impressed by the level of detail, it is nice to see some quantitative aspects of performance discussed.

In regards to preferences, knives are tools and there is a *HUGE* user bias based on personal perference. I have had knives that I thought were solid, and gave them to my brother, who using them for similar tasks, hated them. He has different methods of use, different body type, etc., and thus prefers different knives. He still views the Trailmaster as one of his favorite long knives, so no accounting for taste.

I didn't catch your comment about whittling, but if you mean actual whittling as in carving sculpture wise, the Calypso Jr. is not an optimal choice, here you want a much more narrow blade to be able to get a tighter turn, a smaller blade which is shorter, and thus is easier to point work, etc. . My grandfather used to do intricate carvings in wood, horses, people, etc., and generally worked with very small knives. I do similar from time to time, with ten times as much effort, and about 1/10 the results, never got that gene obviously.

I also know how you feel in regards to getting defective knives, I have seen many. More than once I have seen defects and have the manufacture state "We have made over XXX knives and yours is the first problem.". Seems I am just lucky this way. I should sign up for QC testing somewhere and just randomally snatch the defects from the line.

The biggest problem I find with such issues is that in the majority of cases you never get a clear answer on if it was actually defective or not, in the sense that you never get told can you do what damaged the knife. For example you break the tip off doing some prying, the maker/manufacturer says, yeah thats defective, here is a new one. But won't come out and say that the knife should not have broken, go ahead do that with confidence.

It is a hassle, getting a new knife and having to sharpen it, or when you do note the edge angles are uneven (glad to see you report this, I noticed it and for a long tiem thought i was the only one seeing it), and even worse after going through everything to clean up the bevels find out that the steel is itself defective.

Bottom line though, in part, maybe just a little, but posts like yours to help change the cutlery industry for the better, you have to get these problems out for them to be changed.

-Cliff
 
Jeff&#8212;I truly appreciate your taking the time to draft such a thoughtful and personal reply, and share some insight into the man behind the words. Being a huge fan of the old SNL, and Dan Aykroyd in particular, I would have laughed my arse off had you dope-slapped me in your reply by saying something like, "Dave, you ungrateful knife-slut!"

An interesting similarity/difference between us ... you've probably noticed that, online, I can't resist interjecting a bit of humor now and then. This is a life-long trait that became thoroughly embedded in my personality during my working days as a commercial investigator (I also like to blame those years in my chosen trade for the fact that I'm still something of a confrontational hot-head and a**hole, though retirement and relative isolation have gone a longs ways towards toning down these unfortunate behaviors.) So often did I find myself working for, or with, uptight, stressed-out, high-pressure people, and dealing with ugly situations, that I almost certainly would have gone crazy if I didn't have some means of relieving the tension. My chosen relief valve was dry, sometimes even morbid humor, and it turned out that my clients and others I came in contact with apparently appreciated it. At least they kept hiring me.

Perhaps deep down inside, I didn't feel comfortable posting the review I did, suspecting myself of some less-than-noble motive. In fact, thinking about it now, that's probably the case, at least in some measure. I do feel a bit chafed that Spyderco would send me a warranty replacement knife that itself (IMO) should never have passed QC. Perhaps my review reflected the ongoing inner struggle of part of me really wanting to like this knife, and another part of me not wanting to.

Now I have an idea, Jeff, and I think you're just the man to help me out with this inner conflict I'm experiencing over my knife hobby. Part of my ongoing "blade anxiety" is that I'm still awaiting a replacement for a Bark River Knife & Tool Woodland I returned. I believe I've seen you post favorable comments about Bark River, and would be honored if you would accept it as a gift when it becomes available, a token of friendship, and my way of hoping to apologize for venting my pent-up frustration on you. There's kind of a story here, but the bottom line is, I think this knife will be a lot happier, and much more productive, making its home with you, rather than sitting in a drawer/box with me, here in the urban gut of Denver. If you don't happen to have a need for it, perhaps you could give it to one of your hunting buddies, and get him started on this confounded hobby and obsession with knives. <g>

BTW, lest it should sound as though this has been a thoroughly miserable thing for me, this recent rekindling and intensifying of my life-long interest in knives, that's really not true. Kind of for the hell of it, when I ordered the Calypso Jr., I picked up a Becker BK11, thinking that it might make a good little project knife that I could add scales to, and so have a rough-and-tumble little fixed blade. I fully expected not to like the BK11's skeletonized handle, and in fact violated a long-standing rule of thumb I have not to even bother with any knife with a handle less than 3.5" in length.

As it turned out, I absolutely love the BK11. For some reason, the short, thin, skeletonized handle on this knife just fits my bony, medium-large hands like it was custom made for me, and the way the knife handles and cuts ... man, it feels like a good, full-sized fixed blade in use; just an amazingly powerful cutter for its size. I even love the Kydex sheath&#8212;the only thing in my life I've ever liked wearing around my neck (oh, how I suffered socially during the disco era of the 70's!)&#8212;and it works equally well lashed up to belt or gear, or simply carried in a pocket.

So, during the time I've been waiting for warranty replacements on other knives, the BK11 took over as my #1 EDC ... and I don't see anything even on the far horizon that I think is going to challenge it in that role for a good, long time. Besides, with me being an aspiring minimalist, I need to nip this knife-buying activity in the bud, at least until I can relocate myself to more rural digs.

Anyway, thanks for your patience, Jeff, and your willingness to forgive my sometimes bristly nature. As I've said before, BFC is far and away the most polite and enjoyable online community I have ever found ... and you are a shining example of everything that's good about these forums.

Regards,
Dave
 
Cliff&#8212;I'm glad you had a chance to read the review before I removed it, and very much appreciate your feedback and comments. Your own reviews have been a major factor in shaping the way I think about knives and the knife industry today, and have contributed a tremendous amount to my layman's understanding.

Of course you are absolutely correct about user bias and preference, and I would add that manufacturers, makers and users all stand to benefit from hearing even those opinions that may be more a reflection of personal bias than anything else. When it comes to knives, or almost any other hand tool, there are those times when we choose to look at things analytically, and attempt to be as objective as possible ... and yet much of the objective in doing so is to optimize the tool so that, in actual use, we don't have to think about the tool so much, and can focus our attention on the larger task(s) at hand.

Recalling some e-mails we exchanged not too long ago about QC, recent experiences&#8212;not to mention, many of the posts I read on these forums&#8212;have led me to believe that the knife industry has probably struggled more than I realized in the present economy, where most manufacturers and sellers to the retail market have experienced tremendous competition, and have very little pricing power. Under those conditions, there's a great risk that something will suffer, and it appears that, in some cases, quality issues may have been the result.

It would not surprise me to learn that some knife manufacturers with significant sales to less sophisticated buyers (i.e., non-blade enthusiasts) have elected with full knowledge to run their businesses this way, and that management believes there to be greater profitability in those markets with only minimal pre-sale QC. I recall my father talking about his early days, working as a test engineer for GE: it galled him to no end that GE didn't merely target a failure rate for its small motors division of 7% ... no, if the failure rate in the field declined to 6%, they deliberately would begin to cheapen the product to get it back up to the desired 7% "optimum" rate.

For a knife that the company apparently knows, before it's even put into production, will mostly be sold to enthusiasts, you'd think they'd give them a little bit closer inspection. For what I paid in extra postage/ insurance, or what Jeff has to pay in gas driving from Colorado Springs up to the outlet store, surely somebody could take a few minutes to look each knife over, and charge an additional $15-$20 if they have to, which I think most here would be glad to pay for the added assurance of getting a solid, quality piece.

Thanks for helping lift this thread out from potential oblivion, Cliff. I'll ruminate on this a bit, and perhaps repost the review.

Regards,
Dave
 
With some reluctance, I'm going to post my original review below, along with some comments I've inserted, {italicized, and in brackets}, to hopefully clarify things and take the edge off a few of the remarks I made.

VG-10 Calypso Jr.&#8212;Review

Background: I recently acquired a gray FRN PE VG-10 Calypso Jr., which was replaced by Spyderco under warranty (see later posts in [thread=268894]this thread[/thread], if interested.) Having had some time now to work with the knife, I felt a brief review might be of interest.

Comparisons between the original Calypso Jr. I'd received and the replacement bear out the fact that there was indeed something wrong with the steel in the first knife. From the factory, the first knife required 5-5.5 pounds of force to push cut unsupported .080" nylon monofilament line (reference to earlier discussion found [thread=305456]here)[/thread] while the replacement knife required only about 4.5 pounds. Due to problems with microchipping, the first knife could not be satisfactorily sharpened; the replacement knife, however, responded readily to finish sharpening with fine ceramic and stropping on leather loaded with CrO, after which only 3.5-4 pounds of force was required to push cut the unsupported nylon line&#8212;the best performance obtained to that point from any knife I've tested using this method.

Preliminary, informal testing of the new knife finds edge retention to be extremely good, if not excellent. After cutting about 12 yards of recycled cardboard stock&#8212;a material prized for it's consistent ability to dull a fine edge on lesser steels after cutting only a few feet (also prized for the excellent bottled beer that comes packaged in it)&#8212;the blade would still cleanly shave arm hair, and performed other, routine cutting tasks as though just freshly sharpened.

Despite the more-than-satisfactory sharpness of the Calypso Jr., I had noticed early on that the edge bevel wasn't particularly consistent, either from left to right or along its length. Being somewhat particular about these things, and since it was only as a result of having attempted a full sharpening of the original knife that I was able to identify a serious problem with the blade steel, I decided to reprofile the edge bevel of the new knife to ~12°/side.

It turned out that the bevel on the right side of the blade was already just about 12°, and had been ground quite shallow from the factory. The left side bevel was far less regular, but overall close to Spyderco's stated target of 17°, and, having been cut much deeper, resulted in this being a more substantial reprofiling job than it probably should have been. For my own reference I like to see how a particular steel works on a medium India oilstone, and while the VG-10 wasn't particularly hard to work, most of the reprofiling was done with diamond media, which went quite quickly. The primary edge bevel was then finished up on medium India, with it being worth noting that the VG-10 took an unusually fine and uniform finish.

A light microbevel of 17°/side was then applied with fine ceramic. When examined under magnification, no microchipping was found as had been observed during sharpening with the knife returned to Spyderco. Following a light stropping, the knife was tested for sharpness, severing the unsupported nylon line with a mere 3 pounds and change of force&#8212;better than I'd honestly expected, given that a new double edged razor blade requires about 2 pounds.

In practical use, the Calypso Jr. is clearly an effective tool for a variety of light cutting tasks such as many people are likely to find in the home or modern work environment. This, IMO, can be attributed almost exclusively to the high performance grind and blade geometry. Further work with the knife and subsequent examination reveals some minimal tendency towards microchipping of the edge, but with little perceptible degradation of cutting performance in actual use noted thus far as a result.

{Here's where I feel my judgment may have been colored by other factors:}

I was initially impressed by the ergonomic contours formed by the blade and handle for placement of thumb and index finger, the elegance of this design and how the contours work harmoniously when the knife is closed. Despite this interesting feature, however, I don't particularly care for the ergonomics of the knife. With the lock having a small amount of vertical play, the thumb and index finger are positioned to feel the blade squirming relative to the frame when cutting, which does not inspire a sense of great confidence in the overall strength and construction of the knife. Too, even as inexpensive FRN folders go, the Calypso Jr.'s handle has a bit of a cheap feel. The fishscale texture on the sides of the handle seems to have little functional value, as purchase is mostly achieved on the edges of the handle and in the aforementioned "squirmy" thumb and index finger recesses. It seems clear that the designer(s) sought to optimize the knife for holding in one position only, that being a "normal" grip with the thumb on the ramp area on top of the blade. As a result, other grip positions are mostly uncomfortable and not particularly workable.

{What's particularly ironic here is that I am unusually fond of lightweight FRN folders; in fact, since I was a kid, it seems like my taste in pocket knives has always been away from the thick, heavy Boy Scout knives and Barlows I first became acquainted with, and towards the thinnest, lightest, full-sized, single locking blade folders I could find. I'm pretty sure that if the Calypso Jr. didn't have so much vertical blade play, my gut-level reaction to it would be much more favorable: I was dead serious in calling the thumb and index finger contours of this knife elegant; it's just that those same contours magnify one's awareness of any blade play.

However, having had a lot of experience with FRN folders, I do have a certain basis for comparison here, and a very good one would be the Ka-Bar Dozier series, the handle on which is exceptional (IMO) especially for a sub-$20 knife. Where the Calypso Jr. is a specialist, optimized for one particular hold, The Ka-Bar Dozier is an amazing generalist&#8212;I can hardly find a position in the hand where it doesn't feel good. The Ka-Bar feels more solid to me, I like the texture better ... and it's even got an adjustable pivot and can be fully disassembled. The Ka-Bar AUS8A, though, leaves a great deal to be desired, and I don't really care for hollow-ground blades. Thus, despite its merits, the Ka-Bar Dozier is no more than a decent, sub-$20 beater to my way of thinking. The Calypso Jr. is much more than that, although I still think it could be improved upon.}

In addition to the Calypso Jr.'s excellent blade geometry, sharpness and edge retention, other pluses are its smooth operation (replacement knife noticeably more so than the first), stiff lock spring and Boye detent to reduce risk of accidental opening, and light weight.

While it is certainly gratifying to any blade enthusiast to have a knife that can so easily obtain such a keen edge and retain it well, I find myself with extremely mixed feelings about this knife. The Calypso Jr. lacks the versatility and robustness I prefer in a knife for everyday carry and all-around use. Nor do I feel that Spyderco has executed the knife as well as they could, or should. If this knife is seriously aimed at the enthusiast market, then a higher quality handle or handle material is called for, with better overall construction and improved quality control. As it is, it's easy to surmise why this knife may not have been a commercial success for Spyderco, inasmuch as its design and construction really limit it mostly to tasks for which a simple box cutter would probably be a better choice for most people, under most circumstances.

{I know that can't sound good to those who really like the Calypso Jr., but that was my honest conclusion after reflecting upon where this knife fits in the broad scheme of things; or at least, where it would fit among the knives I own and use, in terms of function and job suitability. When I said that "a simple box cutter would probably be a better choice for most people, under most circumstances", what I was referring to was the lack of acceptance of the Calypso line in the non-enthusiast market, which I've seen discussed on the Spyderco forum. The average guy probably isn't going to have the skill needed to use a knife such as this, keep the premium steel blade sharp, and perhaps even keep from breaking it; with a box cutter, he faces none of those things, which for him may be very real problems.

I also can't see the Calypso Jr. filling some of the roles many desire from their EDCs: self-defense (though I would *hate* to be slashed with one!), cutting chores where you need a blade with more belly, or when you just have to bear down on something thick and tough in order to cut it. But this may reflect nothing more than personal prejudices, born out of my own limited experiences.

I think it's fair to state, too, that my thoughts here have been colored by my adoption of the BK11 as an EDC knife during this same time. I'd never realized how much I would appreciate a robust, hard use little knife like this. If I could only carry one knife with about a 3" blade, and had no way of knowing what I might be doing with it in advance, there's no question which I would choose.

But that's not a valid criticism of any other knife, particularly not a knife like the Calypso Jr., which I see as a specialized&#8212;and yes, I would say, a very refined&#8212;design. I only wish I had received better built examples of this knife, in order that I might fully appreciate all it has to offer, as many very knowledgeable knife enthusiasts obviously have.}

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

First, I would like to say that I'm sorry for your disappointment in our product. We do extend our best effort to create good products out of exceptional materials. We do make thousands of knives and the incidence of error is quite low. Sorry it had to be you.

I would also like to say that this is a forum and all opinions are welcome. You should try not to take offense if one may disagree with you. Your voice is as valuable as anyones.

As far as the Calypso is concerened, I thought it was one of my better designs. Though I must say the market doesn't agree and the model will be disco'd at the end of the year or when current inventory is gone.

I have seen many come into and go out of the knife industry. As one remains involved, the learning curve continues to go up. The more you learn, the more there is to learn. I realize that "appearance" plays a major role, but gradually steels, grinds, ergos, long term reliability become more important.

Spyderco seems to get high marks; for reliability, performance, materials, safety, customer involvement and ergonomics. Perhaps those features will get you back in the future.

I would hope you would reconsider your involvement in our industry as there is more to knives than a $20 Kabar "beater", at least I would hope there would be more for you. ;)

sal
 
I guess that means I have to get one before they are gone. I was one of those who really like the Calypso Jr..
 
This knife is now my favorite every day carry knife at work.

It is:

1. Light weight and rides in my dress pants well. What seems like "cheap" plastic to some is an asset to me.

2. Sharp, right out of the box.

3. Ergodynamic. I love the grooves and the choil.

4. Reliable. I am a fan of the Boyd dent lockback.

I have three and plan to buy 2 more.
 
the calypso Jr is the perfect everyday carry for me in fact I sometimes carry two.one plain the other serrated when I'm doing work around the house.
for me I have to carry a knife in my shirt pocket because I use a wheelchair and can't carry knives in my pants pocket.

I also have a difficult time carrying a knife on belt again because of wheelchair , makes it difficult to carry comfortable.
the only exception is a horizontal sheath I got from lifter for a buck 110&112 but I find them a little heavy for edc. the calypso jr. is light,sharp and I can carry in my shirt pocket in other words for myself a great edc for me.
 
I love my Calypso Jr. I'm really glad that they were reintroduced, even if it was only for a short time.
resize6.jpg
 
Bravo Colarodo Dave. You spoke the truth as you see it. I agree with many of your statements. I own a lot of Spydercos, but I have the same problems with some of their products as you do. If spydreco's "incidence of error" is low, then I must have bad luck.

I have had a G10 Harpy in ATS55 where the tip broke and shouldn't have...poor heat treat in my opinion, but not Spydercos. Interesting that they didn't charge me for reprofiling, but should have if it was user abuse. I took that as admitting a poor heat treat, but was unwilling to replace a discontinued knife. I've had two ATS55 blades, one rusts in my pocket, the other doesn't...is it the steel or the heat treat?

I think Spyderco is dead wrong in stating that a little vertical play in a lock back is "normal". Maybe normal for spyderco but not for all my other lockbacks.

I too feel their FRN appears to be less sturdy and more pliable than other companies. Particularly when compared to my Cold Steel voyager. However, I've never had it fail and it does make the knife lighter.

I've seen perfect Spyderco knives when it comes to finish and workmanship, but others that appear to be made by a different company. I have a shabaria with perfect fit and finish, but a Jot where all the handle bevels were crooked and didn't match. My starmate has an uneven grind and my lum chinese has a grind that stops just short of the tip. My Wegner was received NIB with a surface scratch on the handle.

Like some, I find the Glesser design for a blade (i.e. the triangle shape such as the delica, Calypso, Milatary) less useful than other designs. Others do like the design, i give the delica as a present and it is always appreciated.

Why do I still buy spyderco? Because some of their designs are unique and really float my boat. Because when their knives are good, they are almost perfect. Some of their line is unique, such as the ronin, shabaria and maddox. But I never buy a new model without handling it, their ergonomics don't always meet my needs. For presents I buy or use internet dealers that will check out the knife for me before shipping.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top