went on a buying binge

[tonydahose]

in the past few months. heres what i got:

a retired burgandy calypso (NIB) flawless and really freaking sharp. 2 questions on it...what is so special about the zdp189 steel. and if it is so good why don't they use it in other knives?


an engraved ss delica

a blue ladybug (still hasn't arrived yet)

now this joins to the collection of an old endura combo edge(been sharpened 3x by spyderco and reground due to a broken tip along with a new ss version of the endura and last but not least a kopa evrina

i also had on order a custom santa fe dragonfly with stonework on both sides (was going to be my lil pocket knife)but after a month of waiting santa fe says it is lost by ups. this was going to cost me 225. i spoke to the guy i ordered it with(he has an account with santa fe) and had the order completely cancelled. instead of getting a refund i am going to order a few more knives. so here is what i am thinking of(any input is welcome) a military knife (for when i am at work at the firehouse) i like the plain edge personally the debate is the regular military with the black blade or the carbon fiber one. (those of you with the black blade, do they scratch easily?) next one is a spyderfly...either the new curved one(i cant think of the name right now or the regular spyderfly, unfortunately he doesnt have any rainbows. that leaves me with about 50 bucks if i dont get the carbon fiber military. any ideas? my heart just wasnt into the santa fe after seeing the new line up of kopas. i think the red coral will be its replacement , better steel and nicer fit and finish. any and all ideas are welcome

 

[Planterz]

ZDP-189 is a pretty new steel. It's special that it can be made much harder than other premium steels, without being too brittle. IIRC, the Calypso Jr. has a hardness of 64 Rc (compared to the 59-60 on their VG-10 and S30V blades). William Henry takes their ZDP-189 up to 67 Rc. The benifit is that you can go much longer between sharpenings.

You don't see it much yet because it's still very new. There's going to be a limited Delica run with a ZDP-189 blade early 2006, and hopefully the Bob Lum Chinese will be reissued with this steel (still in the planning stages). I expect in the next couple years we'll see more and more knives in ZDP-189.

 

[Senate]

ZDP is also more expensive that's why you don't see it on affordable knives... well that was before Spyderco did the Caly of course. thank them for that!

 

[T.K.C.]

Congrats on the Spydie purchases!! ZDP is awesome!! I am soooo looking forward to my ZDP Delica arriving.

 

[puukkoman]

It's a really nice steel -- congrats on the Caly Jr.
Wish I had one.

Look at the blade, and you'll see it's got a nice hamon -- a visible temper line. This is a nice feature -- shows that the blade is differentially heat treated, with the edge much harder than the rest of the blade. A blade treated this way will have the advantage of extremely hard steel at the cutting edge, and slightly softer, not-as-brittle steel towards the spine for added strength.

Enjoy your knives!

Peace.

 

[tonydahose]

It's a really nice steel -- congrats on the Caly Jr.
Wish I had one.

Look at the blade, and you'll see it's got a nice hamon -- a visible temper line. This is a nice feature -- shows that the blade is differentially heat treated, with the edge much harder than the rest of the blade. A blade treated this way will have the advantage of extremely hard steel at the cutting edge, and slightly softer, not-as-brittle steel towards the spine for added strength.

Enjoy your knives!

Peace.

i was wondering what that was.. good info

 

[goldy675]

I thought that the line you see on the caly was due to the knife being made of layered metal... zdp-189 in the middle sandwiched between two outer layers of softer steel.

 

[Senate]

I thought that the line you see on the caly was due to the knife being made of layered metal... zdp-189 in the middle sandwiched between two outer layers of softer steel.

yep, you nailed it...