new guy

[fisherman]

Hi,



I have been, for sometime now, highly interested in spyderco knives. This forum looked neat so I decided to join. Just recently I purchased my first spyderco knife a native lightweight serrated edge and i was pleased about everything except its edge, you see before I got this knife i had gotten an endura 2 serrated. I did not like the stainless handles so I am going to take it back. The catch is that the endura was at least 30% sharper than the native, is this because of the steel? the next knife i will get,(i think) I have not decided, will be either the chinook or millitary (i have not handled either, sadly) any resons why the native is not as sharp and suggestions on my next knife would be welcomed.

[ftkinney]

howdy fisherman i'm orgianly form rockport, texas on the gulf of mexico. sorry i can't help you on information the egde of thouse knives but i'm sure someone can, as far as advice on your next knife i would say check out the tim wegner it is also a large knife and i love it looked at the starmate, military and chinook all really great , just ordered a serrated military, but i carry the wegner all thetime i think it is a great knife. i just ordered one for a friend who is a hunting guide out side of montery, mexico. good luck.

FTK

[sam the man..]

Welcome aboard fisherman! <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Sam

have spydies will travel

[sal]

Hi Fisherman. Welcome to the Spyderco forum. Sorry you're disappointed. The Native should be as sharp as any. We can probably improve on the edge, but you'd have to send it back to us.

sal

[fisherman]

hey thanks,

Ftkinney, the wegner has been in the back of my mind the whole time but now that i have heard some more good things about i am putting it in the the front of my mind. I think i would have to feel them all to be able to decide.
Sal I am thinking of getting a sharpmaker, do you think that would take care of the native edge problem? There are a few more questions i am dying to have answered.
1. which of your steels is the most scratch resistant?
2. out of the chinook, wegner, and the millitary is there a sharpest one? if so which one?(all plain edge)
3. do you have any plans of making a large tanto clipit? (i know about the bob lum)
thanks

[ftkinney]

i hope you find a place to look at and grip all three of the knives together maybe in a large gun and knife store. i might be wrong but i think that the bob lum is only spyderco tanto tip. the blade is 3 13/16&quot; so it is pretty good sized but i think in texas you can carry up to a 5 1/2&quot; blade in your pocket concealded. bob lum might have a larger protype. i looked a one with titaum handles in a store and it was amazing. i figure you might what the G-10 if you are around the water for gripiness.

FTK

Edited by - ftkinney on 7/1/2001 8:30:22 PM

[sal]

Fisherman,

1) &quot;scratch resistant&quot; is technically a questionof abrasion resistance, the same property that governs edge retention. In theory, CPM would have the &quot;edge&quot;. However, anything hard enough to scratch steel will more than likely scratch any steel. Glass, sand (paper), Scotch brite, etc. will all scratch steel.

2) All should get equally as sharp.

3) No plans at this time.

sal

[The Stare]

Welcome, fisherman. Nice to see somebody new here.

I'm a bit puzzled about your ability to determine a 30% difference in sharpness between serrated blades. That is mostly because I'm not a great serrated fan, and only have a few knives that are combo edge. I do have the large Dyad, with the longer blade fully serrated. Every serrated edge I've ever tested with my thumb felt damn sharp to me. I believe a difference between plain edges would be easier to detect.

Theoretically, the CPM440V steel in the blade of the Native FRN, and a few other Spydies, is the &quot;best&quot; steel Spyderco offers. Many knife knuts rate it very highly. It is usually left softer than one would expect, because of brittleness problems experienced at higher hardness values. Everybody seems to be convinced that vanadium carbides are the hardest element of any stainless steel. I just learned that there is a pecking order in terms of when the various carbides are formed as molten steel cools. The elements which form the harder carbides are formed in exactly the order of their hardness. So, vanadium are made first. Properly heat treated, CPM440V should hold an edge longer than any other steel, except CPM420V.

In my semi-limited experience, Spyderco knives are all very sharp out of the box. I know both my Wegner and Calypso Jr Ltwt, were both extremely sharp when received. My Goddard Ltwt was quite sharp, but not in the same league as the others.

VG10 has a reputation for a very &quot;grabby&quot; edge. I would guess that it might well be on average the sharpest blades found on Spyderco knives. ATS34 has a reputation as a steel hard to get a really great edge on. Somebody forgot to tell my Wegner blade that, or the Blade of my CRKT Apache. They are the second and third sharpest knives I've ever received. The Calypso Jr. is just something else.

I have the plain edged Native, but bought it used. It wasn't quite as sharp as I'd have liked, so I touched up the edge a bit. I was, quite frankly, surprised how easy that was to accomplish. I expected a bear of a chore, but it was simply the matter of a few swipes on the ceramic on both sides, and everything was great.

I don't think I would pick a knife based on primarily an expectation of it's sharpness. Especially if you do get the Sharpmaker, you can easily make any of the trio you mentioned very sharp. I would suggest you pick the knife best suited for your expected use. Just keep in mind that the Wegner is very versatile, and a much better tactical folder than most think, primarily because of the advertising focused on huntine. I love mine. Am slightly tempted by the Chinook, but frankly, the Military holds few desires on my part.

Stare

[gadfly]

Fisherman,

Welcome to the Forum. I'm fairly new myself, but have received a couple of good suggestions when I asked for help.

While I expect to purchase a Chinook, I find it too heavy for general carry. However, there are just times when you want something massive in your hand.

I also hope to purchase the Wegner, but I haven't handled one enough to have a definate opinion.

I generally cary my Military, as it is a large knife, but it also unbelievably light. This knife is a great tool with tactical capability. I love my Military!

Of late, I've started carrying my Starmate. It is such a beatiful looking piece, but a little heavy for all of my applications.

One thing you'll find is that which knife you own and carry is intensely personal. Further, different situations require the right tool. I strongly recommend that you invest your time and get to a good knife dealer and feel several different knives in your hand. You will know which one to purchase and how much money you'll have to save to buy your next one.

The main thing is to know you've made the right choice.

One way or the other, you pay for your tools!

[ronin203]

Welcome to the forum Fisherman.