Rock Salt impression

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guywithopinion
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Rock Salt impression

#1

Post by guywithopinion »

I've been using my Rock Salt a bit and figured I'd post my impressions. I had a hard time finding much info about them before I bought it. I don't want to suggest my feedback fills that void, and I don't want to call it a review as I just used it for things that needed doing, not to evaluate it. But here's the feedback I can offer:

I bought this knife for use around the yard. Also because it was interesting. But I had been looking for something in the 7+" range, and also considered some machetes. Ultimately I felt they would be annoying to carry around the yard while working, due to both the length and also weight. The Rock Salt seemed like a nice compromise in length and weight, though I am sure it trades off some utility as a result. I felt I'd be ok with something that is a bit less ideal for hacking at vines and such if it meant I didn't hate wearing it when working around vines.

Previously I'd pushed a Morakniv Companion into this role (just for a bit). I realized it's actually not terrible if you two-finger-and-thumb grip the end of the handle to give it a bit more whip. And I realized I really liked being able to swish it off in the stream and sheath it when it got dirty from cutting plants. I realized a 1095 or similar carbon knife was likely going to bother me.

This knife is very ergonomic. The regular grip feels good, and I find it pretty easy to swing for chopping/hacking tasks. I personally like the negative blade angle and believe it makes it easier to hack with (though I do not have one with a neutral angle to compare). The other day I needed to cut some plugs (just sticks cut to sort of a point) to plug some 5-gallon buckets that had 1/4" holes in them for watering some new trees. Basically you fill the bucket up and the water slowly runs out the hole, watering the tree. But I had to fill up a bunch of them from the stream, and having a hole in them presents a problem. Anyway, choking up on the Rock Salt, I was impressed by how ergonomic it was for using the knife in this matter. It puts the recurved part of the blade right there under your thumb for close-up work. There is a dip in the blade spine that mates up to the dip in my thumb, and the jimped ramp tucks into the joint in my hand. I think it might get abrasive if you were swinging it hard in this grip, but for finer work it was extremely comfortable and offered very good control.

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For general chopping of vines and such, I've found you have to swing it pretty fast to cut through loose-hanging vines. At one point my wife wanted me to cut down a small tree (about 5' tall and 1.25" around, was dead and in the way). I only had the Rock Salt. It took about 5-6 chops to get through it. I spent the first 4-5 cutting a notch about halfway through, then somehow the last swing cut the rest of the tree completely through. I'm not sure using a hatchet would have been any quicker.

The only thing it's sort of struggled with is some vines that are similar in thickness/density to a rose stem, and they have very similar thorns. They are quite hard to chop through with the vine freely hanging. Supporting it by holding the vine is a painful proposition if it doesn't cut through, because it will slide in my hand and the thorns are not comfortable.

All in all I quite like it. I rolled the edge clearing some vines away from some old barbed wire fencing that mostly collapsed. I was removing it but needed to clear out growth to get in there.

I will say, there are two main things that caused me to get a Spyderco fixed blade vs another (likely a little cheaper) brand (Rat 7, RTAK, some others were my initial candidates). One is that the ergonomics on them are always well thought out. The other is that the blade geometry and also the edge are always well done. The Rock Salt has delivered on the ergos for sure.

On the edge, not so much. I went to touch it up on the Sharpmaker as it has dulled a bit in use, and noticed that the edge bevel on one side is more obtuse than the 20DPS setting on the Sharpmaker. Using stacks of paper and a protractor and sharpie, I had to tilt the Sharpmaker rod to about 25 degrees before it seemed to cut across the whole bevel. So I ended up using the diamond rods and a tilted Sharpmaker to profile the one side to where it can be touched up. The other side was around 17.5 degrees (again, using a protractor and stacks of paper, so fairly accurate but not precise to my mind).

My experience with other fixed blades (all US-made) has been that they have terrible edges that need significant, and tedious, profiling. So I was hoping buying a Spyderco would avoid that. But that bit aside I like the knife very much. I'm not putting it through the wringer or anything, but it's worked well for what I have needed it for.

Oh, also, wow does H1 show scratches. I don't mind at all, but just wanted to point it out. Just sheathing and drawing it the first time put scratches on the blade. Oh, and the sheath rattles. Not a big deal for me, and I like the sheath a lot. I think I like FRN better than Kydex or Boltaron (never had that, but pictures look like Kydex). The FRN feels very fitted, vs the sort of home hairdryer fitting of Kydex (no experience with Spydie kyd, just holsters and such from other makers).
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ozspyder
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#2

Post by ozspyder »

Excellent review !
I've had my regular black Rock Salt for years and I use it around the yard to hack into bushes, plants and other plant materials.
Like you I find it extremely ergonomic.
Edge holds up OK, but I touch it up a bit to a toothy edge and it seems to hold the edge well enough for yard duties.
First few times I sharpened it the thing didn't hold the edge for long. It seems to be better now.
The Meat man
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#3

Post by The Meat man »

Thanks for posting your experience! Good information​ to know.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
ThePeacent
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#4

Post by ThePeacent »

yes, thank you very much.

This is one of my favorite Fixed Blades ever and Spydercos overall, and I love the ergonomics, blade shape and compact size for the punch it packs. :D

Yes H1 (my favorite steel :rolleyes: ) scratches very easily and won't hold a looong edge but the tradeoffs are worth it for the added toughness and corrosion proof to me :cool:

II've read and swallowed dozens of threads and videos of the knife all over the internet and there seem to be two issues on the long(er) term, :spyder:

- one is that the edge rolls and folds easily as you have experienced, to the point that some people have had very serious curving and bending of the blade when splitting coconuts, hardwoods (not that it was intended to hack at these things :confused: ) or chopping and twisting a blade out of a tree
Fortunately that can be solved and is much more preferable than a snapped or heavily chipped blade with half-moon pieces missing :o

- two is that the clip of the sheath can break and become unusable especially with some types of carry. :(
Granted that there are few accounts of these happening but it seems that the extra width, weight and size of the knife and sheath put the G-clip to its limit, and unlike with the Aqua or Jumpmaster or others, the clip is more prone to snapping under its heavy load :eek: especially if it's enhanced by movement, inertia and momentum like when walking or running
Accutronman
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#5

Post by Accutronman »

Just picked up the original H1 version. Such a great ergonomic knife!
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knivesandbooks
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#6

Post by knivesandbooks »

Congrats! These are definitely cool.
Would certainly make a great outdoors working knife.
I bet it would pair well with a smaller fixed blade with more edge retention or a smaller serrated fb.
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!
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npad69
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#7

Post by npad69 »

thank you for the detailed review.
btw, what made you choose H1 instead of VG10 if you're not using it in a marine/aquatic area?
i asked because i've been using my vg10 spydies for gardening at times and corrosion has never been a problem.
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Zatx
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#8

Post by Zatx »

From my experience with H1, I would think that keeping a sharpening steel like those used by chefs, only smaller, on me. This would help quickly realign the rolled edge, which is still sharp, just out of position. I got a small one of these for my brother who uses a fixed blade at his work and he loves it. I sharpen his knives for him when they get really bad because he doesn't have the patience for doing a proper sharpening job, but even a novice can make a few passes on a steel and get their knife back to working order (I'm not implying you're a novice, because clearly, you are not, but my brother certainly is). I know that it has certainly increased the time his knives go between sharpenings.
ThePeacent
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Re: Rock Salt impression

#9

Post by ThePeacent »

yearly pumpkin killer :D

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