A look at the Calypso Sprint

[Tristan_david2001]

Isn't the cruwear Stretch the same knife just with a straight spine and jimping?

No in so many ways

[vivi]

I had one briefly. It's a really nice design that I'd revisit in a heart beat, but there were a couple things about mine that convinced me to sell it.

1. Pinned construction. This was the deal breaker...the other things I could have lived it. Rust would eventually form on the liners and hardware and I'd have no good way to deal with it. Hope the new sprint fixes this issue.

2. Wasn't a fan of the closing action. Most Spyderco lockbacks feel pretty smooth while closing. My sprint Calypso felt a little more difficult to close half way through the motion, when the lockbar was depressed as much as it gets while closing the knife. Kind of a weird thing to put into words, but the variable pressure throughout the closing arc didn't feel very good.

3. Wasn't wild about the shiny hardware and clip. Even on a knife with satin finished hardware I prefer black clips. Very small nitpick and I could easily overlook this one if it were screw construction.

So mine didn't stick around....neither did my 3.5, Calypso jr or Caly 3. Combination of the pinned construction and moving away from small knives that require using the index choil to get a full grip.

Watching any future iterations closely, especially the full sized. Love the design, just need to see a few tweaks before I pick another back up.

I know they're slightly different because the Calypso is slimmer and has a thumb ramp, but the Chief kind of scratches the same itch for me.

[aicolainen]

I love this thread. I hope if they ever decide to remake it they change one thing about it, go back to a thicker and more nicely chamfered edged handle made of linen micarta. I love the g10 version of the model, but I just think it’s a little too thin and squared off to do any kinds of harder use work knife things without those corners digging in uncomfortably. Other than that it’s a perfect design for ease of carry to versatility of use ratios.

The thinness is definitely part of the appeal here, and as my folding knives spend most of their time in pocket and hardly ever see hard use, I wouldn't mind if they made another one based on the same recipe.
I also like micarta. It's more nicer, which shouldn't matter but... you know. Either way they'll probably have my money

I think if you gave both of them a squeeze in hand you might appreciate the difference in chamfering on the corners the original run has. At least I know I will. The thinness i don’t have a significant issue with, but combined the thinness of the handle with the really squared off g10, makes it a little blocky and a little uncomfortable in even slightly prolonged regular use. Maybe you don’t find this to be much of a user, but I certainly do, and I think functionally it would just heighten the egronomics of the calys handle shape to have a little more rounding or contouring.

I'm totally with you. It would be a great offering either way, and those micarta Calys certainly looks the part!
If it was to be my only large folder, I'd agree a 100%, but it isn't and probably never will be, so to justify something new it has to fill a gap.
Maybe the G10 version is very similar to the S2XL cruwear as far as blade length and thickness goes (I haven't looked up the specs), if that's the case I might be more interested in a micarta version after all :)
...as you may begin to understand, G-10 is just my kneejerk preference. Nothing is written in stone.

[Bemo]

Loved JD's post from 10 years ago. Made me chuckle. I agree with one of the posts that identified the swedge as the thing that really added elegance to the design. Not sure we're going to see a lot of that anymore out of the Japanese makers in the future.

[bearfacedkiller]

Isn't the cruwear Stretch the same knife just with a straight spine and jimping?

It’s a much slimmer knife with a different blade shape. It compares better with the Chief which may be the better knife.

??
Did I read that wrong?

The Chief is noticeably thicker than the Cruwear S2XL

The profile is much slimmer, both open and closed. I don’t always pay much attention to thickness unless it’s either very thick or very thin.

[aicolainen]

Isn't the cruwear Stretch the same knife just with a straight spine and jimping?

It’s a much slimmer knife with a different blade shape. It compares better with the Chief which may be the better knife.

??
Did I read that wrong?

The Chief is noticeably thicker than the Cruwear S2XL

The profile is much slimmer, both open and closed. I don’t always pay much attention to thickness unless it’s either very thick or very thin.

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up. Makes more sense now.
I got slim mixed up with thin. Not even sure there is a consensus naming convention for the different dimensions, but those two could easily get mixed up.

Anyways, I'm the other way around, so it's easy to assume others think the same way - for a knife that spends most of it's time in pocket I value thinness over many other metrics, like for instance the width/height/profile.

[Tristan_david2001]

Loved JD's post from 10 years ago. Made me chuckle. I agree with one of the posts that identified the swedge as the thing that really added elegance to the design. Not sure we're going to see a lot of that anymore out of the Japanese makers in the future.

I also think the swedge is incredibly visually pleasing on the blade, it’s something I kinda miss on the 2 Caly models. I found the spine swedge works better at scraping the cutting board to gather food up after I’ve cut up any said food I’m prepping, a plain sharp spine could tend to shave the wood off the board and into what just got cut up, it also helps take a bit of weight off the blade, so it’s not just beautiful, it serves some purposes weather intended or not(I imagine it was with spyderco). I don’t see any reason why Japanese makers can’t do that anymore. I just think it’s a matter of choice from spyderco moving more towards the newer Caly designs which don’t have the spine swedge. Just spitballing here, I bet we won’t ever see it I would love if sal designed a calypso 3.5, more of the original calypso geometry, spine swedge, in a 3.5” blade would be lovely

[JSumm]

Sal has mentioned that he is working on a more "refined" Calypso. Caly 4. I believe though it is more of a 4" version of a Caly 3.5.

[Tristan_david2001]

Sal has mentioned that he is working on a more "refined" Calypso. Caly 4. I believe though it is more of a 4" version of a Caly 3.5.

I’m sure the new design is going to be more along the lines of the Caly designs.
I love my calys, but I prefer the taller handle profile of the calypso’s, a little better at filling out the full hand grip in my opinion. I hope the in new incarnation of a 4” Caly the handle height isn’t slimmed down too much.

[Tristan_david2001]

I had one briefly. It's a really nice design that I'd revisit in a heart beat, but there were a couple things about mine that convinced me to sell it.

1. Pinned construction. This was the deal breaker...the other things I could have lived it. Rust would eventually form on the liners and hardware and I'd have no good way to deal with it. Hope the new sprint fixes this issue.

2. Wasn't a fan of the closing action. Most Spyderco lockbacks feel pretty smooth while closing. My sprint Calypso felt a little more difficult to close half way through the motion, when the lockbar was depressed as much as it gets while closing the knife. Kind of a weird thing to put into words, but the variable pressure throughout the closing arc didn't feel very good.

3. Wasn't wild about the shiny hardware and clip. Even on a knife with satin finished hardware I prefer black clips. Very small nitpick and I could easily overlook this one if it were screw construction.

So mine didn't stick around....neither did my 3.5, Calypso jr or Caly 3. Combination of the pinned construction and moving away from small knives that require using the index choil to get a full grip.

Watching any future iterations closely, especially the full sized. Love the design, just need to see a few tweaks before I pick another back up.

I know they're slightly different because the Calypso is slimmer and has a thumb ramp, but the Chief kind of scratches the same itch for me.

I hear your points, all valid and well explained. From my experience I’ve actually left this knife wet after using it for hours at a time, maybe half a day at one point, keep in mind not salt water though, just wet with fruit or other juices and what not stuck on and in-throughout it. I haven’t had an issue with the liners rusting out on me, I think as long as you are regularly able to manage Rinsing it out with clean water and giving it a good scrub every once in a while this knife shouldn’t give you an issue. I’m sure you know this, but you can remove the pivot and the blade from the handle on this sprint, further helping the ability to clean it out & tune the pivot just where you want and lock tight it. I think a big advantage on the sprint version. But if you live on a boat or are close to the sea on a daily basis I could definitely see a great purpose for a knife in spydercos salt line.
I don’t hate the shiny clip either, but I agree with you it I think it would look nicer and blend in better if it were black, I wish they had used the original run clip with the added yellow bug on the clip.
Do you think you could have had a machining error on yours that affecting the mechanical function? Mine has a fair amount of resistance at the half way point but nothing that I’d considered difficult, and once you over come it has a very nice self pull to it. Just sharing my thoughts, I hope they do a version in a way that perfectly suits your best version of this knife because I personally wouldn’t mind any of those changes as long as it came back!

[JSumm]

Sal has mentioned that he is working on a more "refined" Calypso. Caly 4. I believe though it is more of a 4" version of a Caly 3.5.

I’m sure the new design is going to be more along the lines of the Caly designs.
I love my calys, but I prefer the taller handle profile of the calypso’s, a little better at filling out the full hand grip in my opinion. I hope the in new incarnation of a 4” Caly the handle height isn’t slimmed down too much.

I don't disagree with you on that. A good example would be the Caly 3 vs the Sage. Though the Caly feels slimmer in pocket, the taller handle of the Sage is more comfortable in use for me. Or at least more confidence inspiring. However, I think a Caly 4 is what we are getting based on the prototype. Based on that, I think the Calypso would be a great candidate for a throwback sprint run.

[Tristan_david2001]

Sal has mentioned that he is working on a more "refined" Calypso. Caly 4. I believe though it is more of a 4" version of a Caly 3.5.

I’m sure the new design is going to be more along the lines of the Caly designs.
I love my calys, but I prefer the taller handle profile of the calypso’s, a little better at filling out the full hand grip in my opinion. I hope the in new incarnation of a 4” Caly the handle height isn’t slimmed down too much.

I don't disagree with you on that. A good example would be the Caly 3 vs the Sage. Though the Caly feels slimmer in pocket, the taller handle of the Sage is more comfortable in use for me. Or at least more confidence inspiring. However, I think a Caly 4 is what we are getting based on the prototype. Based on that, I think the Calypso would be a great candidate for a throwback sprint run.

the ergonomic difference between those 2 models only makes a different to me if I’m using either of the two as a heavy use work knife, doing any hard force cutting in a hammer type grip. But for their length and their geometry I wouldn’t typically put either of those knives into those tasks, 3” blades are more general purpose edc type of cutting tools for me, in which case the slimness of the Caly to carry around and it being perfectly ergonomically shaped for its size beats out the sage for me. But going up to a 4 inch blade, I think it becomes a bit of a stretch to keep the same sleekness of the 3/3.5 but lengthened up to a knife around 9” total length. That long of a hand grip needs a bit more girth than the 3.5 imo. We shall wait and see

[wrdwrght]

Sal has mentioned that he is working on a more "refined" Calypso. Caly 4. I believe though it is more of a 4" version of a Caly 3.5.

So, this refined Caly 3.5, to be lengthened to 4.0, will be made by whom, I wonder.

Moki, like before? Has the Ayoob sprint returned the once-famed Moki shop to its former excellence? If so, it’s odd then that its tang says “Seki-City Japan” rather than just “Japan” (yet this sprint sure feels like my old Mokis).

If not Moki, will the new maker keep the new Caly washerless by way of Moki’s customary flattened domes which rise off the liners at the pivot? Or, if the new Caly is to be without liners (to answer the call for a lightweight), will the raised domes be plastic protrusions created by the mold?

Sal?

[Bolster]

... for a knife that spends most of it's time in pocket I value thinness over many other metrics, like for instance the width/height/profile.

Same here. If I'm looking to do heavy use with a knife I'll grab one with a larger, fatter handle. (Usually I will grab a power tool instead.) But for pocket carry and occasional use, you just can't beat a slim easy-carry design. Sal made the comment that a pocket knife spends a lot more time in the pocket than in the hand, so knives need to be designed for pockets, too. I think the slim compact design is what really sets the Caly series apart from other series, and makes it indispensible to a complete lineup with "something for everyone and a knife for every purpose."

I have never found the Sage to be an acceptable replacement for the Caly3. I grudgingly carry my Sage on days I need a PM steel and go back to the Caly3 for 'easy-carry' days, even though I'm not a huge fan of either VG10 or ZDP189.

But: If a Caly3 were available in S90V or K390 or Magna, I'd probably never buy another knife, and who wants a knife to end all knives.

[elena86]

.................... I used the factory edge for the first week and it was a pretty decent working edge but I wanted extra-super-slicey from a long thin folder like this so soon reprofiled to 30 degrees inclusive...



...she is now a veritable laser beam :D
........................................................

Thickness behind the edge ? (after reprofiling )

[Meadowlark]

.................... I used the factory edge for the first week and it was a pretty decent working edge but I wanted extra-super-slicey from a long thin folder like this so soon reprofiled to 30 degrees inclusive...



...she is now a veritable laser beam :D
........................................................

Thickness behind the edge ? (after reprofiling )

Looks like "Uke" has been inactive here now for about 3 years.

[JD Spydo]

The C-54 Calypso is still one of my very favorite "IN HOUSE" designs of Spydercos great staff. The C-54 Calypso is such a functional gem and one of my all time favorites in full SE. They didn't offer this particular Sprint in SE and I truly wish they would at some point if they ever elect to do another version of this fabulous design. The PE version is extremely functional and would make a great hunter/folder.

But I would very much like to see a newer Sprint Run of the C-54 in one of the supersteels. And it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they would replicate the original Micarta handle that the very first C-54 Calypso was made with. Although I won't complain a bit if they do another G-10 handled model.

[yablanowitz]

I really prefer the original Micarta version myself, but Sal told us a long time ago that they learned a lot making those unlined Micarta knives. Mostly they learned not to. The liners added 50% to the weight on the Sprint as opposed to the original. Objectively, it wasn't a lot. Subjectively, it was the difference between me as a gymnast in high school and me at 60 playing Santa in an unpadded suit.

[wrdwrght]

I really prefer the original Micarta version myself, but Sal told us a long time ago that they learned a lot making those unlined Micarta knives. Mostly they learned not to. The liners added 50% to the weight on the Sprint as opposed to the original. Objectively, it wasn't a lot. Subjectively, it was the difference between me as a gymnast in high school and me at 60 playing Santa in an unpadded suit.

Even unpadded Santas can lift a few extra ounces (think beer). Maybe that’s why I love my Calypso sprint.

[Tristan_david2001]

Linen micarta on top of steel liners would be ideal