This morning, among my many toys to arrive, was the much anticipated Delica 4, which I mentioned a few days ago was up on Ebay.Now for the fun part...the review!
Handle:
I much prefer the new texturing on this handle. It takes the volcano grip to a whole new level. It has the bi-directional texturing a la Caly Jr, but instead of the smooth texture of the Caly, the Delica 4 is much sharper, and grips the hand much better. The grippiness now almost rivals G-10, but not quite. For fans of FRN, you will LOVE this handle. For those who dislike FRN, this may be the knife that changes your opinion on it..
Yes, the knife has dual skeletonized steel liners, but I had to look for them. At first glance I thought I had an old Delica, because it's the same thickness(looks to be anyway) as the old Delica. The liners are very well nested into the FRN. Short of looking into where the blade sits, you'd never know it was lined. The weight difference is there, the knife has some heft to it now, but is still incredibly light. It sits will in the front pocket of a dress shirt without dragging the pocket down. The whole package is still slim. I was a little worried that the lined Delica would end up looking like the D'Allara, which is just too beefy and thick for my taste, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how thin and light this knife is.
The texturing on top of the handle, behind the ramp of the blade, is awesome, first time I've had a :spyder: with that on it. In increases the stability of the knife a lot. Coupled with the texturing on the thumb ramp, my thumb is not going anywhere during cutting.
Clip
It's the same flared clip as the Adventura, which is excellent. It's tight, and won't let the knife fall out of your pocket, but isn't so tight that extraction becomes difficult. Not to mention it's very easy on my pockets, as all the edges are rounded. 4 way clip option is very much appreciated(Thank you Sal) and mine is currently configured for LHTU. Carry is about average, not the deepest, but definitely not the highest. A little lower may be better for most, but I'm content with it as is.
Blade
Discussing how sharp it is would be pointless, as you all know how :spyder: blades perform. The tip on the other hand, is another pleasant surprise. I fully expected it to lose some piercing ability due to the less needle pointed tip. I was gladly wrong. The tip still pierced through commercial grade cardboard with little effort. Another thing I noticed about the shape of the blade, because the tip is slightly downturned, it will be much easier to keep the very last part of the edge at the tip sharp. The :spyder: on the blade is a cool touch as well, and is something I would not mind seeing on all future knives.
Construction
SCREW CONSTRUCTION :D First thing I did was disassemble the knife, just because I could. It strips and reassembles easily, I did the whole cycle in about 5 minutes, and I had no idea what I was doing. To those who may want to do the same, let me warn you, this thing has a lot of pieces, don't lose any.The screws on the handle are T-6 and the pivot is a T-8. The liners are pretty thick, but have various sized holes drilled into them to keep the weight down(it worked). It's fairly idiot proof. The knife had no play when I got it, and after disassembly and reassembly, still had no play.
Possible Issues?
The only thing wrong I saw with it was purely cosmetic. The boye dent was not symmetrical on the lockbar, it was slightly forward, and a little shallower than most. Not really an issue, as it detracts nothing from the functionality of the knife, but I felt it warranted mention.
Overall
Excellent job Spyderco! You took a big risk on modifying one of the flagship models, but you did it in such a way as to dramatically improve performance, while retaining the charm of the original. All this and the price stayed the same. I believe congratulations are in order.
One last thing. The one issue I always hear people whining about, in regards to the Delica(and FRN models in general) is that "the plastic handles feel cheap. I'm afraid I'll break it." NOT LIKELY!
I dare anyone to find a knife this solid, for this price. For those who whine "you get what you pay for," you'll get a lot more than you paid for on this one. The Delica 4 is sturdier than a lot of $200 knives I have.
I look forward to viciously abusing this knife over the next few weeks. A follow up review may be in the plans.
In conclusion, BUY ONE! It will be the best $40ish dollars you'll spend this year, and at that price, you won't be afraid to use it.
