Dragonfly 2 Salt PE Short Review

[tea]

I am really impressed with the Dragonfly Salt. It is definitely an example of Spyderco's ingenuity. H1 steel, excellent blade profile, wire clip, not too small, not too big, light, easy to find. It really has a great combination of features.

Yellow FRN and rust proof make it the most worry free knife I own.

As for the H1.
It was razor sharp from the factory. Other than some odds and ends I had not used it much until today. This afternoon I cut several yards of quarter inch plastic fishing net. Then went through a dozen yards of burlap. This dulled it. I was a little surprised. I'm pretty sure VG10 would have kept up a bit longer.

I got out my Sharpmaker and after a few passes the H1 was nice and toothy again. I was again surprised. My VG10 knives normally take a little more attention to get their edge back.

Easy and quick to sharpen add another point to the care free list.

I like how toothy the H1 is. I really think this knife has it all.

[captnvegtble]

I was a little surprised. I'm pretty sure VG10 would have kept up a bit longer.

Yup. Edge retention for H1 PE isn't as good as VG10, supposedly. That's partly why I always buy my H1 in SE. H1 SE blades are awesome!

[Mateyhv]

Hey just a great mini review, a few words and the general sensation is transmittes very well. I havent used it hard but it is unteresting to note that my factory edge was quite irregularly cut and has a secondary still more irregular polished edge, very strange. Even though the knife cuts as any other factory Spyderco. Havent resharpened it yet.

[dgulbra]

Yup. Edge retention for H1 PE isn't as good as VG10, supposedly. That's partly why I always buy my H1 in SE. H1 SE blades are awesome!

I 2nd that

[gunnut35]

Great review.
Just wait until you try a zdpD2

[ed9957]

I got mine the other day, my 3rd DF. By far the sharpest out of the box, it could whittle a hair. I like it a lot, my 3rd H1 Spydie.

Ed

[WalzAaronFFG]

I'm ordering one tomorrow along with a Benchmade 51 bali. I'm going to dye the dfly salt handle dark blue like the wave endura color. I just did it with my Lbug hawkbill salt. Yellow just doesn't trip my trigger. The H1 on the blade is enough for me to ID the knife from my non-H1 blades

[tea]

@Captnvegtble- Se has it's place, but for the work my knives see PE is more convenient. All that fish net was definitely an exception. :)

@Gunnut35- I've done very well holding off on ZDP so far. I've been wanting a Lum though...


H1 today:

I had to prep the lawn for a big party. The whipper-snipper kept jamming up from hay and weed wrapping itself around the shaft. The DF2 was put to use quite often. Took the whole morning to do around all the trees and beat the hay fields back.

In the late afternoon I settled down for some fun making archery targets. Cut some squirrel, rabbit, and bird shapes out of cardboard and whittled spikes from scrap maple and oak. Easy to make and provides hours of enjoyment.

Just checked the blade and it still has lots of bite. Much better resilience today. It seems the plastic really did the H1 in yesterday.

I repeat: I like how toothy the H1 steel is. It seems to grab material and chew through it. I guess VG10 has made me boring. :)

[Donut]

I think it will grow on you. I didn't want to sharpen it because mine was so sharp. It lost its initial edge after going through a little celery, which is pretty soft in my opinion. I reprofiled it twice (I was second guessing myself) and it seemed to hold the edge at least twice as long. I tried to do a little work hardening and cut up a small flat rate box into 1/4" strips, then I resharpened it. Then I cut up 1/4 of a small amazon box, then resharpened. I really haven't tested the edge holding since then, been leaning on my ZDP Dragonfly most of the week.

It is really improving a lot, I am very interested to see how good it will get.

[flash900]

[quote="Donut"]

Are you serious?

[tea]

H1 is holding up much better now. Work hardening is quite an interesting phenomenon...

I feel sorry for the boys that I gave these to as gifts They are not knife aficionados and are probably wondering why their fancy folder is dull... Maybe not the best Spyderco introduction...

[chuck_roxas45]

I like reviews where the knives are actually described in how they performed in use or tests. I don't like reviews where the "reviewer" merely gives the specs or the knives. Those I can easily google. Impressions should be labeled as impressions, not as reviews.

So to get back on topic, nice review!

[Blerv]

Great review, thanks :) . Yea H1 in plain edge is about AUS8 so a couple ticks below vg10. That said, it's the quintessential work steel in my opinion. Being rust proof is a serious perk as well.

[bartvdb]

what a nice place this forum . yep ;an other one on the list . thx for the review . yellow would be nice with all the black one's . like the h1 have it on my salt1 . nice pic's btw . greetzzzz

[Donut]

Are you serious?

Yeah, sorry about the late response. Out of the box it seemed like the sharpest knife I had, I cut some celery and it wasn't dull, but it lost that extreme sharpness.

Also knowing about the work hardening, I rushed to sharpen it like crazy. I think after work hardening, it holds an edge similar to or better than VG-10. That isn't scientific in any way, just my opinion.

[Knifewing]

Thanks for the concise review! I have a G-10 D-fly I carry regularly and have been thinking about getting an H-1 version. Does anyone know if Spyderco has any plans to release the H-1 version with a different color handle? As suggested, dark blue would be nice, even black--I'm just not a yellow fan, either, although I appreciate it for visibility.

[Handwrecker]

Work hardening is quite an interesting phenomenon...

Work hardening is not caused when you sharpen or touch up your knife. The work hardening occurs during the manufacturing process when the two grinding wheels are giving the blade it's hollow grind. SE H1 is said to have a higher hardness due to the extra machining for the serrations.

The factory edge seeming to dull quickly is something I've noticed on all of my Spydies. Even on my 20CP Para 2 the factory edge got taken out by cutting sumac quickly. After touching up that factory edge, it seems impossible to dull. I think the factory edges are simply very thin, and have a tendency to roll easily.

[tea]

Good post Handwrecker. After reading it I did some research and I (and it would seem many others) have misunderstood the use of 'work hardening.'

Originally Posted by TazKristi
H1 is a precipitation-hardened alloy. And yes, it is also work-hardened. Meaning that anything that you do that causes heat through friction will harden the steel further; it’s also important to note that tests have shown that it does not become brittle. The work-hardened properties of H1 have been proven by analysis independently performed by Crucible Specialty Metals. It is this that explains why an H1 blade with a SpyderEdge has better edge retention than it's PlainEdge counterpart. In the end, the analysis from Crucible found the Rc at the spine was 58, however at the edge it had increased in both the PlainEdge (to 65 Rc) and the SpyderEdge (to 68 Rc).

The Salt Series knives are being made and promoted to a market where corrosion resistance is important.

So, is H1 possibly just another flavor-of-the-month? Possibly, but hype can only go so far.

Kristi

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36728

I disagree with your observation on Spyderco's factory edges. I have not had the same experience. The H1 is the only exception so far. Despite my incorrect understanding of work hardening, I am still finding the H1 to hold it's edge noticeably longer each it is sharpened. In the post I quoted, a member mentioned that the reason could be that the edge is simply becoming more polished. This could be true, but the H1 still feels toothy to me.

This weekend I spend about two hours of a sunny afternoon outside with the dog. I spent the time whittling sticks found on the ground and he spent the time chewing the rest. After making numerous figure four traps, fish hooks, and trying to carve some animals, the edge remained adequately sharp. This was in surprising contrast to how quickly it originally dulled cutting out cardboard archery targets.


This knife has really grown on me and reminds me why I used a stainless steel Dragonfly for so long. They are impressive little knives.

I do miss my Urban though...

[John_is_my_name]

I love carrying my H1 Dragonfly with me when I go for a run. The weight and size make it a perfect companion clipped to the inside of my running shorts, and because of the H1 steel, I don't worry about the knife being ruined by my sweat.