Caly 3 cf zdp vs. Chaparral carbon fiber

[RealKnifeUser]

Hello everyone, I was curious if any of you that own both of these knives could make a comparison for strictly edc purposes. Cutting, ergonomics, carry, ect. Thanks in advance guys.

[Surfingringo]

Hah! I just bought both of these knives TODAY on my trip to knifeworks! They are both excellent and I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. The caly is a bit larger and slightly thicker blade stock so it might be just a bit more robust, but man, that chaparral is just an awesome little knife! Good luck choosing. You can't go wrong. Or I could give you the standard answer on here... :D

[gbelleh]

I agree, they're very similar in size and capability. The Chaparral carries just a bit smaller, but probably not enough to notice. Just pick which one you want first, and get the other later. You can't go wrong.

[Evil D]

I'd have to go with the Caly but the Chap is a bit better at slicing but not so much as to say the Caly is a poor slicer by any means. Before the Chap came along with it's 2mm blade stock the Caly was about the best slicer in the lineup.

[Donut]

How good are you at sharpening? If you use both of these a lot, the Chaparral is going to seem a lot easier to sharpen. ZDP can be a little tricky sometimes.

[mattman]

I'd have to go with the Caly but the Chap is a bit better at slicing but not so much as to say the Caly is a poor slicer by any means. Before the Chap came along with it's 2mm blade stock the Caly was about the best slicer in the lineup.

Very well said, David.

I agree 100%.

[morgaj1]

I would say the Chaparral. I like the Caly, but my Chaparral gets more pocket time. The blade shape makes it an awesome slicer and the CTS-XHP holds a mean edge.

[gph]

Here's a good comparison video including the Sage 1

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ceGE0xwo3Ro

[The Deacon]

IMHO, they are both well made knives and excellent slicers but, for me at least, there are a few minor nit-picks that favor the Chaparral. One being that the 420J2 outer layers of the laminated ZDP-819 blade do scratch easily. The Chaparral's twill CF does offer more traction than the matte CF on the Caly 3 and, while both have such excellent ergos that traction is not much of an issue, the Chaparral's CF also looks nicer, at least to me. Beyond that, I can only say that I can't recall having carried a Caly 3 even once since I got my first CF Chaparral.

[computernut]

I have both and I found the Chaparral to be a great office knife, good for slicing apples for a snack and opening mail and packages. The darker clip helps it to not stand out. The twill CF gives it a bit of traction and looks classy. The Caly is more of a perfect gentleman's knife, not too small, not too big, great materials and the exotic ZDP and grind lines make for a great conversation piece while being totally practical. Hard to pick one over the other but I go with the Chaparral when the cutting tasks will be light and I don't want to attract attention (ie. office, funeral, wedding, etc). Ergonomics wise they are slightly different but the Caly's larger handle and raised spydie-hole and more aggressive jimping give it a better grip for larger tasks. I prefer slightly larger knives for EDC (Domino or PM2) but if I only had the Chaparral and Caly, the Caly would be my EDC more often by a nose. One note that I do find the smooth CF doesn't have as good of traction in my pocket and sometimes I unclip the Caly and drop it in my pocket to avoid getting it snagged on a winter coat. The twill CF of the Chaparral does make it a little easier to get a grip on it to pull it out (sits slightly higher in pocket too).

[nccole]

I would go Caly 3. The handle is just a bit longer, and that made a big difference to me.

[ViperGTS]

IMHO, they are both well made knives and excellent slicers but, for me at least, there are a few minor nit-picks that favor the Chaparral. One being that the 420J2 outer layers of the laminated ZDP-819 blade do scratch easily. The Chaparral's twill CF does offer more traction than the matte CF on the Caly 3 and, while both have such excellent ergos that traction is not much of an issue, the Chaparral's CF also looks nicer, at least to me. Beyond that, I can only say that I can't recall having carried a Caly 3 even once since I got my first CF Chaparral.

^^^This. And the fact that the Chap carries very well clip less. The Caly is a bit too big for that IMO.

Chap wins for me.

[this_is_nascar]

I have both and would say the Chaparral-CF, hands down. It's built better than the Caly, based on my experiences and feels better in my hand. It's smaller and shorter, so that may way into your decision.