For a pretty long while I've had two knives that would make the cut when asked that "what would you keep if only one" question. They are the Sage4 and the Bradley folder. I also have a couple other favorites (manbug and Chaparral). But if I could only have one knife it would need to be able to cover tasks that are harder use than I would want to use these two for. Anyway, I got the Stretch Aogami super blue sprint run the other day. I lowered the edge angle significantly and this thing cuts really good. Even small branches. I can whittle with the Stretch and cutting big chunks of wood off the branch. The GB cuts a tiny bit better. I attribute this to the edge right above the edge bevel is a bit thinner than the Strech. Everyone was saying they could get the SB really sharp and it will hold the edge well. I was not disappointed. So here is a picture of my pics to answer the one knife question. Now picking out of these three??? Hope I never have to. :)
There's no need to justify the GB as one of my favorites. If anyone has held and/or used this knife they understand. Except for the few people that the GB just doesn't click for them. The Sage4 is one that isn't an obvious favorite I don't think. I just like it.
The Stretch is a funny example because I had one a couple years ago. The ZDP-189, blue FRN model. I loved it, just never carried it much after the "new" wore off. This Stretch for some reason feels much stronger, heavier and a bit bigger than I remember. It's like the blue handle didn't have liners. That comparison is a good one for the difference I feel. I just think my memory is failing. Hard to imagine for me because if I ever have forgotten anything I don't remember it. :) Anyway, unless the "new" wears off this Stretch to the point I won't carry it this will be on the favorites list. I have the SB D'fly on pre-order and am thinking about the SB Manbug. I might like the Delica SB and/or other sprints in this configuration (SB and grey FRN) just to have a set of something. I never have owned a "set" of anything because it is a "set". I only have what I use. Everything else gets traded or sold. Is there an Endura I wonder? I need to check the SB/grey FRN sprint run list. :)
I'm really loving the Stretch to the point I could carry only it. We'll see how long this lasts.
I never noticed how similar the GB blade shape was to the stretch until looking at both together like this. Funny how I (and many others) have always felt the stretch blade shape looks pretty goofy, but I have never heard this about the Bradley.
The swoop on the spine is a little less pronounced, but it is very similar even to the belly and drop point at the tip.
It's insane how identical those blades look on the Stretch and the GB. I knew they were similar but didn't realize they are almost identical. Yeah the GB is an awesome tank knife. Love it.
"I'm calling YOU ugly, I could push your face in some dough and make gorilla cookies." -Fred Sanford
I'm struggling with my SB Stretch. It is my first stretch and it just can't seem to knock the Para2 out of my pocket. It is sitting new in its box while I decide if I really want it or not. I take it out every few days and handle it but just can't decide if I want to keep it or use it to fund another knife. I absolutely love my SB Delica and carry it a few days a week so I think I'm just not into the Stretch. There isn't anything wrong with it I just think I prefer the Para2. :-(
Awesome jack! Making me look forward to getting mine even more. There is a SB endura and it would be cool if you got the whole set :D it's a win win situation, the whole set would be fun to collect and use, and if u don't like it, I bet you will make money reselling them
-Spencer
Rotation:
Gayle Bradley 2 | Mantra 1 | Watu | Chaparral 1 | Dragonfly 2 Salt SE
dgebler wrote:I never noticed how similar the GB blade shape was to the stretch until looking at both together like this. Funny how I (and many others) have always felt the stretch blade shape looks pretty goofy, but I have never heard this about the Bradley.
The swoop on the spine is a little less pronounced, but it is very similar even to the belly and drop point at the tip.
I noticed thois too. Actually I didn't notice it when I layed them down to take the picture. I noticed it when I looked at the picture. I thought that was wierd. The difference in these blades compared to a lot of Spyderco's is they aren't leaf shaped or have a flat spine. But, I didn't realize they were this close either. P prefer this shape to a flat spine and leaf shape both personally. Ilike the looks better mainly. One difference performance related is when cutting something a material that is a little hard and trying to cut a curve. The more distance from edge to spine the harder it is to turn the knife. The only benefit I think a leaf shape blade has is being wider it is good for spreading jelly, butter, etc. :) Another thing that I noticed (and didn't realize is the Stretch is a bigger knife than the GB. I had one before so the real surprise is how much my memory is tricking me. :rolleyes: :)
I probably would not now have three Stretches had I not first bought a Bradley Folder (I favor leaf-shaped blades). The Stretch is such an intelligent design, and I almost missed it. My only niggle is the coated clip, but it can be swapped for an uncoated one.
-Marc (pocketing an S110V Native5 today)
“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
bearfacedkiller wrote:I'm struggling with my SB Stretch. It is my first stretch and it just can't seem to knock the Para2 out of my pocket. It is sitting new in its box while I decide if I really want it or not. I take it out every few days and handle it but just can't decide if I want to keep it or use it to fund another knife. I absolutely love my SB Delica and carry it a few days a week so I think I'm just not into the Stretch. There isn't anything wrong with it I just think I prefer the Para2. :-(
Put your other knives away for 5 weeks and use the Stretch exclusively and then come back and let us know why you've fallen in love with it or why it isn't for you. When you are so used to something else sometimes it is the different feeling that throws you off and makes it feel not quite right but after using it for a while those differences may become something that you learn to appreciate - or not - but at least you will know for sure whether the Stretch will ever be a knife for you.
I had a much longer reply for you with a better chain of reasoning but then tried to attach a photo (something I've never done before) and learned that dragging and dropping into the browser upload pane IS NOT the way to go. My long message disappeared and the photo appeared in the browser window and I couldn't get back to my unposted reply. I figured out how to post properly then but then couldn't because I think it only allowed 100kb rather than my 1.6Mb photo. How are others posting pictures? Is there a good application for downscaling photos to a predetermined file size that anyone knows of?
So my response in the first paragraph would be basically to try it out exclusively for a while before coming to your final opinion. Perhaps when the 5 weeks testing period is up and you return to the PM2 - it might feel a little strange in hand :eek:
ManixFan wrote:Put your other knives away for 5 weeks and use the Stretch exclusively and then come back and let us know why you've fallen in love with it or why it isn't for you. When you are so used to something else sometimes it is the different feeling that throws you off and makes it feel not quite right but after using it for a while those differences may become something that you learn to appreciate - or not - but at least you will know for sure whether the Stretch will ever be a knife for you.
I had a much longer reply for you with a better chain of reasoning but then tried to attach a photo (something I've never done before) and learned that dragging and dropping into the browser upload pane IS NOT the way to go. My long message disappeared and the photo appeared in the browser window and I couldn't get back to my unposted reply. I figured out how to post properly then but then couldn't because I think it only allowed 100kb rather than my 1.6Mb photo. How are others posting pictures? Is there a good application for downscaling photos to a predetermined file size that anyone knows of?
So my response in the first paragraph would be basically to try it out exclusively for a while before coming to your final opinion. Perhaps when the 5 weeks testing period is up and you return to the PM2 - it might feel a little strange in hand :eek:
I used to use MS-picture manager (part of Office) to reduce the pixels until the size was under the limit. Now I use photobucket. Upload to photobucket. Open the picture and to the right there are 4 link or URL's to pick from. Copy the bottom one and paste it in a post on the forum. It shows up like the link in the edit window but if you preview the post you can see the picture. This way you don't need to reduce the size and can keep any quality you may loose. But, the picture needs to stay on photobucket and in the same folder you put it in. If you move or delete it the picture won't show up on the forum anymore. THere are other photo hosting sites but I use photobucket. I am also learning to use on my tablet (Android). At the moment I'm having a problem uploading a 10-15 second video. But I'm getting it with pictures.
A couple of years ago my computer would lockup and the only way to fix it was to restart. I don't know how many long posts I lost because of that. So, until I got a new pc I started using MS-Word to type the post and save it several times while I was writing. Then I'd copy and paste it into the forum.
This forum has an auto-save function that works real well. If something happens and loose the post you can get back on the thread and restore the post up to the last time it was saved. This is a feature that has helped me a few times. My posts seem to get long sometimes.
Jack
PS: I am going to try to use only my new Stretch even though I will have other knives on me. This will show me how it will do if it were the only one. I just hate to go without the others for when I would just rather use them.
bearfacedkiller wrote:I'm struggling with my SB Stretch. It is my first stretch and it just can't seem to knock the Para2 out of my pocket. It is sitting new in its box while I decide if I really want it or not. I take it out every few days and handle it but just can't decide if I want to keep it or use it to fund another knife. I absolutely love my SB Delica and carry it a few days a week so I think I'm just not into the Stretch. There isn't anything wrong with it I just think I prefer the Para2. :-(
Maybe you could try moving the para2 to another pocket and carry the Stretch wherever the para is. That way you can deliberately use the Stretch but you will still have the old faithful on you as well. The other gentleman had a good idea about forcing yourself to use a knife before giving up on it. So if you can't put the para on the table at home and leave it just shift it to another pocket for a while. :) Just a thought.
I'm gonna carry the Stretch and give it a go. I always carry two knives anyway so that is not a problem. I do like the fact that the greyish blue FRN and less intimidating blade shape makes it more friendly looking. The Para2 with the camo does look a little tactical although I hate that word.
I'm gonna switch my work combo from my Camo Para2/SB Delica to my SB Stretch/Composite Leek and see how it goes. :-)
Usually on my work days I carry my Para2/SB Delca.
On my days off I carry my R Nishijin/Sage3.
For the next couple weeks I'm gonna carry my SB Stretch/Composite Leek. I used to carry my Composite Leek a lot before I got the SB Delica and it is an old friend of mine. :D
I love black clips and swapped the Sage3 and Para2 both to black clips. :)
I just cut up some cardboard with the SB Stretch. The exact amount I cut up is a whole bunch. The edge started very sharp. It would be considered a razor sharp edge as long as you don't compare it to a just honed straight razor. After cutting up a whole bunch of cardboard of various types it was still far sharper than anyone would call a working edge. Of course my testing and terminology is about as vague as you can get. The edge will barely shave arm hair but it will cut a few of them. It still slices through phone book paper with ease. Ok, that's enough of the technical talk. With my experience using a knife and lack of experience in testing edge retention and all that I'd say the SB steel holds an edge right up there with M4, maybe better. I haven't got the equipment (or strength :) ) to compare these two steels. They are both great IMO and that's enough for me. Now I can't wait to get the D'fly and a Manbug is probably in my future as well. I doubt if I'll get a Delica or Endura. Instead of an Endura I'd just as soon get another Stretch. Fits my hand better. Delica??? Maybe. Longer blade than the D'fly and shorter than the Stretch so it would fill a void in size. Even if it's not needed. But not needing a new knife is not a very good reason not to get another new knife. :D
So the SB has lived up to all my expectations. Takes a great edge and holds it well. I don't know what angle my edge is. I'd have to use the EP to find that out. My guess is the top of the bevel is between 10 and 12 dps and the edge apex is about 14-15. This is just guessing but I think it's close. I'm going to check it though just to see how close my guess is. I'll post it also in case anyone cares. Being able to say 12 dps and know it is within .5 degrees is a whole lot better than trying to explain an angle you got from free hand sharpening and not knowing yourself exactly. But, I'm going to say it is on the lower angle side of the spectrum. Now I've gotten myself curious. :)
I'll try not to get too long winded but here is my review of the Spyderco Stretch with super blue blade steel and grey FRN handle.
Which knives have or will have super blue steel? Laminated or not, don't care. I see the sprint runs in the 2014 catalog but the delica isn't there. Is the delica a sprint run? In the on line catalog the only super blue knife not discontinued is the Stretch. Which models are available right now? The D'fly and manbug are both available for pre-order. Where can I find delica's or endura's? Other models?
Jack
PS
The delica isn't listed anywhere that I've found. Is it a dlr exclusive?
The delica and endura were last year's sprints. They were in last years catalog I believe. There should still be some out there somewhere. Might cost a little more now than then but you should be able to find one. There was a Caly 3 and 3.5 as well as an endura and delica in the past.
I too have a Nishijin R.....what a great underrated knife with great looking scales.
I used to consider this my "fanciest" scaled folder but I also really like the Blue Weave CF Domino and then also broke down and got a blue Nishijin Damascus Stretch. The Damascus will be my new knife to be carried on special occasions or when wearing a suit or going out to a high end restaurant for a steak - gotta bring your own knife then as most steakhouse knives are crap with dull serrations. When I eat a steak at home just off the grill my Southfork can't be beat - but I don't really want to bring my own fixed blade to a restaurant. I think that you will enjoy the Stretch after carrying it for a while. I still haven't bought a PM2 yet and like the Manix 2 better with the full SS liners but when I do get a PM2 I will carry it for a month to get the feel of it.
How long have you had your Nishijin R and have you carried it a lot? How has the Nishijin held up to EDC carry? Just curious because I haven't carried mine extensively yet am am wondering how the scales would wear? I also intend on picking up one for my nephew as a wedding present as I recently found out that he had proposed to his girlfriend recently so I was wondering if it will stand up well to everyday carry (after work carry only).
@bearfaced Killer-I'm in the same boat. Every morning I go for the stretch but end up putting the PM2 or the GB in my pocket. I really like the heft of the PM2 and the GB over the stretch. Maybe i just don't like the FRN handle. I want to like my super blue stretch, i just haven't given it a chance yet. Never again will I order 3 really cool knives at the same time. (PM2, GB, super blue stretch).
