I finally did it. I bought a new Delica 4 FFG to replace the old model Delica. The old model did not have liners and was not full flat ground. It also did not fit my XL hand very well. I had not bothered to replace it because I love the Caly 3 so much I did not see the point (no pun intended. Well, maybe not). But, I had a need for a light weight knife with a blade longer than 2.25" and less than 3" that did not cost an arm and a leg in case it was lost. I also wanted a good knife with good steel and good craftsmanship. In my opinion, Spyderco is now building the best knives they have ever built, based on quality. They rival, and even excel, more costly production and custom offerings by rivals.
I found what I was looking for in the Delica 4 FFG, in spades! The knife arrived very sharp. It would not pass my toilet paper test, but almost. It is very sharp. The fit and finish are excellent, as expected. There are no hotspots on the knife at all. I took off the clip and this knife is so comfortable in my XL hand I wondered why I ever bought that Mini-Griptilian years ago. O yeah, then I remembered, the Delica 4 was not available. When I put my hand naturally on the handle, the end is just barely inside my hand. That is, my pinky finger extends minimally past the handle. Also, the finger groove point hits my middle finger right in the center. However, if I squish my fingers together and tighten my grip, these go away and rather than dig into my finger, the high point of the finger groove pulls my hand deeper into the grip. Pretty amazing.
The knife is almost the same size as my Caly 3 but the handle is slightly longer. The Caly 3 actually fits my hand better because of the finger choil. But, the Delica is much lighter and feels great in the hand.
Since I got it, I have been looking for things to cut. I cut tape. I cut open boxes. I scraped stickers off of bottles. I cut bags and clam shell plastic, aggravating, developed to make a saint cuss, packages. It did all of this with aplomb. I also cut apples. I did a side to side comparison if cutting between Spyderco Chaparral, Caly 3, Cold Steel Mini Recon 1, Benchmade Mini Griptilian, Benchmade Mini Landslide, and this knife. Not all knives will cut apples well. I may post photos later. The Delica 4 FFG was nearly, not quite, but nearly on par with the Caly 3.
There is no, zero, play in the blade. The knife will flex a little side to side but not much, and some may think that is play. It is not. It is the thin stock and scales flexing under pressure, at least on my example. There is zero up and down blade play. There is, however, just slight bit of up movement when the knife is pressed with pressure onto a cutting board. None of my other, many, Spyderco lock backs have this play. It does not affect the performance, it is just something unique to this design.
For what I needed, this knife is really nice and met all of my needs. Now my wife wants one in purple! It is a good thing Spyderco does not offer second mortgages, or they would own my house.
Doc
