I'm Thinking Stretch in Super Blue - Good Choice??

[Knutty]

Good choice, this duo rides in my front pocket and coin pocket whenever I wear jeans. Pre-ordered them both and don't regret it one bit. FYI, I paid $115 for the Stretch in March of last year so yeah, $116 is perfectly okay.

I really prefer the way that uncoated clip looks, vs. the default black-painted clip I'm sure this is some manner of stupid question, but how did you get it that way? Did you do it yourself, or is it borrowed from another knife?

[jackknifeh]

Great choice IMO. I have the SB model also and love the knife and the steel. It gets crazy sharp and holds the edge well. I believe you will love yours. Here's a picture of mine. I have forced a patina on the blade. Of course it only patina's on the exposed SB steel along the edge and where it is exposed down the spine and around the tang. I also had a wild hair and stone washed the blade. I was very happy how the stonewashing looks on the 420J1 stainless steel. I have a very low angle bevel on the edge and what was a great slicing knife is now s SUPER-slicing knife. :) On the picture below you can see where the patina is along the edge as well as the shiny portion of the edge bevel. As soon as I use it as a dinner or food prep knife I'm sure the bevel will immediately develop a patina. The next time I go to a steak house I'm going to take it incase they hand me a dull steak knife. Contratulations. You have one of the best model Spyderco's made IMO with a really great blade steel.



Jack

[Brock O Lee]

Great choice, I carry mine 90% of the time when I'm chilling at home. It's as comfy as a favorite pair of jeans. I also switched to the stainless clip.

[Hopsbreath]

Good choice, this duo rides in my front pocket and coin pocket whenever I wear jeans. Pre-ordered them both and don't regret it one bit. FYI, I paid $115 for the Stretch in March of last year so yeah, $116 is perfectly okay.

I really prefer the way that uncoated clip looks, vs. the default black-painted clip I'm sur
Just e this is some manner of stupid question, but how did you get it that way? Did you do it yourself, or is it borrowed from another knife?

Just saw this: I agree it looks better uncoated. It was a black clip at one time but I just stripped it with paint remover. It's closer in color to the patina on the superblue than the 420J cladding and it really matches up with the whole aesthetic great!

[dubya3]

I'm glad these were still available, I just ordered one but it was $120 delivered. I haven't used superblue yet but I'm excited to try it out!

[Knutty]

That's not bad. I paid $114 about 7 months ago.

[dubya3]

I'm almost wishing I ordered two, one for carry and one for the safe but I'll wait and see how I like it first. I haven't handled a stretch yet but it looks like a knife I would try anyway.

[awa54]

Well, I also decided to get one of these before they're all gone... then found this thread :D

I've already used blue #2 in Japanese kitchen knives that I own, so the properties of the Hitachi blue series steels are no mystery to me, the mystery is *why* are they making these super blue knives a limited release?? I really wanted a super blue Delica for the smaller size, but there are none to be had (at least not for a price I'm keen on) and I had always been a fan of the Stretch blade shape, so I was backed into a corner: Ladybug, Manbug, Stretch, or pick a different steel, the Stretch had to win that one ...although a Delica 4 in FFG ZDP-189 was a close second.

Now I just need to figure out where to get a high polish pocket clip, the black spoils the look of the knife IMO.

[dubya3]

I actually don't mind the looks of the black clip, and I probably won't carry it more than a few times so I'm not worried about the clip scratching but I agree, satin/silver would look better. I played with a regular stretch vg10 after work and now I really want to keep the Super Blue as a safe queen and buy a user ZDP Stretch. I like the idea of the G10 stretch but the color is extremely ugly and the price is too much when I can get a FRN model much cheaper...

[awa54]

I have the Dragonfly in ZDP-189 for comparison and if Spyderco's "super blue" is as billed (alleged to be even better than blue 2) then I will say that it would be a crime to lock the SB Stretch away in favor of one in ZDP-189! Blue sharpens to a razor edge with minimal effort, not as easy as white 2 or V-2, but *really* easily compared to almost any stainless you want to name, let alone ZDP! ZDP surprised me with it's comparative ease of sharpening (way easier to get a killer edge than S30V), but it's still more of a challenge than blue.

[The Deacon]

I own at least one of every other version of the Stretch so, as a collector, the SB version was sort of a must have for me. OTOH, it's the only Stretch variant I own that will never see pocket time. The handle is a nice shade of grey but I'm very satisfied with the edge I can put on VG-10, so I just don't see any point in carrying a rust magnet.

[Knutty]

Not just rust but discoloring also. I used my SB Stretch to cut out the seal in a jug of muriatic acid. The blade never touched the acid, but was stained just the same (only the SB part). I've done the same with S30V and VG-10 with no issue.

[awa54]

My blue #2 kitchen knives have a patina on the cutting edge that looks almost like the color of carbon steel after a tempering draw to between straw and blue, they don't tend to actually *rust*, but I'm pretty careful not to leave them wet and I rinse/wipe them after cutting any acidic fruits or veggies, even if I'm in the middle of a prep session.

Really, Super Blue ought to be an easier keeper than an old school US made carbon steel pocket knife though and an occasional wipe with camellia oil, silicone, or Ballistol should keep the edge from going all rust bucket on most people.

[jackknifeh]

My blue #2 kitchen knives have a patina on the cutting edge that looks almost like the color of carbon steel after a tempering draw to between straw and blue, they don't tend to actually *rust*, but I'm pretty careful not to leave them wet and I rinse/wipe them after cutting any acidic fruits or veggies, even if I'm in the middle of a prep session.

Really, Super Blue ought to be an easier keeper than an old school US made carbon steel pocket knife though and an occasional wipe with camellia oil, silicone, or Ballistol should keep the edge from going all rust bucket on most people.

What little I know about patina, rust and super blue can be included in a single sentence. Patina is "good" corrosion, rust is "bad" corrosion. I normally use Tuf-Glide and Tuf-cloth as the only corrosion prevention product on any of my knives. I use other products for lubrication. Anyway, the super blue blade Spyderco knives I have don't seem to patina at all if I wipe the blades off every week or two with the Tuf-Cloth. BUT, if I even think about using the SB stretch as a dinner knife, any area where the SB is exposed forms a patina, Tuf-Glide/cloth or not. The first time I used the Stretch as a dinner knife and cut chicken with it I saw the patina forming before I was done eating. So, in my experience SB can be kept looking new and shiny with the use of Tuf-cloth unless you use it for a dinner knife or food prep. I almost never do any food prep. Here is how I understand patina and rust. Patina is a form of corrosion but not corrosion like rust. Some say it's all corrosion. But for kitchen knives (non-stainless) my understanding is patina is "good" corrosion and rust is "bad" corrosion. So cutting up a tomato causes a patina even if the knife is immediately cleaned when finished. But if left unwashed on the counter what would have been patina would end up being rust with the pitting. OTOH, I have forced a patina as I've read and heard that patina will prevent the "bad" corrosion. Does that make sense? Is it correct? I don't have the desire to understand it thoroughly (meaning research). Will Camilla oil prevent patina? I posted a picture of my Stretch earlier in this thread with the forced patina and than sharpening afterward leaving the edge bevel area shiny again. But the area above the bevel and under the stainless has a nice patina.

Jack

[HarleyXJGuy]

This forum can be very hard on my wallet sometimes.

Love my SB Dragonflyand think one of these would be a great addition to the collection.

[awa54]

Here is how I understand patina and rust. Patina is a form of corrosion but not corrosion like rust. Some say it's all corrosion. But for kitchen knives (non-stainless) my understanding is patina is "good" corrosion and rust is "bad" corrosion.... I've read and heard that patina will prevent the "bad" corrosion. Does that make sense? Is it correct?

Jack

In my limited understanding of this (*grunt* me no chemist, me retail man!) the "patina" is an oxidation component that combines with other elements to create a new substance on or even in the surface of the metal, some of these oxidized layers are protective, others are just visually different. Good examples of protective oxidized layers are gun bluing and aluminum anodizing. I don't know what the chemical makeup of the patina on blue steels is, but it does seem to be somewhat protective, though it's hard to gauge on the Japanese kitchen knives, because the outer laminate is mild steel that is already more reactive than the edge steel (even white #2 is less reactive than the body steel on my knives that came from Japan woodworker, though the body steel in my Yamawaku knives seems to fare better).

[Knutty]

FWIW (nothing, I guess), the patina doesn't bother me. Gives the blade character. And I'm far too lazy to prevent it. That, and given how neurotic I am, I try hard not to baby my stuff excessively. Sometimes I drive myself nuts worrying about damaging my stuff.

What's sad is I have a BS in chemistry, but having never worked in the industry nor studied since college (Stone Age), my only remaining knowledge of "chemistry" is how to spell it.

It's a great steel though, no doubt. In the same category as ZDP-189 in terms of edge retention.

[Brock O Lee]

I must say, the cladded superblue blades are not **nearly** as rust prone compared to the solid superblue's. I basically use my SB Stretch as I would any of my stainless folders, and it has not developed any sign rust in the last year. I regularly cut food and fruit with it, and it has a healthy patina on the exposed superblue. The most care it gets is a quick rinse and dry after use, no fancy Tuff Glides or other treatment to prevent rust. But, I live in a dry climate, and I would not store it wet.

I think the cladding and pivot washers largely remove the possibility of rust from moisture at the pivot, which is where I have to take extra care with my solid superblue Caly 3. Another factor is that the Caly does not have washers at the pivot (there is no gap between blade and liner). You cannot blow out moisture from the pivot area because there is no gap. If you are not careful a tiny bit of moisture can collect between blade and liner to give you a nasty surprise next time you open the knife. No such worries with the Stretch.

[dubya3]

My NIB Super Blue Stretch arrived today, ordered it on Tuesday so I'm pretty happy with how fast it arrived but I think I may have gotten one of the not so good pieces from this run. The pivot came extremely tight but still has a little side to side play, it's so tight that I can't flick it open like all my other spydies including my Manbug. The centering is off a tad but that doesn't bother me much, what I dislike is the tang/pivot area of the blade rubs the scales on both sides of the blade so much that there are light marks there and it's a VERY gritty action. I think 100% of the problem is coming from the scales rubbing against the pivot area of the blade but neither my Manbug or Endura have that issue and they're FRN scales too. I loosened up the pivot to make the blade easier to flick open but then it has so much blade play I can't leave it like that. Is this fairly normal for this model or did I get a "monday knife"?

[jackknifeh]

My NIB Super Blue Stretch arrived today, ordered it on Tuesday so I'm pretty happy with how fast it arrived but I think I may have gotten one of the not so good pieces from this run. The pivot came extremely tight but still has a little side to side play, it's so tight that I can't flick it open like all my other spydies including my Manbug. The centering is off a tad but that doesn't bother me much, what I dislike is the tang/pivot area of the blade rubs the scales on both sides of the blade so much that there are light marks there and it's a VERY gritty action. I think 100% of the problem is coming from the scales rubbing against the pivot area of the blade but neither my Manbug or Endura have that issue and they're FRN scales too. I loosened up the pivot to make the blade easier to flick open but then it has so much blade play I can't leave it like that. Is this fairly normal for this model or did I get a "monday knife"?

I'm curious but it's non of my business where you bought it. Sounds pretty bad but being brand new it may just be one of the worst ones and a good cleaning and a little break-in may take care of it. The rubbing of the scales sounds strange. Does the scale material extend beyond the inside of the liners? There should be a washer between the blade and each liner so that TINY gap should prevent the tang from touching the scales. It's possible someone forgot to put one or both washers in the knife at the factory.

Based on your description (and why I asked where you bought it) you may be able to just swap it out right away for another one. Most reliable re-sellers (cutlery shoppe for example) will swap them within 30 days as long as you haven't done anything to it. Don't sharpen it or anything. I'd get with the seller and see about your options. But, it's possible what seems like a big problem may be easily corrected. The thing is there may not be many of these SB stretch sprints left. Good luck.

Jack