Pacific Salt praise

[npad69]

me and my wife just recently spent a relaxing salty-n-sandy weekend short escape out of town (Port Barton, Palawan Philippines) and guess who the third wheel was?

[HarleyXJGuy]

me and my wife just recently spent a relaxing salty-n-sandy weekend short escape out of town (Port Barton, Palawan Philippines) and guess who the third wheel was?

You?

[npad69]

You?

no dummy.. its the wife! :D

[vivi]

Bump. With all the recent H1 talk, thought people might enjoy reading this.

Gotta say, since I wrote this, I've stopped taking PE H1 over 1000 grit. In fact that same Aqua Salt now sports a diamond rod edge from the sharp maker, stropped once per side. Slicing aggression for days.

[wrdwrght]

I think it was this post that began to win me back to my PE Pac Salt.

A point of clarification, however. You suggested that thinning your edge and steepening its angle amounted to work-hardening. Subsequent threads have suggested that work-hardening occurs only during production, not by users, and is at a maximum when a Spyderedge is applied. Do we agree?

[vivi]

I think it was this post that began to win me back to my PE Pac Salt.

A point of clarification, however. You suggested that thinning your edge and steepening its angle amounted to work-hardening. Subsequent threads have suggested that work-hardening occurs only during production, not by users, and is at a maximum when a Spyderedge is applied. Do we agree?

I think the evidence is inconclusive, but my hunch is to say yes, I agree.

I think in retrospect edge retention improved from thinning out the edge and establishing a cleaner apex. I don't think it was work hardening, but I also have no way to be 100% sure.

By the way here's a link to when I cleaned up this Pacific Salt:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=81061

[Pelagic]

I get my first SE Pac Salt later today. Looking forward to it.

[vivi]

I get my first SE Pac Salt later today. Looking forward to it.

I'm sure you'll like it if you like the Cara Cara Rescue. Handle is similar, except no choil, but it has much better contouring that makes it melt in your hand. Shouldn't be any more difficult to sharpen while being rust proof, tougher, and offering some extra edge holding.

[benben]

I get my first SE Pac Salt later today. Looking forward to it.

I'm fairly new to the serrated Pacific Salt game myself, I swear it cuts like a chainsaw, should have bought one a long time ago!

[Pelagic]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent. I don't care much about initial sharpness from the factory, but it's worth noting that it's one of the sharpest spyderco's I've ever had out of the box. The spydie hole is quite sharp and needs to be ground down some. I recently picked up medium and fine SM rods for freehand sharpening so I'll probably use those for that. The ergos are great and the FRN is much less aggressive than that of the byrd rescue 2, I immensely appreciate. I usually have some scrapes amd scuffs on my knuckles and overly aggressive scales can make reaching into the pocket extremely painful. I don't think I'll have that problem now. The clip is extra strong/stiff, a huge plus for me. I think the thumb ramp could use slightly more curvature (like a military or pm2) but it's fine. Big fan of the (somewhat) sheepsfoot tip. I think the belly will make it slightly better at cutting rope than the byrd rescue 2 (sheepsfoot/wharncliffe). First experience with H1. Got my Jumpmaster also. I just need to put some small straps on the sheath so I can carry it on the back of my belt. We'll see how the edge retention works out. After almost 2 years of carrying a byrd rescue 2 i should be able to make a comparison. Really liking it so far.

[vivi]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent. I don't care much about initial sharpness from the factory, but it's worth noting that it's one of the sharpest spyderco's I've ever had out of the box. The spydie hole is quite sharp and needs to be ground down some. I recently picked up medium and fine SM rods for freehand sharpening so I'll probably use those for that. The ergos are great and the FRN is much less aggressive than that of the byrd rescue 2, I immensely appreciate. I usually have some scrapes amd scuffs on my knuckles and overly aggressive scales can make reaching into the pocket extremely painful. I don't think I'll have that problem now. The clip is extra strong/stiff, a huge plus for me. I think the thumb ramp could use slightly more curvature (like a military or pm2) but it's fine. Big fan of the (somewhat) sheepsfoot tip. I think the belly will make it slightly better at cutting rope than the byrd rescue 2 (sheepsfoot/wharncliffe). First experience with H1. Got my Jumpmaster also. I just need to put some small straps on the sheath so I can carry it on the back of my belt. We'll see how the edge retention works out. After almost 2 years of carrying a byrd rescue 2 i should be able to make a comparison. Really liking it so far.

That's quite a combo!

I'm torn between a Jumpmaster 2 and Aqua Salt for my first SE H1 fixed blade. Aqua Salt is a little lighter but the Jumpmaster sure looks comfy.

[wrdwrght]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent....Really liking it so far.

I hope you report back on how it works in your harsh world.

[Pelagic]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent....Really liking it so far.

I hope you report back on how it works in your harsh world.

Will do. The scales are already greasy and hard to clean. Didn't do a lot of cutting today. It chews through rope as expected. I noticed it has a lot of side to side blade play when the lockbar is pressed. I'll have to tighten the pivot.

[vivi]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent....Really liking it so far.

I hope you report back on how it works in your harsh world.

Will do. The scales are already greasy and hard to clean. Didn't do a lot of cutting today. It chews through rope as expected. I noticed it has a lot of side to side blade play when the lockbar is pressed. I'll have to tighten the pivot.

The pivots on mine seem to loosen fairly quick without any loc-tite on the pivot screw.

[Pelagic]

Well the Pacific Salt is excellent....Really liking it so far.

I hope you report back on how it works in your harsh world.

Will do. The scales are already greasy and hard to clean. Didn't do a lot of cutting today. It chews through rope as expected. I noticed it has a lot of side to side blade play when the lockbar is pressed. I'll have to tighten the pivot.

The pivots on mine seem to loosen fairly quick without any loc-tite on the pivot screw.

Just tightened the pivot. It took a FULL turn before the blade play (with lockbar pressed) was gone. It doesn't drop shut anymore, but i don't like that anyway. One little shake and its ready to close. Loosest pivot I've ever encountered. I'll probably invest in some red loctite soon. I find the blue loctite far too weak. But I'll make sure to use the red conservatively.

[Wartstein]

I'll really have to try out that Endura 3 style Pac Salt handle in comparison to the Endura 4 (I'm one of those who loves the Endura 4 ergos, but who knows, maybe the Pac salts are even better?).

And even more so I'll have to try that H1-SE-edge-holding-work-hardening thing. Which I still don't get fully in theory.
I wonder: If Spyderco would make a PE Pac Salt in H1, but with a chisel grind (like the SE has) and the exact same acute angle the SE has, applying the exact same force while grinding: Would the SE still have better edge holding than the PE resp. would the SE still be "harder" (as far as it is generally possible to measure and compare the edge holding of SE vs PE ) ??

Anyway, except there´ll be a blue handled Endela PE soon (which I doubt...), I am pretty sure a Pac Salt SE will be my next purchase...

[ladybug93]

the se pac salt is a great knife. it’s so simple and lightweight and wonderful. it’s in my waistband every time i’m in the water or working out. you won’t regret owning one.

[vivi]

I hope you report back on how it works in your harsh world.

Will do. The scales are already greasy and hard to clean. Didn't do a lot of cutting today. It chews through rope as expected. I noticed it has a lot of side to side blade play when the lockbar is pressed. I'll have to tighten the pivot.

The pivots on mine seem to loosen fairly quick without any loc-tite on the pivot screw.

Just tightened the pivot. It took a FULL turn before the blade play (with lockbar pressed) was gone. It doesn't drop shut anymore, but i don't like that anyway. One little shake and its ready to close. Loosest pivot I've ever encountered. I'll probably invest in some red loctite soon. I find the blue loctite far too weak. But I'll make sure to use the red conservatively.

Blue usually works for me, but I have broken the seal once or twice. I like to tighten mine similar to how you setup yours - tight enough there's 0 play and the blade doesn't free swing. I prefer to manually control the opening and closing action at all times, feels safer that way.

[vivi]

I'll really have to try out that Endura 3 style Pac Salt handle in comparison to the Endura 4 (I'm one of those who loves the Endura 4 ergos, but who knows, maybe the Pac salts are even better?).

And even more so I'll have to try that H1-SE-edge-holding-work-hardening thing. Which I still don't get fully in theory.
I wonder: If Spyderco would make a PE Pac Salt in H1, but with a chisel grind (like the SE has) and the exact same acute angle the SE has, applying the exact same force while grinding: Would the SE still have better edge holding than the PE resp. would the SE still be "harder" (as far as it is generally possible to measure and compare the edge holding of SE vs PE ) ??

Anyway, except there´ll be a blue handled Endela PE soon (which I doubt...), I am pretty sure a Pac Salt SE will be my next purchase...

This photo does a good job of illustrating why I dislike the E4 ergonomics:



If I grip the E4 with two fingers in the first finger groove, there is no way to utilize the thumb ramp without my first thumb joint being at a near 90 degree angle. It is painful. It looks kind of like this, and I have no idea how people grip a knife like this in comfort:



So I figured I could grip it with one finger in the first groove, my middle finger in the small second finger groove, and pinky + ring finger in the last. Now my hand is too far from the cutting edge for efficient leverage, and the knife feels too blade heavy.

The E3 handle design allows me to grip the knife with one finger in the first groove, two in the second, and my pinky on the last. This lets me comfortably use the thumb ramp, while getting my hand closer to the cutting edge than the further back grip on the E4 allows.





In many respects I like the E4 better than the E3. Grippier texture, jimping on the thumb ramp, 4 way clip, etc. But the lightweight linerless design, being able to tighten the clip with any two coins instead of a specialized screwdriver bit I only have at home, and the superior ergonomics make the E3 the winner for me. Being rust proof is icing on the cake. I've spent enough time in my life sanding rusty pocket knife liners to never want to do it again.

The Endura 5 should use the Cara Cara 2 handle. It has the spacing of the E3 handle with a choil added in an otherwise useless space. It's the most ergonomic expression of the Endura style handle IMO.

[Wartstein]

This photo does a good job of illustrating why I dislike the E4 ergonomics:

... Our old disucssion, Vivi... You know, I just love the Endura 4 ergos

I can follow your reasoning perfectly well (and yes, it makes sense in theory also for me) , but it is just not how I feel when using the Endura 4.

One quick remark: Don´t you ever put your thumb not on the RAMP, but on the SIDE / the flat of the blade in roughly the area of the "hump" / thumb ramp / hole?.
That´s what I do very often. The main benefit of the thumb ramp / hump for me (other than it creates an area for the opening hole itself of course) is not necessarely the ramp itself, but that due to the "hump" the blade is wider in that area and offers more surface tot put the thumb on the SIDE (and not the spine) of the blade.