Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
clovisc
Member
Posts: 4179
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 1:14 am
Location: Ketchikan, Alaska

Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#1

Post by clovisc »

There have been a number of discussions on the forum lately where one or two members have noted their favorite examples of Spyderco's "spyderedge" serrations; that gave me the idea for this thread. As most formuites are aware, not all spyderedge is equal -- there is noticeable variation depending on the type of steel used, the type of grind, the place of manufacture, and the point in time when the knife was made.

What are your favorite examples of Spyderedge, and why?

Here are my favorites:

-- SE H1 on the Pacific Salt -- This is my #1 favorite. I am still using some of the earliest examples of the Pacific Salt. My favorite SE Pacific was one of the first 10 Spydercos I bought, over 10 years ago. It has especially aggressive serrations which seem noticeably larger than those on any of my other Spydercos, and it cuts like a pocket chainsaw. Straight out of the box, it held an edge for a very long time -- however, after a decade of work hardening from use and sharpening, it seems like the edge is infinitely sharp. I can't say enough good things about the SE Pacific, and have given them to friends as gifts. Last year I gave my boss/mentor one as a retirement gift, and my best friend one as a Christmas Present.

-- SE Endura Wave -- The SE Endura Wave is magically smooth. It cuts effortlessly, almost like a plain edge, yet with improved aggression. This is the smoothest spyderedge I have encountered; I haven't come across any other Spydies quite like it, but would be interested in knowing what else compares favorably.

-- 440V Mili Serrations -- I owned a CE 440V mili about a decade ago, but unfortunately, it ended up being stolen. It saw hard, prolongued outdoor use in rural Africa. The serrated portion had what seemed to me like an ideal combination of hardness and aggression, with a great pattern, and it wasn't "chippy" in the least. I prefered the serrated 440V much more than serrated S30V. I have never owned a fully serrated 440V military, but sometimes dream of how great one must be. Acquiring a new one nowadays would take a lot of time, patience, and a decent-sized stack of cash.
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#2

Post by Evil D »

Military - Practically any steel, I just like the model as is and being FFG works great with SE.

Stretch 2 - Also FFG but also 3mm, it's a far better slicer than most knives that are offered in SE. Good amount of blade too.

Dragonfly Salt - one of if not the best hollow grind Spyderco makes, it's a bit higher on the blade than most and since the blade stock is already thin (2mm?) it performs way above it's class. If I could only carry one knife somewhere and size were an issue this would be my top choice.

There are lots of great knives that come in SE, but I highly prefer the ones that are also FFG.


Now, let's talk about knives I wish were offered in SE that I think would perform really well..

Ulize - probably top on my SE wish list. I usually don't care for recurves but if this knife were SE it would be a monster.

Captain - Another discontinued model, another recurve. Same potential as the Ulize, but I'd leave he front half of the blade PE on this one and just SE the inner curve section.

Centofante 3/4 - 2mm blade, similar to the Dragonfly, it'll slice like a beast.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
zhyla
Member
Posts: 2190
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 2:12 pm

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#3

Post by zhyla »

The list of knives that would be better in SE is a long, long list. Agree in the Ulize, I passed on a good deal on one of these recently because it was PE.

Would like to see a flipper in SE. My recent Positron acquisition has me wishing it came in SE.

To the OP’s original question, I don’t find much variation except for grind is all that meaningful. Any steel, nearly any blade length or shape, it all cuts like a coked out badger with a beehive strapped to its back. I don’t know how PE people get by.
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#4

Post by Evil D »

zhyla wrote:I don’t know how PE people get by.
Very very very sharp edges. ;)
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
Jazz
Member
Posts: 7678
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#5

Post by Jazz »

Wharncliffe Delica. Nice and shallow. They don't hang up on things as easy. The Salt 1's serrations are way to aggressive. Not sure why you all like them like that. Please explain (yes, mine is paper cutting shaving sharp).
- best wishes, Jazz.
palonej
Member
Posts: 853
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:40 am

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#6

Post by palonej »

Toss up between my Pac Salt & Autonomy. Both are flat out CUTTERS!!
Both are work Knives, HVAC, and have handled everything I’ve thrown at them.
Joe
Attachments
CBEE533A-D218-4EAA-9094-0F6300758899.jpeg
42458434-6A57-4A54-AE05-F146A6E61E27.jpeg
FDC2D4E6-EE72-42DD-8FA3-24C4D1D65CC5.jpeg
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#7

Post by Evil D »

Jazz wrote:Wharncliffe Delica. Nice and shallow. They don't hang up on things as easy. The Salt 1's serrations are way to aggressive. Not sure why you all like them like that. Please explain (yes, mine is paper cutting shaving sharp).

I'm with you, I like them more on the shallow side and more rounds in the teeth than sharp.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
bearfacedkiller
Member
Posts: 11411
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:22 pm
Location: hiding in the woods...

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#8

Post by bearfacedkiller »

I am not a fan of serrations so my opinion isn't worth a whole lot but I like the serrations on my K04 Kitchen Utility. They are shallow and spread out so they don't snag and tear. Also, the tooth in between the two small scallops is longer so that the other teeth do not touch the cutting board which really minimizes dulling. It is a terrific bagel cutter.

I need to pick up a serrated Wharnie Delica if it snags and tears less. Even when my serrations are hair whittling sharp I don't like the way they cut. My VG10 SE Stretch is the only one I keep around and that is because it is ffg. With the distal taper the scallops are shallow towards the tip but quite aggressive towards the handle. I keep trying to learn to love serrations but it just doesn't happen.
-Darby
sal wrote:Knife afi's are pretty far out, steel junky's more so, but "edge junky's" are just nuts. :p
SpyderEdgeForever wrote: Also, do you think a kangaroo would eat a bowl of spagetti with sauce if someone offered it to them?
Bill1170
Member
Posts: 2770
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:34 pm
Location: San Diego North County

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#9

Post by Bill1170 »

bearfacedkiller wrote:I am not a fan of serrations so my opinion isn't worth a whole lot but I like the serrations on my K04 Kitchen Utility. They are shallow and spread out so they don't snag and tear. Also, the tooth in between the two small scallops is longer so that the other teeth do not touch the cutting board which really minimizes dulling. It is a terrific bagel cutter.

I need to pick up a serrated Wharnie Delica if it snags and tears less. Even when my serrations are hair whittling sharp I don't like the way they cut. My VG10 SE Stretch is the only one I keep around and that is because it is ffg. With the distal taper the scallops are shallow towards the tip but quite aggressive towards the handle. I keep trying to learn to love serrations but it just doesn't happen.
Same here. The K04 is great, and the SE Jazzelica is tempting due to FFG and shallower serrations. It’s too bad that H-1 doesn’t lend itself to flat grinds.
User avatar
cabfrank
Member
Posts: 2857
Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 9:07 pm
Location: Northern California, USA, Earth

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#10

Post by cabfrank »

I love H1 SE in general (PE too), but definitely worthy of special mention is the Jumpmaster 2. It's a beast of a cutter.
vivi
Member
Posts: 13846
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:15 am

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#11

Post by vivi »

SE Pacific Salt is in my pocket nearly every day for a reason. Stays sharp forever, cuts like a chainsaw and only weighs 3oz. It's been a while since I've sharpened mine, I just strop it once a week and that seems to keep it going.
:unicorn
User avatar
xceptnl
Member
Posts: 8594
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:48 pm
Location: Tobacco Country, Virginia
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#12

Post by xceptnl »

bearfacedkiller wrote:I am not a fan of serrations so my opinion isn't worth a whole lot but I like the serrations on my K04 Kitchen Utility. They are shallow and spread out so they don't snag and tear. Also, the tooth in between the two small scallops is longer so that the other teeth do not touch the cutting board which really minimizes dulling. It is a terrific bagel cutter.
I have said this in multiple previous threads. I wish Sal would have these serrations on a folder or two. My preference is for the older (more shallow) serrations that can be found on the Catcherman, Goddard, Herbst, Caly Jr. and the Navigator.

Image
Image
sal wrote: .... even today, we design a knife from the edge out!
*Landon*
JD Spydo
Member
Posts: 23532
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:53 pm
Location: Blue Springs, Missouri

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#13

Post by JD Spydo »

bearfacedkiller wrote:I am not a fan of serrations so my opinion isn't worth a whole lot but I like the serrations on my K04 Kitchen Utility. They are shallow and spread out so they don't snag and tear. Also, the tooth in between the two small scallops is longer so that the other teeth do not touch the cutting board which really minimizes dulling. It is a terrific bagel cutter.
I agree very much with BFK about the K-04 & K-05 culinary Spyderco models because the serration pattern on them is a wavy/rounded type of serration that tends to flow through meat, fish and poultry with a lot more ease than most of the other Japan made Spyders. There is one other discontinued model that is my all time favorite Spyderco serration pattern and I've only seen this particular pattern on this model and I'm speaking of the older/discontinued AUS-8 Catcherman C-17 model.

The pattern on that particular Catcherman model and I believe that older AUS-8 Catcherman was the last one that they made fully Spyderedged was similar in overall design as most of your Spyderco serration patterns but is lower profiled and not as spikey as most of it's Japan made counterparts. Using that model on many food applications just works like a dream.

I'm kind of surprised in a way that Spyderco hasn't tried some other serration patterns up to this point. Being they are at the top of their game in that sector. There are things I like about most all of their serration patterns but respectfully I still think there's more to discover and always room for improvement.
ThePeacent
Member
Posts: 2847
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2016 12:45 am
Location: Barcelona, Spain

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#14

Post by ThePeacent »

Pacific Salt - they cut food, fibrous roots, twigs, plants and fibers without snagging but way faster than a PE, without getting damaged or chipped

Spyderhawk - these just grab and catch stuff when cutting, which in combination with the curved blade doesn't allow anything to slip off in the cutting, useful around vegetables, rope and textiles I encounter

Image
User avatar
SpyderEdgeForever
Member
Posts: 6325
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:53 pm
Location: USA

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#15

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

Peacent, if Spyderco were to offer a modified Atlantic Salt, with the same H1 stainless blade and the same serrated and plain edge as the current model, (if they were to add it to the lineup along with what they currently have) but a modified more Wharncliffe blade, with a sharp point and the serrations, would you definitely go for that and be one of the first to try it out? I sure would.
User avatar
wrdwrght
Member
Posts: 5078
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:35 am

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#16

Post by wrdwrght »

H1 hawkbills.

Carefree steel.

Tasman and Spyderhawk for enhanced pull-cutting on gathered fibers to be found in my sizeable garden. Nothing better.

My RFP primary carry having some belly, a Ladybug rides loose at the bottom of my LFP everyday for when pull-cuts or surgical cuts are needed.
-Marc (pocketing an M4 Sage5 today)

“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#17

Post by Evil D »

bearfacedkiller wrote:I keep trying to learn to love serrations but it just doesn't happen.

My experience says they just have to be at absolute peak sharpness to be enjoyable to use, otherwise they do snag. I see all these comments about how they hold an edge forever and I know that's true in a way but I can't really relate because once they dull to where they no longer push cut phone book paper I have to sharpen them again or the snag fest starts. Once you can get them equally as sharp as your PE knives they're fine but edge retention is completely irrelevant to me because of how they behave once they lose peak sharpness so I want a steel that is tough so the teeth don't get damaged and very easy to sharpen so it's easy and fast when they need touched up, which is basically after every use.

I will say though, when they are at peak sharpness they cut like nothing else. The only thing I've found bothersome is fabric...it will cut but it seems to be the most proned to snagging almost no matter how sharp the edge is. But, in exchange the material being cut is all but guaranteed to not slip off the edge.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
SpyderEdgeForever
Member
Posts: 6325
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:53 pm
Location: USA

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#18

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

David, and others, then here is an interesting related question for you: What would be necessary to make a knife edge that has the cutting power of sharp serrations when they are at their peak sharpness level, but, would cut as smoothly as a plain-edged knife blade? Would this require more advanced blade technology than currently exists (perhaps an active-edge blade which is more appropriate for the Off Topic section)?
Or could we somehow adapt present steel and sharpening technology to make a form of "micro serration"?
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#19

Post by Evil D »

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:David, and others, then here is an interesting related question for you: What would be necessary to make a knife edge that has the cutting power of sharp serrations when they are at their peak sharpness level, but, would cut as smoothly as a plain-edged knife blade? Would this require more advanced blade technology than currently exists (perhaps an active-edge blade which is more appropriate for the Off Topic section)?
Or could we somehow adapt present steel and sharpening technology to make a form of "micro serration"?
Well I mentioned it in a thread a while back that I'd like to see longer serrations. I think if there were less points, and the scallops we're all maybe a third to half as much longer, they would slice more and snag less. I'd like to try a blade with large scallops that are about 5/16 long and the small scallops are about 1/8-3/16 long.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
jdw
Member
Posts: 1583
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:10 pm
Location: Red Dirt

Re: Your Favorite Examples of Spyderedge, and Why

#20

Post by jdw »

Evil D wrote:
Stretch 2- Also FFG but also 3mm, it's a far better slicer than most knives that are offered in SE. Good amount of blade too.
I don't see many of these around the secondary market. I used to have one and I think that it is one of the most versatile SEs that Spyderco has made and I would love to find another. I am pretty sure that it was a regular production run. Where did they all go?
Do right always. It will give you satisfaction in life.
--Wovoka
Post Reply