H1

[loamy47]

Hello all,

I'm going to be picking up a Dragonfly 2 here soon and I've had my eye on the Salt version because I live in Alaska and am around humidity and saltwater and bodies of water in general more often than not. This knife will be my first nice knife I've gotten, and while I eventually on getting a PM2 of some sort to take up my main edc role (most likely anyways, who knows), I don't have the money for it right now, so the Dragonfly will be my edc for a while. I have especially been eyeing the Salt model because I was planning to relegate it to be my "on the water" knife once I get something else to be my main edc and not have to worry about any rust or corrosion, but after reading up more on H1, it seems like the edge retention might be too bad to use for edc before I can get something else.

So my question is: should I wait to get a Salt version for a good while (because I will end up getting one regardless) and get a VG-10 version for right now, while it'll be my only edc knife? Or is the edge retention on H1 not as bad as everyone makes it out to be? I'd much rather get a Salt model now so I don't have to constantly be keeping an eye out and cleaning my knife as it will end up getting wet and being exposed to sea air, but if H1's edge retention is truly too bad to be an edc for a while, I can certainly live with keeping a close eye on it.

[steelcity16]

Yes, get the H1 Dfly! That was my first Spyderco as well! H1 PE holds an edge fine for basic EDC and you can touch it up if a few seconds to get it back to shaving sharp. Probably not the best choice if you are working in an environment where you use your knife breaking down boxes for 8 hours a day. But if you are only pulling it out a few times a day for general tasks it is more than fine.

[ugaarguy]

I assume you're asking about plain edge. If you can live with serrated, edge retention will be much better. You could also buy a Byrd or value line Spyderco and just oil the blade occasionally (or get a competing budget knife with a 14C28N blade, which is quite corrosion resistant) while you save for something better. The Native 5 Salt, Caribbean, and Spydiechef are all full size EDC knives with LC200N blades. The Caribbean is the closest thing to a PM2 Salt that's currently available. Any of those three would fill the role of a full size EDC knife and Salt knife in one.

[BDein14]

I had a dragonfly salt and it was fine but after getting the native 5 salt I got rid of it because the native 5 was better in every way. It’s crazy light and great in hand. LC200N is amazing as either a knife for water or heavy use edc. If I was you and was on a budget id get one knife in LC200N. I’d look into the Caribbean because of the compression lock for one handed closing I love the native 5 but one draw back is the back lock because of its difficulty to close one handed

[ladybug93]

i have a se df2 salt and i like it. i sometimes wish it was pe because i personally don't find serrations as necessary or useful on smaller knives as i do larger knives, like the pacific salt that i use in the ocean. if you can swing the extra cost, maybe take a look at the native salt. it's a great size for edc and lc200n doesn't have the same edge retention "problems" as h1. i say "problems" because pe h1 holds an edge just fine for most light to medium edc tasks and is easy to touch up when the time comes, but lc200n is more on par with steels like s30v and is also very easy to touch up. the native salt is almost twice the cost, but it's a much stronger knife with a more useful/versatile blade length, and in a steel that will give you better edge retention. the native salt isn't my favorite spyderco, but it's probably the only one that covers all of my needs.

[tonijedi]

My opinion on PE H1 is in this topic:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=83361

For basic EDC it is more than enough for me.

[loamy47]

Yes, get the H1 Dfly! That was my first Spyderco as well! H1 PE holds an edge fine for basic EDC and you can touch it up if a few seconds to get it back to shaving sharp. Probably not the best choice if you are working in an environment where you use your knife breaking down boxes for 8 hours a day. But if you are only pulling it out a few times a day for general tasks it is more than fine.

Yeah, no one man recycling plant here. I work in fencing and have some *really* beater generic fixed blade knives and shears that I use for anything that's super rough like cutting roots that are half underground or cutting wire, but want a folder that can just be used for nicking some twine and bands or sharpening up pencils and the like.

[Woodpuppy]

I have a VG10 dragonfly. It’s a nice LITTLE knife. If I were going to get one in H1, it would be the hawkbill serrated model.

[loamy47]

I had a dragonfly salt and it was fine but after getting the native 5 salt I got rid of it because the native 5 was better in every way. It’s crazy light and great in hand. LC200N is amazing as either a knife for water or heavy use edc. If I was you and was on a budget id get one knife in LC200N. I’d look into the Caribbean because of the compression lock for one handed closing I love the native 5 but one draw back is the back lock because of its difficulty to close one handed

I looked at the LC200N knives, and the only thing that stopped me from getting one of them is that they all seemed just a little too big to just have in some shorts during a lake day or something. Any input on that?

[cabfrank]

To answer the question in the last paragraph, I would get the Salt . I prefer H1 to VG-10. Not everyone will agree.

[Bloke]

I use H1 Plain Edge Tasman HB to clean fish. In my use it holds up very well with a coarse edge and fair to say it's a bit of a favourite. :)

[loamy47]

To those of you with LC200N knives, I had looked at several but decided against them because I wanted something that would be able to fit in a pair of shorts comfortably at the lake or on the river and the Caribbean series and Native 5 Salt just looked a little too big for that purpose. Any input?

[Evil D]

If you own a Sharpmaker, I'd get the serrated Salt version. It's my most used Dragonfly.

[loamy47]

My opinion on PE H1 is in this topic:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=83361

For basic EDC it is more than enough for me.

That was a great read. It was nice to see some actual real-life testing instead of someone just saying "the edge dulls so fast I had to sharpen it three times to cut up one box" with nothing to back it up.

[Cambertree]

I have a few Dragonflies in different steels, and it's my most used Spyderco model overall.

I don't have the PE H1 version, but I can say the H1 SE Salt is an amazing little knife. It made a SE convert of me.

As D says above, just pair it with a Sharpmaker and you're all set.

If you're on the water a lot, the ability of H1 to show zero edge degradation from corrosion is an amazing and impressive quality in a knife steel.

[loamy47]

I have a few Dragonflies in different steels, and it's my most used Spyderco model overall.

I don't have the PE H1 version, but I can say the H1 SE Salt is an amazing little knife. It made a SE convert of me.

As D says above, just pair it with a Sharpmaker and you're all set.

If you're on the water a lot, the ability of H1 to show zero edge degradation from corrosion is an amazing and impressive quality in a knife steel.

I remember reading about that property in some thread a few days ago and it answered so many questions I never thought I had. I had always just accepted that if you leave a knife sitting around for a while you will probably have to touch it up and never really questioned it. I never considered that with the humidity and salt in the air where I live that the edge of the knife could be corroding at the microscopic level. It really blew my mind.

And as for a Sharpmaker, I don't currently have one but do want to get one.

[Cambertree]

I remember reading about that property in some thread a few days ago and it answered so many questions I never thought I had. I had always just accepted that if you leave a knife sitting around for a while you will probably have to touch it up and never really questioned it. I never considered that with the humidity and salt in the air where I live that the edge of the knife could be corroding at the microscopic level. It really blew my mind.

And as for a Sharpmaker, I don't currently have one but do want to get one.

Yeah it's a pretty impressive quality. I have a SE Tasman which I just leave hanging on a hook in a mini greenhouse for harvesting chilli peppers. It gets sprayed with water, sits in humid mist, then baked in the heat and sun etc for months at a time. Most of the time it just sits there as a backup, as I usually have a folder in my pocket anyway. I'm always kind of amazed when I pick it up and it's exactly as sharp as it was when I left it there.

If you're coming to H1 from more budget kinds of knives, I don't think you'll feel it has poor edge retention. Most people who say that are comparing it to particle metallurgy tool steels and stainlesses. Most of the deer I see being dressed out by other hunters are done with inexpensive 420HC type steels, and if you were to give them a PE H1 knife it would probably seem like a step up in edge retention. But if your budget extends to an LC200N model, then go for it!

Regarding carrying knives in your shorts while swimming, I'll clip the SE Pacific Salt IWB while swimming in the ocean, and it feels pretty unobtrusive. I don't have a Native Salt or Caribbean, so I can't speak to them.

Yeah the Sharpmaker repays its cost many times over with its usefulness.

[ladybug93]

Regarding carrying knives in your shorts while swimming, I'll clip the SE Pacific Salt IWB while swimming in the ocean, and it feels pretty unobtrusive. I don't have a Native Salt or Caribbean, so I can't speak to them.

i carry a se pacific salt iwb in the ocean as well. i also carry it iwb when running and working out. it’s great for these applications because it is surprisingly lightweight for its size and mostly unobtrusive. but i bought it specifically for the ocean, so i wanted serrations and as many as i could carry. that’s why i got the longest salt folder i could get. it was a great choice and i still carry it pretty much every day.
the native salt is a little less comfortable iwb. the edges of the handle are more abrupt and less rounded, so you feel it a little more. i probably wouldn’t care or notice if i hadn’t already been carrying the pacific salt there for years though.
both are great knives. as stated before, i would go for a pe native salt if i was only going to carry one knife for edc and wanted corrosion resistance. i definitely prefer it to my se df2 salt, although that’s a good knife too.

[ugaarguy]

I looked at the LC200N knives, and the only thing that stopped me from getting one of them is that they all seemed just a little too big to just have in some shorts during a lake day or something. Any input on that?

Like a few others have mentioned, I'll carry a thin knife clipped inside my waistband when wearing gym shorts. I've not had a problem carrying my Spydiechef this way. I've carried knives similar in size to the Native 5 this way in the past, and I've been quite comfortable. If you're wearing board shorts that have a decently thick waistband and sturdy tie strings to hold them up, and they have decent sized pockets, the Native LW / Salt is so light that you can carry it in the pocket like you would with regular shorts. I actually have no problem carrying a Sage 2, which is an ounce heavier than the N5 Salt, in the pocket of drawstring waist gym shorts.

[James Y]

I like my H1 knives. I like LC200N better, but the H1 knives I have are very good. I prefe H1 in SE. But even with the SE knives, I prefer the serrations to not be overly aggressive/steeply ground. So my favorite H1 knife is probably my SE Tasman.

In the past, I've read posts by some who stated that "H1 is not really a steel." That's not true; H1 is definitely a steel. Magnets stick to it.

Jim