Salt Series vs. Just LC200N

[p_atrick]

There is a lot of support for LC200N (I really should try some myself). Corrosion resistance is one of the steel's biggest attributes. For the sake of argument, let's take a hypothetical PM2 that is going to get LC200N. Would you prefer the standard G10 and steel liners with an LC200N blade or a model that corrosion resistant throughout (like the Salt or Caribbean series)? When people talk about corrosion resistance, I wonder if they are talking about just the blade or the whole knife.

[Cscottsss]

Entire knife, that's the beauty of the Salt series. I keep a DF2 clipped to my swim trunks all summer and wear in the pool, ocean, beach and never worry about it.

Oh, and please Sal, bring us an Lc200n DF2.

[Evil D]

I don't want every knife I have to be a "Salt" so in some cases if LC were to replace S30V as the standard steel I would be ok with the rest of the knife being normal standard production G10 and such.

[vivi]

For me its the whole knife. I fine it much easier to keep a blade pristine than the liners, lock and hardware.

I had a DLC Para 2 in my EDC rotation for five years. The blade never did rust, in fact that's the knife that sold me on DLC's amazing corrosion resistance.

But both liners were coated in I kid you not, 3-4mm of rust. The entire stop pin was covered in rust. The lock developed blade play from rust. I took the knife apart multiple times and would use a flat head screwdriver to scrape out huge gobs of rust built up on the inside.

Same story with my Spin, Police 3, Police 4 etc. Tons of rust in the liners, blades were always fine.

While I would support seeing LC200N on otherwise non-salt models, that's a half step to greatness. Might as well go the full distance.

[wrdwrght]

There is now a clear difference between the H1 Salt and the LC200N Salt.

We have many more models of the former—the LC200N Caribbean is the only model so far explicitly marketed as a Salt—and all are hollow-grind in order to achieve (through work-hardening) any reasonable HRC at the edge.

Being heat-treated, LC200N can be FFG in both PE and SE; H1 has a much higher HRC on an SE. Its HRC apparently exceeds many premium steels known mostly for their wear-resistance.

Unlike H1, LC200N appears prone to react galvanically with stray metals if allowed to stay in contact.

I’ve come to conclude that LC200N plays well between VG10 and S30V but with unmatched corrosion-resistance. H1 remains unchallenged in its own important world, but with geometries that are prone to bind when cutting some materials.

Yes, SE can surely bully its way through, and while SE is being shown convincingly by devotees here not to catch on stuff, surgical scalpels do remain PE, meaning only that H1 shines best in SE, but LC200N works well in either edge.

[JuPaul]

I think I'm with Evil D on this one - in a knife that's likely to be used outside and/or in wet, highly humid, or salty environments I'd want the full salt treatment. But in something that I might, for example, use for occasional food prep but otherwise edc, I'd be fine with just an lc200n blade. With that said, I certainly wouldn't avoid a "fully salt" knife for general edc, but I also don't want all my knives in neon frn.

[ladybug93]

i would be fine with just an lc200n blade if not for the galvanic corrosion factor. if you drop an lc200n blade in steel liners, there will be corrosion between the two. full salt or nothing. even if you don’t live in a highly corrosive environment, there’s nothing like being able to have your knife on you at all times and use it for anything without hesitation or worry of corrosion. it’s very freeing. perfect for edc.

[Pelagic]

LC200N liners shouldn't be too big of a problem since the amount of knives that even have liners at all seems to be diminishing. Stop pins tend to be rust magnets in my experience though. At least they're small.

[TomAiello]

I'd prefer full salt for LC200N models.

I also think that H-1 should stay in the line up. There's no reason to transition all the Salts to LC200N.

[James Y]

I'd like to see full Salt versions of PM2 and Para3. With G10 scales, and LC200N blades and liners, and whatever they do to the screws and stop pins on the Caribbean models. I'd also like the scales to have the option of dark green or regular-looking black. Meaning version(s) almost visually indistinguishable from the normal models, other than the Salt designation.

Jim

[James Y]

For me its the whole knife. I fine it much easier to keep a blade pristine than the liners, lock and hardware.

I had a DLC Para 2 in my EDC rotation for five years. The blade never did rust, in fact that's the knife that sold me on DLC's anazing corrosion resistance.

But both liners were coated in I kid you not, 3-4mm of rust. The entire stop pin was covered in rust. The lock developed blade play from rust. I took the knife apart multiple times and would use a flat head screwdriver to scrape out huge gobs of rust built up on the inside.

Same story with my Spin, Police 3, Police 4 etc. Tons of rust in the liners, blades were always fine.

While I would support seeing LC200N on otherwise non-salt models, that's a half step to greatness. Might as well go the full distance.

Vivi,
Did you take your knives into the water, such as swimming, diving, etc.?

Jim

[vivi]

Nope, I just tend to work physically demanding jobs and live in warm places, so anything that even looks at my pockets will rust. I rust Leatherman Micras real bad, once a year I submerge mine in an oil bath then scrub out all the rust. I've rusted phones too.

[Sumdumguy]

If its LC200N, I want the liners and hardware to be LC200N aswell. Ti integral compression lock would be acceptable also.

Titanium has become my preferred handle material, second only to G10 with liners.

[ZrowsN1s]

It is my humble opinion that the liners, handle, and hardware of a knife should ALWAYS be more stainless than the blade. Blades are easy to clean and maintain. Anything else requires knife disassembly, which depending on which spyderco model you have can range from no big deal to big ordeal.

[Bloke]

I've rusted phones too.

[cycleguy]

I think if you are going corrosion resistant ... the better design will be going corrosion resistant throughout.

CG

[ugaarguy]

There is now a clear difference between the H1 Salt and the LC200N Salt.

We have many more models of the former—the LC200N Caribbean is the only model so far explicitly marketed as a Salt—and all are hollow-grind in order to achieve (through work-hardening) any reasonable HRC at the edge.

Umm, the Salt Series page on Spyderco.com - https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/category/salt-series - lists the SpydieChef Ti, Tusk, and "Native 5 Salt FRN Yellow" in the category. The N5 Salt has an LC200N blade, and says it a salt right in the name. The SpydieChef's product description contains the sentence "A proud member of Spyderco’s Salt Series™ of ultra-corrosion-resistant knives, the Spydiechef features a gracefully curved blade crafted from LC200N." I'm not sure how much explicit that could be. I'll give you that the Tusk's product description calls it a "mariner's tool", which is more implicit than explicitly calling it a Salt series knife. Still, 3 out 4 LC200N blade knives are explicitly marketed as Salt series. The Autonomy 2, which we non-warrior classes aren't supposed to buy, was designed for the USCG, so does Spyderco really need to explicitly state that it should be considered a Salt Series knife too?

[jalcon]

PM2 with LC200N is a grail knife for many

[ejcr98]

I would like to be in G-10 and full rust proof liners and hardware a la Caribbean.

[ugaarguy]

Highly rust resistant liners to go with LC200N, if the knife must have liners. I still want a Sage 2 with a Vanax blade and ceramic detent ball. A Shaman that's an integral compression lock made from titanium with a Vanax blade would be beyond amazing. Yes, it would be stupidly expensive, but awesome would only begin to describe it.