Spyderco in use, review/feedback thread

[JuPaul]

Rick, it sounds like the upcoming Rex45 Shaman could be your ultimate knife! Thanks for all your reviews - I've really appreciated them.

[TkoK83Spy]

Rick, it sounds like the upcoming Rex45 Shaman could be your ultimate knife! Thanks for all your reviews - I've really appreciated them.

Thanks Julia! I know, I've come to realize that myself...but I'm trying to tell myself I don't NEED it, though I think it's inevitable :p

The Rosewood model just wasn't for me, I'd probably kick myself if I passed up this G10 sprint! Saw your post earlier about your 10V PM2 being delivered at your house and your not home...worst feeling ever!! I imagine you brought at least one that will hold you over though.

[GarageBoy]

Found this old comment about cruwear from Vivi

I found cruwear rusted just as easily as K390 for me. Neither are as bad as 1095 or O1, but cruwear is a far, far cry from a typical stainless steel here.

Agreed on sharpening. Cruwear sharpens fast and easy. While K390 takes a little more grinding due to th extra wear resistance, I find it sharpens pretty fast relative to the hardness and composition.

K390 is my favorite non-stainless for smaller knives, while Cruwear did not impress me. Cruwear performed a lot like 61 rc1095 with a little extra corrosion resistance for me, never understood the following it has here tbh.

Hmm 4v sounded like the way to go for the shaman

[TkoK83Spy]

I'm really hoping someone can chime in here with a review on K390. I don't have anything in that steel yet, but hear nothing but good things...just haven't SEEN anything though.

[Albatross]

I'm really hoping someone can chime in here with a review on K390. I don't have anything in that steel yet, but hear nothing but good things...just haven't SEEN anything though.

In case you haven't seen Pete's rope cut test with the K390 Mule -

https://youtu.be/4Sdp8Rjo1i0


And In the Pocket's video, showing some edge stability testing on K390, Cruwear, and S110V -

https://youtu.be/w1g55hNEjqA

[JuPaul]

Rick, it sounds like the upcoming Rex45 Shaman could be your ultimate knife! Thanks for all your reviews - I've really appreciated them.

Thanks Julia! I know, I've come to realize that myself...but I'm trying to tell myself I don't NEED it, though I think it's inevitable :p

The Rosewood model just wasn't for me, I'd probably kick myself if I passed up this G10 sprint! Saw your post earlier about your 10V PM2 being delivered at your house and your not home...worst feeling ever!! I imagine you brought at least one that will hold you over though.

Yeah...I may or may not have brought an entire spydiepac full of knives to tide me over :D And yet, the rex45 manix has been in my pocket every day this week.

I understand about the rosewood scales. I actually really like them, but I find myself being very hesitant to bang them up. I think I'd be much more inclined to beat up the g10 version, so for your uses, I'm sure g10 will be better all-around.

[curlyhairedboy]

I may have to try to nab one of the rex45 shamans.... But I can't promise any pocket time for it....

[The Meat man]

CPM 10V, PM2
Factory edge
This is my first experience with the renowned PM2 and I can see why it is so universally liked.
I bought the recent REC exclusive, the DLC version. I think the coyote brown and DLC is a great looking combo.
Straight out of the box it was very sharp, popping hair off my arm with ease.
I didn't use it much until yesterday; on a walk I did a lot of hard carving on seasoned mulberry wood. I did light feathery shavings as well as aggressive, deep cuts. I wasn't gentle on the edge. After maybe 15 minutes of this it had lost its extreme sharpness, but still easily shaved and sliced phonebook paper.
Today at work I used it to cut up a bunch of cardboard boxes:



(The trash can was already maybe a third full when I started cutting. )
I don't know for sure how many feet or inches of cutting it was, but it was a lot. I also cut up a couple plastic gallon jugs for good measure.

Results: the edge can no longer cleanly shave arm hair. It still slices copier paper pretty easily, but there are a few hiccups indicating some light microchipping, and overall, the paper slicing feels rougher.

We all know that factory edges tend not to perform as well as a hand-sharpened edge. Now that I have an excuse to sharpen this knife, I'll be looking to do some more in-depth testing later on.

[TkoK83Spy]

Awesome! Thanks Connor. You do a great job with your own edges, can't wait to see the difference you get compared to the factory edge.

[Enactive]

I'm really hoping someone can chime in here with a review on K390. I don't have anything in that steel yet, but hear nothing but good things...just haven't SEEN anything though.

Rick, there is plenty of info about K390 around here. Just a few:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=86116

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85192&start=20

Vivi covers K390 some here... although the Seki HT on K390 seems to be harder than Golden's

viewtopic.php?t=81418

I wouldn't necessarily apply Vivi's experience with corrosion on K390 to other users who don't have "battery acid sweat" or fish like Lance! :D :cool: :spyder:

Just for fun here is Shawn Houston wailing on the P4 and explaining its characteristics in use and sharpening.
https://youtu.be/E-c3LxQbcqg

[TkoK83Spy]

Thanks! I'll check those out later tonight.

[TkoK83Spy]

I used the 52100 Manix for the week last week. As I expected, it lost its initial peak sharpness rather quickly and after 3 days of use it wasn't cleanly cutting paper. After continued regular warehouse use through Friday, it really didn't seem to fall off from the sharpness it was at after Wednesday. That kind of surprised me as I expected it to continue to get more dull.

So came the end of the day Friday and I sought out more of the usual materials to cut and compare performance to the other knives/steels I've been writing about here. No problems with the hydraulic hose, and chopped up a bunch of it into smaller pieces using different parts of the blade. I was cutting the rope in 5"-6" pieces. It began to struggle a bit at the 37th piece. That rope has some kind of wax coating on it and it began slipping around instead of cutting and began to feel unsafe to continue so I stopped at 41 pieces. Next I moved onto some cardboard and as you can see, it didn't cut smooth/clean for about 30% of what was cut.

Not shown is, just to test the toughness of it I began chopping into a pressure treated 4x6 that was laying around. I gave it 30 whacks just to see if would do anything to edge...resulted in no damage. No rolls or chips. This is kind of what I expected out of 52100 from what I've read. Loses that peak sharpness but is tough to chip or roll. No damage to the lock either, still a solid lock up with just the TINIEST bit of blade play that was easily fixed with a slight turn of the pivot screw.

To my surprise when I got home and ended up cleaning up the knife and sharpening it over the weekend, it took me a while to get it back to MY peak sharpness. I don't know if I wasn't hitting the right angle or because it was more dull than the other knives I've used on a weekly basis, but it took me a good 15-20 minutes on the browns just to get it back to popping hairs.

My rundown through 8 weeks...
1 - Manix 2 / Rex45
2 - Shaman / 4V
3 - Para3 / M4
4 - Manix 2 / 20CV
5 - Shaman / Cruwear
6 - Smock / S30V (granted only used for 3 days, so maybe I should give it another try)
7 - Manix 2 / 52100
8 - Caly Jr / Super Blue (garbage)

*2 weeks ago I carried the 204P Military but use was very inconsistent as I had to cover our stockroom quite a bit, so I'll have to revisit that knife at some point*

[djinnzfree]

A Mule Team S90V (Nº3) I used it in kitchen as an office knife.

Just had good words for this wonderfull knife. I'ved choose scale from halpern Ti. Even wet the hand grip is correct. For the story i bought three of those
when it was released. Stil had those two more in OEM box never been touch except the guys at Spyderco who put them in plastic pouch. Those two will be fro my twin son for their 18th anniversery.
Back to the Knifes... It's a strong blade to peel patatoes & remove bulb thigs , oranges or like on the joined pictures green pepper. It also serve to cut cheese chunk from the brick!
re-Shapening is a patience question... but with the triangle sharpener it's easy as 1 2 3... 4 & 5 ;-)

[VashHash]

Linking the SE 440V native thread here.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=86405&p=1413608#p1413608

[The Meat man]

CPM 10V Paramilitary 2, after 1st sharpening

Earlier in this thread I posted the results of some informal cut testing with the factory edge on this knife. I've since sharpened it and tonight I got the chance to use it a bit more. We recently had a new hot water heater installed and I seized the opportunity to use the cardboard boxes for testing.



The main box was triple ply cardboard with an inner sleeve of regular double ply.

Now, the knife had been used somewhat prior to the test and was not at peak sharpness. It could shave arm hair but it wasn't grabbing and popping like a fresh edge. It also could slice phonebook paper fairly smoothly.



I started with the inner, double ply sleeve. After 90 feet or so the base of the blade, which took the most use, began having trouble shaving arm hair. The tip portion still managed to do alright. At 187 feet, the bottom half of the blade could not shave arm hair anymore and the middle and tip could only scrape-shave.
Tested on paper, the edge sliced regular copier paper fine but was very iffy on the phonebook paper.

Then to the main box. Triple ply cardboard! It was thick and heavy but the knife zipped through it with very little effort. 100 feet in and the edge was beginning to feel a bit rough slicing paper (especially toward the heel of the blade.) During the cutting the blade got almost too hot to touch. :eek: 250 feet in, the knife felt no different on the cardboard, still blew through it easily, but on copier paper, it was definitely showing more wear.

I finally ran out of box at 462 feet. By this point, the edge would catch and tear when slicing paper about 50% of the time unless care was taken. As before though, no discernible difference on the cardboard and I tried it on some rope too. No problem. For practical uses it's still a very sharp knife.

I cut 187 feet of double ply and 462 feet of triple ply cardboard, making 649 feet total.


Can you find the knife? :p


The end:

[TkoK83Spy]

Connor... you don't always do reviews, but when you do you go all out beast mode!!! That's what I need to start doing, be very specific.

Very impressive through that triple ply!! Funny how us edge junkies can think a knife "isn't sharp" once it doesn't shave hair with ease. Yet something like this goes to show, depending on the steel there's still PLENTY left in the tank even after losing that initial peak sharpness.

Well done buddy!! :)

[The Meat man]

Connor... you don't always do reviews, but when you do you go all out beast mode!!! That's what I need to start doing, be very specific.

Very impressive through that triple ply!! Funny how us edge junkies can think a knife "isn't sharp" once it doesn't shave hair with ease. Yet something like this goes to show, depending on the steel there's still PLENTY left in the tank even after losing that initial peak sharpness.

Well done buddy!! :)

Thank you! Yeah, most people's idea of a "sharp knife" would drive us insane. Yet it still cuts. And to be fair I don't often find myself needing to slice phonebook paper in day to day use. :p :D

I don't have time to sharpen this PM2 tonight so we'll see tomorrow if I really notice the degraded edge in normal use.

[TkoK83Spy]

What's your take on the PM2 after some extended and hard use Connor? Did you find it comfortable, anything that really stands out or lacks for your preferences? Still blown away with you being such a knife guy that this was your first PM2! :p

[The Meat man]

What's your take on the PM2 after some extended and hard use Connor? Did you find it comfortable, anything that really stands out or lacks for your preferences? Still blown away with you being such a knife guy that this was your first PM2! :p

Well, first of all I can see why it is so popular. It's feels good in the hand, there's plenty of handle space yet it doesn't feel overdone. The blade is neither too short nor too long, and I like the shape. It slices very well.

Generally, I do prefer a slightly longer blade, and I'm not sure yet whether I like the compression lock or not. I prefer the tactile feel of opening a backlock over a detent based lock. Still, it's very well done and the detent is crisp.

I really like the color combo on this particular model.

[TkoK83Spy]

This week was the Manix 2 in 4V steel. I expected greatness, and it did not fail me! All week long, typical warehouse cutting was effortless. Still shaved and cleanly cut paper Monday-Friday with no touch ups. Today I decided to give it the typical, try and dull the blade a bit testing. I got a little more precise this week after reading Connors excellent review above.

I was in a bit of a time crunch, this knife could have EASILY cut more!! I ended up cutting the flaps off of a bunch of boxes into even slices. Ended up cutting approximately 240ft cardboard, the typical hydraulic hose that it went through like butter. The rope test I went for the same as last week with the 52100 Manix...that steel can't even hold a candle to this 4V! It was effortless with each and every cut. I stopped at 45 pieces, unlike 40 last week. The 4V never once slipped or hesitated cutting through any of the 45 pieces. When I finished up, I gave it a shot at cutting paper...of course, easy and clean cuts. I knew this would be the knife to put up against my current favorite and best performer the Rex45 Manix. In all honesty, I can't choose a true #1. They both performed equally for me the entire week each one was used and at the end of the week they were still razor sharp and effortlessly cut. A pretty noticeable difference for me between these 2 and any of the other steels I've used thus far.

I'm not sure of the chemistry between these two, anybody know or care to share which of these is supposed to have the tougher steel and higher wear resistance? Both knives edges showed no signs of wear after the week of use.

My rundown through 9 weeks...
1a - Manix 2 / Rex45
1b - Manix 2 / 4V
2 - Shaman / 4V
3 - Para3 / M4
4 - Manix 2 / 20CV
5 - Shaman / Cruwear
6 - Smock / S30V (granted only used for 3 days, so maybe I should give it another try)
7 - Manix 2 / 52100
8 - Caly Jr / Super Blue (garbage)