12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

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Doc Dan
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12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#1

Post by Doc Dan »

The Delica is a better overall design than the Native. I think the Native was originally designed for Walmart or something.

1] The Delica is slimmer.
2] The Delica has a thinner blade and is a much better slicer.
3] The Delica has a skinning/hunting style blade and excels at that. The Native, not so much.
4] The Delica has a full length grip. The Native has a half grip that requires the use of a choil.
5] The Delica has no choil to snag on things that are being cut.
6] The Delica has a proper finger guard.
7] The Delica's FRN feels better in hand than the Native's FRCP.
8] The Delica is more contoured vs the blockiness of the Native.
9] The Delica fits the hand better when using a saber/hammer grip for hard cuts.
10] The Delica is generally cheaper.
11] The Delica has a better variety of steel choices and more to come.
12] The Delica comes in more colors.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#2

Post by Wartstein »

Though the Native is a cool little knife (liked my LW a lot) I also prefer the Delica and agree with many (but not all) of your points. Plus:

13.) The Delica offers about 10% more cutting edge

But:
- The Native has not an FRCP (like you said), but also an FRN handle (though it's Golden vs Seki FRN) and is actually contoured too
- The Native has an even better executed backlock
- The Native offers a G10 version
Last edited by Wartstein on Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#3

Post by Hobnob »

I prefer the Delica over the Native even though I have multiples of each. My biggest issue with the Native (FRN) is that it is a pocket shredder. The pocket clip touches the scales off-center from the Logo.

Spyderco is killing it with these current runs. Killing my wallet too. Just got the K390 and the KW 204p in in the mail.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#4

Post by prndltech »

I also like the delica over the native for the 14 reasons listed in this thread. Can here to add the last 2 things that wartstein and hobnob added.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#5

Post by James Y »

The Native has never grown on me. It’s never felt comfortable or natural in my hand.

OTOH, I really like the Delica.

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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#6

Post by Capt'n Boatsalot »

I too greatly prefer the Delica to the Native. Sold both my Natives (both G10 & FRN), and currently have 8 Delicas (with the 204P version from Knifeworks in the mailbox right now!).

I would also add that:
The Delica carries smaller because either tip up or tip down, the size of the exposed handle is smaller than the Native. The Delica allows much easier access to the pocket.

I carry my Delicas Tip Down, and love it that way (prefer most knives tip up, generally). I thought the Native always carried more like a PM2, but with a much smaller blade.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#7

Post by prndltech »

Capt'n Boatsalot wrote:
Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:57 pm

I carry my Delicas Tip Down, and love it that way (prefer most knives tip up, generally).
Go on...
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#8

Post by vivi »

The Delica doesn't fit my hand well. The Native does. So I prefer the Native, even if I prefer certain aspects of the Delica, like the thinner blade.

In the end both are smaller than I prefer so I currently own neither, but I've tried multiple iterations of both models.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#9

Post by VooDooChild »

Just to play devils advocate.
1. Doesnt bother me, slimness has never really been a concern.
2. Thats a 2 way street, the natives thicker blade makes it a mini tank of a folder.
3. The native has a better point
4. Agree
5. I will concede
6. Well since you "have" to use the choil on the native its ok, since your finger is definitely not coming out of the natives choil.
7. Im on the fence, but lately I have been preferring Goldens frn/frcp to Sekis.
8. I agree, but the natives blockiness doesnt bother me. Manix 2 backlock on the other hand is a little much.
9. This is the problem, the delica/endura family doesnt fit my hand.
10. Agree
11. Thats personal. I think some people will have preferred the steel choices in the native over the delica. Some of the steels were the same or equivalent anyway.
12. Agree.

The native is a good small edc for quick cuts. I am pretty much in love with the native chief right now. Your hand will definitely fit on that knife.

I have said this before. I like non-choil knives, I like backlocks, I like knives I can beat the snot out of and they come back for more. The delica/endura family would be perfect for me if they just had a slightly different handle.

I still like the endura enough that I have one that will always be a keeper, and I will get a couple pacific salt 2s in lc when they come out. But I do wish that handle worked better for me.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#10

Post by vivi »

VooDooChild wrote:
Sat Sep 26, 2020 11:41 pm
Just to play devils advocate.
1. Doesnt bother me, slimness has never really been a concern.
2. Thats a 2 way street, the natives thicker blade makes it a mini tank of a folder.
3. The native has a better point
4. Agree
5. I will concede
6. Well since you "have" to use the choil on the native its ok, since your finger is definitely not coming out of the natives choil.
7. Im on the fence, but lately I have been preferring Goldens frn/frcp to Sekis.
8. I agree, but the natives blockiness doesnt bother me. Manix 2 backlock on the other hand is a little much.
9. This is the problem, the delica/endura family doesnt fit my hand.
10. Agree
11. Thats personal. I think some people will have preferred the steel choices in the native over the delica. Some of the steels were the same or equivalent anyway.
12. Agree.

The native is a good small edc for quick cuts. I am pretty much in love with the native chief right now. Your hand will definitely fit on that knife.

I have said this before. I like non-choil knives, I like backlocks, I like knives I can beat the snot out of and they come back for more. The delica/endura family would be perfect for me if they just had a slightly different handle.

I still like the endura enough that I have one that will always be a keeper, and I will get a couple pacific salt 2s in lc when they come out. But I do wish that handle worked better for me.
Does the Endura 3 handle work any better for you? I have a line on new Pacific 1's.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#11

Post by VooDooChild »

vivi wrote:
...

Does the Endura 3 handle work any better for you? I have a line on new Pacific 1's.
It does and I already have 2 users and 2 backups. I bought them when they were discoed at a good price. I cant bring myself to buy anymore. I still dont love those handles either, but they do seem to work better for my hand.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#12

Post by steelcity16 »

I'm in the midst of a new purge and my Natives are all on the chopping block, while my Delica collection has expanded by 2 in the past week with more on the horizon in the K390 and Pink TiCN and replacing the M390, ZDP, and CE versions I sold off in last year's purge.

That's not to say I won't ever buy a Native again. I'd be all in on a Cru-Carta or DLT Cru-ple Native or Native LW and I'd carry them in my rotation. The ones I currently have are the same steel/color combo as some of my other knives so I am thinning them out mainly for that reason. I just don't feel like I absolutely need a Native in my rotation. But we'll see I guess. Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say. At this time 2 years ago I was selling all my Delicas and buying up Natives!! :eek:

I'll add the Delica's Boye Dent as another reason for my preference in the addition to all of the ones listed above.
Last edited by steelcity16 on Sun Sep 27, 2020 7:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#13

Post by JohnDoe99 »

Doc Dan wrote:
Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:03 pm

1] The Delica is slimmer.
2] The Delica has a thinner blade and is a much better slicer.
3] The Delica has a skinning/hunting style blade and excels at that. The Native, not so much.
4] The Delica has a full length grip. The Native has a half grip that requires the use of a choil.
5] The Delica has no choil to snag on things that are being cut.
6] The Delica has a proper finger guard.
7] The Delica's FRN feels better in hand than the Native's FRCP.
8] The Delica is more contoured vs the blockiness of the Native.
9] The Delica fits the hand better when using a saber/hammer grip for hard cuts.
10] The Delica is generally cheaper.
11] The Delica has a better variety of steel choices and more to come.
12] The Delica comes in more colors.
1) The Native's blade is more or less as thin at the edge. It doesn't seem that way because of the leaf blade's strong spine.
2) Not really
3) "hunting style blade" is pretty broad
4) A forward choil objectively gives you better control over the blade
5) The native has a possible hammer grip when necessary. Otherwise the forward choil is the primary grip.
6) A redundant point overlapping with 4) and 5)
7) The Japan FRN is squishier. I feel like the Japan Spydies are routinely of inferior finish compared to the US.
8) The Delica is too thin in the grip. When I grip it, my thumb is not directly pressed down on the back but is cockeyed slightly due to the thiness.
9) You must have very small hands. I never felt the Delica was a strong hammer grip knife because of how thin the grip is. My hand swallows it.
10) A trivial difference in the MAP era.
11) The Native has S30V, REX 45, Maxamet, S110V, S90V, 4V.
12) A pretty meaningless point.

Overall your post felt unnecessarily tendentious.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#14

Post by bearfacedkiller »

The Native has a far superior lock.

The Native comes in a Maxamet.

The Native comes in G10.

For hard use I prefer the grip on the Native.

I am a big fan of both. Probably couldn’t pick a favorite.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#15

Post by RamZar »

Native has lots of G-10 models including Sprints/Exclusives and it’s not as wide as Delica when closed so takes less space in the pocket.
Last edited by RamZar on Sun Sep 27, 2020 3:02 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#16

Post by elena86 »

It’s time to quote a forumite who once wrote “my world is a Delica world”.I can’t remember exactly who said that but I feel the same. In my Delica world the Native has no place. It just doesn’t feel right when I grab it... but don’t ask me to explain why. What I hate most about the Native is that oversized choil. It takes alot from the edge lenght. Let’s not forget that swedge.... it shouldn’t be there. My only problem with the Delica is the thickness behind the edge... it’s way thicker behind the edge that it needs to be. It just spoils that thin blade stock. Maybe Sal should do something about that... it’s an easy fix IMO.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#17

Post by aicolainen »

I'll chime in with my subjective noob perspective.
It's not a perfect comparison though, since I only have the Salt 2 and Naive Salt.

Tangibles:
Grip: Delica gets this point. Partly because it fits my narrow hand better, but also because the rounded FRN feels much better in hand.
Fit & finish: Delica for me. I know this might be contrary to the popular opinion, but except for the blade being perfectly centered on the Native, and slightly less so on the Salt, I like everything about the Salt more. It's smoother, the FRN has a much better feel than the hollow feeling LEGO-ish FRN on the Native, and even the color is off (warmer) compared to what I've become used to with the Seki Salts.
Blade: Tie. Especially comparing with the Salt, they are just two very different blade shapes and grinds made for a different use case. I like both.

Intangibles:
I had so high hopes for the Native, which is generally well received in the community, but ultimately I was disappointed by the cheap(er) feeling of the FRN and a grip that doesn't fit my hand very well.
Despite all of that, the Native delivers a lot of utility. When I'm headed out for outdoor activities and look through my knife drawer for a suitable knife, I very often end up with the Native. I think that is really interesting.

I'm a bit torn on the Native, based on my experiences I really want to give the CF/S90V version a try, which should, at least to some extent, mitigate the poor grip comfort. And from what I've heard it's certainly not a cheap feeling knife, but still it's a bit much to spend on a platform I'm slightly on the fence about, and the increased price could also play tricks with my mind, preventing me to use it for it's intended POU as an allround outdoor knife
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#18

Post by archangel »

With all due respect, but I strongly disagree. You know I'm not a fan of FRN designs because of their haptics, but that's not the main reason here. It's pretty simple: Current Japan Spydies do not have the same fine quality as their Golden produced bros & sis. Three days ago I fetched my FRN Spydies: Endura 4 V-Toku2, Delica 4 Super Gold, Calypso Jr. Super Blue, and the much older Pacific Salt H-1. The Pacific is pretty perfect, it's a one piece handle, or at least it feels like it cause it's 100% perfect in fit & finish. The other three (much younger products), not so much - always the edges of the different pieces (2 scales and the backspacer) don't exactly meet where they should. None of my Golden made Spydies show this.

You may be right about most of your reasons. But for me personally, who has a strong opinion about quality and haptics, the rather poor f&f of MY Delica makes it lose over MY Native big time.
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#19

Post by Mr Blonde »

I love both and both were among the first spydies I ever bought. If forced to choose, I'd probably go with the Delica. Mostly because of the grip that fits my hand better for most utility chores, and the fact that I just use the Delica more. But in the end, choosing between the two comes down to 'some days you feel like a hump, and some days you don't'. ;)
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Re: 12 reasons why the Delica is better than the Native

#20

Post by mikey177 »

I have two variants of the Delica and nine of the Native. The Delica might be better for you, but it isn't for me.

The Native fits my hand better. I appreciate the thicker blade stock as I don't use my folders for food processing. The greater variety of steels and handle colors of the Delica doesn't appeal to me as it simply means more money leaving my pocket.

I don't even know why one has to be "better" than the other.

Also, what's the big deal about the Native being designed for Walmart?
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