Spydiechef (lc200n) performance thread.

[Liquid Cobra]

Hard. Use.

https://youtu.be/9DmzEbpTMD8

[Bodog]

Hard. Use.

https://youtu.be/9DmzEbpTMD8

For everyone else, don't bother watching. It's a dude in a tub with a spydiechef that rattles. Otherwise a complete waste of time.

[Liquid Cobra]

Yeah I wouldn't recommend you watch it lol. I thought it was kind of obvious. My mistake :rolleyes:

[dogrunner]

Lance, the way you ground it makes it look a lot like the Perrin PPT.

That was my reaction too, and I like the PPT so this mod looked great!

[VashHash]

The shorter blade length killed this knife for me. If it was at least 4" i would consider it for a folding kitchen knife. I'm still waiting for the comp lock salt knives. The Caribbean i believe.

[wrdwrght]

I'm less concerned about the spine than the cutting edge. How's the retention so far, Lance?

[Skaaphaas]

Hard. Use.

https://youtu.be/9DmzEbpTMD8

For everyone else, don't bother watching. It's a dude in a tub with a spydiechef that rattles. Otherwise a complete waste of time.

I was hoping he'd cut the can.

[Surfingringo]

I'm less concerned about the spine than the cutting edge. How's the retention so far, Lance?

The first day I used it was on the snapper. Everything looks good so far though it did require a reprofile...just like every Taichung folder I have ever bought. It is amazing to me that a maker can produce custom quality knives with an amazing degree of fit and finish and then do a hack job of sharpening. Be that as it may, the thin edge on the Spydiechef didn't take long to reprofile to 30 degrees (it came at around 18/20).

Once I had the main bevel set, I was able to put a great edge on it. This steel takes a VERY aggressive edge with a 1200 diamond finish. As far as edge retention goes, I am more than satisfied with the steel. After cleaning 10 or 12 snapper I can't tell the difference between this and steels like cpm154 or s30v...all of them will still shave arm hair at that point. (For comparison, plain edge H1 is dead after 1 or 2 fish due to rolling/deformation) I'm sure if I used the knife into lower levels of sharpness then the higher carbide steels would start to pull away but I just never let my knives get that dull. I will always do a quick touchup by that point so given my use and sharpening protocol, I'm getting what is essentially the same performance as those steels in a fully rustproof package. I am very pleased with the steel, whether it be for fish processing or EDC use.


**I have never used AEB-L but I need to give it a try for comparison. This steel behaves much like I would imagine aeb-l would perform given its composition and what I have heard about it. Thats just pure speculation on my part. If anyone has compared the two directly I would love to hear about it.

[Zenith]

Lance. So far from your feedback lc200n is performing similar to what I anticipated. Keep it up and look forward to even more feedback.

[mb1]

I was wondering why I don't see this steel offered in more kitchen knives. Maybe it's just because it's a newer offering (2013)? One interesting note I saw: it's used by NASA as a replacement for 52100 ball bearings. If it can perform that task at the noted corrosion resistance...sweet. :spyder:

Edit: ...or maybe I just haven't looked very hard.

[wrdwrght]

Lance, thanks for the report.

While I'm still at the fondling and fruit/cheese-cutting stage, I'll probably never give my SpydieChef the workout you do. Bone, cartilage, and connective tissue are not common challenges in my life these days. Still, it's reassuring to know that plain-edge LC200N, unlike H1, is up to the task.

[Surfingringo]

Lance, thanks for the report.

While I'm still at the fondling and fruit/cheese-cutting stage, I'll probably never give my SpydieChef the workout you do. Bone, cartilage, and connective tissue are not common challenges in my life these days. Still, it's reassuring to know that plain-edge LC200N, unlike H1, is up to the task.

Interestingly its neither the bone nor the cartilage that does the most damage to the edge. The nemesis of a fish cleaning knife is heavy scales. The first cut behind the gill is tough on an edge. You can't cut through those large scales. What happens is a coarse edge grabs the scales on the first couple of saws and rips them out of the way. (Slippery hands and fish and weird angles create plenty of lateral stress while this is happening too) Then on larger fish you need to split the fillet down the center on a cutting board before skinning and are again sawing the edge against the hard scales. There are things you can do to slow down the degradation like cutting at an angle into the scales and cutting from the inside out when working down the belly and back but those scales will straight up dull an edge no matter how careful you are.

[Zenith]

I was wondering why I don't see this steel offered in more kitchen knives. Maybe it's just because it's a newer offering (2013)? One interesting note I saw: it's used by NASA as a replacement for 52100 ball bearings. If it can perform that task at the noted corrosion resistance...sweet. :spyder:

Edit: ...or maybe I just haven't looked very hard.

It has been. As Cronidur 30. A few makers have been using it for years.

It has also been used as casing material for watches.

[wrdwrght]

The nemesis of a fish cleaning knife is heavy scales.

Hadn't even thought of them! Such are the prejudices of an occasional freshwater flyfisherman. :o

[JD Spydo]

OK I know you all are going to accuse me of being similar to a scratch in an old LP phonograph record :rolleyes: >> but I'm still anxious to know how LC200N will perform in Spyderedge. We all know of the extremely positive reports as to how well the other nitrogen based H-1 does in Spyderedge and it does perform well I can tell you that from experience. But when will we get to try out a serrated blade in LC200N?

Oh how lovely it would be if they did a Sprint Run of the TEMPERANCE 1 model in PE & SE both in LC200N. I'm beginning to think it might be the perfect steel for that project>> because it seems like more of you are liking it better than H-1 in plain edge which I find very interesting.

I've yet to own or use a Spyder made with that steel but it's high on my list to check it out. BUT WHEN WILL WE GET TO SEE HOW IT DOES IN SPYDEREDGE????

[Bugs]

Interestingly its neither the bone nor the cartilage that does the most damage to the edge. The nemesis of a fish cleaning knife is heavy scales. The first cut behind the gill is tough on an edge. You can't cut through those large scales. What happens is a coarse edge grabs the scales on the first couple of saws and rips them out of the way. (Slippery hands and fish and weird angles create plenty of lateral stress while this is happening too) Then on larger fish you need to split the fillet down the center on a cutting board before skinning and are again sawing the edge against the hard scales. There are things you can do to slow down the degradation like cutting at an angle into the scales and cutting from the inside out when working down the belly and back but those scales will straight up dull an edge no matter how careful you are.

And some fish are worse than others with big scales. Lance what I've tried lately is to use the spine of the knife to scrape & break away the scales in an area before putting the cutting edge into the fish. Seems to help.

I would love to see this blade steel with an FRN handle. I know, I know FRN is not as nice as Ti but I've come to appreciate it's grippiness and light weight. I'd love to see a Stretch style blade in Lcn200 with an FRN handle.

[sal]

We have a number of blades in-the-works for LC200N. Fixed and folders.

sal

[NoFair]

We have a number of blades in-the-works for LC200N. Fixed and folders.

sal

Any chance of a C36 Sal? I'm going to use my Spydiechef while sailing, but everything is muscle memory with the Millie so LC200N and orange would be sweetness :D

[Surfingringo]

And some fish are worse than others with big scales. Lance what I've tried lately is to use the spine of the knife to scrape & break away the scales in an area before putting the cutting edge into the fish. Seems to help.

I would love to see this blade steel with an FRN handle. I know, I know FRN is not as nice as Ti but I've come to appreciate it's grippiness and light weight. I'd love to see a Stretch style blade in Lcn200 with an FRN handle.

Yeah Bugs, that's a fact! Those big Cubera Snapper down here have big thick scales the size of silver dollars! I usually don't scrape em off just because I'm too impatient. What I do is lay the knife almost flat (on the cut behind the gill) and kind of slide the blade up under the scales before starting the cut. It doesn't avoid all the scales but it gets under a lot of em and requires a lot less pressure than just trying to saw straight down into them. A serrated folder at the cleaning table is another good option.

Frn lc200n? Bring it on!

[Bugs]

We have a number of blades in-the-works for LC200N. Fixed and folders.

sal

Can't wait to see 'em Sal.