Spyderco Murray Carter Collection Minarai Petty
Presentation
The box and packaging here leave a great first impression. You get the sense you've purchased something that's very high quality. Custom fit box so the knife doesn't move around. Plastic sheeth over the blade. Wrapped in plastic baggie. Standard Spyderco literature included. It's nice that you get the same experience regardless of which series you choose: Minarai, Wakiita, or Itamae.
Fit and Finish
No corners cut here. Everything is just what you'd expect from Spyderco and maybe even better than you'd normally expect from Seki City. Very clean. Nothing left unfinished.
Handle
Good, but not great. Not going to lie, it feels cheap. I knew it was polypropelene, but I guess I expected it to have a little more heft or texture. I love Spyderco's FRN, though some would even call that cheap feeling. This is on a different level. That said, it works. It has a slight pebble texture to it, and I've not had it slip around at all during use.
Blade Shape
It's just awesome. Short enough to do detail work like carve the tops off strawberries, yet long enough to slice apples without have to draw cut. Gentle belly is great for rocking, but it's flat enough to chop or push cut straight down. The height of the blade also provides just the right amount of knuckle clearance without being too tall.
Blade Material
Very good. My other kitchen knives are mediocre Western stainless. They aren't terrible and will hold an edge, but I have to touch up after nearly every use. The BD1N here it noticeably better. Spyderco doesn't publish the Rc numbers AFAIK, but this blade has held an edge through multiple cutting sessions with no touch-ups needed (after initial sharpening...more on that shortly).
Grind
Poor. I separated this out from blade shape so as not to skew that section. The blade is very thin both at the spine and behind the edge, which is nice. It's also quite even. However, the full flat grind significantly hinders cutting performance as the blade binds up in almost everything. Food release is terrible. No matter what I'm cutting, it constantly sticks to the blade after separating. It's worse than all my Western stainless knives. This is the Achilles' heel of the knife.
Sharpness
Fair. Not terrible. It would shave, but whatever was used for final burr removal left the edge very smooth with almost zero bite. Ironically, it was the furthest of any Spyderco I've ever received from passing the Murray Carter 3 finger sharpness test. Edge longevity was also quite poor. I cut a few apples and the edge would barely catch hair on the back of my head afterward. As mentioned above, this notably improved after I put my own edge on it. 140 diamond plate --> Shapton Glass 500 --> microbevel Shapton Glass 2k --> 1 micron diamond strop --> bare leather. Edge readily shaved and showed very little degradation after several cutting sessions.
Value
I paid $65 for this knife, which is 40% off MSRP. At this price point, I think it's a decent value for what you're getting. At the normal MAP price of $81, I don't think I'd buy it knowing what I know now. For $20-$30 more you can get a forged Japanese style petty with better steel and handle materials, with a significantly better grind.
Overall
I have mixed feelings about this knife. I wanted to love it, and I almost do. There are so many good things to say about it, but the FFG really steals the joy. If the blade had a gentle convex, it would be stellar. Still, if you can find one on sale, I think it's a good entry point into Japanese style knives.
