Salt 1 or FFG Delica 4?

razorsharp · #1

Hey guys. :)

Im going to get my second :spyder: . (only had 1 cause they're over priced here). so Im a huge fan of full flat grind but dont mind hollow. With a knife made of 8cr13mov like mine for example, you have to clean out the liners to avoid rust after cutting in wet(ish) conditions.

the plus of a delica 4 for me would be the flat grind, excellent hard steel, nice ergonomic handle size and grip and so on. The down would be the fact it can rust, and matenance would be harder because of the steel liners.

The plus of the salt 1 would be a hard steel, nearly like the vg10 of the delica. it has no liners, but the handles are FRN so that makes up for it. and is 100% rust free. its almost the same as the delica shape wise. The down side, well, Im not really sure.

The delica 4 is $131 NZD ($99USD)

The salt 1 is $143 NZD ($108USD)

yup, expensive aye :eek:

What would you buy :rolleyes:

have you compared H1 to vg-10?

mongatu · #2

I would get the Delica FFG. VG-10 is a really nice steel and it is quite corrosion resistant compared to most stainless, except H1, of course. It's easy and fun to sharpen and takes a great edge. Plus the Delica FFG is quite thin (but still plenty strong) and is quite a great cutter. Only reason I would go for the Salt is if you need to work around the ocean or if for some reason you want a serrated edge. H1 performs really well in serrated edge blades because the manufacturing (grinding) of the serrations causes the H1 steel to get highly work hardened which is a characteristic of H1. But it's not as good as VG-10 for plain edge knives, imo.

akaAK · #3

Have both, if rust is an issue the salt. VG-10 is probably my favouorite steel and I have not had rust issues but that doesn't mean you won't in your environment. H1 (PE) starts holding a better edge after a number of sharpening sessions. Scratches easier but that never bothers me.

captnvegtble · #4

razorsharp wrote:Hey guys. :)

The plus of the salt 1 would be a hard steel, nearly like the vg10 of the delica.

H1 is only like VG10 in hardness on the serrated blades. If rust is really an issue I would go with H1, otherwise the VG10 in PE is superior and apparently cheaper there.

Joe Internet · #5

You could always try to find a Delica 3 online somewhere. That would give you a VG-10 blade that comes with a free pointy end, and the linerless FRN handles.

The Salt 1 is basically a D3 with an H-1 D4-profiled blade.

Seanski · #6

I've the Salt 1 and it's a nice knife, great if your going to using it around water and
need the extra corrosion resistance. I've got one of the newer models with the adjustable
torx pivot which is also a nice addition to this line. In hind sight though I'd go with the
Delica 4 with FFG. About the only thing I'm not to fussy with on the Salt 1 is I'm going to
have to strop the corners of the spine and other areas other than the blade as the edges
came quite sharp and need that "pocket worn" feel. :)

redyps04 · #7

I guess I'll be the odd man out here. I would go
with the Salt hands down. In fact, I did! I got a foliage green Delica only to sell it a couple months later for the Salt. Haven't looked back since. It's just nice knowing you don't have to take care of it and it won't rust on you. Plus, I like the knowing I could use the rounded tip for rescue if I had to.

mongatu · #8

Just like to point out a couple of things: It's easy to round a tip of just about any knife on stones or even the Sharpmaker if that's what someone wants. Also VG-10 is fine around fresh water. It's only salt water that might be a problem. But VG-10 can even handle occasional brief exposures to salt water as long as the knife is thoroughly rinsed off with fresh water shortly after each such exposure. In short, unless you are working around the ocean, or looking for a diving knife, I wouldn't worry about rust with a VG-10 blade. Finally, the lined construction of the Delica is an advantage over most unlined FRN knives, imo. It provides substantial added strength and rigidity. You can feel unlined FRN handled blades flex if you do any really hard cutting with them, for example against a cutting board. It's not really a problem but after using both types, I greatly prefer the added strength of a knife with liners or skeletonized liners like the D4 has.

Thompson · #9

I'm in the same situation. I love the blue delica 4 and its steel. But I love how the salt 1 would be almost maintenance free. The yellow frn doesn't bother me, but I like the blue more. Can't decide...

jzmtl · #10

It comes down to how much are you going to use it around salt water, given your location it seems unavoidable.

razorsharp · #11

Thompson wrote:I'm in the same situation. I love the blue delica 4 and its steel. But I love how the salt 1 would be almost maintenance free. The yellow frn doesn't bother me, but I like the blue more. Can't decide...

haha exactly the same here, its a blue ffg delica vs yellow salt

razorsharp · #12

jzmtl wrote:It comes down to how much are you going to use it around salt water, given your location it seems unavoidable.

i probably wont be around salt water all that much, vg-10 would be the best for me i guess then, :) anyway the seller only has limited stock of the delica knives so id better be fast :D . plus the delica just looks better lol, it has blue frn, and i think its one of nutnfancys (from youtube) favorite knives

Thompson · #13

Would vg10 steel rust if it was around the salty air at the beach or something? I'm going to the beach next week. The delica wouldn't get ocean water in it, or at least much, and I would wash it afterwards, but its primary use would probably cut a fish or something along those lines for fishing. I'm normally not around salt water that much, but I know the salt 1 would be more practical for this. But would the vg10 rust from this exposure?

mongatu · #14

Thompson wrote:Would vg10 steel rust if it was around the salty air at the beach or something? I'm going to the beach next week. The delica wouldn't get ocean water in it, or at least much, and I would wash it afterwards, but its primary use would probably cut a fish or something along those lines for fishing. I'm normally not around salt water that much, but I know the salt 1 would be more practical for this. But would the vg10 rust from this exposure?

I don't think it would.

araneae · #15

You might look into a web dealer in the US that will ship to you there. That way you could buy them both for less $.

razorsharp · #16

i might try "yourcornerstore" one day, at the moment, im gonna stay within newzealand. im going on a trip to the south island of nz, top to bottom then back up again :D maybe il find a shop that sells spydies at a better price lol

krislacy · #17

I have both of them and they are great knives. You may want to get the delica and a tasman salt. That will give you more options.

razorsharp · #18

i dont want a hawkbill knife, i dont have much use for one. but after the reviews, im going to get a blue ffg delica 4 :D

mongatu · #19

Good choice. Enjoy.