Assist vs. Atlantic or Pacific Salt

[RKolak]

Lurked for a while, but it's time to post! Looking for some opinions on which way to go. I am looking for a knife mainly for freshwater boating/SAR use. I'd like a blunt-tipped blade to reduce the risk of damage and injury from dropping, cutting clothes, etc. I will have a whistle on my PFD at all times, but a backup on the Assist wouldn't hurt. I also like the glass breaker, but I doubt it would be off much use offshore. Is the VG-10 steel anywhere near as corrosion resistant as the H1? FWIW, I was also considering the new Benchmade Triage, but have used and prefer Spyderco for years.

[camokid]

Hello, RKolak I would 1st like to say that I would highly recommend the h-1 models, but for your use I would go with the Atlantic salt. The Pacific salt might look like a blunt tip, but I have found that it is quite function for normal stabbing and pricing applications. Spyderco did a nice job of strengthening the pacific salt point without compromising tip performance. I further recommend the Atlantic salt because of the versatility of H-1 steel. H-1 one is quickly becoming my fav. folding knife steel. H-1 is very easy to sharpen, plus you might find yourself is some salt water in the future.... hope this helps.

[JediKnight86]

Atlantic Salt rules! I love that knife! Yellow, serrated, done.

[yablanowitz]

VG-10 is probably corrosion resistant enough for freshwater, but I believe you will need to dry it off in the evenings. I don't know this for a fact, since where I live there is no water to cause anything to rust. The Atlantic would fit your task list better than the Pacific, and serrated H-1 is good stuff. I've not lost a tooth on any of my serraed H-1 knives yet, and I can't say the same for my serrated VG-10 blades.

Welcome aboard!

[jackknifeh]

I don't have any H1 but VG-10 is pretty corrosion resistant from what I have read. I also use Tuf-Glide on all my knives and have never had any corrosion problems. I even treated an inexpensive knife with it and left it outside for a couple of weeks. It had no corrosion on it anywhere that I could see and still opened and closed very easily. I think salt water may be another story though. Just an additional plug for Tuf-Glide: I recently tried to form a patina on an M4 blade and was fairly unsuccessful because Tuf-Glide had been applied to the blade and protected it from contaminates like vinegar and mustard. As far as I'm concerned Tuf-Glide is great for preventing corrosion. It is not approved for use with food but I use my knives for the occasional sandwich cutting or orange slicing and am still walking around.

Jack

[The Deacon]

For boating, the Atlantic Salt or Saver Salt would be your best bets. The Assist is considerably heavier and bulkier and, while VG-10 is fairly rust resistant, H-1 is totally corrosion proof unless you intentionally expose it to strong acid or alkali.

[indie_dave]

Sorry for the small size but hope these pics help!









I've got an Assist, plain edge Pacific Salt, serrated Saver Salt (79mm), and bought a serrated VG-10 Rescue (93mm) for a friend who does EMT work.

It's hard to complain about any of them but for your purposes I'll also agree and recommend a serrated Atlantic Salt or Saver Salt, especially with a Yellow FRN handle -- it totally pops into easy view.

The choil on the Saver Salt is really easy to choke up high on the blade and has that grippy jimping on the pointy area above the spydie hole. There's a tiny bit more serrated edge to it than the Assist has. I like how small it is, with a skinnier handle than the Pacific Salt. It seems like the Assist has double the bulk that the Saver does, with a much more substantial handle

The best part is how low-maintenance the Salt series blades are <3

[RKolak]

Thank you for the replies, particularly indie dave who went through the trouble of posting the very helpful pics. I've been unable to see the Assist locally and had no idea just how much more girth (better word choice escapes me now) it has than the A/P Salt knives. Those pictures really put it in perspective. The YouTube videos I saw gave demos of the Assist using a near-closed cutting technique that I thought might be useful on deck, but not at the expense of all that extra bulk. The Assist looks more and more like a car escape or EMT knife, yet some advertise it as a mariner/SAR knife.

[Blerv]

I'd go Salt for you. VG10 is great but H1 is "non maintenance" unless your swimming in lakes of acid. :)

Knives like the Assist have way more moving parts too. Just places for grunge to get stick in a non-dry world.

[dbcad]

For a boating only knife I'd prefer an FB, maybe a Caspian Salt blunt edge? I think some are still around.

[camokid]

Cut demo vid. with Atlantic Salt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drtvAtBp ... ideo_title

[Joe Internet]

>>> Spyderco did a nice job of strengthening the pacific salt point without compromising tip performance.

Compared to the older style Endura tip, performance is compromised.

I would look heavily at the Caspian Salt. A fixed blade is easier to "open" while under stress, and the design of the knife allows you to use both hands while still retaining the knife.

But as for the original choices, I would go with a serrated Atlantic Salt in yellow.

[indie_dave]

Glad that helped! I've learned tons from these boards; pics for something I have is the least i can do.

Don't forget, my serrated Salt is the smaller 79mm blade. The one you're considering is the bigger 93(?)mm.

VG-10 seems to have a strong rep for not rusting, specifically left out in snow (see tnp)

I'd go Salt for you. VG10 is great but H1 is "non maintenance" unless your swimming in lakes of acid. :)

Knives like the Assist have way more moving parts too. Just places for grunge to get stick in a non-dry world.

Super agreed. I wonder how hard it'd be to clean the Assist after a bad MVC with lots of blood.

Had to bust out the GooGone to get rid of some month-old gunk from my Salt blades, and found zero corrosion underneath. Low maintenance is a rare thing of beauty.

For a boating only knife I'd prefer an FB, maybe a Caspian Salt blunt edge? I think some are still around.

I would look heavily at the Caspian Salt. A fixed blade is easier to "open" while under stress, and the design of the knife allows you to use both hands while still retaining the knife.

Either FB or a lifejacket mountable kydex sheath for the Salt would be ideal imo :)

[RKolak]

Part of my gear is a 4-inch fixed blade "survival-type" knife. I wanted something that would fit into my pocket lower on my body and maybe use in a limited dockside/EDC role. It looks like the Atlantic Salt really meets my requirements, particularly the corrosion resistance. I tend to sweat a lot and while I won't be (foresee-ably) using it a saltwater environment, I have had knives rust on me from simple pocket carry (and lack of maintenance, to be fair).

[RKolak]

BTW, another big thank you to all who took both the time to reply and offer helpful suggestions. Some forums tend to be "cliquish" and indifferent at best to new members with questions. It means a lot.

[pl4stic]

What color handle will you be getting?! I like the yellow on the Salts.

[RKolak]

I really like the look of the marine yellow, though a reviewer on YouTube pointed out on his that the color faded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHNBgeg9cY

No big deal as I plan to use it. My first choice would be orange, but it's not offered.

[camokid]

Get the Yellow its more versatile LOL! watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPNnZqBH ... ideo_title

[BDNX]

Saver Salt!

[dbcad]

I would still plug the Caspian :rolleyes: Everyone will make their own decisions based on their own criteria. I will leave a pic tho :) Mine is a little more scratched now, but the PE part is nice and sharp, it seems that the SE just stays sharp :D It goes in my lunchbox everyday and is a primary user when I'm at the lake :)