Caly 3.5 impressions

[dgebler]

I just received my first caly 3.5 and wanted to post my impressions and get some feedback. First of all, i own the full size calypso and this is a great knife...smooth, long, thin, tight. The 3.5 i just got however was stiff and feels gritty. i have lpoked at other threads here and bf, but still wonder how gritty to expect and what will break in time. I have about twenty plus spydies and this is by far the least smooth. i would send it back to the dealer but this came from an exchange and i dont want to be a pain. should i send to golden, or will this break in? The blade is sharp and no play so not really a lemon. Any other experiences...or has the bar been set too high (last knife was sage 1...enuf. said)

[D1omedes]

I have 4 Caly's and can assure you that some grittiness is not rare. My advice is to wash the knife under warm water and with dish soap. Make sure to dry it out and add lubricant (I use Tuf Glide). You may have to repeat this process several times and in between intervals, make sure to use the knife as much as possible. I find that regular locking and unlocking really helps with forcing grit out.

Good purchase. :cool:

[PanChango]

With no washers, they are a little gritty at first but do break in and smooth out. A 3.5 has been my daily carry for almost 2 years.

[Donut]

Try adding a bit of oil. My Calypso sprint seemed very gritty and a little oil fixed it.

[landromus]

Ironic. Last nite I got out my 3.5, and marveled how much I like it. It moved up in the rotation and will be carried for at least a few more days, before something else claims pole position. Lately a Caly 3 and a Sage1 have had the most pocket time. Gritty.............never noticed that. But my Sage1's deployment is extra marvelous.

[Mako109]

I've purchased serveral Spydies that were gritty when first opened, including the Caly 3.5. Simply wash with a little dishwashing soap, dry (I like to use canned compressed air to get into the pivot), then lube (I use Tuf-Glide). Problem solved.

[Clip]

My routine when getting a new Caly (3, 3.5, full) is to wash it out, dry it and lube it. Hasn't failed yet.

[Onionman]

My 3.5 was so gritty and washing and lubing did not help. I ended up sending it to Spyderco who took care of it in a few weeks. That was over a year ago and it is now one of my regular carry knives. I really wish they would make a Caly 4 with the wire clip configuration.

[xceptnl]

My routine when getting a new Caly (3, 3.5, full) is to wash it out, dry it and lube it. Hasn't failed yet.

don't forget rinse and repeat as needed. Works for me with mine.

[Janfrederik]

Could anyone tell me the main differences between the Caly 3.5 and the Calypso?

[Liquid Cobra]

I really wish they would make a Caly 4 with the wire clip configuration.

Care to elaborate? Will the 4 not have a wire clip? Any reason to think it won't have a wire clip? That would be a shame imo.

[Mick]

My Caly 3.5 is the smoothest lockback knife I've ever owned. If it doesn't loosen up with lube in a week or so I would send it to the factory.

[bh49]

I have 4 Caly's and can assure you that some grittiness is not rare.

I must be lucky. At one time I owned 6 Calys, still have 4. No grittiness at all on any of them. I love these knives.

Ironic. Last nite I got out my 3.5, and marveled how much I like it. It moved up in the rotation and will be carried for at least a few more days, before something else claims pole position.

Really ironic. After about five years I stopped carry Calys. Native5 kicked them out of my pocket. But yesterday I realized how much do I miss them. Today Caly3.5 is in my FRP. Most likely will stay there for a little while. Probably will rotate with Persian. :)

[twinboysdad]

1st off, Caly 3.5 is the best all around knife ever. I always feel guilty buying a new Spyderco because if I were to lose my Caly 3.5 I would be getting another immediately. I just have found nothing that handles everything this well. Mine was gritty and warm water and dish soap fixed it. It is not easy to flick over a year later, but I rarely flick any Spydies anyway. I carry my new SB Endura after work and weekends. I carry a SS Dragonfly to church because it was a gift from my dad and I feel like it reminds me to "walk right" since dad is a good man. But the C3.5 could handle ever one of these situations and everything else I ever encounter

[Clip]

My 3.5 was so gritty and washing and lubing did not help. I ended up sending it to Spyderco who took care of it in a few weeks. That was over a year ago and it is now one of my regular carry knives. I really wish they would make a Caly 4 with the wire clip configuration.

Are you talking about the full size Calypso?

[NoFair]

My CF one was gritty, but a wash and lube sorted it out. One of the best designs out there imho

[RanCoWeAla]

I have a Caly 3.5 and mine is smooth as silk. By the way it is my favorite Spyderco. I think it's the best edc knife Spyderco has ever made.

[dgebler]

Thanks for all of your thoughts...I am going to fully clean with hot soapy water and lube with some mineral oil today (even though it is against my instinct to submerge a closed back knife like this) and see if this gets better. I will say this carries much smaller than any of my comparable size knives (para 2, sage 1, even the forum native) and It is starting to grow on me already. Only problem is this is the first day carry and I already thought I lost it twice...I am used to the weight of my heavier blades. I swear I just spent 15 minutes looking for the darn thing to realize it was in my front shirt pocket...go figure. Anyway, I will re-post again once I get this cleaned and lubed with some updated impressions.

[Onionman]

Are you talking about the full size Calypso?

I assume that Spyderco considers the Caly and Calypso as different knives entirely since the Caly 3 and 3.5 fairly different than the original Calypso and Calypso Jr.

The full size sprint run Calypso was disappointing to me since it did not have the wire clip, so all I was saying is that I would hope that Spyderco would come out with a Caly 4 with the same handle shape and configuration as the 3 and 3.5.

[this_is_nascar]

I'm confused. Is this "3.5" knife that everyone is referring to called a Caly or a Calypso? At 1st, I thought people were using "Caly" for short, but now I'm not sure.