Full Super Blue or Sandwich Super Blue ?

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nccole
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#21

Post by nccole »

I only have the Delica, and like the laminated. I don't think I would care either way. I really like the shiny steel, then the SB patina line, then the SB shiny edge. It looks neat, and the patina showing up on the spine and on the inside of the Spydie hole look neat too. I like the contrast. I would love to get the Caly 3.5 in SB and don't think I would mind at all having the full SB.
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#22

Post by bdblue »

There is something unique and technically interesting about a laminated blade, but I would prefer a laminated blade to be all stainless steel. It will start to look odd when there is a line of patina'd steel along the edge of the stainless steel blade. So I would vote for all-SB.
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elena86
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#23

Post by elena86 »

The idea was to decide which one is more practical for edc not more good looking or which one has more character.
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#24

Post by DeathBySnooSnoo »

From a 100% pure practically viewpoint the sandwiched is better just because of the need for less care. That being said, I think that the full SB is the way to go.
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Donut
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#25

Post by Donut »

elena86 wrote:The idea was to decide which one is more practical for edc not more good looking or which one has more character.
Well, what factors affect what is more practical for edc?

Most of the people here judge that based on how it looks.

We are choosing between models that have the same steel at the edge.

Should we be comparing the price, the looks, how they carry, how comfortable it feels in the hand?

The way it has been stated seems like a very open ended question and there are a lot of opinions on many different factors in this thread.
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dbcad
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#26

Post by dbcad »

We all have different priorities and sensibilities :) I would love to have and use one of these "sandwiches".

The 420J does serve to make the blade a bit tougher, SB takes a very, very sharp edge at low angles, and I also enjoy a 2 tone ;) At this point in time scratches don't count for much on the negative side ;)

Not affordable at this time, but I hold out hope for the future :)
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eric m.
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#27

Post by eric m. »

According to the 2014 catalog I think it is straight superblue! I have a beater caly3 cf laminated zdp-189/420j2 blade and the 420 is somewhat soft and has developed scratched! If you are collecting I wouldn't worry, but if it will be a user then you might want straight super-blue. :confused:
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D1omedes
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#28

Post by D1omedes »

I had the Caly 3.5 in SB and it just drove me crazy. I liked the patina but the slight pitting freaked me out. Now that I have the laminated SB Delica, I feel a lot less stressed about having to constantly check for rust and pitting. It might just be all in my head but Super Blue Aogami has pretty poor corrosion resistance. I've been using my SB Delica pretty hard and the scratches on the 420 give it some nice character.
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3rdGenRigger
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#29

Post by 3rdGenRigger »

I like sandwiched, both for the added corrosion resistance, and the visual appearance.
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#30

Post by xceptnl »

eric m. wrote:According to the 2014 catalog I think it is straight superblue! I have a beater caly3 cf laminated zdp-189/420j2 blade and the 420 is somewhat soft and has developed scratched! If you are collecting I wouldn't worry, but if it will be a user then you might want straight super-blue. :confused:
I could not find this in print, are you basing this on the pictures?
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#31

Post by kbuzbee »

xceptnl wrote:I could not find this in print, are you basing this on the pictures?
Yeah, the pictures sure look that way but I'm pretty sure they are laminated.

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#32

Post by Cliff Stamp »

The reasons for laminates are functional in nature. Now some of them are historic and not relevant today but some still are :

a) In a time where high quality steel was expensive/rare, clads could be used from anything even anchors and they reduced cost.

b) The corrosion resistance of cladding steels can be very high as edge holding isn't a factor

c) THe toughness of the cladding steels can be extreme as edge holding isn't a factor

d) The grindability of the cladding steels can be extreme as edge holding isn't a factor

Now before it became almost a hipster fad for knives to have a patina, it wasn't something that was desired and people would act to prevent it because it is simply rust. I can't imagine my grandfather taking a new carbon steel knife and putting it in boiling vinegar to make it rust so it would look like it was old and not cared for.

A patina will happen to almost all used carbon steel knives because it was almost impossible to prevent fully, but it was slow as in *years* because the knives would be cleaned and oiled on a regular basis, not intentionally forced to patina by subjecting them to hard conditions or not caring for them.

As for the extreme toughness of the clad, that isn't likely to be an issue as I would doubt people are going to want to be taking a hammer to them or doing extreme prying which would break the full core steel. In this case the clad will of course still bend and stay bent, you could just hammer it back into shape - again this came from a time where steels were rare and knives lasted a long time and were maintained and reused. This is similar to the cost, I doubt that a clad saves Spyderco a lot of money over a full core steel.

However there is still a functional issue in that if you maintain the knife as a cutting tool the clad is easier to grind and thus by periodically working on the primary grind you can prevent the edge from thickening. Without the clad you have to grind down the entire bevel in a very hard and not easy to grind steel. This is one of the reasons why Murray Carter is such a strong proponent of working the main bevel because he uses clad steels which make this a practical approach.
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FCM415
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#33

Post by FCM415 »

Looking at the 2014 catalog, the remaining SB sprints, Dfly, Manbug, LB, and Stretch don't seem to be laminated. Thank heavens if I see it right. Look at the pics of the knives, no laminate, and the tang doesnt say 420wifhbiywbvfiewvbwb hehe.
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#34

Post by eric m. »

The catalog just states superblue, not laminated! The pictures look like solid superblue steel, although you can't fully trust pictures from catalogs! My laminated caly3&3.5 blades definitely show in person!
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#35

Post by DeathBySnooSnoo »

I would think that especially with the thin blades on the Lady and Man bugs...that they would have to go solid. Then the grind on the LB would also require solid SB.

If the Stretch is solid too...Im going to be a very happy man!
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#36

Post by Mr Blonde »

Sometimes, new protos are not available for a photoshoot for the new catalog and a composite is made for the image. This was done for the 'hollow ground' frn ukpk knives when they first appeared in the catalog. Considering the frn construction, indicating the same maker as the delica and endura sprints, my money is on the 2014 SB sprints being laminated as well.

Personally, I prefer the two-toned look of te laminated super blue. The scratching has been limited in my urban cutting tasks.
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Mallus
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#37

Post by Mallus »

I like the idea of added corrosion resistance with cladding, especially in the pivot area. At the same time I wonder if the clad could be made of more scratch resistant stainless, or would this cancel the benefits in the manufacturing process? Super blue in itself is not too hard to grind, but of course 420 j2 is even easier. Would that be made more difficult if the clad was of some low carbide - high hardness type of steel? Would it be feasible to partner a steel of that kind with super blue? I'm thinking of the adhesion between these types of steels and the heat treatment.
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#38

Post by gaj999 »

I'm pretty sure that all you guys thinking it will be solid are going to be disappointed. I was, when I read that it would be laminated. Search is your friend. ;) For me, on second thought, I was OK with the cladding. Why? Well, it's going into my pocket. In the summer, I sweat a lot. And I don't want to have to be obsessive about caring for my silly pocket knife. Or knives.

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Blerv
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#39

Post by Blerv »

Another approach is depending on the model you prefer there isn't an option. To date there are VERY few modern knives with Super Blue.
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FCM415
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#40

Post by FCM415 »

Let's not assume that everyone who prefers unclad SB do so because they want a patina to show on it and go as far as saying that it is simply because it is "in style" to do so and for years etc etc... I apply Flitz and Ballistol to all my user blades including those with SuperBlue and keep them corrosion free. Straight up SuperBlue for a pocket knife; no "cool line", no two tone scratch/corrosion, no 420J mirror polished is what I prefer.
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