Chaparral LW Salt SE

[zhyla]

I know there are different reasons people carry Salt knives. But as much as I love the Chap, it would not be my go-to for a wet environment. The handle is just not appropriate for it. No thanks.

[JoviAl]

I know there are different reasons people carry Salt knives. But as much as I love the Chap, it would not be my go-to for a wet environment. The handle is just not appropriate for it. No thanks.

I live in the tropics so things rust here even just sitting in their boxes, never mind in pocket or IWB carry . I would recommend Chaparral salts to all the people I train to run Forest Schools too as their handle is ideal for a child’s diminutive grasp. I currently recommend the Salt 2 range but kids sometimes struggle to maintain good control as between the gripped handle ending and the kick finishing there’s a bit of leverage generated.

[olywa]

Do it, do it in Magnacut, and give Magnacut Salts their own color. How about orange? Nobody does orange like Spyderco.

[Wartstein]

I know there are different reasons people carry Salt knives. But as much as I love the Chap, it would not be my go-to for a wet environment. The handle is just not appropriate for it. No thanks.

Out of honest interest: Why is this the case for you?

To me the Chap (among other use cases) really is a little "hard use claw" due to its strong built and thin and slicey, but also strong (and short = not much leverage on it) blade with in relation to the thin blade stock (!) rather sturdy tip.
And so I use it in wet environments and in "tough" cutting, and what I like is exactly that the knife feels really secure and locked in then (more than for example a Native 5).

This of course is just me and the way I hold and use folders.

[Wartstein]

pass

I’m not surprised it wouldn’t be your jam @vivi, as I would imagine for your hand size the handle is too diminutive for a comfortable grip (not to mention your preference for maximum blade length)? I wonder if we’ll ever see blade stock and BTE thickness as thin as the Chap SE along with the stop pin design in an upscaled knife more fit for the larger handed person.

I am actually mostly with Vivi in that I find longer folders more practical and to have only advantages over short ones.
I do make exceptions if a knife is as great as the Chap SE is or if it is really mostly about superlight and compact carry.

BUT: Grip-wise I think the Chap grip area would be long enough even for Vivis paws - of course only INCLUDING the choil (the grip might be too thin though for him, don´t know).
Below an old pic again comparing Chap and Manix: One can see that the Chap actually offers more grip area (choil included!) than the Manix behind the choil AND has no restricting pinky hook. I figure that grip area should be long enough even for Vivi-hands...? (Especially since he likes the Manix XL, which does not offer that much more grip than the Manix 2??)

[Fharing45]

Take my $ I will take one PE, and on SE in Magnacut or 20 CV.

[vivi]

Wartstein, I have handled a chap at SMKW and I can fit my grip on there with the choil. Same thing with a Native, Delica, Dragonfly and many other smaller designs.

But simply being able to fit four fingers on a knife handle doesn't make them comfy for me.

For example my thumb has no where comfortable to go on the spine if I hold a Delica - viewtopic.php?t=82958

Hopefully you guys end up getting a chap salt. I know it's a popular knife with most folks here.

[zhyla]

Out of honest interest: Why is this the case for you?

It’s just a very small, thin handle. Not my go-to for outdoorsy stuff to begin with. If I knew I was going into a situation where my hands and tools would be wet, I would pick something with a more significant handle.

We all have a million knives, there’s no need to force our favorite knife to fit all roles. I tend to grab my Tenacious when I think it might be a bad day in terms of environment. It isn’t rust proof, but it’s also easy to not care too much if it gets abused.

[Flash]

Yes definitely. The more Chaparral blade options the better. In Magnacut especially.

After you’ve gone to all the trouble making yellow FRN, and dlc hardware etc, it would be rude not to do a plain edge too while we’re at it…

[Wartstein]

Out of honest interest: Why is this the case for you?

It’s just a very small, thin handle. Not my go-to for outdoorsy stuff to begin with. If I knew I was going into a situation where my hands and tools would be wet, I would pick something with a more significant handle.

We all have a million knives, there’s no need to force our favorite knife to fit all roles. I tend to grab my Tenacious when I think it might be a bad day in terms of environment. It isn’t rust proof, but it’s also easy to not care too much if it gets abused.

Thanks for the reply, I get your good points!

And I agree: If one really expected and planned on doing a lot of "hard" knife work (and on top of that in nastier conditions) it would be strange to choose a Chap for just that!

In my own subjective experience though that small, thin handle is still very comfortable and locked in my hand (and as said: Choil included still offers enough space even for big hands) and creates no hotspots.
And the for Spyderco ffg uniquely thin blade slices but still holds up so well that I really enjoy doing smaller outdoorsy tasks with my Chaps ("little bushcraft claws" as I use to call them).
(As always I'd like to encourage people who feel like the Chap is only good in a "gents knife" capacity to really give it an honest try in harder folder use. You might be positively surprised).

Also a Chap Salt would not only be for outdoor use, but also serve those who generally tend to rust their EDC folders easily...

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Well seeing as how it’s my new favorite EDC and hasn’t left my pocket in months this one’s a no-brainer

[Manixguy@1994]

Well seeing as how it’s my new favorite EDC and hasn’t left my pocket in months this one’s a no-brainer

Ok ok ! I may get the SE Chap strictly for scientific purposes ! A good waxing would repel moisture once it gets warm . A Salt would be a nice addition . Dan

[Switchback]

(As always I'd like to encourage people who feel like the Chap is only good in a "gents knife" capacity to really give it an honest try in harder folder use. You might be positively surprised).

I appreciate these comments. I have been carrying a Chap for the last several days because it’s possibly the best performer for 97% of the things I use a pocketknife for. I have been wondering how it might hold up in those rare cases where I encounter a more aggressive cutting task.

It’s good to know that it might handle that other 3% as well. Thanks for posting this.

[Evil D]

I can get a full grip on the Chap but it's very cramped, kinda like squeezing your foot into a shoe that's a half size too small. I can make it work but I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I needed to use it for heavier cutting for an extended amount of time. That's not really the knife's fault though, hand sizes just vary. I also don't expect to be out camping and carving wood for hours on end with this knife, so I also try to not ask too much. It's not a knife I'd pick for my main everyday carry but I do like it for PJ pants around the house.

[Ryder]

The grip area on thr Chaparral is pretty close to the 91 mm SAK which is an iconic pocket knife for travelers and backpackers. The Chaparral is more ergonomic and rides much better in the pocket. The cutting edge for these two are almost identical as is the width of the spine but the Chaparral has that distal taper for higher performance yet. Of course the steel for the Chaparral is in another universe with edge retention and wear resistance coming in better than even MagnaCut. But MagnaCut is tougher and far more corrosion resistant.

But yes I’ll take one in MagnaCut and prefer the straight edge personally.

[Wallach]

As long as I could get a LW Salt PE, I'm all for a SE too.

[Wartstein]

I can get a full grip on the Chap but it's very cramped, kinda like squeezing your foot into a shoe that's a half size too small...

This should not come across as if I was doubting you (because of course I don't), but just to put things into perspective for all who might have never handled a Chap:

It's handle is very thin indeed, .but when it comes to pure length of the grip area (with choil!) anyone who can fit their hands on a Manix or PM2 handle should find the grip area length (again, WITH choil!) on the Chap easily long enough, since it actually offers a bit more length (see my comparison pic in my previous post)... and has no pinky hook so that super wide hands could potentially even extend a bit beyond that handle end..

I personally find the grip on a Manix behind the choil a bit too short when I put my finger on the ramp and tight/fits like a glove when putting the finger on the flat of the blade (how I usually do).
The Chap though offers not a ton, but enough space for my hand (with choil!)

[Evil D]

I can get a full grip on the Chap but it's very cramped, kinda like squeezing your foot into a shoe that's a half size too small...

This should not come across as if I was doubting you (because of course I don't), but just to put things into perspective for all who might have never handled a Chap:

It's handle is very thin indeed, .but when it comes to pure length of the grip area (with choil!) anyone who can fit their hands on a Manix or PM2 handle should find the grip area length (again, WITH choil!) on the Chap easily long enough, since it actually offers a bit more length (see my comparison pic in my previous post)... and has no pinky hook so that super wide hands could potentially even extend a bit beyond that handle end..

I personally find the grip on a Manix behind the choil a bit too short when I put my finger on the ramp and tight/fits like a glove when putting the finger on the flat of the blade (how I usually do).
The Chap though offers not a ton, but enough space for my hand (with choil!)

My problem is always how my fingers/hand widen out when I grip a knife. When I extend my fingers out straight my hand doesn't look any wider than the Chap handle but when I make a fist my fingers flex out and get much wider.

To put this in perspective, my hand actually doesn't fit on the bottom part of a Military 2 behind the choil either, my pinky lands on the pommel hump.

The best handle I've tried in this way are a Caribbean, Chief and Bodacious and much larger handles like a Police 4.

On the Chief the behind the choil grip is exactly the width of my hand when I squeeze down on the knife, and you can see the size difference here.



So imagine my hand filling up the whole bottom of a Cheif and now compared it to a Military 2. It doesn't bother me much because the pommel part is so round, it's not uncomfortable for my pinky to sit there.



On a Bodacious I tend to choke up on the front guard part of the handle and that keeps my pinky from coming off the bottom of the handle.




When I grip a Chap in a hammer fist, my fingers basically just spill out both ends. My index finger is far too big for the finger choil too and it's not very comfortable. But like I was saying, this isn't a knife I use in a full fisted hammer grip very often, usually I grip it in more of a saber grip.

[JoviAl]

@Evil D I like what you’ve done with the Chief’s handle. What colour dye was that?

[Evil D]

@Evil D I like what you’ve done with the Chief’s handle. What colour dye was that?

Black first, then sand down the edges and tops of the FRN texture to expose the yellow, then dye again brown and sand again but lighter than the first time so it makes a little color gradient from black to brown to yellow. You have to be pretty gentle with the last bit of sanding so it blends in. The more black you sand off initially the more of a gradient you'll make.