Spyderco Chaparral

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DedRok
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Spyderco Chaparral

#1

Post by DedRok »

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Hey guys, just picked up my Chaparral today... I am totally in love with it. Here are some of my quick initial thoughts of it. (by the way, isn't Chaparral a fun word to say?)

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueEMbtf- ... ideo_title

Throughout these forums, I kept on hearing about the Taichung made knives and their awesome build quality so I decided to check it out myself. I can confirm in my situation, it seems to be flawless... it opens up like a zippo; it feels great and looks great. The blade lines up the center, and the blade opens and closes smoothly.

The "twill" carbon fiber is not only pretty to look at, but its also functional. It doesn't have grip like a G10 or an FRN handle, but for this knives intention of use it will serve me good.

This is the most sharp from factory knife I've ever received! :eek:

It's really not that much bigger than a Dragonfly, but it feels a lot bigger than it actually is.

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I think this photo shows the texture of the Twill in the CF the best in this photo... bumpy feeling.
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Manix 2, Chaparral, Dragonfly 2
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I love how it fits in this little interior pocket... just like the Dragonfly!
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Spyderco please make a wire clip version of the Manbug/Ladybug!
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Quick Draw
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#2

Post by Quick Draw »

Looks amazing ! Definitely getting this one once it's available here. Thanks for the pictures.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Current Spydie Count 21
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BladePlay
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#3

Post by BladePlay »

Great Pictures. You gonna use it as a user? :D
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jackthedog
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#4

Post by jackthedog »

Looks nice. I'm hoping to get one soon.
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DedRok
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#5

Post by DedRok »

BladePlay wrote:Great Pictures. You gonna use it as a user? :D
Probably on weekends. :D

I use my knives pretty hard at work, so I'll avoid taking it to work with me... it's a little to pretty and its the most i've paid for a knife so I won't want to bang it up and I'm not to sure how well the carbon fiber will react from being dropped 10 feet onto pavement. :p
Spyderco please make a wire clip version of the Manbug/Ladybug!
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TBob
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#6

Post by TBob »

I received mine today as well. The fit and finish is superb. The stainless liners and spacer on the back fit together so well they look like one piece. The backlock locks the perfectly centered blade tight, with no play at all in any direction.

And wow, this thing slices like crazy with the thin blade. The ergos enable very precise cuts. The woven CF panels have just the right grip, plus provide a seamless transition to the stainless liners. Superb quality.

I really like the handle/blade ratio. The blade is just 2mm shorter than the Delica, but the closed knife is 16mm shorter. Very nice aesthetics.

The Chaparral is an excellent gentleman's folder. It will compete well for pocket time with my Bob T.
:spyder:: Advocate, Slysz Bowie Ti, Southard Black Blade, Stretch Carbon Fiber w/ZDP-189, Fluted Ti Native5, Terzuola Starmate, Terzuola SLIPIT, Leaf Storm, Gayle Bradley, Roadie, Chaparral CF, Chaparral Ti Stealth, Des Horn, Stretch FRN (Blue) ZDP-189, Centofante Memory, Military Black Blade CE, Delica4 FRN CE, Endura4 FRN Black Blade CE, Assist Orange FRN, Manbug ZDP-189, Ladybug 3 FRN SE, Delica4 Blue NLEOMF, Moran Drop Point BB, et al. :spyder: Spydie Fanatic #179 :spyder:
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DedRok
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#7

Post by DedRok »

TBob wrote:...

I really like the handle/blade ratio. The blade is just 2mm shorter than the Delica, but the closed knife is 16mm shorter. Very nice aesthetics.

...
I was going to mention that the blade isn't much shorter than the Delica.

The Chaparral is like a mixture of a Delica and a Dragonfly. It's almost got the blade size of a Delica, and pretty much the same closed body length of a Dragonfly.

This makes it feel much bigger than it really is.
Spyderco please make a wire clip version of the Manbug/Ladybug!
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TBob
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#8

Post by TBob »

DedRok wrote:I was going to mention that the blade isn't much shorter than the Delica.

The Chaparral is like a mixture of a Delica and a Dragonfly. It's almost got the blade size of a Delica, and pretty much the same closed body length of a Dragonfly.

This makes it feel much bigger than it really is.
Yep, it's almost a clown knife, like the Stretch CF: "Just where do they put all that blade in there?"
:spyder:: Advocate, Slysz Bowie Ti, Southard Black Blade, Stretch Carbon Fiber w/ZDP-189, Fluted Ti Native5, Terzuola Starmate, Terzuola SLIPIT, Leaf Storm, Gayle Bradley, Roadie, Chaparral CF, Chaparral Ti Stealth, Des Horn, Stretch FRN (Blue) ZDP-189, Centofante Memory, Military Black Blade CE, Delica4 FRN CE, Endura4 FRN Black Blade CE, Assist Orange FRN, Manbug ZDP-189, Ladybug 3 FRN SE, Delica4 Blue NLEOMF, Moran Drop Point BB, et al. :spyder: Spydie Fanatic #179 :spyder:
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BladePlay
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#9

Post by BladePlay »

DedRok wrote:... and I'm not to sure how well the carbon fiber will react from being dropped 10 feet onto pavement. :p
Ouch !! :eek: Not Good !!
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DedRok
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#10

Post by DedRok »

Heres a couple more photos... I wanna get some better ones tomorrow, I need some sun light! **** rain!

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The man himself... Sal
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Spyderco please make a wire clip version of the Manbug/Ladybug!
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wingman_214
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#11

Post by wingman_214 »

Those are some great pics.
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BladePlay
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#12

Post by BladePlay »

On a different thread someone wrote: I can say, out of the box, it was the grittiest Spyderco I've ever gotten. And the first Taiwanese Spyderco I've ever gotten that wasn't perfectly clean and smooth out of the box. It made a sickening grinding sound as it opened and closed, like it was full of sand. It took a lot of oil and working the action to clear out all the gunk.

How is yours? :confused:




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DedRok
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#13

Post by DedRok »

BladePlay wrote:On a different thread someone wrote: I can say, out of the box, it was the grittiest Spyderco I've ever gotten. And the first Taiwanese Spyderco I've ever gotten that wasn't perfectly clean and smooth out of the box. It made a sickening grinding sound as it opened and closed, like it was full of sand. It took a lot of oil and working the action to clear out all the gunk.

How is yours? :confused:
Butter smooth.

I should also mention, when you fold the knife to shut it, it makes a very nice clean sound as well... kind of like shutting the door on a new or high end vehicle. Anyone else with the chap agree?
Spyderco please make a wire clip version of the Manbug/Ladybug!
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gbelleh
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#14

Post by gbelleh »

That was my comment in the other thread.
I hate to say it, but unfortunately, my Chaparral came packed full of grit and debris. And the blade had side to side play. I'm sure mine was a fluke. And I was able to clean it up and get the blade straight and tight. But this was definitely the roughest knife I've ever seen out of Taichung, and is very uncharacteristic of the work that usually leaves their shop.

Having said all that, the knife is great. Very useful blade size packed into a tiny handle with the wonderful twill CF and a deep wire clip. It's a very nice little big knife.
:bug-red-white
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BladePlay
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#15

Post by BladePlay »

gbelleh wrote:That was my comment in the other thread.
I hate to say it, but unfortunately, my Chaparral came packed full of grit and debris. And the blade had side to side play. I'm sure mine was a fluke. And I was able to clean it up and get the blade straight and tight. But this was definitely the roughest knife I've ever seen out of Taichung, and is very uncharacteristic of the work that usually leaves their shop.

Having said all that, the knife is great.
What do you think happened? Did they like drop the blade with oil on it and it collected grit? :confused:
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gunnut35
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#16

Post by gunnut35 »

I was not interested in this knife until these pictures.
Thanks for the great pics...
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gbelleh
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#17

Post by gbelleh »

I can only imagine what happened. It seems to me like it missed a final cleaning and adjusting step in the assembly process. ?? No harm, no foul. It just needed a really good cleaning and some pivot adjustment.
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NaturalMystic
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#18

Post by NaturalMystic »

Great pics DedRok! Where'd you get yours from?
KNIVES & POCKET TOOLS: Benchmade Mini Griptilian 556, 556SBK, Ritter Mini Grip. Spyderco 2x Caly3 G10, 1x Caly 3.5, 1 PM2, Delica1 SE, Delica4 PE, Salt1, Ladybug1, Ladybug2, 2x Ladybug H1, Pacific Salt, Dragonfly FRN, Dragonfly2 FRN, Dragonfly G10, Jester, Bug, Honeybee, 2x Grasshoppers, G10 154CM Manix2, Jerry Hossom Forester.
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TBob
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#19

Post by TBob »

BladePlay wrote:On a different thread someone wrote: I can say, out of the box, it was the grittiest Spyderco I've ever gotten. And the first Taiwanese Spyderco I've ever gotten that wasn't perfectly clean and smooth out of the box. It made a sickening grinding sound as it opened and closed, like it was full of sand. It took a lot of oil and working the action to clear out all the gunk.

How is yours? :confused:
Very smooth, tight, and well oiled.
:spyder:: Advocate, Slysz Bowie Ti, Southard Black Blade, Stretch Carbon Fiber w/ZDP-189, Fluted Ti Native5, Terzuola Starmate, Terzuola SLIPIT, Leaf Storm, Gayle Bradley, Roadie, Chaparral CF, Chaparral Ti Stealth, Des Horn, Stretch FRN (Blue) ZDP-189, Centofante Memory, Military Black Blade CE, Delica4 FRN CE, Endura4 FRN Black Blade CE, Assist Orange FRN, Manbug ZDP-189, Ladybug 3 FRN SE, Delica4 Blue NLEOMF, Moran Drop Point BB, et al. :spyder: Spydie Fanatic #179 :spyder:
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mattman
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#20

Post by mattman »

gbelleh wrote:That was my comment in the other thread.
I hate to say it, but unfortunately, my Chaparral came packed full of grit and debris. And the blade had side to side play. I'm sure mine was a fluke. And I was able to clean it up and get the blade straight and tight. But this was definitely the roughest knife I've ever seen out of Taichung, and is very uncharacteristic of the work that usually leaves their shop.

Having said all that, the knife is great. Very useful blade size packed into a tiny handle with the wonderful twill CF and a deep wire clip. It's a very nice little big knife.

I agree... I don't recall any other reports like this out of this shop...?
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