Spyderco Forums

Thinking of buying a couple of these. I like small and light knives that cut well and have good steel.

How do you guys who own this knife like it? I don't do a lot of HARD cutting, unless I am testing. I would venture to say that most people don't do a lot of true hard cutting.

Anyway, how has the knife held up? Like the steel? Any corrosion problems?

Thanks in advance for the input. :)

I just got one. It is a seems to me to be a light duty slicer and excels in that role. It can probably handle harder tasks but that's what I carry a heavy duty folder for. The steel is pretty nice and as has been mentioned, sharpens up and takes an edge reminiscent of 52100. Sharpens up easy and strops right back up. While a diamond loaded strop works, I find that I prefer the finish that green compound gives it. It does patina fairly quickly so I guess it will rust fairly quickly too, if you neglect the blade.

Love it, no regrets!

I have the 3.5 in VG10 and have my eye on this one. I would say too that it is a light duty knife. Ergonomics are great and the wire clip is very discreet. I don't have experience with Super Blue steel, but I hear good things and as Chuck_Roxas45 pictures have shown, it patinas quickly so it will need care.

Ive been using the Super blue mule for a while in the kitchen with Halpern handles, a few months ago I took off the handles to seal them with silicone. No rust was evident, just a patina under then handles, no rust. Didn't see any of the red stuff(Fe2O3), only saw the patina(Fe3O4). I have no worries about the Mule rusting, then, I clean and dry after every use.

Mine has been used for almost ALL my tasks since I got it, its amazing, slices like a dream, crazy build quality, smooooth, holds a good edge. The only knife i see kicking it to the L/H pocket is the PM2 m390 :D

If you get one, edge retention test please :D :o

I got mine this week and love the SB Caly3.5 a lot. Currently it's in a dual EDC paired with my Para2. Initially, the open/closing was a bit grainy but was soon fixed with a drop of oil and now very smooth.
Mines been mainly used for cutting food. A patina forms very quickly and it's still having that slight odor which comes from the SB steel. Like the very discreet carry made possible with that clip.
I have large hands and the Para2 is the ideally designed grip for my hands. So the Caly3.5 feels a tad shorter. But having held the knife in hand for a couple of hours, I was not tired of holding it in different positions. I mean the handle is not uncomfortable.
It's a very nice knife to have, hold and use.

KardinalSyn wrote:I got mine this week and love the SB Caly3.5 a lot. Currently it's in a dual EDC paired with my Para2. Initially, the open/closing was a bit grainy but was soon fixed with a drop of oil and now very smooth.
Mines been mainly used for cutting food. A patina forms very quickly and it's still having that slight odor which comes from the SB steel. Like the very discreet carry made possible with that clip.
I have large hands and the Para2 is the ideally designed grip for my hands. So the Caly3.5 feels a tad shorter. But having held the knife in hand for a couple of hours, I was not tired of holding it in different positions. I mean the handle is not uncomfortable.
It's a very nice knife to have, hold and use.

Glad to see you like it :)

Get one CTS, you WILL NOT regret it

Like razorsharp, I have used my Caly in SB for all my cutting duties and have been impressed. But do be aware of its lack of corrosion resistance. Since moving to Texas, I have experienced some slight pitting but no red oxidation. I now make sure to coat the knife with Tuf Glide every week or so.

razorsharp wrote:Glad to see you like it :)

Get one CTS, you WILL NOT regret it

Well I have you to thank for letting me know about where it was available to buy :)

This Patina thing is kind of growing on me now.

What's a CTS? I did just order (pre-order that is) a CTS-XHP Para2 Orange from Jeff at CS.

D1omedes wrote:Like razorsharp, I have used my Caly in SB for all my cutting duties and have been impressed. But do be aware of its lack of corrosion resistance. Since moving to Texas, I have experienced some slight pitting but no red oxidation. I now make sure to coat the knife with Tuf Glide every week or so.

Thanks for the tip. I live near the sea so this info helps.

I was pondering several weeks ago about getting one because I am not a huge fan of the Caly 3.5 platform. I bought one anyway, and I don't regret it. So far this steel is amazing. I don't want you to purchase anything you don't want, but I would love to see how it stacks up on your rope cutting test.

Dan

KardinalSyn wrote:Well I have you to thank for letting me know about where it was available to buy :)

This Patina thing is kind of growing on me now.

What's a CTS? I did just order (pre-order that is) a CTS-XHP Para2 Orange from Jeff at CS.

crimson tide shooter is who I implied :D

razorsharp wrote:crimson tide shooter is who I implied :D

LOL, and here I was thinking that the comment was aimed at me :o

D1omedes wrote:Like razorsharp, I have used my Caly in SB for all my cutting duties and have been impressed. But do be aware of its lack of corrosion resistance. Since moving to Texas, I have experienced some slight pitting but no red oxidation. I now make sure to coat the knife with Tuf Glide every week or so.

I've been using mine every day since it became available. (4 months?) I was starting to think SB doesn't rust or pit as I haven't oiled the blade since receiving it, have often left it damp and have experienced nothing aside from the patina. Even stainless will eventually pit if abused so I'll take this warning and be more careful in the future.

Sequimite wrote:I've been using mine every day since it became available. (4 months?) I was starting to think SB doesn't rust or pit as I haven't oiled the blade since receiving it, have often left it damp and have experienced nothing aside from the patina. Even stainless will eventually pit if abused so I'll take this warning and be more careful in the future.

Glad to help. :)

It was weird because while in NY, I would just wipe the blade dry and there was no problem. Since moving to Houston, the humidity index was higher more consistently and I think that was the culprit. The knife is still carried though but there is a degree of concern that I don't have with my other folders. Super Blue just takes such a nice patina and sharp edge that it is worth it to me.

Yeah Kardinal, I would definitely coat the blade if you live near the sea. Better safe than sorry.

D1omedes wrote:Glad to help. :)

It was weird because while in NY, I would just wipe the blade dry and there was no problem. Since moving to Houston, the humidity index was higher more consistently and I think that was the culprit. The knife is still carried though but there is a degree of concern that I don't have with my other folders. Super Blue just takes such a nice patina and sharp edge that it is worth it to me.

Yeah Kardinal, I would definitely coat the blade if you live near the sea. Better safe than sorry.

I am almost always close to salt water. However, Sequim is a cool climate. Few people here have air conditioning because on average there are only 2 or 3 days a year hot enough to turn it on. And there is little rusting on very old uncared for cars.

Obviously the cool air has less water carrying capacity. It seems to me that perhaps with high temps some salt is carried by the air with the moisture from the ocean. I spent a week in a beach house in Charleston, SC and every piece of metal I had with me was corroded, even a belt buckle that was supposed to be brass.

Just opened the box with my new Caly 3.5 SB in it. There's a quite a bit of vertical blade play on this knife and that's got me concerned. I also own a Caly 3.5 and Caly 3.0 which, in spite of being used for a long while, neither has any vertical blade play. Is this normal for this knife? :confused:

strad wrote:Just opened the box with my new Caly 3.5 SB in it. There's a quite a bit of vertical blade play on this knife and that's got me concerned. I also own a Caly 3.5 and Caly 3.0 which, in spite of being used for a long while, neither has any vertical blade play. Is this normal for this knife? :confused:

Vertical play can happen and does happen in ANY mid/back lock knife. What is normally happening is the entire lockbar and blade are moving as one. The whole assembly can move up and down with only the lockbar spring acting as a force against it. When using the blade as a lever you can overcome the spring force and there is your vertical play.

Post a video and show the play!



To the original topic, I love my Super Blue 3.5. Its a great knife, gets scary sharp with easy and looks fantastic. I like it so much I have 2.

Then why don't my other two lock back Caly's do the same thing? :D