Spyderco Forums

I've got a Dragonfly Salt 4 months ago as an experiment to try out H1 and serrations. I think I have found the perfect use for it... as a fruit knife.

The serrations work great for fibrous plant material (like these litchi peels), and the linerless FRN is perfect for a messy, juicy fruit massacre. If you're on the go without the opportunity to rinse it, no worries, because it laughs in the face of corrosion.

I was a bit surprised to realise that I use it more often than the more expensive and nicer looking G10 version...

Great little worker, and highly recommended! :)

Oh, and happy new year...

Very nice. The H1 does seem ideal for fruit, especially when you are on the go and can't wash the blades. I tend to lean toward an Opinel for fruit as they have the thinnest blades out there and slice like demons.

Yes I hear you that a thin blade is great for slicing - I noticed that the FFG Dragonfly slices better than this hollow grind. The corrosion resistance is the big attraction for me in this application.

Do you use a carbon steel Opinel? If so, do you notice a loss of fine edge when you cut acidic stuff?

I wish spyderco would make a higher-end knife with H-1 like a military or manix etc.

An H1 pm2 and milli would be a dream come true

Brock O Lee wrote:Yes I hear you that a thin blade is great for slicing - I noticed that the FFG Dragonfly slices better than this hollow grind. The corrosion resistance is the big attraction for me in this application.

Do you use a carbon steel Opinel? If so, do you notice a loss of fine edge when you cut acidic stuff?

I try not to use the carbon Opinels for food as that steel has a distinct taste. Try it some time and you will know what i mean. :)

Just food for thought, and no pun intended, is there anything the Dragonfly Salt can't do? And, why do I not have one? :eek:

HighDesertSpyder wrote:Just food for thought, and no pun intended, is there anything the Dragonfly Salt can't do? And, why do I not have one? :eek:

its not a nose picker, that's for sure. :)

Funny, I just read this thread. Then went upstairs and put my endura away and grabbed my H1 dragonfly. I love this little knife.

my first thought when i opened this was a mini catchermen fruit parer kind of thing
but thats a cool littel blade too

araneae wrote:I try not to use the carbon Opinels for food as that steel has a distinct taste.

Thanks, I did not know that... Looks like I need to try some carbon steel, even if its just for my own education.


I would not attempt to slice up a watermellon with this little blade. A SE H1 millie, on the other hand... :)

once a carbon steel builds up its patina there is nearly no taste that can be found (i know a pile of chefs that use carbonsteel all the time )

the patina also helps protect the steel for pitting type rust
oo and with all things in life some steels are a bit more reactive then others

It's great looking knife, nice photo too!

I used my carbon-bladed Opinel for an all-purpose food prep knife while hiking in Europe a few years back. It got a lot of use and developed a rather ugly patina over time - although I kept the edge razor sharp with a small stone. I stripped the patina off earlier this year with a polishing block, buffed out the blade to a nice satin finish, and coated it with TufGlide. Man, that thing will get sharp!

I didn't notice any odor/taste on my food, now or then, araneae. Maybe yours was coated with a protective oil?

TedP

P.S. - ...and yes, the Dfly rocks! I've got five! Let's see if Sal will make one in orange G10!

butch wrote:once a carbon steel builds up its patina there is nearly no taste that can be found (i know a pile of chefs that use carbonsteel all the time )

the patina also helps protect the steel for pitting type rust
oo and with all things in life some steels are a bit more reactive then others

That's an interesting thought. All of my good kitchen knives are carbon steel with a heavy patina and they impart no taste whatsoever. They're all pretty old (35-40 years for some) so I don't recall if there were any instances where food cut with them tasted "off" prior to their patina developing.

Hehe, with all this talk of carbon steel, maybe we need a carbon steel Dragonfly - the polar opposite of the H1... Superblue anyone? :D

Now that I think of it, this was discussed before. Sal said something like we should not waste Superblue on a small blade like this. Bummer, because the DFly is already made in Seki... :rolleyes:

AfriadOfSpyders wrote:An H1 pm2 and milli would be a dream come true

I'd buy an H1 Para2 in a heartbeat. :D

phillipsted wrote: I didn't notice any odor/taste on my food, now or then, araneae. Maybe yours was coated with a protective oil?

TedP

Nothing on my blades but mineral oil, which is tasteless. Its definitely the steel. Perhaps as butch mentioned the patina protects from the odd taste. My Opi's definitely have a taste. Maybe I'll have to taste test one of mine with a heavier patina and see if that does the trick.

Great pic, great knife, and great lychee. My mom has a huge tree in her front yard. Too bad they're not in season here in Fla. Thanks for sharing. I love my H1 Dragonfly as well. :spyder: :)

My H1 is in the control of the USPS, but it should arrive tomorrow if I am lucky.