I'll chime in. I just got a superblue delica and I am extremely impressed with the steel so far. I have never used a steel that will take an edge like this stuff. I have gotten pretty proficient with the sharpmaker and can get just about any steel to whittle hairs, but the edge I get on this delica is well beyond that. I take a hair off my head (I have very fine hair by the way) and lay it on the blade. If I even slightly move the hair it just pops in half. I've seen videos of other guys getting knives this sharp, but this is the first knife/steel that I have been able to get to this level. I whittled some very hard Costa Rican wood yesterday for about 45 minutes. When I finished, the knife would only scrape shave arm hair. Ninety seconds on the sharpmaker and it was back to popping free hanging hair in half!! Amazing steel. I love it!
I like it so much I ordered a caly 3.5 in the same steel two days after I got the delica! :rolleyes:
Spyderco Super Blue Review Thread
I just got my SB Stretch today! This is kind of Grail-ish for me believe it or not since I was one of the many who was vocal begging Sal for this to happen. Now that it's here I can't seem to get myself to use it yet. I think I'm gonna order a preneed replacement after all :rolleyes:
My only experience with SB is with my 3.5 Calys. It's too bad the new sprints are laminated. Because I don't mind the carbon blade character on these at all. It gets as sharp and much faster than ZDP and lasts for a good while. If you don't mind the patina SB makes for an awesome folder blade.
My only experience with SB is with my 3.5 Calys. It's too bad the new sprints are laminated. Because I don't mind the carbon blade character on these at all. It gets as sharp and much faster than ZDP and lasts for a good while. If you don't mind the patina SB makes for an awesome folder blade.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.
-Leonard Nimoy
-Leonard Nimoy
Here's my new SB Stretch that just came in today. I've been using my Super Blue Caly 3 and 3.5 for a while, and they've been great. Except my Caly 3 seems to have some rust in the pivot area, even though I've treated the whole pivot area with Tuf-Glide multiple times. So, I'm glad to have the 420J1 steel on the Stretch. I also have a SB Delica coming in later this week.
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bearfacedkiller
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I absolutely love my SB delica. It is very easy to get it very sharp. I think that the delica is a great platform for SB because of the 2mm stock. I use it mostly on apples and doing other food prep. It is my pocket paring knife. I eat a ton of raw produce, more than half my diet, so I have to carry a knife in order to keep myself fed. It stays sharp very well for me using it on soft items like that and I sharpen it often. Usually just a few passes with the UF rods and maybe just a couple with the fine rods first. I can't comment much on edge retention because it is so easy to just keep it touched up. I have never really let it get dull.
I took it from this:
To this:
It is the other half of my favorite and most common EDC combo. Which is this:
It knocked my composite leek out of my pocket, as that was my pocket paring knife before hand.
Now I run a 30 degree micro bevel and it cuts like a laser. Need to be careful cutting fruit that I am holding in my hand. :eek:
If I had to find a fault in this knife it would be how easy the 420j1 scratches but honestly I could care less as this is a knife I use a lot and in general that isn't a concern of mine.
It also showed a little bit of staining from the super blue grinding into the 420j1 during machining but again, I don't care, I am very performance oriented. It isn't very noticable but you can see it in the pics a little.
I love this knife enough I am definitely getting a dragonfly and stretch. :D
I took it from this:
To this:
It is the other half of my favorite and most common EDC combo. Which is this:
It knocked my composite leek out of my pocket, as that was my pocket paring knife before hand.
Now I run a 30 degree micro bevel and it cuts like a laser. Need to be careful cutting fruit that I am holding in my hand. :eek:
If I had to find a fault in this knife it would be how easy the 420j1 scratches but honestly I could care less as this is a knife I use a lot and in general that isn't a concern of mine.
It also showed a little bit of staining from the super blue grinding into the 420j1 during machining but again, I don't care, I am very performance oriented. It isn't very noticable but you can see it in the pics a little.
I love this knife enough I am definitely getting a dragonfly and stretch. :D
-Darby
sal wrote:Knife afi's are pretty far out, steel junky's more so, but "edge junky's" are just nuts. :p
SpyderEdgeForever wrote: Also, do you think a kangaroo would eat a bowl of spagetti with sauce if someone offered it to them?
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xceptnl
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I was hooked on this awesome steel with my first taste. The Superblue Mule and the floodgates opened. I currently own all of the models produced and would really love to see an ATR made with this, but that is for another thread. I really love the easy sharpening that this steel affords. Easy passes one any stone of my choice yields almost instant hair-popping.
*Landon*sal wrote: .... even today, we design a knife from the edge out!
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Brock O Lee
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- Location: Victoria, Australia
I have both the Caly 3 in solid SB, and the Delica in laminated SB. I use my EDC a lot for cutting food/fruit.
While the solid SB is great for experimenting with and appreciating the patina, I always worry about water/fruit juice etc getting inside the pivot. I always clean the blade (not the whole knife to keep water away) and dry everything carefully after use, but every now and again I have to remove the start of some corrosion from the tang/pivot area where some moisture sometimes gets caugth between the tang and liner. I also get that heavy metallic taste often on the food I cut, even with the patina fully developed. You have to keep an eye on corrosion, and it requires more TLC than stainless, but it comes with the territory.
The laminated SB is a great compromise IMO. I never worry about corrosion on the tang/pivot, and I do not recall getting that metallic taste on foods. 420J1 scratches easily for sure, but on the Delica, which I see as a work knife, it doesn't bother me.
SB does take an exquisite fine edge, and keeps it for very long. Its also easier to sharpen, even compared to VG10. In that regard its a great blade steel, as long as you can keep the corrosion away.
Bad light pic:
While the solid SB is great for experimenting with and appreciating the patina, I always worry about water/fruit juice etc getting inside the pivot. I always clean the blade (not the whole knife to keep water away) and dry everything carefully after use, but every now and again I have to remove the start of some corrosion from the tang/pivot area where some moisture sometimes gets caugth between the tang and liner. I also get that heavy metallic taste often on the food I cut, even with the patina fully developed. You have to keep an eye on corrosion, and it requires more TLC than stainless, but it comes with the territory.
The laminated SB is a great compromise IMO. I never worry about corrosion on the tang/pivot, and I do not recall getting that metallic taste on foods. 420J1 scratches easily for sure, but on the Delica, which I see as a work knife, it doesn't bother me.
SB does take an exquisite fine edge, and keeps it for very long. Its also easier to sharpen, even compared to VG10. In that regard its a great blade steel, as long as you can keep the corrosion away.
Bad light pic:
Hans
Favourite Spydies: Military S90V, PM2 Cruwear, Siren LC200N, UKPK S110V, Endela Wharncliffe K390
Others: Victorinox Pioneer, CRK: L Sebenza, L Inkosi, Umnumzaan
Favourite Spydies: Military S90V, PM2 Cruwear, Siren LC200N, UKPK S110V, Endela Wharncliffe K390
Others: Victorinox Pioneer, CRK: L Sebenza, L Inkosi, Umnumzaan
This Super Blue Delica just arrived today. This Delica, and the SB Stretch I received on Monday are both excellent. Solid lock up, great fit and finish, and razor sharp out of the box. Seki-City seems to be doing a great job with these Super Blue Sprints! I'll be carrying these a lot over the next few weeks. Looking forward to using them.
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Trevitrace
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The SB core is still exposed on the spine, inside the Spydiehole so I would assume it would be exposed inside the pivot, right? I haven't taken my Delica apart to check but I think I'll keep it oiled all the same.Brock O Lee wrote:I have both the Caly 3 in solid SB, and the Delica in laminated SB. I use my EDC a lot for cutting food/fruit.
While the solid SB is great for experimenting with and appreciating the patina, I always worry about water/fruit juice etc getting inside the pivot. I always clean the blade (not the whole knife to keep water away) and dry everything carefully after use, but every now and again I have to remove the start of some corrosion from the tang/pivot area where some moisture sometimes gets caugth between the tang and liner. I also get that heavy metallic taste often on the food I cut, even with the patina fully developed. You have to keep an eye on corrosion, and it requires more TLC than stainless, but it comes with the territory.
The laminated SB is a great compromise IMO. I never worry about corrosion on the tang/pivot, and I do not recall getting that metallic taste on foods. 420J1 scratches easily for sure, but on the Delica, which I see as a work knife, it doesn't bother me.
SB does take an exquisite fine edge, and keeps it for very long. Its also easier to sharpen, even compared to VG10. In that regard its a great blade steel, as long as you can keep the corrosion away.
Bad light pic:
Just thought I'd chime in with my experience with my Super Blue Delica so far...
Amazing steel. I normally don't use my EDCs for food prep in the kitchen, they're more for on the go but I had to try this one in the kitchen the other day for the **** of it. I know that a lot of high end Japanese kitchen knives use Super Blue and no wonder. This stuff cuts everything like butter. From mangoes, to tomatoes, kiwi and avocado. Cuts paper, tape, cardboard like nothing. Even some rubber with ease. No chips, nicks, nothing. Haven't sharpened it yet either as I haven't had to. The patina is a plus, but the performance is top notch. Now I'm sure other steels excell the same way but something about this steel speaks to me. Maybe it's just the name, I don't know. All I know is, it's a pure joy to use. Don't have a knife with it, get one!
Amazing steel. I normally don't use my EDCs for food prep in the kitchen, they're more for on the go but I had to try this one in the kitchen the other day for the **** of it. I know that a lot of high end Japanese kitchen knives use Super Blue and no wonder. This stuff cuts everything like butter. From mangoes, to tomatoes, kiwi and avocado. Cuts paper, tape, cardboard like nothing. Even some rubber with ease. No chips, nicks, nothing. Haven't sharpened it yet either as I haven't had to. The patina is a plus, but the performance is top notch. Now I'm sure other steels excell the same way but something about this steel speaks to me. Maybe it's just the name, I don't know. All I know is, it's a pure joy to use. Don't have a knife with it, get one!
I've been using a laminated Superblue kitchen knife for the last 3 months, and I love it a lot.
Just picked up my first Superblue Spyderco this afternoon, the Endura, and I love it too. SB likes to take a very fine edge, and does a good job holding it as well. So far it excels at food prep and shaving hairs. Though I don't plan on hard using it the same way I do my Manix 2 or Para 2.
Just picked up my first Superblue Spyderco this afternoon, the Endura, and I love it too. SB likes to take a very fine edge, and does a good job holding it as well. So far it excels at food prep and shaving hairs. Though I don't plan on hard using it the same way I do my Manix 2 or Para 2.
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Johnnie1801
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- Location: Europe
So I just got my new SB Stretch last Monday and I thought I would give some of my initial impressions. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised about the fit and finish of this knife. I thought it would be like my Delica and need a bit of time to break in, however straight out of the box, the knife was smooth to flick open. The blade centering was slightly to the right but all my Spydies are like that and it doesn't bother me. The blade was sharp enough for my needs but not scary sharp like my PM2 (has anyone else noticed a difference in factory sharpness between Golden and Seki produced knives?). After cutting some cardboard the knife dulled a bit but a little bit of stropping brought it back. I have large hands and the FRN handle fits very snugly, I guess anyone with extra large hands might struggle a bit. The only issue I have with the handle would be the choil, it would definitely benefit from a deeper one, however I know this is being addressed in the next model so I guess this is a mute point. When I ordered this knife it was always in my mind to let the SB blade develop a patina naturally. So far I have cut up a couple of apples and sliced a bit of lemon and the patina is coming along nicely. It will be interesting to see how it develops. I don't usually use a pocket knife for food prep but I think in this instance I will. I noticed that they are using a new paint on the pocket clip with a bit of a mat finish, it looks very nice and I think it won't wear as badly as on other models.
I have to say for me personally I am really enjoying this knife and it will get a lot of pocket time. The evolving SB blade is quite fascinating and I must admit I'm a bit jealous of you folks out there with the full SB Caly 3's/Mule's.
I have to say for me personally I am really enjoying this knife and it will get a lot of pocket time. The evolving SB blade is quite fascinating and I must admit I'm a bit jealous of you folks out there with the full SB Caly 3's/Mule's.
Currently enjoying Spyderco's in - S30V, VG10, Super Blue, Cruwear x4, CTS XHP, S110V x2, M4 x3, S35VN, CTS 204P x2, S90V, HAP 40, K390, RWL34, MAXAMET, ZDP 189, REX 45
Jon
Jon
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GoldenSpydie
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