Spydiechef (lc200n) performance thread.

[Surfingringo]

So the new Spydiechefs should be making it into the hands of end users by now and I am curious to hear some discussion about performance. I have been using lc200n for awhile now and have been very pleased with performance, especially when compared to the only other fully rust proof option which is pe H1. I am also curious to hear peoples thoughts on the overall design and its functionality for various tasks.

I managed to snag one and it should be delivered here within the next week or so. My plan is to modify the blade profile on mine to optimize it for use on my fishing kayak. I will definitely be reporting into this thread with observations on steel performance, ergonomics, corrosion resistance etc. In the mean time, I'd love to get some conversation started about the performance of both the steel and the design.

[dogrunner]

+1
looking forward to reports of actual use !

[abbazaba]

Looking forward to hearing others experiences. Thanks to my job and my awesome lady I am yet to cook with mine. Hopefully this week I'll spend some time in the kitchen. For simple EDC tasks it looks a little odd, but the ergos have worked quite well so far. Haven't used it enough to get a real feel for the steel though.

[Surfingringo]

This is where I'm at with my drawing in preparation for a regrind. Given the sweep of the edge profile it's hard to find a way to make the tip more acute that doesn't leave the lines looking a bit awkward, but it's something I'm willing to live with in exchange for the utility I will gain for my intended use.

[bearfacedkiller]

That looks good. It looks like an indent for your thumb on the spine.

[mb1]

^^ What Darby said. Looks kind of like what would happen if you dragged the tip of a PM2 profile upwards (and added a thumb dent) ...maybe call it the pug...

[dogrunner]

This is where I'm at with my drawing in preparation for a regrind. Given the sweep of the edge profile it's hard to find a way to make the tip more acute that doesn't leave the lines looking a bit awkward, but it's something I'm willing to live with in exchange for the utility I will gain for my intended use.

I like that a lot. Hmmm... :)

[Surfingringo]

I'm giving this thread a bump to the top. Surely by now some of you are starting to get some first impressions about this design and the steel. I am jonesing for some info since I'm still waiting for mine. :D

[farnorthdan]

I was messing around with mine this weekend, not really doing any heavy cutting or anything, just flipping it and a little stropping. I did add a couple drops of Nano oil to the pivot, it was a little tight out of the box but after working it for a bit she seemed to loosen up some. Mine did also have a little bit of lock stick but not terrible, cleaned the lock face real good then added a little graphite and that went away for the most part.

Its much smaller in hand than I expected, right at the limit of what I like. It also feels much squarer in my hand than the Bowie, definitely not as refined as the Bowie, not sure if this will cause hot spots or not. All-in-all though, very nice piece and I love the thin blade grind, should be an excellent slicer.

[Surfingringo]

Got mine today and I really like the design. Great handle and excellent fit and finish. Solid lockup and no lock stick on mine at all. I started the blade modification too. Not done yet, but took enough off the tip to make it functional for basic fish work. I'll start working it out this week.

[Doc Dan]

Actually, that profile does not look bad at all. If this were for hunting I'd say stop there.

BTW, what are you using to re-profile that blade?

[Surfingringo]

Actually, that profile does not look bad at all. If this were for hunting I'd say stop there.

BTW, what are you using to re-profile that blade?

Yeah, I couldn't come up with anything that worked just right aesthetically. The sweeping edge profile dictates a lot of what you can do with the spine. I'm going to do a bit more shaping that will make it look more natural. Anyway, my idea was never to make a showpiece but rather to turn this one into something functional for the kayak fishing. Can't wait to give this a go. I think it will be a great pe option to have in the boat.

I drew the lines I wanted in pencil and used a bench grinder for the reprofile...quenching every few seconds in a glass of water. I think the steel is notably slower to grind than H1 but it still only took 5 minutes with the grinder. Cleaned it up with sandpaper and finished at 180. You can't tell the difference between the new finish and the rest of the spine.

To be clear, this knife is really cool in its stock form! Its just that I bought mine for the sole purpose of modifying it for something other than its intended use. I would actually like to have another one to keep stock. I would really rather see them come out with a larger version though. Maybe 4" or so?

[NoFair]

Looks a bit like the PPT.. Mine is still on the way, sometimes international shipping sucks..

[wrdwrght]

Got mine yesterday. Impressions on performance to follow, but I gotta say there is something special about this knife.

[Tdog]

I too would prefer a more acute point as on your modification Lance. I held out on this one waiting for something with a longer blade and more reviews as to retention on the LC200N.

[harronek]

Just watched your YouTube Snapper fillet vid , and you mention that it's OK but not perfect .
Where changes does it need ?
Size , shape , materials ?

Ken

PS - love your vids , but it freaks me out to see you hanging your feet over the side while you cut up fish and basically have a burley trail going on .
Here in Australia that would be asking for trouble from some toothy critters.

[Surfingringo]

Hey Ken, I kind of hated to post that video because it sounds like I'm saying there is something imperfect about the design and theres not...at all. The knife is an awesome design and I'm very happy with it. Especially the handle! In the video, I was just talking about the regrind I had done. Of course if I were making a folder to be able to do that type of work it would be quite different from the Spydiechef in many ways but it would definitely have lc200n. That steel is at the top of the food chain when it comes to rust proof knife steels for plain edge blades. I like the simplicity and the complete corrosion resistance of the titanium handle too.

One thing that became clear to me while doing the fish cleaning was that the tip was still too wide for that work. I took it back to the grinder today and made it a bit pointier still. This is where I'm at and I'm pretty happy with it for now.

[Surfingringo]

Here's the video if anyone is interested. I want to reiterate when I'm talking about how it's "not perfect" I'm referring to my regrind not the design itself. The design is awesome in pretty much every way. I think now that I went back and made the point a bit stabbier (see above pic) it will work better for this type of work. At any rate, it's great to finally have a fully rustproof folder with better edge retention than H1. My apologies too for the sloppy fillet work. That's actually more a result of the confined space and awkward position than the blade I'm working with.

https://youtu.be/mUxKBQBUDjA

[i am travvy]

Regrind looks awesome lance. Btw didn't know you were part of team pelagic. Congrats on the Facebook feature.

[Doc Dan]

Lance, the way you ground it makes it look a lot like the Perrin PPT.