Spyderco Forums

Considering this... Delica with zdp-189. What's the steel like? Anyone have experience with this?

Lonerider

I have one. I love the ZDP, but I'm not really a delica guy. The ZDP dragonfly is an all time favorite of mine, though.

Takes a killer edge, holds an edge nicely. Not a friendly steel to people that like to chisel, pry and scrap with their edges but cutting tools shouldn't be used like that regardless if you want cutting performance.

Sharpens great, deburrs nicely, however several novice sharpeners complain of difficulty for various reasons,
But the difficulty in Sharpening ZDP-189 is overblown. It hones very nicely as well.

In capable hands, it's very premium, high performance steel.

For someone that abuses their gear, it's not recommend

Thanks.

ZDP is easily top 3 most underrated steels in the catalog. My best friend insists on carrying ZDP. He has the Delica and Dragonfly. He lost his Dfly recently and I got a replacement for him for his birthday. I offered to get him a Vtoku2 or Hap40 version and he would have none of it. ZDP or nothing. It's a great steel, really holds a sharp edge. Look at what any other knife company charges for a ZDP knife and realize what a steal the Delica, Dfly, stretch, and endura are.

I rate the ZDP Delica highly .
The fact that you can get it as a production run and not a sprint is a great move on Spydercos behalf in my opinion .
I carried a ZDP Delica exclusively for many months before venturing into the world of alternative Delica steels ( superblue , hap40 )
In all honesty the ZDP is all I ever needed , but where is the fun in that .
Get one and enjoy it and to really show how good the ZDP is, get a standard VG10 Delica at the same time .
I’ll bet you after a settling in period the ZDP gets carried and the VG10 doesn’t .



Ken

You know, I really wish the wharnie had a ZDP option too.

Everyone is jaded. I wish my sharpening skills were better, zdp takes an unbelievably fine edge

I would rate it as good/10
It’s a nice steel- both my delica and dragonfly in zdp felt very gritty when new however that may be more a Seki thing than a zdp thing

Fantastic steel and excellent knife design.
One of my favorite Spyderco knives,,, carry it every day in left front shirt pocket.
Easy to sharpen with DMT diamond and Spyderco ceramic hones,,,, strop on hard leather with diamond spray.

Regards,
FK
Member since Feb 17, 2001

My experience with ZDP-189 matches what everyone has written above. I've got two Stretch's, one Stretch 2, one Endura, and two Delica's in it. Really, Really good steel.

u.w.

I think this is my favorite version of the delica. Perhaps more so than even the aogami super version.

I have had a full serrated zdp for many years. I have a sharpmaker and a wicked edge but I have never sharpen the delica full serrated blade. The tip has gotten a bit chippy over the years but still a workhorse.

Jazz wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:46 pm

You know, I really wish the wharnie had a ZDP option too.

Mmhm

knivesandbooks wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:50 pm

Jazz wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:46 pm

You know, I really wish the wharnie had a ZDP option too.

Mmhm

Thanks all. I'm thinking I'll go for that one.

Just got to wait til friday to get down to the store!

Have two delicas already, warncliff and regular, but both vg10. Funny thing is, never felt the vg10 was a bad steel. But when I use my para3 it always cuts just a little better. So now I'm sitting here pondering metalurgy lol.

that green one you showed is exactly what it looks like, too, except the handle looked darker.
Lonerider