With MagnaCut looming, it's time to update the Chaparral's steel

[Blnd]

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For some reason the Chaparral is relegated as a "gentleman's knife" which basically only ever sees updates to its handle materials.

It's a very comfortable knife, its leaf shaped blade is polyvalent, and its blade length-to-overall length ratio is really excellent.

Yet, the Chaparral is only offered in CTS-XHP. A steel which isn't bad but for which corrosion resistance is a weak point.
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I'm not suggesting that the Chaparral should be declined in as many versions, but its standard CTS-XHP steel could at least be upgraded into what a more well-rounded steel - maybe MagnaCut.
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Additionally, a Boye dent and lesser backlock resistance out of the factory could be CQI worthy

I am with you on many points, for example that the Chap is much more than "just" a gentlemans knife, has a perfect blade and especially blade stock thickness for its small size in a world of fat bladed Mini folders and so on.

But while another steel than XHP technically would be an UPDATE, for me it would really not be an UPGRADE necessarily.
XHP is great imho, and really not so prone to corrosion that this would be a problem for most people, except if they are bothered by slight discolorations or spots on the blade. Which actually make the knife more personal imho, and are of no functional impact.
XHP even has a bit better edge retention than Magnacut, according to Larrins findings.

And XHP is very rare in Spydercos line up anyway!

So: I hope they´ll keep this great steel for the Chap.
And perhaps make a dedicated Salt version for those who want that.

/ The Chap was explicitly meant to display various handle materials, so this is why they get "updatet"

/ Also: I hope they keep the firm backlock! It is really no problem to mod it to being easier to depress for thos who want this...

Just my 2c of course, and I do hope you´ll get the exact Chap you want!

I agree. XHP surprised me. I’d like to see more of it, not less. The chaparral design combined with Taichung quality is a winning combo.

[TTFulltimer]

I'm not suggesting that the Chaparral should be declined in as many versions, but its standard CTS-XHP steel could at least be upgraded into what a more well-rounded steel - maybe MagnaCut.

Imagine a Chaparral with a black DLC MagnaCut blade and birdseye maple scales, now that'd be such a rad combination

Additionally, a Boye dent and lesser backlock resistance out of the factory could be CQI worthy

The only knife from Spyderco which I will not have to rescale is the Maple Chaparral.

Open any Spyderco backlock. Remove the spring and in small increments bend it to make the force required to your liking. Just be sure not to go too far so it unlocks under pressure. If you do get to that point, go back one or more steps to make the bend shallower. I have done that to all 5 of my Spyderco back locks.

Everything is made to be customized to your liking.

[electro-static]

I am with you on many points, for example that the Chap is much more than "just" a gentlemans knife, has a perfect blade and especially blade stock thickness for its small size in a world of fat bladed Mini folders and so on.

But while another steel than XHP technically would be an UPDATE, for me it would really not be an UPGRADE necessarily.
XHP is great imho, and really not so prone to corrosion that this would be a problem for most people, except if they are bothered by slight discolorations or spots on the blade. Which actually make the knife more personal imho, and are of no functional impact.
XHP even has a bit better edge retention than Magnacut, according to Larrins findings.

And XHP is very rare in Spydercos line up anyway!

So: I hope they´ll keep this great steel for the Chap.
And perhaps make a dedicated Salt version for those who want that.

/ The Chap was explicitly meant to display various handle materials, so this is why they get "updatet"

/ Also: I hope they keep the firm backlock! It is really no problem to mod it to being easier to depress for thos who want this...

Just my 2c of course, and I do hope you´ll get the exact Chap you want!

Thank you for your input !

You are making good observations, especially about CTS-XHP being rarely found elsewhere amongst Spyderco's products which I hadn't thought about.

I guess I was writing from the point of someone most concerned with corrosion ; in this sense using another steel for the blade could be an upgrade.

Taking your remarks into account, why not offer two steels for the Chaparral ?

• The usual CTS-XHP steel
• The new MagnaCut in black DLC

This would allow two different use cases, along with two different aesthetic styles. This would be a good refresh for the Chaparral IMHO.

Why offer DLC on a corrosion resistant steel? I don’t mind the option but really do prefer bare steels.

I really should get a chap sometime though.

[Araignee]

Open any Spyderco backlock. Remove the spring and in small increments bend it to make the force required to your liking. Just be sure not to go too far so it unlocks under pressure. If you do get to that point, go back one or more steps to make the bend shallower. I have done that to all 5 of my Spyderco back locks.

Everything is made to be customized to your liking.

The spring is too hard to be bent easily. I have used the method which requires moving the spring along its axis. It works, but requires disassembling the knife. I'd rather have something to my liking straight out of the box.

The point of the request was for the knife to be customisable to the liking... of those who prefer hard to push backlocks. I.e. soft lock out of factory and only then could people make it harder if so they want.

But IIRC Sal said somewhere that it was preferable that it be the current, hard way.

Why offer DLC on a corrosion resistant steel? I don’t mind the option but really do prefer bare steels.

Because it looks extremely cool.

Also, MagnaCut isn't 100% corrosion resistant, so one could argue that this steel would theoritically benefit from a coating. (But of course, to such a small extent that in real life the difference would be imperceptible).

[Bolster]

As time has gone by...a steel I'd now like to see in the Chap is 15V. From my perspective, small slicey blades are ideal for the super-high-edge-retention, low toughness blades. I'd think S110V would be another winner for the Chap, if corrosion resistance were the goal. But I see I posted this earlier so now I'm repeating myself.

[TTFulltimer]

Open the knife, remove the spring. Hold one half inch of the flat part of the spring in a pliers tightly. Use your finger to bend the spring. Small steps and test. Easy peasy.

[Josh Crutchley]

As time has gone by...a steel I'd now like to see in the Chap is 15V. From my perspective, small slicey blades are ideal for the super-high-edge-retention, low toughness blades. I'd think S110V would be another winner for the Chap, if corrosion resistance were the goal. But I see I posted this earlier so now I'm repeating myself.

I would really like to see any kind of tool steel. Rex-45 comes to mind along with M-4 as they both offer an upgrade in edge stability over CTS-XHP. I don't see 15v being an option for anything outside of Golden for the time being.

[dsm]

XHP isn’t bad by any means, but I agree with having a “Salt” model in MagnaCut. I do wonder if being a Taichung model though precludes it from being offering in MagnaCut… for now. Agree with Bolster, a high carbide, high edge retention, low toughness steel would be awesome. Push that slicy blade to its limits. K390, 110V, Maxamet, or the like would be fantastic in addition to a sale offering.