Please share your experience with SPY27

[elena86]

I really like the steel and I wish they release more models in SPY27. For me it’s a VG10 on steroids but quite a different animal. What I really like is how it sharpens. It gets a sticky sharp edge in no time on the ceramic stones and keeps that edge on par with CTS-XHP. Good allaround steel. Great job Sal.

[Ramonade]

I think Vg-10 on steroids is a good analogy.
I like BD1N but find it too brittle and I found that SPY27 has the qualities I like in BD1N without chipping as easily (or at all for the moment)

I have 3 knives with it, the N5 LW has been used a lot and its a joy to sharpen

[jmj3esq]

My SPY27 Mule sharpened up very nicely with ease. Haven't used it for much, but it's ready!

[Cl1ff]

I’ve used my Spy27 Mule Team 2 pretty hard and intentionally abused the edge to see what kind of damage would occur. As I’ve reported before, it was very minor even after tapping and scraping on metal and concrete.
My Native 5 has been doing really well too, but I’m just using it as normal. keeps sharpness well and sharpens nicely. I’ve been going pretty low grit with my edges, but I’m thinking about going a little higher.

It’s one of my favorite steels right now and I’m hoping for a Spy27 Military 2 or Native Chief so I can have a folder with more edge. I’m also waiting to to try some serrated Spy27!

[elena86]

I’ve used my Spy27 Mule Team 2 pretty hard and intentionally abused the edge to see what kind of damage would occur. As I’ve reported before, it was very minor even after tapping and scraping on metal and concrete.
My Native 5 has been doing really well too, but I’m just using it as normal. keeps sharpness well and sharpens nicely. I’ve been going pretty low grit with my edges, but I’m thinking about going a little higher.

It’s one of my favorite steels right now and I’m hoping for a Spy27 Military 2 or Native Chief so I can have a folder with more edge. I’m also waiting to to try some serrated Spy27!

Would you say it’s a tough steel ?

[cjk]

Good shtuff. I have a Native 5 and a Para 3. It likes to get really sharp really quickly. It stays sharp for a good long while. I hope that it is available in more models in the future.

A smaller wharncliffe would be super cool.

[weeping minora]

I carried and used the Native 5 platform in SPY27 for nearly a year. Initially, I was extremely overjoyed to experience just how easy it is to put an edge on it. With further usage, I find that seems to be its crux. It certainly hasn't chipped, nor really rolled its edge, but it will blunt and fairly quickly IME. This steel reminds me of what I hear about LC200N (although keep in mind I personally have no experience with LC) and I'm on the side of this steel that it loses its edge rather quickly, is insanely easy to sharpen, yet has plenty of toughness for being so stain resistant. It felt like S35VN from my experiences and I didn't seem to have good luck, nor liking with that steel. SPY27s edge retentive capabilities seem to only shine with frequent honing of the steel. It's perhaps a bit better than VG-10 in edge holding, depending on what has been cut throughout that sharpening cycle, I find. It reminds me of a lesser alloyed steel in that regard and TBH, with other steels out there (AEB-L in particular, which has better edge stability) I just don't see the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to cost over performance than what's already available on the market. Perhaps I got more of a lemon, because my example was dated sometime near, if not, the first run of SPY27 production. SPY27 may be more dialed in now, shedding greater value to the market than what I have experienced. Overall, I'd say it's a mix between production VG-10 and S35VN in capabilities.

To sum up my thoughts and experiences, it's certainly not a bad steel, however it only really melds a few properties of a few steels that are and have already been available, without adding more to make it distinguished from the pack. That said and for its cost, I believe this steel will be much more limited in production capabilities, unless they're now doing something to it that makes it stand out from that oversaturated "mid-tier" grade steel pack. It falls in line somewhere in between the VG-10s and S30Vs and all those "lame" (per the consumer market consensus these days) steels. It seems like the naming of certain steels perhaps "rolling off the tongue" better than others plays a bigger role in their sales these days.

Bit of a side note, I read Shawn (BBB) say he was looking to hand sal a sample of SPY27 at 65HRC at one of the recent trade shows this year, however sal wasn't able to make that particular show (might have been the Oregon Knife Show?). I'm hopeful for the future, I'm just not holding my breath.

[CDEP]

If you like VG10 (and with 17 Spydies in VG10, I do), you will love SPY27, which is basically a PM version of VG10. All of VG10's qualities are amplified - holds a decent edge, tough, easy to sharpen, basically one of the best balanced steels available.

I only have SPY27 in a Para3 LW & a Native 5 LW, but I'm hoping it will find it's way into more models.

[BigFishShamu]

Agree ^

I think it’s an awesome EDC steel if you’re looking for something more corrosion resistant. I carry my N5 IWB most days at work. So far, even the sweat hasn’t managed to stain the SPY27.

[Bolster]

One of Larrin's graphics that puts SPY27 in two dimensional space, dead center at 5 for both toughness and ER. Maybe it's the graph talking, but that reflects my experience with it.

[z1r]

I really like the steel and I wish they release more models in SPY27. For me it’s a VG10 on steroids but quite a different animal. What I really like is how it sharpens. It gets a sticky sharp edge in no time on the ceramic stones and keeps that edge on par with CTS-XHP. Good allaround steel. Great job Sal.

This sums up my experience. I just love how easy it it to get sooo sharp. As to how long that edge lasts, well, to be honest, I'm kinda anal so I tend to run any knife I use across the sharpmaker rods for a few strokes at the end of the week. So, I can't really speak to it. But I will say that I used my Spy27 N5 for about half a year prior to getting my Sharpmaker. It didn't take any time to get that edge back. Personally, I feel like it responds similarly to Cru-wear in this regard. I too am a big fan. The MT28 I gifted my BIL has become his EDC of choice and he's not an accomplished sharpener.

[JSumm]

I would love to see it come out in more models. Personally, I think it is a great user steel. It gets sharp relatively easy. It's pretty stainless if that is important to you. In my use, the edge has held up very well to edge abuse. I really like it.

I do really wish Spyderco would do a Sprint Run with it through a lot of their models. How cool would a Blue G10 Manix with SPY27 be? I think it would be popular with collectors being a proprietary Spyderco steel recipe. And popular with those that just want to use it in some different models. I don't think it is a beginner steel. Not due to its performance, but due to the price. I think a Sprint Run would probably be more appropriate for different models. The limited availability should make it more of a hot commodity and overcome any pricing issues.

[ladybug93]

I don't think it is a beginner steel. Not due to its performance, but due to the price.

this is a big part of what has kept me from any of the available models. the price to performance ratio seems off to me. i know you're not paying for performance, but for the unique steel that isn't widely available. still, i don't want to pay the price for a spy27 manix to get similar performance to the bd1n that costs much less.

[CDEP]

I don't think it is a beginner steel. Not due to its performance, but due to the price.

this is a big part of what has kept me from any of the available models. the price to performance ratio seems off to me. i know you're not paying for performance, but for the unique steel that isn't widely available. still, i don't want to pay the price for a spy27 manix to get similar performance to the bd1n that costs much less.

I don't have the Manix 2 in SPY27, but I do have the Para 3 LW in both BD1N & SPY27, and find the SPY27 offers a noticeable increase in edge retention while being as easy to sharpen as the BD1N. The Para 3LW in BD1N was my first Spyderco, and has a special place in my heart - it's the knife that the moment I had it in hand I "got it" regarding the Spyderco fuss I'd heard.

For me, the extra cost of the SPY27 is worth it, but I'd be fine day to day with BD1N (and was for months before acquiring the SPY27 version). BD1N is a great budget steel but I prefer VG10, so the "super" VG10 that is SPY27 is a winner for me. The Para 3 LW SPY27 gets carried, while the BD1N version gets kept because it was my first, and the knife that won me over to Spyderco.

[Cl1ff]

I’ve used my Spy27 Mule Team 2 pretty hard…

Would you say it’s a tough steel ?

I think it’s pretty good.
There was no significant chipping or rolling visible to my eye after the concrete and metal stuff. The edge seemed to mostly blunt. I could probably be more specific if I had looked at the edge under magnification.
I wasn’t whacking the stuff, but it was enough to satisfy me.
A single normal sharpening to 400 grit on the Spyderco CBN was enough to get a clean fresh edge. A few minutes and we’re good as new.

Another thing I did was throw it at a stump a few dozen times for fun. The tip on the Mule Team 2 is acute and relatively thin, but the knife suffered no damage after bouncing off onto the ground or sticking into the stump.

——

On another note, I mostly cut fibrous stuff with low grit edges, which I think somewhat equalizes the retention of front end sharpness among steels. Spy27 has performed well for me in holding a grabby working edge, but I do think it has more potential in the edge holding and strength aspects at higher hardness and thinner geometry.

For example, my 15V Manix performs similarly, but the edge lasts longer.

There aren’t many knives available in the steel yet and I am also curious about BBB/Shawn’s results from his higher hardness samples.

For example, while the variation is probably too high for the difference to be that significant, 65HRC Spy27 should slightly out cut MagnaCut of the same hardness (according to the trends seen in Dr. Larrin’s testing).

VG10 is something I like a lot, so the similarities are a huge plus for me.

If Spyderco pushes it harder and thinner I think it could be even better for what I like.

For what it’s worth, I’ve found LC200N to be a little less strong, but very tough. Some of its properties are similar to VG10 as well, but with better corrosion resistance, so I like it a lot too.

Basically, I think Spy27 is a good and interesting steel.

[weeping minora]

I don't think it is a beginner steel. Not due to its performance, but due to the price.

this is a big part of what has kept me from any of the available models. the price to performance ratio seems off to me. i know you're not paying for performance, but for the unique steel that isn't widely available. still, i don't want to pay the price for a spy27 manix to get similar performance to the bd1n that costs much less.

I don't really agree with your usage of wording, JSumm, but I do agree with your premise that the price is certainly not prohibitive to most new or curious users, with a limited or fixed purchasing budget.

I agree with you, ladybug. The higher the price creeps and the more "sameness" (steel characteristics) that stays the same when compared to a vast majority of steels in its class that are already available at a lower pricing point, the more folks will demand a vastly improved set of characteristics to get a buy from a higher priced variant of any model, with their money. SPY27 prices itself farther out into deeper waters with much bigger sharks, versus what it actually brings to the table. Most AFIs want more performance out of their knives that SPY27 just doesn't offer, at those prices. The juice just doesn't seem to be worth the squeeze with SPY27 at its competitive price point.

It's kind of interesting that Spyderco takes the road of actually wanting folks to use their knives to get the performance out of the steels they offer, however, with their proprietarily designed steel, it firmly seems to sit within a more collective-based, limited availability/scarcity mindset, to draw its sales, which isn't a very good tactic in the current knife market, IMO.

[Cl1ff]

I think the prices for Spy27 are very reasonable.
The Spy27 Native 5 is more than the S30V and less than MagnaCut. That doesn’t price it out of competition in Spyderco’s lineup.
I also like it more than S30V and I think it’s probably a better steel overall, at least for me.

The Spy27 LW Para 3 is also bringing that tier of performance down to lower price point compared to the S45VN G10 Para3. That clearly is pushing performance at a lower price.

The Mule Team 2 is a full production version of the Spy27 Mule. For a very solid and competitive price, you can have a hard working fixed blade design in a good stainless steel. I don’t see how Spy27’s price, in particular, is prohibitive.

In regards to the Manix 2’s pricing, I think that model is an outlier. Even still, it’s seemingly mostly because the uncoated S30V G10 model is abnormally inexpensive. Maybe this is showing my bias, but I prefer the FRN, so I would still doubly go for the LW Spy27 version.

[ladybug93]

It's kind of interesting that Spyderco takes the road of actually wanting folks to use their knives to get the performance out of the steels they offer, however, with their proprietarily designed steel, it firmly seems to sit within a more collective-based, limited availability/scarcity mindset, to draw its sales, which isn't a very good tactic in the current knife market, IMO.

i'm not sure that's fair. they push the boundaries on steels like 15v and k390 and many before that, but they also still use steels like vg10 and bd1n. i'd bet most of the sales are for mid range steels, so it makes sense to make one that's in that range.

[weeping minora]

I think the prices for Spy27 are very reasonable.
The Spy27 Native 5 is more than the S30V and less than MagnaCut. That doesn’t price it out of competition in Spyderco’s lineup.
I also like it more than S30V and I think it’s probably a better steel overall, at least for me.

The Spy27 LW Para 3 is also bringing that tier of performance down to lower price point compared to the S45VN G10 Para3. That clearly is pushing performance at a lower price.

The Mule Team 2 is a full production version of the Spy27 Mule. For a very solid and competitive price, you can have a hard working fixed blade design in a good stainless steel. I don’t see how Spy27’s price, in particular, is prohibitive.

In regards to the Manix 2’s pricing, I think that model is an outlier. Even still, it’s seemingly mostly because the uncoated S30V G10 model is abnormally inexpensive. Maybe this is showing my bias, but I prefer the FRN, so I would still doubly go for the LW Spy27 version.

$4.20 cheaper than Magnacut at most available sources? That's a trivial amount that most people wouldn't even bat an eye at. Magnacut, whether it's miles ahead, or literal steps ahead of SPY27 in performance, was and continues to be hyped galaxies beyond SPY27, which will undoubtedly have magnitudes higher of an affect on sales.

There's a huge community of folks that won't even consider a FRN handles Para 3 to a G-10 handled one, and with the G-10/S45VN variant being $25 and change higher than the FRN/SPY27 iteration, it's a hard sell, to a large voice of buyers.

There are merely 4 available models with the SPY27 flavor, versus the countless available in very similar steels to SPY27. If VG-10 is merely seen, at best, as just okay, being listed for a similarly sized model, in this example, I'll say the Leaf Jumper, or even Delica 4, at plus or minus $90, yet the lowest price point available for a folding SPY27 knife in the Native 5, being over $50 more at $147, is a tough sell, IMO.

The MULE TEAM 2 is the only real deal you're getting in SPY27, no doubt, however fixed blades themselves do not make up the meat of Spyderco as a company, nor their consumer targeted market share.

I just don't see where the increase in performance is versus many steels that are priced even lower in certain models, or for slightly more, in others, with attested attributes that many favor in their purchases within this price range.

[semfi1345]

Personally, I think it's in the top 3 knife steels on the market for folders. I've had every "super steel" except Magnacut so I can't compare it to that. In my use as a forester, SPY27 doesn't chip, it holds an edge for an extremely long time, is very rust resistant, & I can strop it back to a hair shaving edge in a few minutes. Cruwear previously held this role but SPY27 has outperformed it as much as it pains me to say. I honestly believe EDC folder steels have peaked with SPY27; I know most will disagree but this is my opinion in my use case.