My first Chaparral. Don’t think it will be my last.

J

jsg71

Joined
Sep 17, 2013
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I suppose I was better than I thought this year and woke up with a Chaparral LW in my stocking this morning. I had stayed away because my Delicas have kept me company since the 90’s and I had always heard about how hard the thin back lock on the Chaparral was to open.

Now that I have it I wonder if I just got the perfect one as it is not uncomfortable at all to use the lock. I also enjoy the smaller handle more than I thought I would.

I’m going to use it for a while to see if the love lasts but I could easily see more of these in my future.
 
A superb small folder.
The fit and finish on my early CF version was very good.
One of my top recommendations for people who are non knife nuts. Great one and done blade for those who don’t require a larger folder.
 
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The Chap is my favorite Spyderco also. Mine is the CF/G10/XHP version. It's a wonderful little slicer. I love the small size in the pocket while still being able to get all of my hand on the grip when using the choil. I also like that, when closing it, the little nub on the choil touches the finger instead of the blade edge. By comparison, on the Caly 3.5, the choil nub misses the finger and it is the sharp edge that touches instead. The Chap is much safer for this. I also agree with it not being the last. It was one of my first Spyderco, but I kind of went crazy after it, checking out others to see, just in case, there might be something even better. So far, it has stayed on top.
 
I have 5 chaparrals and none of the lockbacks are hard to operate. Lucky dude getting a Chaparral for the holiday!! They are my favorite small Spyderco - I like them WAY more than the Delica. The Chaparral is one of the all-time-best of Spydies, IMHO.

Cheers.
 
The Chaparral is one of my favorite Spyderco designs. Great size for EDC. On paper the XHP doesn’t look like it can compete with some of the more popular super steels, but in my side by side testing cutting a variety of materials, it did better than Spy27, S30V, and M390. Couple that with thin blade stock and being easy to sharpen to a screaming sharp edge, and you have a winner.
 
Officer's Match said:
This is one I don't think I have ever even handled. Any comparison pic's to models such as the Para 3, Native 5, etc. would be appreciated.
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Military, Manix 2, GB2:
img_2542-jpg.1767019

With Natives, Pioneers, Small Sebenza:
hb3ipy.jpg


Next to a CC-sized SwissCard and Space Pen:
IMG-1742.jpg
 
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Officer's Match said:
This is one I don't think I have ever even handled. Any comparison pic's to models such as the Para 3, Native 5, etc. would be appreciated.
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With a Para 3 and N5. Note also the thickness difference, with the Raffir and LW chaparrals and the N5. The LW chaparral is noticeably thinner than the Raffir. The CF and sun & moon are close to the thickness of the Raffir.
 

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The LW handle is too thin for me, it was less comfortable than the standard ones so I sold it. Then I removed the pocket clips from the ones I still had and they go to the bottom of the pocket. They are unnoticeable and there is no chance of losing them..

This reminds me of how thin the blade really is. Everyone regards the Delica as an excellent slicer, but the Chap's blade is just 2mm. Not many Spydercos are this thin (eg the Centofante).
 
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Sun and Moon is pretty nice, amazing fit and finish, on mine I crafted a loop that fits down into the grooves opposite the clip side so I could attach a lanyard;





The mother of pearl has such great colours too and is seamless against the scale





G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Sun and Moon is pretty nice, amazing fit and finish, on mine I crafted a loop that fits down into the grooves opposite the clip side so I could attach a lanyard;





The mother of pearl has such great colours too and is seamless against the scale





G2
Click to expand...
Beautiful! the dead man's hand is another cool one
 
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