- Joined
- Aug 18, 2013
- Messages
- 25
How it Began
When I originally decided to buy a dedicated folding knife, I asked a buddy to accompany me to the knife store, and help me along with the process. They showed me the Spyderco Tenacious, Delica, and the Cold Steel Medium Voyager. After handling all three, I went with the Tenacious. I liked the weight, the G10, and pretty much everything else about it. But shortly thereafter, I was bitten by the Spyder bug, and picked up the Delica.
Spyderco Brand
I think it takes some people a while to warm up to Spyderco as a brand because of the hole in the blade. It looks very different from other knives, but never bothered me at all. Spyderco quickly became one of my favorite brands. As the months and years went by I ended up purchasing and carrying many more Spydercos, and they continue to be my favorite company overall.
Colours
One of the best things about the Delicas & Enduras are the amazing handle colourations. Isn’t is a pleasure to have something in the collection that isn’t black G10/FRN? My favorite colour is green, and it’s amazing that Spyderco has made something so personalized to different people’s tastes, but also collectable. It’s the kind of knife that you just want to buy every different colour.
Thin Handle
I really enjoy the thinness of this knife. Compared to their chubby cousins, the Cold Steel Voyagers, they are significantly slimmer and trimmer. So they carry in the pocket, very well, but also surprisingly fill the hand. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of small knives. I found that the SOG Flash 1, in particular to be completely unsuitable. It’s too small, doesn’t fill the hand, and I can’t get any work done with the blade. One of the common things I used my EDC for is slicing up an apple for a snack. The blade of the Flash 1 is simply too small to get the job done effectively, whereas the Delica is just big enough.
This is an amazingly durable knife. After more than a year, it still looks almost brand new. The only signs of wear are on the pocket clip, which doesn’t bother me at all because it is wearing gracefully, not chipping and looking ugly.
I did some heavy cardboard cutting with the Delica, and wasn’t overly impressed. It’s challenging to throw a small knife into a hard use role, and have it perform well. It’s not the fault of the knife, which functions well within the EDC niche, but for hard use I prefer something larger like an Endura or a Cold Steel Recon 1. I also cut up some rope, stabbed cardboard, and the knife held a great edge throughout.
Improvements for the Delica 5?
In terms of size and function, the Delica stacks up nicely against the Spyderco Sage 1. Both have a similar handle size, and overall length, but I find that the secondary finger choil on the Sage provides a considerable ergonomic advantage. Choking back allow the knife to fill the hand much better than the Delica, but of course it’s in another league in terms of pricing. The Byrd Cara Cara 2 also features a second finger choil for choking up into fine cutting tasks. I really hope that the Delica/Endura 5 incorporates this into the design.
The clip is outstanding, and is just about perfect in every way. I like the shape and colour, even as it gets older. It carries very well, along with the slim profile, and has about an inch of handle sticking out, which makes it secure but also easily accessible.
The Lock
The lock is something that took a while to grow on me. Having first experienced the super easy liner lock on the Tenacious, I wasn’t very happy with the ease of operation on the Delica lockback. I found it kind of stiff, and difficult to close one handed. Practice makes perfect, and eventually it loosened up and I was able to push down the lock, give the knife a shake, and easily get it to close with one hand. This contrasts well against the Tri-ad lock, which although stronger, is much less user friendly in terms of operation. By contrast I find it fairly painful to close. There are sharp metal edges that dig into your fingers and create calluses, but more importantly I found it makes the joints in my hands hurt after owning and using for a few weeks. The Delica lock is nicely smoothed out with the Boyd dent.
Speed
Likewise, I initially wasn’t impressed with the deployment speed of the Delica. I was not able to flick it open for quite some time. This was obviously due to the stiffness of the lockback vs the liner lock, but also just user inexperience. With time I learned how to flick it open, and at this point I consider it to be a very fast opening knife. Practice makes perfect, again! Compared to the Cold Steel Recon 1 & Voyager, the Delica/Endura combo is considerably faster. Easier to open, easier to close. The strength goes to the Tri-ad lock offerings, but in ease of operation, Spyderco wins hands down.
Value
I have heard some people complain about the price of Spyderco knives in general, and specifically about the Delica/Endura lines. I won’t say that they are the cheapest knives, at about $60/70 respectively in my area, but they are worth it. Much of that cost goes into the VG10 steel, which is on of my favorites. I think it provides a nice balance of edge retention and ease of resharpening. I would place it in terms of quality somewhere in between S30v and 8cr13mov. And as far as price goes, it fits nicely between those as well. But on the subject of price, I believe the Endura/Delica combo stacks up fairly well against the Benchmade Griptilian/Mini-Grips. Both have plastic handles in different colours, both have similar blade lengths and weights, and decent steels. I’ve actually seen quite a few comparisons between 154cm and VG10, and it seems both offer medium-high performance. But look at the cost difference between Benchmade and Spyderco. $60ish vs $90-100ish. While the Benchmades are US made, and feature that amazing Axis lock, no one is going to call those high value. Taking that into account, the Delica and Endura start to look pretty awesome in terms of performance and value.
I honestly believe that the Delica & Endura combo are some of the highest value knives around, and if those were the only knives I ever owned I would be very pleased. They are superior quality, provide pride of ownership and carry, and will cover 99.9% of any task a folded knife would ever be required to do.
[video=youtube;5Isrl5PGCBY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Isrl5PGCBY[/video]
When I originally decided to buy a dedicated folding knife, I asked a buddy to accompany me to the knife store, and help me along with the process. They showed me the Spyderco Tenacious, Delica, and the Cold Steel Medium Voyager. After handling all three, I went with the Tenacious. I liked the weight, the G10, and pretty much everything else about it. But shortly thereafter, I was bitten by the Spyder bug, and picked up the Delica.
Spyderco Brand
I think it takes some people a while to warm up to Spyderco as a brand because of the hole in the blade. It looks very different from other knives, but never bothered me at all. Spyderco quickly became one of my favorite brands. As the months and years went by I ended up purchasing and carrying many more Spydercos, and they continue to be my favorite company overall.
Colours
One of the best things about the Delicas & Enduras are the amazing handle colourations. Isn’t is a pleasure to have something in the collection that isn’t black G10/FRN? My favorite colour is green, and it’s amazing that Spyderco has made something so personalized to different people’s tastes, but also collectable. It’s the kind of knife that you just want to buy every different colour.
Thin Handle
I really enjoy the thinness of this knife. Compared to their chubby cousins, the Cold Steel Voyagers, they are significantly slimmer and trimmer. So they carry in the pocket, very well, but also surprisingly fill the hand. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of small knives. I found that the SOG Flash 1, in particular to be completely unsuitable. It’s too small, doesn’t fill the hand, and I can’t get any work done with the blade. One of the common things I used my EDC for is slicing up an apple for a snack. The blade of the Flash 1 is simply too small to get the job done effectively, whereas the Delica is just big enough.
This is an amazingly durable knife. After more than a year, it still looks almost brand new. The only signs of wear are on the pocket clip, which doesn’t bother me at all because it is wearing gracefully, not chipping and looking ugly.
I did some heavy cardboard cutting with the Delica, and wasn’t overly impressed. It’s challenging to throw a small knife into a hard use role, and have it perform well. It’s not the fault of the knife, which functions well within the EDC niche, but for hard use I prefer something larger like an Endura or a Cold Steel Recon 1. I also cut up some rope, stabbed cardboard, and the knife held a great edge throughout.
Improvements for the Delica 5?
In terms of size and function, the Delica stacks up nicely against the Spyderco Sage 1. Both have a similar handle size, and overall length, but I find that the secondary finger choil on the Sage provides a considerable ergonomic advantage. Choking back allow the knife to fill the hand much better than the Delica, but of course it’s in another league in terms of pricing. The Byrd Cara Cara 2 also features a second finger choil for choking up into fine cutting tasks. I really hope that the Delica/Endura 5 incorporates this into the design.
The clip is outstanding, and is just about perfect in every way. I like the shape and colour, even as it gets older. It carries very well, along with the slim profile, and has about an inch of handle sticking out, which makes it secure but also easily accessible.
The Lock
The lock is something that took a while to grow on me. Having first experienced the super easy liner lock on the Tenacious, I wasn’t very happy with the ease of operation on the Delica lockback. I found it kind of stiff, and difficult to close one handed. Practice makes perfect, and eventually it loosened up and I was able to push down the lock, give the knife a shake, and easily get it to close with one hand. This contrasts well against the Tri-ad lock, which although stronger, is much less user friendly in terms of operation. By contrast I find it fairly painful to close. There are sharp metal edges that dig into your fingers and create calluses, but more importantly I found it makes the joints in my hands hurt after owning and using for a few weeks. The Delica lock is nicely smoothed out with the Boyd dent.
Speed
Likewise, I initially wasn’t impressed with the deployment speed of the Delica. I was not able to flick it open for quite some time. This was obviously due to the stiffness of the lockback vs the liner lock, but also just user inexperience. With time I learned how to flick it open, and at this point I consider it to be a very fast opening knife. Practice makes perfect, again! Compared to the Cold Steel Recon 1 & Voyager, the Delica/Endura combo is considerably faster. Easier to open, easier to close. The strength goes to the Tri-ad lock offerings, but in ease of operation, Spyderco wins hands down.
Value
I have heard some people complain about the price of Spyderco knives in general, and specifically about the Delica/Endura lines. I won’t say that they are the cheapest knives, at about $60/70 respectively in my area, but they are worth it. Much of that cost goes into the VG10 steel, which is on of my favorites. I think it provides a nice balance of edge retention and ease of resharpening. I would place it in terms of quality somewhere in between S30v and 8cr13mov. And as far as price goes, it fits nicely between those as well. But on the subject of price, I believe the Endura/Delica combo stacks up fairly well against the Benchmade Griptilian/Mini-Grips. Both have plastic handles in different colours, both have similar blade lengths and weights, and decent steels. I’ve actually seen quite a few comparisons between 154cm and VG10, and it seems both offer medium-high performance. But look at the cost difference between Benchmade and Spyderco. $60ish vs $90-100ish. While the Benchmades are US made, and feature that amazing Axis lock, no one is going to call those high value. Taking that into account, the Delica and Endura start to look pretty awesome in terms of performance and value.
I honestly believe that the Delica & Endura combo are some of the highest value knives around, and if those were the only knives I ever owned I would be very pleased. They are superior quality, provide pride of ownership and carry, and will cover 99.9% of any task a folded knife would ever be required to do.
[video=youtube;5Isrl5PGCBY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Isrl5PGCBY[/video]
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