Spyderco Ladybug 3 Salt Review

[lava_lamp]

Spyderco Ladybug Review - Part 1

Introduction

I received a Spyderco Ladybug as part of a pass around here along with a fixed blade Aqua Salt: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=761145. The Ladybug is a Spyderco classic design from 1990. The pass around version is the third generation Ladybug 3 Salt and comes with a yellow fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN) handle, H1 rustproof steel, and serrated SpyderEdge. The MSRP is $49.95 and our favorite online retailers sell it for about $32.

The Ladybug is a very small knife, 4 3/8” open, with a 1 15/16” blade. At just .6 oz., it is also the lightest folding knife I’ve ever held.

Blade

The Ladybug 3‘s blade is made from H1, which I understand to be a type of ceramic. My own experience with H1 consists of about two years with a Spyderco Tasman Salt and then a Spyderco Atlantic Salt. They have seen extensive use in both fresh and salt water and I have never seen any corrosion. Both of my Salts have a plain edge along the first 10-15% of the blade, followed by 85-90% SpyderEdge serrations. The plain-edged tip is useful for detail work. The serrations have never needed sharpening, but I’ve touched up the plain-edged section and found it easier to sharpen than VG-10 or S30V. My unscientific assessment of H1 is that it doesn’t hold an edge as well as the top steels, but holds its own vs AUS 8, AUS 6, 440C, etc.

There are some reports that H1 actually hardens with use. (See the quotes from Ed Schempp posted in Reply #5 further down the thread.) The Ladybug Salt 3 came typically Spyderco sharp and I would expect similar corrosion and edge-retention performance to what I’ve experienced.

Fit & Finish

The Ladybug is made in Seki, Japan. The grind is excellent, the FRN is flawless, and the Boye dent lockback is secure with no up and down bladeplay. It has more side-to-side bladeplay, however, than I’ve ever seen in a Spyderco knife.The blade is also off-center when closed and drags along one side of the FRN. The knife is assembled with rivets, so I can’t adjust it. I suspect that a tap with a ball peen hammer would fix it, but if not, Spyderco’s legendary customer service and warranty surely would.

As might be expected on a keychain knife, the blade is very thin - almost like an Opinel. It has a little flex to it and in combination with the bladeplay, it feels like I could break it.

 

[lava_lamp]

Spyderco Ladybug Review - Part 2

Ergonomics

Unlike most Spyderco knives, the Ladybug doesn't have a pocket clip but it does have a hole for lanyard or key ring carry. I carried a Ladybug on my key ring fifteen years ago and found it to be a pain in the neck. The keys always got in the way. I tried carrying it in my pocket, but it was so small I kept losing it. That said, the ergonomics are terrific. You can't flick it open but the Spyderhole makes it pretty easy to open one-handed It is relatively easy to hold for such a small knife with three different depressions for your fingers. I have large hands and I can get three fingers on it easily. The jimping is grippy and in all the right places. The bi-directional texturing locks it into your hand.

The bright yellow handles are also a plus. Non knife people seem to react better to yellow handled "tool" knives and it's easier to find when dropped. I once grounded my WaveRunner and my Tasman Salt fell out of my pocket unnoticed. I happened to spot it under three feet of seawater, though. I don't think that would have happened with tactical black.

Conclusions

After a week in my pocket, the Ladybug Salt has been useful for opening a packing carton, stripping insulation from a wire, and scraping paint from a shoe. It excels where you need a small, sharp blade. It isn't particularly useful for things like spreading peanut butter on a sandwich.

I also broke down three or four packing boxes this week and found it a little tedious. I kept thinking the Spyderco Sage or Buck Mayo TNT I might otherwise have carried would have made it much easier. Ultimately, I wouldn't buy another Ladybug -- a Spyderco Native or Delica in FRN isn't that much harder to carry and is much more useful. In fact, the Spyderco Dragonfly I recently reviewed is only slightly bigger, but much more sturdy and useful. If you just want something for your keychain, however, the Ladybug is a great choice. It's also great for a child or someone who isn't a knife nut. As I mentioned earlier, the Ladybug was my first Spyderco knife and got me started with quality blades.

Thanks to Sal Glesser, Joyce Laituri and the folks at Spyderco, plus BladeForums and Frank K. for putting the pass-around together and letting me handle the knife.

The LadyBug is also available in foliage green with VG-10 steel:

This blue one was my first Spydie:

 

[Renaissance-reborn]

Really comprehensive review. Keep it up!

 

[softrockrenegade]

I have never heard of H1 being a ceramic . What do you mean by this?

 

[lava_lamp]

I have never heard of H1 being a ceramic . What do you mean by this?

This is from Spyderco's Ed Schempp on the Spyderco forums here: http://www.byrdknife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23639

"H-1 is an austenitic, precipitation work hardened steel. It is a totally different animal than found in cutlery. Generally martinsitic steel is used in knives. Ferro Nitride is the "hard" component in the steel and is technically a ceramic. The Nitrogen bonds to the Iron not only intra-crystal but extra-crystal as well. Bonds can actually shift iron atoms and create a stronger structure. That is why it work hardens with use...Take Care...Ed"

Here is another quote attributed to Ed Schempp from the Spyderco forums:

"S30V and H1 gain strength and hardness from Nitrogen. I think I have an understandable explanation from a lay-metallurgists point of view. At the crystaline level steel, is a cube with 8 iron corners and a Carbon atom in the middle in the interterstal space inside the iron cube. The Carbon holds onto 3 of the iron atoms of the 8 but in such a confiration that it forms the cube of steel. Introduce Nitrogen into the cube in the interterstal space by the Carbon, the Nitrogen will bond with 4 of the iron atoms and initially be the same iron atoms that the Carbon is holding. As this material is worked these Nitrogen iron bonds shift to the iron atoms that had no bond and were in the low energy state of a cube. The material basically changes from Fe4CN to Fe5CN to Fe6CN to Fe7CN. Each of these stages is progressively harder and stronger. Fe7CN is technically a ferro-nitride a ceramic. As you own and use S30V and H-1 this process is on going. This is particularly the case with H-1 and to a lesser degree S30V. I think it is pretty cool that after you buy a knife of this material that it will improve, especially for the stuff you do with it. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a metallurgist, this information is from my research and validated by my experiences. I have been experimenting the last year or so with Nitrided,Carbonized powder Damascus. This material is very interesting...Ed"

The source thread is here: http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23741

I thought there was a similar thread here on BladeForums, but I can't find it....

 

[James Y]

I've been considering a Ladybug Salt, but haven't decided between the PE or SE versions. From the photos, it appears to me that the serrations on it are not too overly pointed/deep cut for its size, meaning it appears it wouldn't snag like some knives with overly-aggressive serrations. Is this true? If so, I might opt for the SE version, as it would cut even more out of proportion to its size than a PE one.

I've noticed that, although H1 generally doesn't hold an edge as long as many other top steels, I find that the serrated models hold their edges every bit as well as, say, VG-10 in SE.
Jim

 

[lava_lamp]

I've been considering a Ladybug Salt, but haven't decided between the PE or SE versions. From the photos, it appears to me that the serrations on it are not too overly pointed/deep cut for its size, meaning it appears it wouldn't snag like some knives with overly-aggressive serrations. Is this true? If so, I might opt for the SE version, as it would cut even more out of proportion to its size than a PE one.

I've noticed that, although H1 generally doesn't hold an edge as long as many other top steels, I find that the serrated models hold their edges every bit as well as, say, VG-10 in SE.
Jim

I think the serrations are proportionate to the overall blade, but being a smaller blade, they are shallower.

 

[klmn702]

Spam Removed

 

[this_is_nascar]

I'm considering getting a Ladybug Salt, but have a questions about the fixed pins vs. screwable/adjustable set screws. I've seen pictures and videos of both styles. How can I be sure I'm ordering one that has the adjustable set screws?

 

[mrdeus]

I miss my h1 ladybug (PE). I lost it last year . I was going to buy a new one, but I decided to try the zdp dragonfly instead.

 

[rsw524]

Great Review Keep Up the Great Work!!!

 

[the kid]

I'm considering getting a Ladybug Salt, but have a questions about the fixed pins vs. screwable/adjustable set screws. I've seen pictures and videos of both styles. How can I be sure I'm ordering one that has the adjustable set screws?

Good question. This looks like a fun little knife to carry while swimming.