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- Jan 26, 2012
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Hello BladeForums! This is a review of the Spyderco Waterway!
Intro:
The Spyderco Waterway is a knife designed by Kayak fisherman and knife enthusiast Lance Clinton (
Surfingringo
). It is made to withstand the extremely corrosive and demanding environment of saltwater kayak fishing. That said, I have found it to be a nearly perfect everyday utility knife and I'd like to share my thoughts on why.
Technical Specs and information from Spyderco:
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/FB43G/Waterway/1207
Video and link to Lance's YouTube channel with his take and more information:
Overall impressions:
When looking at a new knife, I feel something should jump out at you, sort of set it apart. For me with this knife, that is absolutely the steel. The Waterway is made from LC200N which is a highly corrosion resistant steel. There are plenty of technical specs and reviews of this steel available elsewhere if you are interested. Like a lot of other people, I found it to be somewhere between VG-10 and S30v in terms of edge holding. Easy to touch up. No chipping which speaks to toughness. Of course, the rust resistance is where this steel shines. From my experience, with what Spyderco is doing with this steel (I have the Waterway and a Siren, an Autonomy 2 is on the way), I find LC200N to be a nearly perfect all rounder type of steel. The phrase "Jack of all trades, Master of none" gets a bad rap IMO. For me, that is exactly what I want in a do anything utility/EDC knife. Holds a good edge, is easy enough to sharpen/keep sharp, nearly rust proof, tough enough to resist damage, and won't kill your budget. It is not the best at any of those things but it does all of them very well.
Use:
Like I have said, I use this knife for utility and EDC. Unlike it was intended, I don't use it for fishing or around salt water, not that I wouldn't, just haven't had the chance. I've broken down boxes, opened packages, cut plastics, done food prep, removed splinters, and used it around the yard/garden. I'm no blade expert that measures behind the edge or anything like that but I can tell you that this knife slices very well. It is excellent as a paring knife in the kitchen. Doesn't work that well when dicing because of the guard and lack of height though. You could choke up above the guard on to the ricasso, but if your fingers are any thicker than mine you will want to be careful as they will be right on the blade. The previous owner of my knife deliberately dulled the blade a few millimeters right there for exactly this purpose.
The Waterway excels at these EDC type tasks because of the long, slender, and pointy blade. Blade tip compared to a Pacific Salt SE:
Some more comparison pics with other knives so you can get a feel for size:
As you can see, it is not a huge knife, and doesn't offer all that much more blade length than its folding counterparts in the Pacific Salt and the Siren but the strength, stability, and nature of a fixed blade is irreplaceable.
Handle:
The handle edges are really well contoured between the steel and G-10. I believe the handle is really well done for its intended use. For my use and carry, it is a tad on the long size. I have medium/large hands. For the type of grips used in the types of cuts this knife was designed to make, a longer handle does make sense. Pinch grips work really well in food prep and EDC tasks. The longer handle fits perfectly along the palm near the wrist as you pinch the front of the knife near the guard. For me, a hammer type of grip leaves a lot of handle hanging out the end, especially with the butt coming to a point for the lanyard hole. That bit hanging out can bang in to stuff if you have smaller hands and are using it in a hammer type of grip. The handle is thin, so I don't see this as a great knife for extended woods type tasks. I have no doubt it could flex into those type of rolls but that isn't really what this knife is designed for and the blade shape/handle show that fact.
Some pics of the handle grip:
The G-10 is aggressively textured for an extremely secure grip. With the guard and the G-10, this knife isn't going anywhere in your hand! How they hide the pins under the G-10 to attach the handle to make it water proof is very well done. Two small gripes on the G-10. First, there is an intentional gap around the checkered texturing that can hold on to debris. You will want to watch this and flush it out, especially if you are elbow deep in fish guts. The gap will add to the grip though, so not really a flaw, more of a feature. Second, at least on my variant, there are a few small errors in the G-10 that you can see and feel. Hasn't been a problem yet but if I notice it catching on things, I'll sand it down.
Pic:
Some who are specific about their balance preference should know that the balance point is about a finger width behind where your forefinger sits behind the guard in a hammer grip. So it is a bit handle heavy. Not a problem at all for me but some might take issue.
Pic:
Sheath and Carry:
Anyone who has been around here a while and has seen me post my opinions on sheaths knows I love my kydex and I'm a bit of a snob in how I like the size, retention, and carry attachment. I know what works for me and I will not apologize for it! So with that in mind, I love how Spyderco does their Baltaron sheaths! Form factor is small, with not a lot of extra material around the edges.
Out of the box, retention is very good. Most will be totally satisfied! Me being a snob, I couldn't leave well enough alone so I added a nut and bolt to give that extra bit of retention I desire. I did carry it inverted plenty before I did this, so it wasn't necessary, but still....snob. I also love the G-Clip from spyderco. I have one on nearly all of my fixed blades of this size.
You can see the tiny nut and bolt on the sheath near the guard in this pic:
I carry CM (RIP) style inverted usually left rear hip opposite where I carry my pistol. With the G-Clip it is also easy to just throw it on some gym shorts without a belt.
For whatever reason, my sheath/knife combo came with being able to sit in two positions while inserted. One rattles and the other doesn't, both have equal retention. This doesn't really bother me, and that is saying it isn't a problem (remember, I'm a sheath snob), just something to note. Might just be my example anyway. In the pics you can see in the drainage whole the blade sits a little different depending on how it is inserted.
Rust Resistance:
I don't really require rust proof, I just love it! I've had my other salts for years and really appreciate the ability to have a knife that you can not care if it gets covered in corrosive materials for hours or days at a time. I've done plenty of swimming in various environments and logged hundreds of hours sweating with an H1 Pacific Salt clipped to my shorts with no problems. I want the same with LC200N and I can say that so far, it has delivered. I have deliberately left this thing dirty and covered in acidic liquid from food prep and have had no rust issues what so ever. Some light staining does occur but the same thing happens with H1 for me. For my use, LC200N is a huge upgrade over H1 with the ability to get a plain edge, yet have very good edge holding on that plain edge. I doubt I will ever notice any difference in rust resistance between the H1 and LC200N so the plain edge upgrade is a big deal.
Conclusion:
I have no doubt that this knife excels at the tasks Lance Clinton designed it to handle. Spyderco's execution is exceptional, as we have come to expect. With those two things in mind, from my experience you don't need to be on the water to benefit from both the design and execution of this fine knife. If you want a do it all utility knife, give the Waterway a look. Lastly, given all I have said above, the street price of about $160 seems very reasonable. In my opinion, the Waterway is a next level generation type of utility/EDC fixed blade knife. Thanks for reading and please ask questions below!
Intro:
The Spyderco Waterway is a knife designed by Kayak fisherman and knife enthusiast Lance Clinton (
Surfingringo
). It is made to withstand the extremely corrosive and demanding environment of saltwater kayak fishing. That said, I have found it to be a nearly perfect everyday utility knife and I'd like to share my thoughts on why.Technical Specs and information from Spyderco:
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/FB43G/Waterway/1207
Video and link to Lance's YouTube channel with his take and more information:
Overall impressions:
When looking at a new knife, I feel something should jump out at you, sort of set it apart. For me with this knife, that is absolutely the steel. The Waterway is made from LC200N which is a highly corrosion resistant steel. There are plenty of technical specs and reviews of this steel available elsewhere if you are interested. Like a lot of other people, I found it to be somewhere between VG-10 and S30v in terms of edge holding. Easy to touch up. No chipping which speaks to toughness. Of course, the rust resistance is where this steel shines. From my experience, with what Spyderco is doing with this steel (I have the Waterway and a Siren, an Autonomy 2 is on the way), I find LC200N to be a nearly perfect all rounder type of steel. The phrase "Jack of all trades, Master of none" gets a bad rap IMO. For me, that is exactly what I want in a do anything utility/EDC knife. Holds a good edge, is easy enough to sharpen/keep sharp, nearly rust proof, tough enough to resist damage, and won't kill your budget. It is not the best at any of those things but it does all of them very well.
Use:
Like I have said, I use this knife for utility and EDC. Unlike it was intended, I don't use it for fishing or around salt water, not that I wouldn't, just haven't had the chance. I've broken down boxes, opened packages, cut plastics, done food prep, removed splinters, and used it around the yard/garden. I'm no blade expert that measures behind the edge or anything like that but I can tell you that this knife slices very well. It is excellent as a paring knife in the kitchen. Doesn't work that well when dicing because of the guard and lack of height though. You could choke up above the guard on to the ricasso, but if your fingers are any thicker than mine you will want to be careful as they will be right on the blade. The previous owner of my knife deliberately dulled the blade a few millimeters right there for exactly this purpose.
The Waterway excels at these EDC type tasks because of the long, slender, and pointy blade. Blade tip compared to a Pacific Salt SE:
Some more comparison pics with other knives so you can get a feel for size:
As you can see, it is not a huge knife, and doesn't offer all that much more blade length than its folding counterparts in the Pacific Salt and the Siren but the strength, stability, and nature of a fixed blade is irreplaceable.
Handle:
The handle edges are really well contoured between the steel and G-10. I believe the handle is really well done for its intended use. For my use and carry, it is a tad on the long size. I have medium/large hands. For the type of grips used in the types of cuts this knife was designed to make, a longer handle does make sense. Pinch grips work really well in food prep and EDC tasks. The longer handle fits perfectly along the palm near the wrist as you pinch the front of the knife near the guard. For me, a hammer type of grip leaves a lot of handle hanging out the end, especially with the butt coming to a point for the lanyard hole. That bit hanging out can bang in to stuff if you have smaller hands and are using it in a hammer type of grip. The handle is thin, so I don't see this as a great knife for extended woods type tasks. I have no doubt it could flex into those type of rolls but that isn't really what this knife is designed for and the blade shape/handle show that fact.
Some pics of the handle grip:
The G-10 is aggressively textured for an extremely secure grip. With the guard and the G-10, this knife isn't going anywhere in your hand! How they hide the pins under the G-10 to attach the handle to make it water proof is very well done. Two small gripes on the G-10. First, there is an intentional gap around the checkered texturing that can hold on to debris. You will want to watch this and flush it out, especially if you are elbow deep in fish guts. The gap will add to the grip though, so not really a flaw, more of a feature. Second, at least on my variant, there are a few small errors in the G-10 that you can see and feel. Hasn't been a problem yet but if I notice it catching on things, I'll sand it down.
Pic:
Some who are specific about their balance preference should know that the balance point is about a finger width behind where your forefinger sits behind the guard in a hammer grip. So it is a bit handle heavy. Not a problem at all for me but some might take issue.
Pic:
Sheath and Carry:
Anyone who has been around here a while and has seen me post my opinions on sheaths knows I love my kydex and I'm a bit of a snob in how I like the size, retention, and carry attachment. I know what works for me and I will not apologize for it! So with that in mind, I love how Spyderco does their Baltaron sheaths! Form factor is small, with not a lot of extra material around the edges.
Out of the box, retention is very good. Most will be totally satisfied! Me being a snob, I couldn't leave well enough alone so I added a nut and bolt to give that extra bit of retention I desire. I did carry it inverted plenty before I did this, so it wasn't necessary, but still....snob. I also love the G-Clip from spyderco. I have one on nearly all of my fixed blades of this size.
You can see the tiny nut and bolt on the sheath near the guard in this pic:
I carry CM (RIP) style inverted usually left rear hip opposite where I carry my pistol. With the G-Clip it is also easy to just throw it on some gym shorts without a belt.
For whatever reason, my sheath/knife combo came with being able to sit in two positions while inserted. One rattles and the other doesn't, both have equal retention. This doesn't really bother me, and that is saying it isn't a problem (remember, I'm a sheath snob), just something to note. Might just be my example anyway. In the pics you can see in the drainage whole the blade sits a little different depending on how it is inserted.
Rust Resistance:
I don't really require rust proof, I just love it! I've had my other salts for years and really appreciate the ability to have a knife that you can not care if it gets covered in corrosive materials for hours or days at a time. I've done plenty of swimming in various environments and logged hundreds of hours sweating with an H1 Pacific Salt clipped to my shorts with no problems. I want the same with LC200N and I can say that so far, it has delivered. I have deliberately left this thing dirty and covered in acidic liquid from food prep and have had no rust issues what so ever. Some light staining does occur but the same thing happens with H1 for me. For my use, LC200N is a huge upgrade over H1 with the ability to get a plain edge, yet have very good edge holding on that plain edge. I doubt I will ever notice any difference in rust resistance between the H1 and LC200N so the plain edge upgrade is a big deal.
Conclusion:
I have no doubt that this knife excels at the tasks Lance Clinton designed it to handle. Spyderco's execution is exceptional, as we have come to expect. With those two things in mind, from my experience you don't need to be on the water to benefit from both the design and execution of this fine knife. If you want a do it all utility knife, give the Waterway a look. Lastly, given all I have said above, the street price of about $160 seems very reasonable. In my opinion, the Waterway is a next level generation type of utility/EDC fixed blade knife. Thanks for reading and please ask questions below!
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