The Tourist
member
I finally got a new Spyderco Calypso Jr. by pulling every string I could think of. My contact at Spyderco tells me that the first 600 models disappeared about as fast as they could be produced.
As a professional knife sharpener, I wanted to test the new steel that Spyderco is using. It is actually a laminate of mundane 420J2 sandwiched over the new ZDP-189. Rumor has it that a new process allows this steel to reach Rc hardness approaching 68rc without the glass-hard chipping.
The knife is quite petite, a nice gentleman's knife. It is a clip in "tip down" configuration; anyone who has ever reached inside his pocket with a "tip up" knife slightly open will understand why I feel this is a better option.
Cosmetically, the knife is a spattering of oddly chosen parts. The 'sandwich' line on the blade is bold and crooked. A gold stamped spider on the blade looks like something squashed to the finish. The handle is maroon, replete with a pocket clip and another squashed spider. Visually, the knife needs a make-over, badly.
So you might guess I dislike the knife. Not by a long shot. It is one of the best knives I have ever owned. As a 'cutter,' the Calypso ranks up there with my beloved Striders.
Just as soon as the UPS guy dropped off the package, I sped to work and placed the knife on the Edge Pro. The bevel was crooked, left to right, and not of even width on the right hand side. There was a grinding error on the left side tip.
The shaping (not sharpening, but shaping) was quite simple with the 180 grit stone, and just to be safe, I polished it down with both the 320 and the 600 grit stones. It took a mirror finish when buffed with the polishing taps; I re-adjusted the tape angle a bit up and took the polish right to the edge to remove any burr or wire-edge.
Then the fun.
I picked up a Post-It it note and took a swipe. If you weren't looking you might have sworn you missed the paper all together. The edge cut so clean and crisp that I can only describe the feeling as "creamy."
I needed a Mountain Dew about this time, so I gave the knife to my co-worker, Jim, a retired LEO who works at Gander-East part-time. I told him to have fun.
I returned a few minutes later with Jim deep into a pile of paper 'Julianne fries.' He concurred with my opinion that this knife is the best slicer he has ever seen. He hated to give it back. Since the polishing tape was still in place, I gave the edge a quick buff to check for dull spots and found none.
I now intend to cut everything at work to see how long it will take to dull.
If you can find a copy of this knife--and it might still be difficult--please order your own ugly little knife. It's brash, poorly chosen pallette of colors will grow on you.
It looks like just another little Spyderco. It cuts like a Light-Saber.
As a professional knife sharpener, I wanted to test the new steel that Spyderco is using. It is actually a laminate of mundane 420J2 sandwiched over the new ZDP-189. Rumor has it that a new process allows this steel to reach Rc hardness approaching 68rc without the glass-hard chipping.
The knife is quite petite, a nice gentleman's knife. It is a clip in "tip down" configuration; anyone who has ever reached inside his pocket with a "tip up" knife slightly open will understand why I feel this is a better option.
Cosmetically, the knife is a spattering of oddly chosen parts. The 'sandwich' line on the blade is bold and crooked. A gold stamped spider on the blade looks like something squashed to the finish. The handle is maroon, replete with a pocket clip and another squashed spider. Visually, the knife needs a make-over, badly.
So you might guess I dislike the knife. Not by a long shot. It is one of the best knives I have ever owned. As a 'cutter,' the Calypso ranks up there with my beloved Striders.
Just as soon as the UPS guy dropped off the package, I sped to work and placed the knife on the Edge Pro. The bevel was crooked, left to right, and not of even width on the right hand side. There was a grinding error on the left side tip.
The shaping (not sharpening, but shaping) was quite simple with the 180 grit stone, and just to be safe, I polished it down with both the 320 and the 600 grit stones. It took a mirror finish when buffed with the polishing taps; I re-adjusted the tape angle a bit up and took the polish right to the edge to remove any burr or wire-edge.
Then the fun.
I picked up a Post-It it note and took a swipe. If you weren't looking you might have sworn you missed the paper all together. The edge cut so clean and crisp that I can only describe the feeling as "creamy."
I needed a Mountain Dew about this time, so I gave the knife to my co-worker, Jim, a retired LEO who works at Gander-East part-time. I told him to have fun.
I returned a few minutes later with Jim deep into a pile of paper 'Julianne fries.' He concurred with my opinion that this knife is the best slicer he has ever seen. He hated to give it back. Since the polishing tape was still in place, I gave the edge a quick buff to check for dull spots and found none.
I now intend to cut everything at work to see how long it will take to dull.
If you can find a copy of this knife--and it might still be difficult--please order your own ugly little knife. It's brash, poorly chosen pallette of colors will grow on you.
It looks like just another little Spyderco. It cuts like a Light-Saber.
