Spyderco Delica Lightweight
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From Spyderco's Web Site:
There is nothing delicate about the Delica. It's an industry classic and Spyderco's top seller. Sized just right for everyday carry, it's small enough not to raise eyebrows yet big enough for any cutting requirement. The FRN handle is paired up with a modified-skinning style blade made of VG-10 stainless steel (SP C11SBL is ATS-55). It comes in three blade configurations (fully serrated SpyderEdge, PlainEdge or 50/50 combo) and sports a black reversible ambi-clip. Southpaws and righties both have cause to rejoice! The Delica is one of the most versatile folders on the market. Get it in your hand and you won't leave without it. |
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I got this knife together with my Benchmade Griptilian 550, in January 2004. The reasons I purchased at the same time, these two knives were ... quite strange. First of all, I wanted to get some new toys, which were not very expensive. I also wanted to try out the "thumb hole", and finally I wanted to try out the quality of the knives of these two manufacturers. At that time, and for some inexplicable reason, it was hard to find the Griptilian 550 I wanted (the one with the modified sheep-foot blade and oval thumb hole), so I went through several on-line stores, until I found both these knives at Emergency Options.
I was a bit skeptical about which Spyderco to order. You see, my favorite blade length is 3.5", and Spyderco has their Delica (with a 3" blade) and their Endura (with a 3 15/16" blade), so I had to select one of the two. After some thought, I decided to go with the shorter knife (and as it usually happens, after I got it, I wished I had gone with the longer one, but....).
The small parcel with the two knives, arrived at my door soon after the order was given, and I anxiously opened it to see my new toys. The Delica arrived in a black carton box, with a spyder's web on the outside, and Spyderco's spyder graphic, in silver color. The usual instructions sheet was also enclosed in the box.
The moment I opened the box, I knew I should have ordered the larger knife, this one was too small! Below, you can see the Delica surrounded by the Microtech LCC (one of my usual EDC knives) and my longest folder, the Cold Steel Voyager (4" blade).
And here, you can see the Delica, compared to my Lightfoot 458 Magnum, they almost have the same blade length, and I consider the short blade to be the biggest disappointment of the Lightfoot folder.
OK, disappointment aside, I proceeded to examine the Spyderco.
First Impressions : Nothing much to report here. The knife is very light and small (I said that, didn't I?). The knife's blade is made of VG-10 steel, and is stamped with Spyderco's name and the place where the knife is made (Seki-City, Japan). The handles are made of fiberglass reinforced Nylon and as far as I can tell, they are not two of them, but a single piece, in which the blade and the locking mechanism are installed. The handle is nicely etched, and provides a solid grip, even with wet hands.
This knife is a lock-back folder, to close its blade, you have to depress a locking lever, in a detent, on the knife's back. The locking lever is contoured in such a way, that it is quite difficult to depress it unintentionally. The blade and the locking mechanism are secured inside the one-piece plastic handle with riveted pins (which I am not quite thrilled about).
The pocket clip is secured on the knife, with a single screw, but the rear end of the clip fits inside a specially cut area of the handle, so the clip cannot move around, even thought there is a signle screw holding it. The clip is oriented in such a way, the the knife is carried tip-up (when the blade is closed) only, which is fine by me. It is also reversible, in the sense that you can mounted on the right or the left side of the knife (for south-paws), but it cannot be rotated so that the knife is carried tip-down (not that I cared about this carrying method).
In the picture above, you can see the recessed cut, where the pocket clip fits, as well as the deeply etched handle surface of this knife.
Details : Opening the blade using the well-known, round, Spyderco's thumb hole was a bit difficult for me. First of all, the Delica and the Griptilian were the first knives I've used without a thumb stud, so it was a learning process for me to get used to the holes. But the Griptilian (which I used first) has a large, oval-shaped hole, in which my thumb fits easily. The Delica's small hole made me goose-bump whenever I tried opening it, my nail was scratching at the edges of the hole, and I didn't like it at all.
After the blade is opened, it is locked securely at its position. There was a tiny amount of lateral play at the blade's axis, which is to be expected, given that the blade is secured only with a tiny rivet. There was also a bit of up-and-down play, but not severe. The blade was however really sharp, capable of shaving hair from my arm. No indexing serrations are present at the rear of the knife's handle or blade, I guess you wouldn't expect to find such details, in such a cheap knife.
Overall impressions, at first glance, not very favorable. Since I was more attracted to the Griptilian, I started carrying that knife as an EDC (Every Day Carry), and put the Delica in the locker, for later. Two months later, I thought it was time to get the Delica out again, and give it a chance to prove itself. By that time, I was used to the hole opening method, by hundrends of open/close drills I made with the Griptilian.
So, somewhere around March 2004, the Delica was assigned the role of my EDC. Since this was a cheap knife, and I was not particularly impressed with it from day one, I was not very careful what I cut with it. Things I would never cut with my other knives, were cut using the little Delica. The abuse included cutting wires, cutting wood, cutting plastic pieces, and other things I no longer remember. The Delica performed those chores without a single problem.
I was expecting its blade to go dull, what with all the things I cut with this little knife, but no. For more than two months, the Delica was carried in my pocket, and used in every chore a knife was called for. If I ever misused or rather abused a knife, this was it. I never thought twice, before using it to cut stuff, no matter what it was. And the Delica kept cutting and cutting. I didn't bother doing the usual cartboard cutting test, what was the point? The little knife had cut several automotive wires (rusted some times), without a hickup, I was sure it would cut through a piece of computer box, as if it was butter.
After two months of hard use, I noticed that it was no longer shaving hair from my arm. It took less than 20 minutes with the Lansky kit, to bring it back to razor-sharp status. During the sharpening session, I checked the whole knife again. The play at the blade's axis hasn't increased, the blade was not severely hurt in any way, the clip was still securely fastened to the one-piece handle, overall, not bad.
Conclusions : What can I say? A knife I didn't initially liked, but which has proven to be very useful, solid and trustworthy. I do not know if I would call it a "Tactical Folder", due to its blade length, but then again, it is not the only knife I have with a 3" blade, so why not? For me, the little Delica deserves a resting place, in one of my jeans pockets, if not as a personal protection tool, at least as a "mundane chores" knife, a knife you use for whatever has to be cut.
Purchased from : Emergency Options
Overall impression : Very good, after the initial disappointment.
John
Visitor's opinion (February 19th, 2004)
Wojtek, from Warsaw Poland, was kind enough to send us the followings, regarding this knife.
For me this are best knives for the money, relatively cheap so you don't care about it much but it always do the job- ergonomic, functional and sharp, my "first to fight" is benchmade 710M2 but I have always Endura (biger brother of Delica) in my backpack or jacket pocket.
Thanks Wojtek
Visitor's opinion (August 11th, 2004)
John, from Chicago, was kind enough to send us the followings, regarding this knife.
I got this knife because I needed one under Chicago's 3 inch max size and I've been very happy with it, I agree its a little small and takes a little practice to get used to the thumb hole, but over all I think its a good little knife.
Thanks John
Visitor's opinion (October 21st, 2004)
Tosapon, from Bangkok, Thailand, was kind enough to send us the followings, regarding this knife.
Many people may have turn their eyes away with the non-tactical look of it. But what truly shines about this small pocket folder is its uses. In my opinion, this folder may not have the "bell and whistle" features of the so-called "tactical knives", but to me it is dedfinitely a tactical knife. This one would serve you well, and I have seen many knife-enthusiasts carrying and relying on this wonderful knife as well (despite owning many other more expansive knives). Do not look over its quality just because of its FRN handle and its lockback construction. The combination of all its features contribute to the greatness of this knife, especially the VG10 quality in this low cost knife. There must be reasons for it to be one of the best selling model from Spyderco. It would be a perfect knife for the starters and females as well. Now I wish if only Spyderco could just produce one with G10 handle...
Thanks Tosapon
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