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Reviews > Knives > Fixed Blade > Spyderco Vagabond > Ralph Ditton > Long Term ReportSpyderco Vagabond KnifeLong Term Report by Ralph Ditton Date: 18th January, 2006 Personal Information Name: Ralph Ditton Age: 54 Height: 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) Weight: 79 kg (174 lb) Email: rdassetts@optusnet.com.au City: Perth, Western Australia. Backpacking Background I have been walking the Bibbulmun Track in sections over four years. My goal is to complete the 964 km (603 mi) and become an end to end walker. So far I have completed approximately two-thirds of the Track from North to South, and a quarter in the opposite direction. I have evolved from carrying a heavyweight load -- approximately 28 kg (62 lb) including food and water--to being a midweight backpacker, averaging 18 kg (38 lb) at the start of a trip. My trips are usually between three to five days duration. Product Information Manufacturer: Spyderco Year of Manufacture: 2004 Manufacturer's Web Site: http://spyderco.com Listed Weight: 79 g (2.8 oz) Listed overall length: 200 mm (7 7/8 in) Listed Blade length: 79 mm (3 1/8 in) Listed top of Blade thickness: 4 mm (5/32 in) MSRP: US$39.95 Field Report This knife has been used in the field at one location since my last report, i.e. at Prickly Bark on the Coastal Plain Walk Trail over four days and three nights. In addition, the knife has been used daily at home. The knife has on every occasion been used with food, either in the preparation or serving/cutting of food. The types of food that the knife has been used on are raw and cooked meats, sausages and salamis.Vegetable types include celery, tomato, onion, potato, radishes, carrot, broccoli, capsicum, chili and garlic cloves. Fruit types include peaches, nectarines, oranges, apples, lemons, bananas and rock melon. In addition I also cut up cheese, both soft and firm varieties. Cutting the meats, vegetables and cheese was done easily without any clogging of the hinged area of the safety blade cover. With the soft stone fruit, I peeled the skins off with the knife. I had no difficulty in removing the skins using the knife. In fact it seemed to excel at peeling fruit. I have not experienced any adverse feelings in my right hand from the roughish surface of the handle when cutting tough root vegetables or pushing the blade down through a block of hard cheese. In the concave dimples on the handle, foreign matter tends to collect or be trapped and it does not always wash out. On some occasions, I only wash the blade and not the handle. Should there be minute vegetable juices on the handle, they will dry out in the dimples.  food matter caught in dimples On all occasions whilst bushwalking, I carried the knife with the blade cover covering the blade in the front pocket of my backpack. There was never an incident of the cover moving and exposing the cutting edge. At home, the knife lives in the cutlery drawer with the blade cover covering the blade. Again no other cutlery has been caught up in the side of the blade cover forcing it open. It is possible to expose the cutting edge of the blade by pushing down on the little wing near the pivot with my thumb and pull it back into the handle as a one handed operation. Mostly I use both hands as it is easier. Sharpening the Knife I now regularly sharpen the knife, about once a week, using a steel. It only takes about half a minute to put a keen edge back on the blade. I was surprised at how long the original keen edge lasted when the knife was used on a daily basis preparing food products, especially cutting fibrous vegetable products such as potatoes and carrots. I initially became aware of the edge becoming dull when trying to separate raw sausages. The knife hacked at the sausage skin instead of slicing through it. Oiling the Blade As the knife is used in food preparation and to help consume a meal especially when bushwalking, I now regularly oil the blade using Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I simply put a drop of oil on the blade and use a clean paper tissue to spread it along both sides of the blade. This is done to protect the blade against surface rust. Rust Despite oiling the blade with olive oil, further rust has appeared on the cutting edge near the tip.  rust on blade Since my Field Report, there has been no further spreading of rust at the original sites near the hilt of the blade. In fact, the surface rust on the actual blade has faded, possibly due to the application of olive oil. Performance against test plan 1. How
well does the knife cut up vegetables, meat, dry sausages/salami's,
bread and cheese.
The knife has no difficulty in cutting the above. The only limitation is the length of the blade, 79 mm (3 1/8 in) which prohibits a full penetration of a loaf of bread or bread roll. I have to circumnavigate the said objects with the knife to achieve a separation without tearing the bread. 2. Does the hinge of the protective blade cover become clogged up with food particles? No. This did surprise me as I thought the soft cheese would get caught up in the hinge. After many blocks of cheese, there was no clogging. 3. How often would I need to sharpen the blade? After the initial edge was put on by the manufacturing process and lasted for three months with daily use in food preparation, I now sharpen the blade on a weekly basis. The knife is still used daily. 4. How long does it take to put a keen edge on the blade? About a half minute using a hand held kitchen steel. 5. Will the blade develop surface rust or pit? There has been no pitting. Unfortunately there are three areas where there is surface rust. In some of the letters on the hilt, two spots on the blade just opposite the letter "i" of "seki" and two spots on the tip of the blade. 6. Will the protective blade sheath stay in place when being carried in my backpack? Yes. I have had no trouble in this area. The knife is always packed with the blade pointed towards the ground so that I do not grab the knife by the blade with the cover on to remove it from the backpack, just in case it becomes dislodged. 7. Will I find the textured pattern on the handle causes annoyance due to the rough feel? Initially I found the pattern a bit rough, but after continuous use, the raised points became smoother and now the pattern feels comfortable. The shape of the handle does not cause discomfort or cramping in my arm and hand especially when cutting raw tough vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots and potatoes. 8. How easy is it to clean the knife? The blade is very easy to clean. I wash it in soapy water. The handle is a little bit more difficult due to the concave dimples that collect vegetable juices. Whilst backpacking I do not carry a soft scourer to clean my cooking/food preparation implements. 9. Will I need to apply oil to the pivot point? To date I have not had to oil the pivot point. However, I am now giving the blade a fine coating of olive oil for protection against surface rust. Things I like
The Spyderco Vagabond Knife is an excellent food preparation tool for the cutting and slicing of food products. The knife is not a tool for finesse slices due to the wedge shape of the blade. The wedge tends to push the food aside and break it off before the cut is complete, especially potatoes and firm cheese. Read more reviews of Spyderco gear Read more gear reviews by Ralph Ditton Reviews > Knives > Fixed Blade > Spyderco Vagabond > Ralph Ditton > Long Term Report | |||