Reviews > Knives > Folding > Spyderco Salt I Yellow Spyderedge > Brian Tannehill > Field Report

Backpacking Background:

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. My young kids (4, 10, 12) limit me to weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching. I am also an avid mountain biker. For now I live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Spyderco
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: http://spyderco.com/
MSRP: $74.95 USD
Weight: 2 oz (57 g)
Blade Length: 3 in (76 mm)
Overall Length: 7 in (178 mm)

From the Website:

Length Overall:	7 in (178 mm)	Blade Length:	3 in (76 mm)	Blade Steel:	H-1
Length Closed:	4 in (102 mm)	Cutting Edge:	2 11/16 in (68 mm)	Weight:	2 oz (57 g)
Hole Diameter:	9/16 in (14 mm)	Blade Thickness:	3/32 in (2.5 mm)	Handle Material:	Yellow FRN

Field Locations:

The locations of my tests will range from the Los Padres National Forest just east of here ranging up to 5000 feet (1500 m) in elevation to the locally famous Pismo Beach. Other areas I will be driving include Santa Maria, Lompoc and monthly trips down to Agoura Hills just north of Los Angeles. Basically anywhere I drive on the central coast of California. I will be carrying this knife daily as well as going to dip it in the ocean once a week or so to see how salt water affects it.

Field Report:

I have used this knife daily for a couple of months now. This knife has been dipped in the Pacific Ocean 6 times in the last two months and I am happy to report that it is rust free. On top of that I have not oiled or cleaned it besides wiping the blade off on my pants prior to putting it back in my pocket.

I have used this knife to cut boxes, paper, rope, anything and everything. It has held an edge fairly well. There are some fine scratches from daily use on the blade but when I scrape my fingernail across them I do not feel them.

I use my knives fairly hard to the point some may call misuse. While drilling a one inch (2.54 cm) hole in a piece of wood, I used the blade to smooth out a few pieces of wood that did not come out with the drill bit. I was basically scraping the blade at a 90 degree angle against the wood. Some people call this reaming, I call it hollowing out. After doing this I noticed the blade, especially at the tip, had developed three little burrs. The blade was basically burred or rolled back a bit at the tip and the first serration. I have not sharpened the knife yet, but when I do, I think I can take the burrs out.

I noted in my initial report that the knife felt just a bit awkward to me. I think this is due to the fact that the knife is what I call a point up knife. This means that when it is closed and clipped in my pocket the knife tip is pointed up. This makes it awkward because my other knife is a point down type. I did try switching the clip to the other side and I did not like it being in a left handed configuration as I am right handed. Other than that there is nothing to note about switching the clip over. Just unscrew and screw it back in.

The knife blade is easy to open one handed, but I prefer using two hands to close it. When closing with one hand, I have to wrap my fingers around where the blade folds into the handle. Even though the blade is stiff when opening or closing, there still is the possibility I could close the blade on my fingers.

The yellow color isn't the most inconspicuous color in the world. I like knifes in either black or grey as they tend to blend in better with my clothes. This one sticks out when I wear it with most outfits due to the yellow color.

Overall though I am happy with this knife. It has held up well under the conditions I have used it in. The coolest thing is it has not rusted. I'm afraid to dip my other knifes in the ocean.

Some of my questions and concerns:

Some questions from my initial report that are still valid.

Will the blade rust? It hasn't yet, I'll see at the end of the test period.
How well does the blade hold an edge and if needed how easily does it take an edge? Holds pretty good, but I haven't sharpened it yet.
Is the handle durable? So far so good.
Is it easy to operate one handed? To open yes, to close not so much

Other than that I do not have any other concerns at this point.

Test Plan:

I will be testing this knife all over the central coast of California to the Los Padres National Forest both east and north of me, and maybe even out to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It will be my daily carrier. It will come along on all my hikes/campouts and will be used numerous times through the test period.

Thanks to BGT and Spyderco for allowing me to participate in this test.

Brian

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Reviews > Knives > Folding > Spyderco Salt I Yellow Spyderedge > Brian Tannehill > Field Report