Reviews > Knives > Folding > Spyderco Salt I Yellow Spyderedge > Brian Tannehill > Initial 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 the ocean once a week to dip it in for the duration of this test.

My initial thoughts and description:

For some reason the song by the Beetles "Yellow Submarine" kept going through my head when I opened this knife. The knife is basically the delica model with the new improvements of H-1 Steel. The knife handle is yellow with a black clip. The clip can be repositioned for left or right handed operation. The screw that holds the clip on also has a hole in it to run a lanyard through. I can't quite figure it out yet, but this knife feels awkward to me when I draw it. It has to do something with the way the clip is positioned and the way I carry it. I will try to reposition the clip and see if that helps.

I'm not exactly sure what H-1 Steel is or what the FRN material in the handle is. Looking at Spyderco's web site shows the composition of H-1 Steel. It is made from Carbon, Chromium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Silicon and Sulfur. It is supposed to be rustproof as well as all inside/outside steel components.

FRN is Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon. "A nylon polymer mixed with glass fiber that is then injected into a mold for making lightweight knife handles." It is lightweight but is it durable? I can squeeze part of it together when the knife is open. Will it break with heavy use?

The knife is very sharp. I took it out a promptly shaved some hair off my arm. After about a week of use cutting rope, wood, and some cardboard boxes, the knife still is sharp but not really shaving sharp. I did lose a few hairs the second time though.

I like the serrated edge as some things just need to be sawed. It cut easily through the boxes, often times through two layers of corrugated shipping boxes. Not much else to say about it at this point, it is a knife. I cut with it.

The blade has a very bright shine to it. For whatever reason it also attracts a lot of fingerprints. The prints really stand out on the blade for some reason. I know I am an oily person but you can see clearly the prints left when I touch it. The blade locks securely in place with a very loud click. Once locked it feels secure. I find that closing it one handed is difficult because I have to wrap my fingers around the handle. I feel that if I slip while closing it, the blade might come down quickly on my fingers. Other than that, it feels like a good knife and fits in my hand pretty good.

Some of my questions and concerns:

Will the blade rust?
How well does the blade hold an edge and if needed how easily does it takes an edge?
Will the handle fit comfortably in my hand?
Is the handle durable?
Is it balanced well?
Is it easy to operate one handed?
How easy is it to string a rope or 550 cord through the lanyard hole?

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 > Initial Report