Post by Pete1977 on Mar 2, 2009 11:47:05 GMT -5
I went to walmart today and got a Spyderco native in CPM S30V blade steel. it is the first knife I own in this blade steel, and I decided to put it to a few cutting tests to see what it could do. This will be my edc when I am not at work, so these tests weren't severe or abusive. I find the blade a little short for general use on the boat, so I plan on carrying this in my street clothes for utility purposes.
Specs-
length overall 7" (178 mm)
blade length 3 1/8" (80 mm)
blade steel CPM-S30V
length closed 3 15/16" (100 mm)
cutting edge 2 5/8" (67 mm)
weight 2.65 oz (75.2 g)
hole diameter 15/32" (12 mm)
blade thickness 1/8" (3 mm)
handle material FRN
First Impressions-
I have had natives before so I knew what I was getting, and I wasn't let down. The knife was designed for ergonomic, with a utilitarian shaped blade, weight reducing swedge, deep choil for precise controlled cuts, and the texturing on the handle to reduce slippage both forwards and backwards in the hand. I find the knife itself to be a good all purpose "Jack of all trades" knife.
Fit and Finish-
Excellent. The native was very comfortable in the hand using several different grips. It opened smootly, with no gritty feeling, locked up tight, with no blade play either vertically or horizontally, and the edge was hair popping sharp right out of the box. The clip is tight, with no play to it, and the FRN handles are tight to the backspring, with no noticeable gaps. I got two from walmart yesterday, and both of them were in the typical condition expected of a spyderco product. It shaves hair with the lightest pressure and easily slices free hanging newspaper with both the push and pull cut. The tip of the knife seems to be somewhat thin, and I expect it to be gone the first time I use it on something solid.
Ergonomics-
Again, excellent. Cutting without fatigue to the hands is what this knife was designed for. The choil makes it confortable to choke up on the knife's handle, to place the hand closer to the cutting edge for more control over the cutting medium . The second choil, behind the first, allows for more control when using a push cut. This is what is promoted in the description of the knife, and with a few cutting tests, I found it to be quite true. The knife isn't particularly heavy, but has the feel of weight to it, due to the balace of blade and handle. The balance point is slightly to the handle side of the pivot pin, on my knife at least. Therefore the knife feels like it can perform beefy cutting chores, but is really quite a lightweight knife.
Cutting-
Plastic water bottles (.5L or 1 pint, .9 fl oz)
I cut three bottles. One was in a "paring" cut, one was a "sawing" cut, and one was a combination of the two.
Bottle # 1-
I cut this bottle in a "paring cut" slicing a spiral of plastic in a spring or slinky shape from the bottle. S30V easily cut through the relatively thin plastic with little effort. After this first cut, the blade's edge was 99%. A section of the cutting edge, near the ricasso, about a millimeter in length, seemed to either be chipped, or the burr folded over. I discovered this about 2/3rds of the way cutting through the first bottle, and noticed it when it continuously hung up making the paring cut. The edge is otherwise unaffected as it still slices newspaper, and shaves hair with little effort.
Bottle # 2-
I used a paring cut for half of this bottle, and a "sawing" type cut for the other half. I chose these cuts, because they are the types that most people unfamiliar with using a knife tend to use. And this knife, at walmart, is geared towards the non-descriminating knife buyer it seems. So I wanted to see how it would work for them. I made 1 continuous paring cut for half of the bottle, and 6 sawing cuts to finish taking it apart into strips. The edge was seemingly unharmed.
Bottle # 3-
4 sawing style cuts. the edge was still excellent, as in, it shaved a patch of arm hair with little to no effort, and easily sliced free hanging newspaper.
Leather scraps-
I cut a 1/4" wide, 6" long strip into pieces with six pulling cuts. It did not affect the edge that I could tell
I then made five lengthwise cuts through a 3"X3" piece of leather. Again, I was not able to see a difference in the sharpness. I like this S30V so far.
Let Me say so far that it has been comfortable cutting with the belly of the blade, with my index finger in the first choil, and my thumb on the jimping on the blade's spine above the hole as well as with my index finger upon the blades spine, and cutting with the point of the knife. I made all the cuts on the leather with a plastic cutting board beneath it.
Cotton Cloth-
I made 2 one foot long cuts in a piece of cotton hospital scrubs, and the knife cut cleanly through them, without hanging up on the cloth, tearing the cloth, or even fraying the edges of the cuts. This was a very clean cut, and was made with as little pressure as possible in the free hanging cloth.
Cardboard-
Next, I cut some cardboard. the first piece I used was an 18"X3" strip, which I cut into pieces with 10 cuts, 3" long each. I then took a 24"X 12" cardboard case for 32 12 fl oz cans and cut that into pieces. I made
(4) 2" cuts with a saber grip. this was the most comfortable grip for me.
(2) 12" cuts- 1 in the saber grip, and one with my index finger on the spine of the knife.
(2) 24" cuts in the saber grip.
The point half of the knife shaves effortlessly, but now, the half of the cutting edge towards the ricasso does not shave at all, but still CUTS very very easily. I stropped it on the cardboard back to shaving sharpness, slightly less than it was out of the box, owing to the tiny chip at the base of the blade.
(1) 12" cut through the base of the box
In order to complete this c ut, I had to exert significant pressure, pushing downwards on the blade. I started in the saber grip, and drew the knife towards me, from ricasso to tip, but the blade tended to hang up about 1/3 of the way through the cut. I shifted to a "hammer" grip to complete the cut. The cardboard did NOT curl beneath the blade, which led me to believe that it was the blade SHAPE, not the sharpness which was responsible for the difficulty here. The blade is hollow ground, and does not lend itself to fine slicing. I did however apply enough pressure to partially disengage the lock, and the knife DOES have the boye dent.
(25) 2" cuts through cardboard. These cuts were not effortless, but again, I think it is more due to the shape of the blade. It is excellent for a utility blade, but as a slicer, I'd probably want something flat ground.
After cutting the cardboard, the knife no longer shaves hair without "pulling" at it, and it did not slice the newspaper with a push cut without tearing it. The pull cut on the newspaper took a little more pressure than it did at the beginning of these cutting tests but the knife is by no means dull. It was still sharp enough to cut through 3/8" nylon three strand dock line with one cut, pushing the edge away from me with the line bent around the blade, and the knife in the bight. I made 2 cuts like this, and then made 20 pressure cuts (rocking style cuts) on the 1/4" strands of nylon that made up the piece of rope. The native made short work chopping the nylon up. This was on a plastic cutting board. The rope did not affect the sharpness of the knife very much.
Overall impression-
I like this knife. It is going to be my edc for a while. My first time using s30v impressed me with the edge retention. I have yet to sharpen it on the sharpmaker, so I don't know how easily it will take a sharp edge, but I don't think I'll need to sharpen it for some time. It is a comfortable knife to use and carry, and it seems to be a good all around edc for general cutting chores. I probably won't take it on the boat, where I prefer a longer blade, but it will be my "off duty" edc for a while I think. It is a GREAT knife for the value (around $40), easily accessible, inexpensive, and excellent quality (as expected from spyderco). Get one of these. You won't regret it.
Some cutting tests with the Native FRN PE S30V
This is a second native I got when I was impressed with the first.
It is extremely sharp right out of the box.
Cardboard-
10 12" downwards pushing cuts through the cardboard case for 24 12 oz soda cans. I made 13 more cuts before the edge near the choil began to hang up and curl the cardboard as it cut. I still managed to make 17 more cuts very easily before I checked the edge.
The knife still shaves hair, but there seems to be minute chips in the burr. I cannot see them with the naked eye, but I am able to feel them with my thumbnail. They did not seem to affect the ability of the knife to complete the cardboard cutting.
Plastic-
I used six (6) .5 L water bottles. (all I had on hand)
I made paring cuts on these bottles, slicing them in a continuous coil of plastic. the resulting coil when stretched measured between five and 6 feet long. The native was still shaving sharp but I stropped 3 times per side of the blade on a piece of upholstry leather.
I then went back to cardboard and made :
four 10" cuts
four 12" cuts
and then a further 19 12" cuts on a box from amazon.com
Then I made
2 15" cuts
2 10" cuts
and a further 27 15" cuts on a box from a 30-pack of .5L water bottles
The blade started to hang up and curl the cardboard on the last few cuts and there still seems to be minute chipping along the edge of the blade. I have yet to sharpen it on the sharpmaker, as it still cuts very easily, and efficiently.
Pete
Specs-
length overall 7" (178 mm)
blade length 3 1/8" (80 mm)
blade steel CPM-S30V
length closed 3 15/16" (100 mm)
cutting edge 2 5/8" (67 mm)
weight 2.65 oz (75.2 g)
hole diameter 15/32" (12 mm)
blade thickness 1/8" (3 mm)
handle material FRN
First Impressions-
I have had natives before so I knew what I was getting, and I wasn't let down. The knife was designed for ergonomic, with a utilitarian shaped blade, weight reducing swedge, deep choil for precise controlled cuts, and the texturing on the handle to reduce slippage both forwards and backwards in the hand. I find the knife itself to be a good all purpose "Jack of all trades" knife.
Fit and Finish-
Excellent. The native was very comfortable in the hand using several different grips. It opened smootly, with no gritty feeling, locked up tight, with no blade play either vertically or horizontally, and the edge was hair popping sharp right out of the box. The clip is tight, with no play to it, and the FRN handles are tight to the backspring, with no noticeable gaps. I got two from walmart yesterday, and both of them were in the typical condition expected of a spyderco product. It shaves hair with the lightest pressure and easily slices free hanging newspaper with both the push and pull cut. The tip of the knife seems to be somewhat thin, and I expect it to be gone the first time I use it on something solid.
Ergonomics-
Again, excellent. Cutting without fatigue to the hands is what this knife was designed for. The choil makes it confortable to choke up on the knife's handle, to place the hand closer to the cutting edge for more control over the cutting medium . The second choil, behind the first, allows for more control when using a push cut. This is what is promoted in the description of the knife, and with a few cutting tests, I found it to be quite true. The knife isn't particularly heavy, but has the feel of weight to it, due to the balace of blade and handle. The balance point is slightly to the handle side of the pivot pin, on my knife at least. Therefore the knife feels like it can perform beefy cutting chores, but is really quite a lightweight knife.
Cutting-
Plastic water bottles (.5L or 1 pint, .9 fl oz)
I cut three bottles. One was in a "paring" cut, one was a "sawing" cut, and one was a combination of the two.
Bottle # 1-
I cut this bottle in a "paring cut" slicing a spiral of plastic in a spring or slinky shape from the bottle. S30V easily cut through the relatively thin plastic with little effort. After this first cut, the blade's edge was 99%. A section of the cutting edge, near the ricasso, about a millimeter in length, seemed to either be chipped, or the burr folded over. I discovered this about 2/3rds of the way cutting through the first bottle, and noticed it when it continuously hung up making the paring cut. The edge is otherwise unaffected as it still slices newspaper, and shaves hair with little effort.
Bottle # 2-
I used a paring cut for half of this bottle, and a "sawing" type cut for the other half. I chose these cuts, because they are the types that most people unfamiliar with using a knife tend to use. And this knife, at walmart, is geared towards the non-descriminating knife buyer it seems. So I wanted to see how it would work for them. I made 1 continuous paring cut for half of the bottle, and 6 sawing cuts to finish taking it apart into strips. The edge was seemingly unharmed.
Bottle # 3-
4 sawing style cuts. the edge was still excellent, as in, it shaved a patch of arm hair with little to no effort, and easily sliced free hanging newspaper.
Leather scraps-
I cut a 1/4" wide, 6" long strip into pieces with six pulling cuts. It did not affect the edge that I could tell
I then made five lengthwise cuts through a 3"X3" piece of leather. Again, I was not able to see a difference in the sharpness. I like this S30V so far.
Let Me say so far that it has been comfortable cutting with the belly of the blade, with my index finger in the first choil, and my thumb on the jimping on the blade's spine above the hole as well as with my index finger upon the blades spine, and cutting with the point of the knife. I made all the cuts on the leather with a plastic cutting board beneath it.
Cotton Cloth-
I made 2 one foot long cuts in a piece of cotton hospital scrubs, and the knife cut cleanly through them, without hanging up on the cloth, tearing the cloth, or even fraying the edges of the cuts. This was a very clean cut, and was made with as little pressure as possible in the free hanging cloth.
Cardboard-
Next, I cut some cardboard. the first piece I used was an 18"X3" strip, which I cut into pieces with 10 cuts, 3" long each. I then took a 24"X 12" cardboard case for 32 12 fl oz cans and cut that into pieces. I made
(4) 2" cuts with a saber grip. this was the most comfortable grip for me.
(2) 12" cuts- 1 in the saber grip, and one with my index finger on the spine of the knife.
(2) 24" cuts in the saber grip.
The point half of the knife shaves effortlessly, but now, the half of the cutting edge towards the ricasso does not shave at all, but still CUTS very very easily. I stropped it on the cardboard back to shaving sharpness, slightly less than it was out of the box, owing to the tiny chip at the base of the blade.
(1) 12" cut through the base of the box
In order to complete this c ut, I had to exert significant pressure, pushing downwards on the blade. I started in the saber grip, and drew the knife towards me, from ricasso to tip, but the blade tended to hang up about 1/3 of the way through the cut. I shifted to a "hammer" grip to complete the cut. The cardboard did NOT curl beneath the blade, which led me to believe that it was the blade SHAPE, not the sharpness which was responsible for the difficulty here. The blade is hollow ground, and does not lend itself to fine slicing. I did however apply enough pressure to partially disengage the lock, and the knife DOES have the boye dent.
(25) 2" cuts through cardboard. These cuts were not effortless, but again, I think it is more due to the shape of the blade. It is excellent for a utility blade, but as a slicer, I'd probably want something flat ground.
After cutting the cardboard, the knife no longer shaves hair without "pulling" at it, and it did not slice the newspaper with a push cut without tearing it. The pull cut on the newspaper took a little more pressure than it did at the beginning of these cutting tests but the knife is by no means dull. It was still sharp enough to cut through 3/8" nylon three strand dock line with one cut, pushing the edge away from me with the line bent around the blade, and the knife in the bight. I made 2 cuts like this, and then made 20 pressure cuts (rocking style cuts) on the 1/4" strands of nylon that made up the piece of rope. The native made short work chopping the nylon up. This was on a plastic cutting board. The rope did not affect the sharpness of the knife very much.
Overall impression-
I like this knife. It is going to be my edc for a while. My first time using s30v impressed me with the edge retention. I have yet to sharpen it on the sharpmaker, so I don't know how easily it will take a sharp edge, but I don't think I'll need to sharpen it for some time. It is a comfortable knife to use and carry, and it seems to be a good all around edc for general cutting chores. I probably won't take it on the boat, where I prefer a longer blade, but it will be my "off duty" edc for a while I think. It is a GREAT knife for the value (around $40), easily accessible, inexpensive, and excellent quality (as expected from spyderco). Get one of these. You won't regret it.
Some cutting tests with the Native FRN PE S30V
This is a second native I got when I was impressed with the first.
It is extremely sharp right out of the box.
Cardboard-
10 12" downwards pushing cuts through the cardboard case for 24 12 oz soda cans. I made 13 more cuts before the edge near the choil began to hang up and curl the cardboard as it cut. I still managed to make 17 more cuts very easily before I checked the edge.
The knife still shaves hair, but there seems to be minute chips in the burr. I cannot see them with the naked eye, but I am able to feel them with my thumbnail. They did not seem to affect the ability of the knife to complete the cardboard cutting.
Plastic-
I used six (6) .5 L water bottles. (all I had on hand)
I made paring cuts on these bottles, slicing them in a continuous coil of plastic. the resulting coil when stretched measured between five and 6 feet long. The native was still shaving sharp but I stropped 3 times per side of the blade on a piece of upholstry leather.
I then went back to cardboard and made :
four 10" cuts
four 12" cuts
and then a further 19 12" cuts on a box from amazon.com
Then I made
2 15" cuts
2 10" cuts
and a further 27 15" cuts on a box from a 30-pack of .5L water bottles
The blade started to hang up and curl the cardboard on the last few cuts and there still seems to be minute chipping along the edge of the blade. I have yet to sharpen it on the sharpmaker, as it still cuts very easily, and efficiently.
Pete