Thinking of the Spyderco Chaparral

[Enduraguy96]

Thinking of getting my self one of these for Christmas, does anyone have experience with this knife? How do you like the cts xhp steel? Thanks.

[Holland]

Oh boy, it is an amazing knife and I highly recommend it! The Chaparral 2 is one of my most used and it's held up through a lot of abuse on the construction site! It's a tough knife and is one of the best slicers out of the box I have ever had :D

EDIT: XHP is a a great steel for EDC, sharpens up pretty easy, and I have found it holds that hair splitting edge for a respectable amount of time :D

[Holland]

[Enduraguy96]

Very Cool!

[remnar]

The Chaparral is an excellent knife. I prefer the Chap 1 over the Chap 2 because I find the edges on the handle of the Chap 2 to cause hot spots.

[Doc Dan]

It is a great knife, but it is not a perfect knife. The liners and all edges on mine were sharp, uncomfortably so. Also, the blade was not smooth during deployment. This was due to the lock bar not being smooth where it drags on the blade tang during opening. These are easy fixes (15 min) and once fixed, it is a great knife. First, I took my Blade Medic and ran it along the liners to de-horn them. I did this everywhere the metal was exposed. I also de-horned the back of the blade, which was too sharp, as well. Next, depressing the lock, I kept light finger pressure on the lock bar where it sticks up and rotated the blade many times until it was smooth. After lubricating is is quite nice, now.
The knife is a great slicer and the thin profile means is disappears in your pocket (I took off the clip). The CTS-XHP is similar to D2, but stainless, and it is a great steel.

[RamZar]

The Spyderco Chaparral series are high-quality Taichung-made small and slim back lock folders with a 2.8" CTS-XHP blade (stainless D2 which is easily maintained) that’s only 0.08" thick with full-flat grind so an excellent slicer. Additionally, the series pays homage to various handle materials and finishes. I believe Chaparral4 is in the works with I believe actual bronze scales!

[Liquid Cobra]

The Spyderco Chaparral series are high-quality Taichung-made small and slim back lock folders with a 2.8" CTS-XHP blade (stainless D2 which is easily maintained) that’s only 0.08" thick with full-flat grind so an excellent slicer. Additionally, the series pays homage to various handle materials and finishes. I believe Chaparral4 is in the works with I believe actual bronze scales!

Did you say BRONZE?!!!?! If true that's a huge deal! I'd buy one of those in a heart beat.

[RamZar]

Did you say BRONZE?!!!?! If true that's a huge deal! I'd buy one of those in a heart beat.

That's what I recall from one of Sal's posts from earlier this year.

Hi Blerv,

We have a bronze Chaparral in-the-works.

sal

[The Deacon]

When I moved from NY to SC, I used a "pre-production" S30V CF Chaparral as my "go to" knife for packing and unpacking and it worked like a charm. It doesn't see as much use now, but it's the knife I reach for when I have to go into Greenville, to comply with that city's 3" blade law. It's compact, lightweight, and classy looking, comfortable to use due to excellent ergos, and the 2mm blade stock and FFG make it an excellent slicer. Am sure the XHP ones perform equally well.

[Doc Dan]

The Chaparral is an excellent knife. I prefer the Chap 1 over the Chap 2 because I find the edges on the handle of the Chap 2 to cause hot spots.

I found the same to be true on my Carbon Fiber CTS-XHP model (date FM), but it was an easy fix. It is now one of my favorite Spydies. Give it a de-horning or slight melting treatment and it will change everything. It is a great knife once this is done and you can really appreciate the design genius.

[Surfingringo]

Probably my favorite small folder. The regular ti model is pretty awesome and worth the price difference if you can swing it imo. The stepped ti is cool too but is out of my price range.

[wrdwrght]

I'm an early adopter (mine is in S30V) who hasn't gone on to get later versions.

My other Spydies have shown me that CTS-XHP is so close to CPM-S30V in performance and maintenance requirements as to be no reason to get a Chap in the former. Also, I tend toward larger knives, ones that make no special claims to beauty. Utterly gorgeous, the later Chaps are too small for me to take on their added expense.

I rarely EDC'd my Chap until I decided to carry two Spydies. Now my Chap rotates with other small de-clipped knives at the bottom of my LFP.

All this said, if my Chap were my only knife, I'd feel ahead in the game.

[remnar]

The Chaparral is an excellent knife. I prefer the Chap 1 over the Chap 2 because I find the edges on the handle of the Chap 2 to cause hot spots.

I found the same to be true on my Carbon Fiber CTS-XHP model (date FM), but it was an easy fix. It is now one of my favorite Spydies. Give it a de-horning or slight melting treatment and it will change everything. It is a great knife once this is done and you can really appreciate the design genius.

I've been thinking about using a ceramic file on the edges of the handle to knock them down. Has anyone else softened the edges on a Ti Chap? If so, how did you do it?

[Doc Dan]

I have not done so on titanium, but I did use the ceramic from my blade medic on the steel liners and blade. Less is more, you cannot put back what you take off. So, I did very little at a time until I got it just where I wanted.

[Doc Dan]

Thinking of getting my self one of these for Christmas, does anyone have experience with this knife? How do you like the cts xhp steel? Thanks.

Bottom line: buy the knife. You will love it.

[Enduraguy96]

You guys convinced me, the spyderco chaparral will be my Christmas present to myself :D

[jackknifeh]

The Spyderco Chaparral series are high-quality Taichung-made small and slim back lock folders with a 2.8" CTS-XHP blade (stainless D2 which is easily maintained) that’s only 0.08" thick with full-flat grind so an excellent slicer. Additionally, the series pays homage to various handle materials and finishes. I believe Chaparral4 is in the works with I believe actual bronze scales!

I used to have a Chaparral CF. Now I have the 2 and 3. I have been seriously considering getting the CF knife again but now, seeing them in your picture is like holding a gun on me. :) It will have to wait til after Christmas probably but I need the CF Chaparral. Why? Because I want it. :) IMO, for me it's about as perfect an EDC knife as I've seen.

The XHP blade steel is a very good steel IMO. Very good. It will get VERY sharp and holds the edge for a very satisfactory length of time. And the titanium handle models add the advantage of an "almost" corrosion proof knife. High quality stainless steel and handles that don't rust at all. I don't think ti rusts or corrodes at all. Let me know if that's not accurate.

Thin knife that cuts wonderfully and carries great as well. And the fit & finish is about as good as it gets. All the knives from the Taiwan factory I've seen are like that.

[Doc Dan]

The Spyderco Chaparral series are high-quality Taichung-made small and slim back lock folders with a 2.8" CTS-XHP blade (stainless D2 which is easily maintained) that’s only 0.08" thick with full-flat grind so an excellent slicer. Additionally, the series pays homage to various handle materials and finishes. I believe Chaparral4 is in the works with I believe actual bronze scales!

I used to have a Chaparral CF. Now I have the 2 and 3. I have been seriously considering getting the CF knife again but now, seeing them in your picture is like holding a gun on me. :) It will have to wait til after Christmas probably but I need the CF Chaparral. Why? Because I want it. :) IMO, for me it's about as perfect an EDC knife as I've seen.

The XHP blade steel is a very good steel IMO. Very good. It will get VERY sharp and holds the edge for a very satisfactory length of time. And the titanium handle models add the advantage of an "almost" corrosion proof knife. High quality stainless steel and handles that don't rust at all. I don't think ti rusts or corrodes at all. Let me know if that's not accurate.

Thin knife that cuts wonderfully and carries great as well. And the fit & finish is about as good as it gets. All the knives from the Taiwan factory I've seen are like that.

Since you have the 2 and 3, which do you like better and do you have hot spots on yours? I see you are a rich man who can afford the 3 Seriously, does the 2 scratch easily? I heard it is a finger print magnet.

[jackknifeh]

The Spyderco Chaparral series are high-quality Taichung-made small and slim back lock folders with a 2.8" CTS-XHP blade (stainless D2 which is easily maintained) that’s only 0.08" thick with full-flat grind so an excellent slicer. Additionally, the series pays homage to various handle materials and finishes. I believe Chaparral4 is in the works with I believe actual bronze scales!

I used to have a Chaparral CF. Now I have the 2 and 3. I have been seriously considering getting the CF knife again but now, seeing them in your picture is like holding a gun on me. :) It will have to wait til after Christmas probably but I need the CF Chaparral. Why? Because I want it. :) IMO, for me it's about as perfect an EDC knife as I've seen.

The XHP blade steel is a very good steel IMO. Very good. It will get VERY sharp and holds the edge for a very satisfactory length of time. And the titanium handle models add the advantage of an "almost" corrosion proof knife. High quality stainless steel and handles that don't rust at all. I don't think ti rusts or corrodes at all. Let me know if that's not accurate.

Thin knife that cuts wonderfully and carries great as well. And the fit & finish is about as good as it gets. All the knives from the Taiwan factory I've seen are like that.

Since you have the 2 and 3, which do you like better and do you have hot spots on yours? I see you are a rich man who can afford the 3 Seriously, does the 2 scratch easily? I heard it is a finger print magnet.

I've noticed a little scratching on the Chaparral 2 but not enough that the scratches show up because of the pattern. I have to look pretty close to see them. The smooth titanium on knives like the Sage4 bolster shows scratches more and ti is very easy to scratch. I consider scratches an ok thing that reveals character. I can't imagine using any EDC knife and expecting it to stay pristine. My Chaparral3 doesn't have any scratches I can see yet. I've noticed carrying a knife clipped keeps a knife pretty much scratch free compared to letting it ride around in a pocket with change, keys, etc. I haven't noticed any finger prints on either titanium handle.