Spyderco Forums

I have separated my EDC knife needs into 2 categories: Work and Town. (My Purpose driven knife needs are Rescue/Climbing and Hunting, but that's another thread...)

"Work" knives I use at, well, work...Grocery store and pizza delivery at the moment. Lots of boxes and stickers and tape and pallet wrap and defense against dogs, (although my OC spray is my first resort). I also use the Work knives at play...that is, EDC out and about in my rural life; scouting for deer or ducks, BBQing, drinking on the river, camping, food prep and general bullshitting around outside. Think tough but light, cheaper, and easy/secure to carry. Used a lot.

My "Town" knives are knives I take to the movies, to dinner, shopping, on a date, on errands, etc. They are nicer looking, maybe thinner and more svelte. Usually more expensive or maybe just more classy, like an Opinel even. They get used far less, but are probably fondled more.

As I'm debating a new knife purpose, I try and choose which purpose I want and then go from there. Well.....I'm stuck. Here is my dilemma:
Dragonfly in FRN, or G10, or a Chaparral...An old and tired question for some, but it's very pertinent for me right now!

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The Dragonfly comes in cheaper FRN...for Workin. Also comes in (kinda outrageously) expensive G10...for Town. I REALLY want the G10, better look, feel, color IMO. But...for $7.00 more, I could get the Chaparral, which I REALLY REALLY want.

Problem is, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want a small "Work" knife (see above...).

DF G10 would be a great compromise...but the Chap is not much more $, and is the better knife overall...but I only need a little beater at this point. Sure the G10 could take a better beating than the FRN, but I can't wrap my head around spending $85 for a DF, when I can get a freakin' Chap for $92! But, it's hard to spend $92 on a knife when a $50 knife would work for what I need. Also hard to spend $50 on a DF FRN though, when I would much rather have a DF G10!!! AHHHHHHH!

HELP! Any wise words?

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PS: I would buy the DF FRN in a heartbeat..but am afraid I'll like it so much that I'll want to buy a G10 later...but never will because I'd rather spend the money on a different model...like the Chap, or Sage, or Caly, or, or, or..... I don't really want more than one style per model.

PPS: I really am interested in the flickability factor. I don't own any lockbacks yet. How's the flick and flip and droppin ability compare between these? Does the weight of the G10 vs FRN in the DF make a diff? How about the liners vs no liners? Is the Chap that mush smoother? I do really value the fondle factor...

THANKS (this is my first post. Hope I haven't already annoyed everyone...)

Go ahead and buy the DF in frn.Its plenty strong for any edc Task,yet so light you dont know you have it on you.Its too small to be flickable,but you will love the little bug..

I am going through the the same dilemma right now! Glad to see I'm not alone! The answer I came up with is I'm going to buy an FRN DF, see how I like it, then go for a G10 later. If I really like a design I usually want more than one anyway

Sounds to me like none of the stuff you do with a knife at work is likely to cause permanent damage. So, unless you're the type of person who loses things on a regular basis, I see no good reason not to treat yourself to a knife you'll really enjoy owning and using, and the CF Chaparral would fill that bill nicely.

vlawson wrote:...drinking on the river, camping, food prep and...

Welcome to the forum...

You just highlighted a niche I have not covered yet ! I need to get myself a "drinking on the river" knife asap. :D

You should be able to find a "user" Dragonfly G-10 on the secondary market for less. I got one for $50 a few years back.

ZDP FRN Dragonfly is one of my favorite knives. If you don't need something bigger, it's pretty much perfect.

As far a size goes, here are a couple shots of the D'fly and Chaparral, along with a Sage 1...
Chaparral isn't all that much bigger than the D'fly, but the length and shape of the handle allow me to get a full 4 finger grip on it, something I can't do with the D'fly.

The cricket in reverse s serrated is the perfect work knife for what you do .no small blade cuts carboard plastic zipties stickers all things a pizza delivery guy could use it for.pluss it is small and descreat .if you can get a meerkat reverse s serrated or dodo serrated they would work great also.I love my meerkat.you can get a variety of scales for the cricket.it cuts boxes and all thevstuff you need better the any of the other knives mentioned.the reverse s serrated is designed for that purpose.

All good choices. The G10 Dfly is worth every penny, for the full liners alone. I have all three knives you are contemplating

FRN Dfly, lightweight but capable, remove the clip and it disappears in my pocket.
G10 Dfly, heavier but nicer (materials and finish), feels more capable but is probably only marginally more capable than the dfly
Chap, best ergos for my hand, finish and materials are fantastic, slightly longer blade.

I would like to see a cardboard test with all of them see wich pne prevails.I say anything with the reverse s serrated would win

First, welcome to the forum. Second, I say get what you really want, you can get the others later.

I have all three and the DF G10 is a really nice knife and it will take a bit more use, in my opinion. I love the feel and quality of it. The Chaparral gets more pocket time lately, but it is not a "better" knife. It is a little larger and the blade is longer but the only advantage I have found is when slicing and eating a really large apple. For what you want the G10 DF is your best bet right now. It will do everything you need.

I'll second (or third?) the recommendation for the CF Chap mainly because I think this is something you'd really enjoy to use and carry. Besides, it's not really that much larger than the D'Fly2 anyway. P.S. You could always buy a lightly used Chap for a pretty decent price on the 'bay or similar too.

If all the knives under consideration are under $100, buy the one you really want an don't worry about the money you could have saved.

Welcome to the forums! Get them all! :)

Wow. You guys rock. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! After a few beers I can certainly ramble...

spyderwolf wrote:Go ahead and buy the DF in frn.Its plenty strong for any edc Task,yet so light you dont know you have it on you.Its too small to be flickable,but you will love the little bug..

I can Spydie-drop, thumb and finger flick my FRN Ladybug if I pay attention, so I'm sure I'll be able to flick the DF. But linerlocks like the Sage 1 and the Persistence just FLY out of the handle...so nice. I played with a Native 5 LW in a store recently and it was so stiff and was pretty much thumb-sweep only. Are all Spyderco backlocks like that?

Brock O Lee wrote:

vlawson wrote:...drinking on the river, camping, food prep and...

Welcome to the forum...

You just highlighted a niche I have not covered yet ! I need to get myself a "drinking on the river" knife asap. :D

Ha, glad to help. I'm the king of justification.

farnorthdan wrote:First, welcome to the forum. Second, I say get what you really want, you can get the others later.

I want them all! Although having 2 dragonflies is something i'll want to avoid...

Thanks again...I've put them all in my cutleryshoppe cart at least once and found myself on the checkout screen, not able to click submit. Instead, I shut the computer, go do something, then repeat. Ha. The Chaparral, if purchased, would not be used at Work/Play. I would use it, for sure, while in Town mode, but in Work/Play mode I drop knives and lend knives, and they get bloody when bird hunting and greasy when BBQing, etc. It's nice to have a classy user that you don't get all gunked up.

Question: Is there any reason I should suspect that they will discontinue the Chaparral...or the G10 DF for that matter...anytime soonish? That could influence my decision heavily...

Fun facts:
~I'd like to get my GF a Dragonfly and am leaning toward the H1 as yellow is her favorite color and she's in an ecological planning graduate program in the Northeast, which means lots of wetness. If I get a DF first, I can test drive it to see if she'd like it.
~My main "Work" knives are a Kershaw Blackout and a Spyderco Persistence. Like them a lot, but am looking for something smaller.

Probably not the direction you want to go, but I love my SS Dfly. Also adding the FRN Pingo for consideration!

I haven't heard of either of those being discontinued anytime soon so I wouldn't worry about that too much. As far as the H1 Salt line, I have a few and love them, especially the serrated edge (SE). H1 is a steel that gets better with use, word is that it work hardens so the more you use and sharpen it the better, SE blades are actually better because of this.

The pingo is so cool lookin'! The cricket is a bit eggish, but the s recurve seems great, especially for zip ties. I like the Dodo actually, but it's so specific...and rare and expensive.

At this point, I'm interested in more all purpose shapes and styles and grinds. That said, boy do I want a Yojimbo 2 or Roc one day...