vivi wrote: ↑Sun Dec 12, 2021 8:04 pmYou ever like a knife so much you don't want to carry anything else?
That's how I feel about this one:
I like my Chiefs and Yojumbo and Police folders and fixed blades and various iterations of the C95 / Manix XL.....but this is THE knife for me. Light, compact, rust proof, excellent edge holding / toughness / ease of sharpening, minimal maintenance required, grippy and neutral handle that works in just about any grip.
Normally this time of year I carry my carbon steel folders more often, my heavier knives like the Manix series, etc. But my go to work knife has also become my go to day off knife.
My next knife purchase is either going to be a Swick 5 or another yellow Pacific Salt in PE H1 to dye to make a duplicate of this one.
It's funny how I started out carrying these in PE, then became a SE convert for a few years, but now I'm firmly in the PE camp. I think a coarse, toothy PE is the best of both worlds - no snagging like SE can sometimes do, but a serious bite on any slicing cut like a SE knife. I don't like how polished PE, or SE with any grit finish, cut in comparison. This is better for my uses.
Funny you mention the Pacific 1. I actually carried that PE H1 and a SE Pacific 1 together the other day and used them both during my shift to compare them back to back.Wartstein wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:07 am
It is "funny" for me too to read this - funny also, how knife preferences can change in general..
You actually were the main factor in pointing me towards the Pac Salt, and that in SE back then, cause you preferred the latter.
Your thread also taught me how easy SE is to sharpen.
Now while you came back to PE again, I am still in the SE camp, and even more so from the point on when I got my Endela SE... (though I have to admit: Your "toothy (PE) edge approach" works well for me too!)
I can also recall when you preferred the "old Endura handle" of the Pac Salt 1 over the "new Endura (4) handle" (Pac Salt 2), cause the latter one did not fit your hand and offered no really good grip.
Now you came to call the Endura 4 style handle even ".. neutral handle that works in just about any grip" (something that for me also always was the case, but I thought primarily cause I grip Spydercos not with the thumb on the ramp, but more "hammer grip-ish" and with the thumb on the flat of the blade. This makes a real difference concerning how the first finger placement and the "point" behind it on the Endura 4 / Pac Salt 2 feels)
And while I do prefer the Endura 4 style handle ergo-wise, I am not not sure if I not still want the "old" style handle on the Pac Salt. Why? Somehow, when it comes to linerless FRN, the old style handle feels more robust, cause it is made of "full" FRN without that "webbing" on the inside of the handle.
How do you feel about this? Do you think the "old" Pac Salt handle feels stronger, less flexy (not that the new would flex too much too, but more) and less prone to side to side play of the blade?
The Pacific Salt 1 has a more rigid feeling handle and seems less prone to side to side play. It feels very solid with its one piece handle design.
For a long time I did prefer the 1's handle, to the point I bought about 5 of them when they got discontinued because I was convinced I'd never like the 2.
One day I decided to try the 2 and it won me over. Comparing them side to side that day the 2's ergonomics are a better fit for me after getting used to it.
Yes, I prefer H1. It seems a little tougher, not a big difference in edge retention with how I sharpen them (thin, coarse edges), and the heavier blade feels better when opening and closing the H1 Pacific.
That said I could carry an LC200N Pacific Salt for the rest of my life and have no issues, it's a great steel and a wonderful knife overall.
For me and my uses it didn't feel like the upgrade I expected it to I suppose. The full flat grind was something I wanted in a Pacific for years, but it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference in cutting ability. Which surprised me. The lighter weight is nice for certain situations like trail running, but the H1 version is already light enough it never feels like it weighs me down.
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Regarding the handle on the 1 vs the 2, here is a five minute video I made right after the 2 won me over: https://streamable.com/dpy4uh
viewtopic.php?t=87226 - This is my Pacific Salt 2 Observations thread
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=68426 - Thread I made in 2015 when I found myself transitioning away from carrying the Pacific as a special use knife and it had become a go to EDC for me.
viewtopic.php?t=90089 - Last August I challenged myself to carry H1 PE for a month. This is the thread where I got really serious about using coarser and coarser grits to see how much edge retention I could pull out of H1 PE. Turns out it will out cut most knives in my collection if it has a 200-400 grit edge and the higher edge retention steels have a more polished edge most folks tend to use. So if you like to touch up, say, an S30V Manix on the fine sharpmaker rods, I would bet my whole Spyderco collection my PE H1 Pacific will slice cardboard longer than the Manix. This is coming from someone that used to not ever consider carrying PE H1 as an EDC because I was unimpressed with the edge holding.
https://youtu.be/VbDHhIx-ZO4&feature=emb_title
Rope cutting demo I did with a factory edge Pacific Salt VS my coarse finish Pacific Salt. This video demonstrates what I've been talking about better than words can.
Since running that experiment I've become even more impressed with H1. It is no exaggeration to state I can easily go a month without sharpening my PE H1 Pacific Salt, the edge retention is that good.