The Delica Wharncliffe is the greatest work knife ever made.

[Fastidiotus]

I don't love the ergos of the delica but the wharncliffe makes it better. Shame not enough people thought so to keep most of them around.

[kobold]

I’m not the one struggling with an inferiority or superiority complex because of my hand size here. Only you have been the benchmark of that on this forum

what in the world?

how insecure do you have to be to get upset at someone for having bigger hands than you

Said the guy who deems it necessary to inform everyone about the correlation between his hand size and his private body parts in every post. Please don't tell us you mean your feet.
In the largest possible font size available.
I mean, this is ridiculous:


Do we need this mental image again and again?
AFAIK, this is a family friendly platform so this is kinda unsavory IMO and I am surprised the mods are letting it slide..

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

I never understood the spyderco addiction everyone had.....until now lol went to smokey mountain knife works in pigeon forge tenn and hit up the spyderco counter bought a delica warncliff in vg10 steel and i cought the spyderco bug lol! Just joined looking forward to accruing more spyderco knives probably gonna hit up the knife works on way outta town and get a salt in H1 steel just for the heck of it!

Welcome…SMKW is something to behold isn’t it? Great choice on the delica wharnie, it’s absolutely one of my favorites…now go grab that Salt version

[TimButterfield]

That mention of SMKW had me going to check. I was surprised to see two different Wharncliffe Delicas. Hmmm. Choices. Choices. But, I'm not quite ready to duplicate a model yet and I already have a superblue/zome Delica and other models still to try.

As for size and fit comparisons, I rechecked handle grips between my Delica and Native. My Native 5 is the Salt Magnacut version. If just checking handle vs hand size, my hand fits better on the handle of the Delica; there is a little extra space at the end of the handle. On the Native, behind the choil, there is enough (barely) to fit my hand. But, there is more to it than just this measurement. I like using a choil more than a ricasso. That grip seems more secure to me, less likely to slip forward onto the edge. There is lots of handle room when I use the choil on the Native. Though the edge length is quite similar, the closed length of the Native is a bit shorter also. I like the slightly thicker handle of the Native more than the Delica. Does being Salt make this handle thicker than other Natives?

While I like the Delica, I give this comparison win to the Native, at least for me.

[olywa]

It's taken me a while but I'm really enjoying my Delica/Salt 2 knives. I recently picked up the K390 Wharnie and just ordered an H2 SE Wharnie. I've got XL size hands but have no problem with these designs for light use, which is where I think they excel.

[ladybug93]

the answer to this is that they wear big gloves. it's not sexual. it's a joke.

I've got XL size hands but have no problem with these designs for light use, which is where I think they excel.

this was the key for me to actually appreciate the delica. it's not a heavy duty knife. you can bear down on it a bit and it'll withstand it, but it's a smaller knife with a relatively thin grind that just cuts so nicely. use it as a thin pocket knife and you'll love it. expect it to do bushcraft tasks and you'll probably hate it.

[TkoK83Spy]

It's the font size for me...screams attention seeker. Something a 15 year old kid would say to get all his buddies on the bus giggling.

[vivi]

That mention of SMKW had me going to check. I was surprised to see two different Wharncliffe Delicas. Hmmm. Choices. Choices. But, I'm not quite ready to duplicate a model yet and I already have a superblue/zome Delica and other models still to try.

As for size and fit comparisons, I rechecked handle grips between my Delica and Native. My Native 5 is the Salt Magnacut version. If just checking handle vs hand size, my hand fits better on the handle of the Delica; there is a little extra space at the end of the handle. On the Native, behind the choil, there is enough (barely) to fit my hand. But, there is more to it than just this measurement. I like using a choil more than a ricasso. That grip seems more secure to me, less likely to slip forward onto the edge. There is lots of handle room when I use the choil on the Native. Though the edge length is quite similar, the closed length of the Native is a bit shorter also. I like the slightly thicker handle of the Native more than the Delica. Does being Salt make this handle thicker than other Natives?

While I like the Delica, I give this comparison win to the Native, at least for me.

I believe the Native Salt is the same thickness as the Native LW, same with other knives that have both versions available.

When I got into Spyderco I read a lot of horror stories of people getting into unfortunate situations carrying normal sized knives. So, despite that never happening all the years I EDC'd a Buck 110, I became convinced I should seek out the smallest knives I could use in comfort.

So I spent my first couple of years mostly focused on smaller Spydercos. Native, Delica, UKPK, Spin, Cricket, Para 1, Dragonfly, Caly Jr, Caly 3....often multiple runs of each.

Out of those the Delica worked the worst for my grip. The UKPK / Caly series was a lot more ergonomic. But the Native was the best of the bunch

The finger grooves often line up pretty well with my grip, but the issue is there's no where comfortable to put my thumb on models with a prominent thumb ramp. So when I reach for a small / tiny folder, I gravitate towards ones with no ramp.

Somewhere on this site I have photos of a Para 1 And Native 1 I modded to try and get a better grip behind the choil. I sanded down the pinky hook on the Para 1 to give it more space, and on the Native I turned the sharp point behind the last finger groove into a rounded hump.

It was pretty cool seeing Spyderco incorporate those same changes in later versions of those models.

If I ever find myself bound by strict blade length laws, the Native Salt would be my first choice.

[Tristan_david2001]

I've got XL size hands but have no problem with these designs for light use, which is where I think they excel.

this was the key for me to actually appreciate the delica. it's not a heavy duty knife. you can bear down on it a bit and it'll withstand it, but it's a smaller knife with a relatively thin grind that just cuts so nicely. use it as a thin pocket knife and you'll love it. expect it to do bushcraft tasks and you'll probably hate it.
[/quote]

Agreed.
Though I’m a caly guy when it comes to thin edc pocket knives I do very much appreciate that about the delica and even the original spyderco folder handle design featured on the worker/harpy/hunter models. Sal really knows how to make a small compact profile into a very ergonomic handle. For light use pocket knives they very much hold true to the philosophy of no more than necessary, no less than perfect

[RamZar]

A couple of Delica with Wharncliffe blades got discontinued in August 2023 so you should be able to get them at a discount.

— C11FPWK390 - DELICA 4 BLUE LIGHTWEIGHT WHARNCLIFFE K390 PLAINEDGE

— C11FSWCBK - DELICA 4 BLACK LIGHTWEIGHT WHARNCLIFFE SPYDEREDGE

[JSumm]

If the Delica handle does not work for you, don't overlook the Rock Jumper. Get em while you can.

[vivi]

If the Delica handle does not work for you, don't overlook the Rock Jumper. Get em while you can.

agreed, that handle is more comfortable. still excited to see how the larger version pans out.

[ladybug93]

If the Delica handle does not work for you, don't overlook the Rock Jumper. Get em while you can.

i definitely planned on going this route, but opted for the delica because i wanted a more compact package. i 100% think the rj would be a more comfortable knife in hand though.

[RamZar]

Rock Jumper is also on sale and has a quarter of an inch more cutting edge than the Delica.

[JSumm]

Rock Jumper is also on sale and has a quarter of an inch more cutting edge than the Delica.

$58 in some places. That along with the Endela Wharncliffe going for about the same. VG-10 in PE or SE that is.

[Manixguy@1994]

If the Delica handle does not work for you, don't overlook the Rock Jumper. Get em while you can.

Agree ! The Delica Wharnies are great , have two , but the RJ fits my hand better . Dan

[z1r]

Hmm, I think the best bang for the buck work knife is the Harrier 2 SE Wharnie.

Here's a Meadowlark next to a Delica. The Harrier 2 is just a tad larger but with a much larger blade.

[ladybug93]

Rock Jumper is also on sale and has a quarter of an inch more cutting edge than the Delica.

but unfortunately only in vg10, as opposed to h2, lc200n, s30v, 20cv, or k390.

[cabfrank]

How do the RJ serrations compare to the Delica Wharncliffe serrations, if anyone has both?

[Skywalker]

Rock Jumper is also on sale and has a quarter of an inch more cutting edge than the Delica.

$58 in some places. That along with the Endela Wharncliffe going for about the same. VG-10 in PE or SE that is.

One issue (for me) with the RJ/Endela wharn vs the Delica wharn is that the RJ/Endela are thicker blade stock.

I picked up a K390 Endela wharncliffe and a half mm doesn't seem like a lot but on some cuts the drag is noticeable vs the Delica wharncliffe. I do like the Endela but I really wish it borrowed its stock thickness from the Delica and not the Endura.