In the ease of maintenance department few knives are easy to live with, the Spydiechef is part of that very small club. You can pocket it while it is still wet. For a travelling knife this is a must and the reason I have taken it for that Xmas Journey.
When used in the kitchen or on the dining table, knives get dirty and the food is dried and hard to detached. Avoid the use of the green back of sponges or you could scratch the blade’s finish badly.
Hot cheese from that Napolitan Pizza is part of that dirty equation but the plate is also not the edge best friend as ceramic is harder than knives and will ruin any razor sharp knife. You should cut with an angle of 45° on the plate to avoid any real damage.
The Spydiechef is a actually whittling friendly. LC200N is not losing its edge as fast as H1 and I was able to work on wooden rods with ease.
Of course mine has been enhanced with some gentle convexed edge.
But really that knife is really happy in the wood. It has not the most ergonomic handle for hard wood cutting but the gentle belly helps a lot in push cuts.
LC200N is really easy to keep fresh on ceramic. no need of diamonds like on other Hyper Steels.
Disassembling the Cruwear Knifecenter edition has been a child play once I have found how to use some pliers to keep some rounds spacers from turning by gripping them.
Eventually, the Flytanium scales are perfectly adjusted. No surprises at all.
The action is as smooth as before, no worry.
The sweet point of balance is a little back further.
I have ordered deeper clips for Xmas but the OEM works great !
The feel is heftier and softer. It works well with the PM design. It gives some full metal signature to a usually light design. This scales exists also in brass and copper. titanium sounded perfect and it is under the thumb. The stonewashed finish is absolutely beautiful !
The original weight was 111 grammes, so it is now 28 grammes heavier.
For those who want to know how I have made that patina: here the link.
My first (black) Pingo was almost 6 years ago. Since, Pascal has reviewed his (orange) Pingo… in his entertaining review Pingo Star !
I got the opportunity to get a very rare beast: a blue Pingo with K390 steel blade and studs to mask the tiny trademark hole and protect it from lint.
First I have noticed is the very firm and strong spring in this one, much stronger than my previous version. It is not the easiest opener with stud which is good as it keeps up its legal character: this is a two hands opening knife which can be open with a painful thumb. 😀
Now about the steel K390 is known to me as a friendly steel. I call it an hyper steel !
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
C Si Mn Cr Mo V W Co
2.47 0.55 0.40 4.20 3.80 9.00 1.00 2.00
The numbers are talking for themselves !!
This is not a stainless steel with carbides forms from Vanadium, Tungsten and Chrome (which is not used for stainless purpose here)…
It will get a patina very quick on daily use (especially eating and cutting meat) and this patina will protect the steel even better. It will show some character in its legality.
What a beautiful tool ! It will be a beater as he name will be Bluebeat !
“Gazing into the heavens on a night as clear as ice We held our breath As a new jewel glistens in the Belt of Orion Out to the west And parked up on the ridge between all the different lands I feel I’ve always been here Do we go back to the city, back to the lights To the unforgiven world or on into the night Where there’s always something new to fall in love with Searching after something new to fall in love with There’s always got to be something new to fall in love with…”
From Spyderco:
“The original concept of the Tusk was conceived by Sal Glesser in the early 1980’s. More than 25 years later, his son Eric picked up the project and made it a reality, creating a truly extraordinary multi-function mariner’s tool. The Tusk’s handle is precision machined from two slabs of solid titanium. One end houses a Plain Edged blade ground from LC 200 N steel—a nitrogen-alloyed tool steel that offers extreme toughness and superior corrosion resistance—and locks open via a sturdy Reeve Integral Lock (R.I.L.) mechanism.
At the other end of the Tusk’s handle is a 300-series stainless steel marlinspike, which features a unique round-to-square cross section for increased leverage when loosening knots. A milled slot in the marlinspike’s body and the gap between it and the handle also serve as shackle keys for unscrewing and tightening threaded shackles. To allow the marlinspike and its shackle key to withstand extreme leverage during use, it locks securely in place with Spyderco’s patented Ball Bearing Lock™ mechanism containing a special ceramic ball. Constructed entirely of highly rust-resistant, state-of-the-art materials, the Tusk literally began as a tool that was ahead of its time, but whose time has now come.”
This is something of a “heritage” knife for Spyderco (i.e., the father’s idea, and the son’s design)…
The blade’s saber grind is not on the thin side but it can get a little better with diamonds. The Tusk is like a Ferrari hence its high price. I do believe it was also some tests for the Taichung factory. Some kind of high prized yachtman tool.
On the Amazon.com dumb side of their site: because of the ceramic ball lock they have add a message:
“WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Toy contains a marble. Not for children under 3 yrs.”
The shackle key is a little on the small size and did not work with all the shackles Pascal had on his boat. Also we were able to force close the marlinspike with our bare hands. The ceramic ball lock-up for the marlin spike is free floating and, therefore will not form any wear spot while in use and, is very smooth in operation. It also seems I cannot reproduced that lock failure now…Perhaps it was dirty or something ? Anyway…
It does not make the Tusk spike dangerous for hard use (the spike got a choil) and it can get a lot of utility from board to starboard… And yes, it’s almost addictive to untie an dry salty knot with it hence the handy clip to keep the Tusk close.
The tusk is a handy tool to loosen knots without having to cut the rope or cordage and forget about any corrosion in salty environment.
It’s also a crew knife that would deploy its blade with ease, and remain locked open under any aggressive uses while under way.
Why ? Because it’s take a razor sharp edge and keeps it, it’s a tougher than stainless steel super steel and its edge stability is better: no chipping or warping in my uses. Of course it will get stained but that is the part of his multiple charms. This is a steel used in blade competitions and Gayle Bradley is a fan of it.
The Yojimbo2 design asked for a very thin point and a stronger, tougher steel. M4 is a must if you want to use it (like myself) in everyday chores… hard !!
Because such great ergos ask for hard working.
Compared to my previous YO2, the closing sound “TICK” got a much higher pitch than my S90V version. I had noticed that kind of higher pitch on another super tool steel: Maxamet.
Does it mean the steel is harder ? Will see.
So stay tuned!
I have changed the OEM clip for this one.
It’s a shortest deep carry clip.
The Para 3 in Maxamet got the same high pitch TICK.
Dirty blade ready for some chores.
Both knives are excellent EDC. The Yo2 offers really powerful cuts on wood.
A word which comes back a lot with my Yo2 review is “power”. The heft of the saber ground hollow blade and the confortable thick spine is a call for pushcuts and “very light” chopping. You will see what I mean in a few photographies…
Deshouldering and starting to get a thinner edge. The factory edge is excellent though.
“Ghost” and “Jade” together: same materials.
The handle lengths are different just because one is standing on its clip.
Push cuts are easy.
This is the kind of “very light” chopping cuts which are made in blink of an eye.
The Yo2 is a great trimmer. The edge bites deep and the straight edge won’t let go.
It’s very efficient !
M4 steel erases any fear of breaking the thin tip easily but I do respect too much my knife to try any lateral forcing. At least I’m no afraid to use that blade tip hard !
Rinsing and cleaning the blade in a spring stream. No real patina so far but soon it will come. M4 get darker in a slow way on my experience: no hurry !
But that Jade handle goes so well with natural environments…
There is a lot of charm in the Yo2: the heavy blade smooth action, the straight edge power and the great ergos ! Nobody seems to notice it while used in a restaurant, the Jade helps a lot to make it less a weapon and more a tool.
My first experience with Massdrop exclusive design was one year ago. The Falcon has been a surprise in its quality and design and since has been my Spyderco Techno replacement. The Gent is even a better deal !! We are in presence of a real masterpiece in modern cutlery and, pardon my French but I weight my words.
First thing I have noticed is the blade to handle ratio: in a folder, the blade will be most of the time shorther than the handle but with some designers tricks you can give the illusion… It was already the case with the Falcon: we got a real elegant knife despite being short, the blade is perfectly centered, the blade evenly ground, the action is smooth as butter and the edge cut my hairs… WOW !!
The large choil seems to be a Ferrum Forge signature and it is handy for precision cutting. Also when not using it I can hold the handle with 4 fingers. It is much more ergonomic and fonctionnal that my Izulas in that matter.
The lock is similar to the Spyderco PPT. It is a thick pride liner lock made of bead blasted grey titanium. The slabs are G10 with a very nice texture. Attention to details is stunning: quality is at the rendez vous. The lock feels strong and any way your hand is protected by the flipper used a guard and by the choil if you choose to use it. This is a very solid folder.
The blade is exquisitely ground and the edge is thin, razor sharp our of the box.
The opening construction is ultra minimalist and VERY EASY to keep clean !!
I love ultra minimalists design as found on the Spyderco K2 for example.
The spine is gently chanferred for an excellent confort in thumb pushing cuttings.
Something I won’t have to do myself.
Immediatly you want to play with and put the high saber flat ground S35VN blade in its pace. A steel first introduced to me through the Spyderco Native 5.
As a Lady/Gent knife it is small like a jewel.
Non threatening is a must in that kind of EDC knife. But don’t get fooled by its size; this is a real workhorse !
The detent is a little harder than the one of my Falcon or my ZT0562CF but it works and fires every time. It is really smooth and no side play so far. I was not able easily to open the blade without using the flipper.
The deep carry clip is well thought and it makes the knife disappearing in the pocket. EDC is often better in low profile configuration.
So let’s put a little convexing on that baby: Stuff 2, Fallkniven DC4 and leather…
Diamonds are in play for the first round. The thin edge makes it easy to scratch and of course I have scratched it. You can notice the very nice belly on the blade.
But nothing some use and future stropping won’t erase in a “beautility” attempt. The idea is just to bring convex in the middle of the belly.
Leather stropping, razor sharp let try it on my favorite test in ergos and edge: the Bottle Butt !!
As you can see it was an easy cut for that little knife. There is power in this one. The blade is just thick enough to provide a comfortable spine to strongly push through.
The Belly always help for push cutting in hard material.
So far what do we got:
an elegant, non threatening short folder with premium materials (Titanium and S35VN).
It can be deployed and close with one hand. Great balance with its sweet spot just behind the pivot. Great ergos, thin edge and easy to clean ?
This is almost the perfect EDC, worst it the best EDC you can buy for 80 dollars !!
This kind of high quality knife could be the only folder to bring with you anywhere. A great little big knife ready for anything ! Thank you to my friend Dan Sharpe for having introduced me to that little wonder !
SPECS
Produced by Drop
Designed by Ferrum Forge
Manufactured by WE Knife (in Guangdong, China)
Blade: CPM-S35VN stainless steel
HRC: 58–61
Blade type: Drop-point
Grind: Flat saber
Finish: Stonewashed
Handle: 6AL4V titanium with rosewood or carbon fiber scales
Lock: Liner lock
Open: Flipper tab
Ceramic detent ball
Caged pivot bearings, hardened steel washers
Choil for easy sharpening
Reversible, deep-carry steel pocket clip
Blade thickness: 0.13 in (3.2 mm)
Handle thickness: 0.4 in (1.1 cm)
Blade length: 3 in (7.8 cm)
Closed length: 3.6 in (9.7 cm)
Overall length: 6.6 in (17.5 cm)
Weight: 2.4 oz (68 g)
Founded in 2009, Ferrum Forge started from humble beginnings in Elliot Williamson’s garage in Southern California. Using found pieces of steel like old files and leaf springs, Elliot gradually taught himself the art of knifemaking and metallurgy. As his skills and passion grew, so too did the demand for his work. Luckily, Elliot’s brother Chris joined the team in 2012 to help expand Ferrum Forge to what it is today: a small operation dedicated to designing and producing custom knives through a rigorous process of development, machining, iteration, and quality control.
The story of the Gent starts back in 2016 when Elliot and Chris Williamson from Ferrum Forge teamed up with Drop (formerly MassDrop) for a cross brand collaboration. Ferrum Forge designed a series of unique Drop x Ferrum Forge knives that they produced, but none would compare to the Gent. After the success of the first few models, Drop asked for a less aggressive design better suited for carrying in an office environment. It was time for Elliot from Ferrum Forge to break away from aggressive, “tactical” style and give the world his take on a modern, gentlemen’s folding knife. Not only did he accomplish his goal, he created the most popular, best selling knife that Drop ever sold.
Ironically, Elliot didn’t like the Gent after he rendered it in 3D. His artistic side screamed it was boring and too simple. Meanwhile, Chris, lacking that artistic side, saw the elegance in the simplicity and loved it. Drop cast the tie breaking vote and the Gent came to life.
The Gent started their evolution toward slimmer, lighter, more pocket friendly, and less expensive knives. It was the first ever Ferrum Forge liner lock design and would eventually lead them to creating liner locks like the Stinger, Mini Archbishop, and Prolix.
Unfortunately their collaboration with Drop ran its course and they discontinued the Gent.
Back to trying to get a patina on cruwear after my first attempt.
Because lemon juice is not smelly and we use it a lot in the house, I have tried to let the blade all night in a tissue imbibed.
Tissue seems to be some kind of catalyst as it help to keep a contact between the citric acid and the surface of the blade.
In the morning the tissue was dark!
And you can notice rust starting to form in between strokes of the patina.
Rust is removed with some polishing which keeps the patina.
So here we are now with a kind of camouflage results.
It looks forced but should “mild” with uses but yes you can get a Patina from Cruwear with lemon juice and a night…
Which means if you forget your knife in the sink after making some salad, you can get rust on your Cruwear blade and a very swaggy patina.
This time I have decided since the blade of this Paramillie is thin, to protect it with some gaffer tape.
Same process as usual: diamonds, then ceramic and stropping on leather.
The DC4 of Fallkniven and the Spyderco Double Stuff 2 were used.
I got also an old barber leather I use with some polish.
I use the diamonds to remove the shoulder of the edge to round it a little, this is where you can scratch the blade as the angle used is very shallow.
Once you see the edge is widen, you can switch to tsone and ceramics mainly to smooth the scratches made by the diamonds.
It is very simple and just ask for time and patience.
Cruwear is stropping friendly much less than 52100 though.
This one will be my 5th Paramillie 2, so it is a well known plateforme but the offer was to great to pass: a CPM Cruwear blade and a smooth black G10 handle: another exclusive run from the Knifecenter which is synonym of of a great attention to detail. This sprint run is absolutely flawless and its operation is smooth like butter. You really feel in your hand one of the greatest all-terrain EDC version ever made by Spyderco, no more no less. You can also check my previous review of the Knifecenter Smooth S90V Native 5.
Perfectly centered and the grind lines just great. Golden is getting better and better through the years, it is like a real jewel of a “tactical knife”. Sal and Aric can be proud of that one !
This sprint run got smooth black G10 handles but pardon my French, I do love my edges even smoother than that. It’s really a matter of personal choice but the relation with my tools goes through the finger and the palm of my hands.
So OK It was really a matter of minutes just to round a bit the G10, as I was not obliged to sand all the slabs. So it was an minor adjustment.
The edge is already thin, So I cannot really improve it.
CPM Cruwear is great for stropping: a mirror edge is done very easily.
It is just the first try at deshouldering, the factory edge is still there and I want to test it that way.
This is not my first CPM Cruwear blade as my Grey Millie “Gandalf” was my first.
The knife operates so smoothly I have decided to carry it tip up and have installed a short deep carry clip which disappears under my ring finger once deployed. My intention is also to use the version of the Paramillie 2 hard so I want to hold it by the pivot without a clip coming in the way.
More to come soon.
En this black smooth handle reminds me that knife of my childhood: Le Couteau d’Office Nogent Carbon (Nogent carbon steel paring knife) which was the sharpest knife in the kitchen.
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