Spyderco Caribbean Review (After 2 Months of Carry) Part 3 of 5 

Thank you for taking the time and I am glad you found this video useful. To be perfectly honest: this is my now, my favorite "alaround" Spyderco. After using the Bradley, Manix LW, kapara, going back to the Para 2(because of the different steels), taking the Native 5 Salt on a 2 week vacation...i think that the Caribbean offers so much. Now the price...is steep...but I think the generous handle, pattern on the handle, the locking mechanism, the large ffg LC200N blade, offer something different which I can use as an edc or as a work knife in any environment without worrying about it. The only thing I would suggest is getting a better pocket clip. The standard titanium pocket clip it comes with...is just too weak. After you get the knife, take a while to get used to it and then, if you feel like it, i would really appreciate your feedback! I test and try to think of things I would need it to do...but that does not compare 100% to someone who just uses it. That all said: I have the Pacific Salt(H1) which I think is superb. Much moe of a working knfe(because of the price and frn handle) than the Caribbean. But if your EDC knife is your working knife, and you work at sea or in a corrosive environment and also want someting nice not just something that gets the job done...yeah....i think you can't get any better than this one....but it is a pocket hog, that's for sure.

@@SpartanJohns …thanks for the reply. I used the Atlantic salt for years, commercial diving, as a back up / rescue knife. A fixed blade being the primary (most of us using a serrated blade from what is now Victory knives, based in Auckland….Well worth checking out as a practical offshore workers diving / deck knife) This has become the industry standard as far as I have seen for years now. I’ve been topside now for the last 11 years supervising bell diving operations, and getting close to retirement. I totally agree with you regards the price etc. and the above practical experience proves much of what you say is spot on the mark. My interest in the Caribbean is more of an occasional deck knife ….and I have to admit, a piece of pocket bling 🤣 for my last few years offshore. I have an Osbourne 940, green handle and blacked out blade, I’ve used for ages at work. But last trip I lent it to one of the lads and it got left on deck…It took me a good half hour of frustrated hunting about the back deck before I spotted it. So another reason for getting the aforementioned Caribbean, it may well visually assist me being able to find it as Alzheimer’s and failing eyesight come into play!….As for the pocket hog…I’m not bothered, as we are in overalls all day. At home, or on the beach I’ve always got the wee dragonfly or LC200N Native 5 on me. All the best and check out Victory knives Auckland…Do a review on the serrated blade for diving…I recon you’ll get some interesting feedback from the industry…Elitist as it is!

Prices are on the rise constantly. The Caribbean I bought half with my money and half with money from my Patrons. Otherwise I would have not bought it

I dyed the scales to a dark red/brown look and tightened the pivot because I don't oil it and without that...it won't have a smooth action without a bit of bladeplay. I like finger choils for some knives...but not all...And I have to admitt..I don't really use them. I played with 3 LC200N blades. On my native I took the edge angle down to 12-13dps and, with normal use, I never had any issues. Given the fact that, in my use so far, it is rustproof and sharpens easily, I relly think it is 99% perfect as a work/edc steel. Now I got the Native Salt with MagnaCut...and i have not really started testing it but can't wait! I think heat treat is important! It should "fit" the steel. However, I think that for most people, a good cutting geometry is more important than a HT which is "slightly off from being perfect". There are, of course, bad cases where you get a steel which is hard to sharpen but will keep a decent edge but due to a bad HT it is difficult to sharpen and will not keep a decent edge. That is the extreme. I would love to have 2 of the same knives with the same steel, one at 60 and one at 62...I am an engineer, and Material Science was my favorite topic in college, so i know the theory. My question is: in every day use, would a regular person see/feel the difference? All the test I did so far lead me to think that it maybe 1-2% would notice it in use. And probably 20-30% when sharpening, provided they don't reprofile the edge don't use diamond stones. I reprofiled a 59HRC VG10 Endura(from 20-15 dps) and a 65 HRC ZDP endura(from 25 to 15 dps) using new diamond stones and tbh I could not tell if there was a difference. When I dropped the edge angles down to 12-13 with worn out, low quality stones, I could definitely tell that VG10 was way easier to work with. Thanks for the comment and I am glad you liked the video!

@@SpartanJohns Since HRC is not everything and that microstructure is the most impactful, it would indeed be crazy interesting to have two of the same blade with the same steel and different hardness, but still using a similar protocol (What I mean by that is maybe only playing with one factor at a time, which means quench temp, tempering cycles, etc). I've seen poor heat treats impact toughness and edge retention to a point I could easily see it ! But it's mostly on steels like M390. Like BBB always says, and is right to, microstructure is king. Not only does a good microstructure help with ease of sharpening and deburring, it can also draw the best qualities of a steel to the fullest. I have a MagnaCut Mule and the MagnaCut Native. The geometry is very similar (once I sharpened the Native a couple of times), and both are at 15 dps. I can tell why Spyderco took their time before dropping the Native. It must've been announced in 2021 so 2 years ! The sharpening experience is definitely improved, it takes a better edge and keeps it longer (give or take 10% from what I've tested, but I need to do a better test, with more data since geometry is different). I CANT WAIT to own a furnace with which I can control the quench temperature easily and have fun with steels. I think I won't be producing many knives because I'll be too busy playing with heat treats 🤣🤣🤣

@@ramonade_knives I also got the Native with MagnaCut recently from a friend. I sold my LC200N native and he gifted me the MagnaCut version. I have tested Magnacut in the ANV A100 and Hogue Deka. At 13 dps they behaved very similar. I cut a lot of wood with knots and they seemed to give out(micro chip) at the same type of knots. Then I cut sisal rope. I got about hte same number of cuts....around 500 until they would not cut really thin paper cleanly. I was expecting a difference and, tbh, not expecting much from the A100 because of my experiences with ANV. I redid the test and got the same result...around 500. I just sharpened the Native at 17 dps...and thought about reducing it...but TBH it has a grind which is a bit thick and I like the aesthetics of it at 17 dps. So I said: if the other MagnaCut blades did a good job at 13 dps...then this one, at 17 dps...will not give the same cutting "enjoyement" but it should be damn near bulletproof. Not much time for testing these days...but I can't wait. There is one more thing about the Native....I havd the Pinned Native 4(i think- the one with CPM 440V) and that one was really nice in hand. The Native 5 Salt...the one in LC200N, I had to round it off using sandpaper. It was really not comfortable in hand at all..For my hand it is just too "sharp-edgy". As you said...i get it..if I had the opportunity to cut with and sharpen steels with small differences (but good HT) i think I would "be lost to the world" :)))

you don't have anything better going for you in your life so you might as well watch the video

@@SpartanJohns i have been your subscriber for years, i just found this video boring, if you don't like criticism, maybe youtube is not the right place for you.

@@bigbone88 if you have been my subscriber for years and watching my videos you would already be used to this type of video. "Boring" is not criticism. It is trolling!