Spyderco Delica 4 - GOAT or Obsolete? 

Dean Albertson same here

try endela

Try Para 3 Lightweight 😁

@Franz Klein some places endura is too long for the laws.

With respect, I've tried the little flipper liner locks. Was not impressed. But there's one other knife that's worth a look because the overall package just...blew my mind. And that's the Rat2 in D2. Very similar in size and weight to the Delica. Bout half the price. Pretty good liner lock as liner locks go--great ergos for the size, good action on washers. Delica is a better knife, no doubt, but for twice the price.

Agree. And I love how Spyderco REFUSES to change their designs. I hope they never do.

Get the glow on the dark one.

totally agree on the zip-189. own 6 Delica's all diff steel, that 189 cuts down 40-50 amazon boxes down to 12" pieces every year still sharp!

At most $60 no more than that, but they raised to almost $80 & that's just too overpriced.

The cheapest I've seen one was $80. They average $85-90 now. Mine was free, but I dont think I would've paid more than $40 for one. Now that I have one, I could see paying as much as $60, but $80 is just too much.

I don't want anything RADICAL. I just think that for this price, the S30V on the Zome should be the standard steel. I'd be happy with that.

Go away? No. But it should it should be cheaper and a newer version should be at that $75 price point.

Bugout

@@SliceyDicey how about with a blade length of 3" or less?

June 2022: it’s $93 shipped. ;) You still own it? Has it held up? (Blade play? Centering?) I’m thinking about getting one. But I am anxious not to get burned again. I bought a Tenacious LW s35vn and hated it. Terrible action. Terrible centering. Bad grind. So I sold it within a few days at a significant loss.

@@cecilm3720 Its still my favorite edc knife (its in my pocket now) and I have had no problems with it, everything is just as it was out of the box and its still razor sharp, I do strop it once in a while but I carry it more than my Spyderco Manix 2 or my Benchmade mini barrage ($130 each) and several other of my $70 - $80 knives. IMO if you want a Spyderco knife that would be my first recommendation.

@@Frank-uf2vn Thanks for sharing. Appreciated. :) My all-time favourite is my Mini Grip. I’m thinking of one alternative folder. Actually I have reduced my collection to said Mini Grip and 2 VICs (and a Kershaw Skyline which IMHO is the most beautiful knife ever, but I dare not use it b/c the tip is soooo fragile).

My favorite thing about this knife is that it's purple.

They're $88 now: (

@@lawrenceragnarok1186 still carrying mine everyday

@@norme2681 I got the teal Wharncliffe s30v version for 88 bucks on sale but I miss the original drop point

Get a K390 Stretch 2, trust me.

It is a great knife, but that's the way to buy them now. Used.

Yes it does but for even more money and in a pattern that is polarizing to say the least. My point was that the standard one should be S30V for that price.

Can't argue with that..

Yuck, I hate any kind of liner lock, it would completely ruin it☝

The delica is basically perfect, can't think of anything to change about it, except the price is too high imo.

@@mriphone1000 Replace the picasso with a finger choil.

I love it because it’s a simple back lock .

Welcome aboard!

Oh please no. We have many more than enough ball bearing flippers on the market. I understand that people love 'em, but this knife is a great utilitarian tool, and to replace PB washers with bearings would greatly detract from that. If you want bearings and a flipper, check out WE, Civivi, Reate, Kizer, QSP, Ruike, SRM, and many others. I say good on Spyderco and Benchmade for keeping with the PB washers.

Flipper knives are illegal in the UK and you can't carry a fixed blade no matter what length, I have over 100 Spydercos for fixed blades SOG super Bowies good or Black Jack

@@tonyhoodlass1846 Guess you never heard of a Dremel.

The delica was my first nice knife back when they first came out with the FFG versions. I carried it for 7 years and even though I’ve owned a lot of Spydercos the delica is still one of my favorites.

I never endorse clones, but there are certainly a lot of cheaper alternatives out there.

There are so many proper alternatives to the clones, but Spyderco is especially susceptible. From what I hear, Ganzo conditions access to review knives on the reviewer not mentioning what the knife design mimics. Still, though the Ganzo designs are mostly derived from others, they do not pretend to be the same brand or the same quality. In the world economy, many have things to hide. The dishonesty in the industry extends to many, including some Americans pretending their Chinese produced knives are US produced customs and mid-tecs. This re-badging is done throughout the world. In some cases, such as Swiss watch movements, parts may be sourced elsewhere, such as China, and the buyer would not know. When Chinese companies produce near duplicate watch movements, some assume it is reverse engineering, but others know better; often, they do not copy parts, they made them in the first place. It extends into many areas of the global economy, and many US firms may be reluctant to admit the extent of outsourcing.

True. Unlike the era of 1960's cheap transistor radios, since the 80's Japan have made the most reliable everything - let's face it - and other countries, including the US, try to crack the code of their manufacturing philosophies (e.g. ISO 9001 standards). Seki City is also one of the world's hub for incredible metallurgy and steel manufacturing with a lot of history. Dismissing that is a bit ignorant when it comes to knowing your steels. Taiwan and South Korea have closed the gap now I think. I have no issues buying knives, like CRKT, or other things like electronics made in Taiwan. I've found them to be very reliable and well made. China is still hit and miss but some of Spyderco's Chinese made knives, and Ganzo itself, are starting to change my mind. We can't just make sweeping generalizations on where a knife has been made. Benchmade has had quality control issues in the past especially with uncentered blades and rub. As for the Delica, it's still a great knife. Sure you can find higher end steels, faster deploy, and more modern locking technologies from other manufacturers but it's hard to beat the ergonomics and simplicity of the Delica along with the crazy strong lock up and reliability of Spyderco's lockbacks. However, I agree that it should be priced more competitively and then it would be the GOAT. At the end of the day, knives are a very personal thing and one person's GOAT might be someone else's reject and vice versa.

That's a bold statement.

Precisely. I just sold one of my two (the saber ground one) and the purple one will stay in the collection, but I don't ever carry it.

Ben Kurth I think the Mantra 3 is going to be A LOT more expensive.

Slicey Dicey oh yeah... for sure. Betting that it’ll hit around the 130-140 street price range.

Ben Kurth I’m guessing $150-170.

Slicey Dicey ouch. That would be scary high. Suddenly starting to make Benchmade seem like a bargain if that’s where Spyderco is heading (almost an exaggeration..., I know). But hopefully it won’t be priced that badly. The mantra 3 (and the rhino) are on my radar as possible acquisitions for ‘18. But if you’re right... I might need to pump the breaks and reevaluate where the knife money gets spent.

Eric Glesser said the Mantra 3 will come in at 20-25% less than the existing Mantra. That's less than it sounds considering the MAP on the Mantra got bumped by nearly 15%. But realistically the Mantra 3 is the same construction and materials as the PM2 and Sage 5 so it really *should* be in that ballpark price-wise.

Agreed. I carry my Native 5 LW A LOT more than I do a Delica.

Check out the Salt Series.

Slicey Dicey I’ve got both in my pocket right now. Native 5 LW LC200n and zip-189 delica

154cm is a basic steel nowadays but BM are generally thicker behind the edge and that makes the difference- thin vg10 edges are here for a good time, not a long time but they slice better than a BM

Agreed.

Approved by Nick Shabazz

I take the bullet so that others don't have to lol. ;)

lol...so brave (slow clap)

Ha! I've been reviewing stuff on the Internet for 20 years. I am impervious to troll hate now. Doesn't even cross my mind. Hell, I've gotten like half a dozen death threats over the years! Those don't even bother me anymore.

I have a strop and use it. I don't mind VG-10 at all, but not at this price and Spyderco makes it very soft. If it was still $60, I'd still recommend it to everyone.

Slicey Dicey soft, thats not the impression i get from spydercos VG10, their 8CR13MOV is brilliant thou. P&L 😄

Yeah but no one pays that.

Mt. Baldwin The S30V is even more expensive. I said that the more exotic versions are better values. My point is that the base Delica is horribly overpriced in regards to the competition.

Oh I was agreeing with you. I was asking because you said you had the v2 version on pre order and was wondering why didn't grab the zome version if you're interested in an upgraded delica (same $).

Mt. Baldwin Oh... sorry. I got the v2 because it’s a sprint. I’ll use it for a review, then wait for them to sell out and resell it most likely. Yet another reason why the sprints are better to buy lol. You can get your money back (or better) usually.