I think companies wuss out on heat treats because it makes their grinding equipment last longer. Spyderco is the only company that consistently puts function first on its knives.
I totally, wholeheartedly agree w/ ur spyderco statement, spyderco may be alot of good &/or bad but no1 can deny they do put the hard necessary science & work into all their products & u can feel & see thru use of their products is most definitely quality regardless of the factory they are coming out of from spyderco, SPYDERCO JUST WORKS PERIOD.
You are my favorite knife reviewer because you actually use your shit compared to alot of others . I carried my delica k390 today as well love that knife
I picked up a regular blade k390 delica about 6 months ago and thought the exact same thing!! And it honestly isn’t bad to sharpen and it strops back easier than any other tool steels I’ve used. When it actually needs sharpen bc it keeps edge forever! Freaking love it! I got mxg clip on mine as well! Awesome review as always!! 👊
You might want to try the Stretch 2 in k390. ‘Supposedly’ it is basically a PM2 blade shape on a super comfortable frn handle. That could be your ultimate knife.
All I cut is cardboard and plastic wrap at work. I finally pulled the trigger on this knife being reviewed. Glad to know it will most likely be excellent for my tasks. I have tanto, clip point, and hawkbill blade shapes as well. From everything I have read and watched it seems that the Wharncliffe Delica 4 in K390 will be awesome. Thanks for the review.
I really enjoyed hearing how much you love the K390 steel from Seki City! I have heard another RU-vidr love this same K390. I think he has the Police in K390. Anyway, now I need a K390 knife even more than I already did.
Dayum, drunk, dogs, and sharp knives... for real, greatly appreciate the real-world use info, as mentioned many reviewers look at the steel and price, you're talking what you can do with this tool. This is not jewelry, this gets stuff done. Subscribed!
Really good explanation of the best uses of the wharncliff blade. I was thinking about the Endela wharnecliff but I think I will hold off on it. I have the Stretch 2 with k390 and love it. Thanks.
I love the Japanese k390. My favorite steel. I use a lightweight police 4 in k390 everyday. It just keeps an edge forever. I now have 4 Seki City K390 knives want even more. By the way none of mine have rusted or even got much patina.
I use my k390 p4lw to cut up cardboard for recycling. My recycling container is 95 gallons and I'll completely fill it up with 2-3 inch wide strips of cardboard. After all that, a quick strop on 6-3-1 micron diamond paste on leather gets it right back to scrape shaving sharp. I'ts seriously one of the most impressive steels I've ever used, and I'm as much of a steel collector as I am a knife collector.
Great knife, and great review. I do have to mention that my experience with corrosion in K390 has been just the opposite of yours. I've carried a K390 PM2 and Para 3 since they were first released in October of 2019 or so, and neither has any patina to this day. On the flip-side, both my K390 Dragonfly and K390 Stretch started to develop light spotting of patina almost immediately - definitely within a month. Finally, I would simply comment that most makers are looking for balance in their heat treats, and for good reason.
I got the PM2 in S30v and the Manix2 in S30v love them my Delica in VG-10 drop point blade is on its way can’t wait. Nice review I liked and subscribed.
I like Seki City K390 too. I’ve only the Ladybug and Dragonfly, but I’m after an Endela, as I’ve larger hands. If only they were ever in stock anywhere here in the UK. Incidentally, in my book, the Delica is a Wharncliffe, as the blade has a straight edge, and a back that has a single curve from base to a pointy tip. A sheepsfoot again has a straight edge, but the back is parallel to the edge, and turns sharply towards the tip with a definite angle. Variations include the ramsfoot where blade widens towards the tip, and lambsfoot, where it narrows towards the tip. These are the traditional Sheffield definitions. By that, the Hogue Deka is a compound, modified lambsfoot, not a Wharncliffe… in my humble opinion!
YES! You got the Endela in K390! I traded a friend of mine a few weeks ago now - his K390 Endela, for my VG-10 Rockjumper. He loves the Wharncliffe, and I do not - and - he did not love K390, and I definitely Do. Such a great knife, in such an AMAZING steel! I'd easily say my experience with (Seki) K390 is matching what yours is. Ahh-Maze-Zing! Also, picked up a (Brass) Big Idea Design pocket pro some months ago, after seeing you & yours in a few videos... Hard to find a reason to check out any other pens now...
Just ordered an Endura wharncliffe in K390 and can't wait to try this steel. I'm obsessive about keeping my knives sharp but don't have any high wear resistant steels. Looking forward to not having to sharpen every couple of days. Great vid and great pack of dogs.
I received my K390 Delica Wharncliffe a few days ago. It is working well for me in downstacking pallets, cutting plastic wrap and cardboard packaging. Noticeably better than my budget blades in D2
I couldn’t help myself and recently got a frn police 4 in k390…full serrated…and it is the best overall utility, especially in the yard, knife I currently own. Did not expect that but the thin edge + serrations..and monster edge retention is a big winner when having to cut fibrous plant material (wisteria vines, etc) and hose..and random things. Despite the size i have forgotten about it in pocket too. I just wipe it down when done and have no rust, just a nice bronze patina. I also have a para3 (bento box) in K390 and immediately noticed the difference between the two (golden co vs seki). Thought I was crazy so nice to hear they are treated differently and i wasn’t duped. FYI, in my experience the Seki K390 patinas much easier than they golden on my Para3. I actually like the patina. I also cant get this stuff to rust with hard use.
A couple months ago I found someone selling a standard Endela K390 that had been sharpened a good number of times but still had a ton of life left in it, for only $65, which is crazy. I did an acid stonewash on the blade & it's been tearing up cardboard really well for me. I still kind of have to pinch myself that I got it so cheap! Then a few days ago White Mountain Knives had a Deal of the Day on a couple fully serrated K390 Seki City Spydercos, which included a fully serrated K390 Delica for only $88.70, which is essentially the exact same price as the VG-10 version at regular price. So I had to jump on that immediately. I suppose other people's aversion to serrated blades is to my benefit! I'm SO looking forward to seeing how K390 does in serrated form. I don't anticipate having to sharpen the serrations for a VERY long time, especially if I keep them stropped regularly. I firmly believe in the value of having a serrated or even partially serrated blade in your collection, & I highly recommend it to anyone who uses their knives. I also recently got an Endura Zome in HAP40/SUS410 that was used but not abused, for only $60, so I feel I've gotten really lucky on my trio of Seki City brethren. Anyway, this is a really good review & it's great to see this kind of valuable info coming from someone who actually tested the steel in a tough environment for a month. I'm late to the party on this video, but I just wanted to drop in & say great work!
Oooh, congrats on that Endela! I have the same knife. I reground and reprofiled it to about 0.012" BTE and 15 DPS. It slices like a freaking animal, weighs nothing, takes a beating, and cuts forever. If you're interested in a regrind on yours, let me know.
I have the k390 Stretch. I couldn't believe how sharp this steel is. It's amazing. I wish they made a PM 2 in K390 because of the compression lock. I would carry that knife forever and not ever switch.
they did make a pm2 in k390. it was/is available on bento box shop. the american HT tho is worse than the japanese from what i hear. the k390 PM2 is also only available used/secondhand
So how do you determine the k390 from Japan vs the “USA stuff” on the sites to buy? Is Bohler Micro clean correct choice when it says: county of origin Japan on DLT etc.?
It's nice to see a review from someone that actually puts a knife to work. It's also nice to see someone not be a flicky, tactical tornado of death dipshit type. K390 is the Jesus steel for me.
@@ericasedc - So, most of my possessions were "liberated" and I'm rebuilding. I know diamonds cut through anything, but do think the Fallkniven CC4 is sufficient to deal with K390? Money is tight now.
I was on the fence about spending that money on a K390 Spyderco because I have been really happy with my VG10 Delica and Endura. This convinced me to buy a K390 Endela full serrated.
You cuss about as much as i do. Subscribed lmao. Just ordered the delica wharncliffe in k390. The last one i could find. Ive been wanting to try a wharncliffe for some time and k390 so this felt like the perfect option for it. The larger ones had thicker stock and i already carry a fixed blade for more rugged tasks. I may have to pick up the endela or stretch 2 in k390 as well. Aslo ive been on the hunt for some of the 15v sprint runs.
@ericasedc is it going to be using Shawn's heat treat too? If so... that may be the ticket right there. Having to fumble through scammers looking for that manix 2 15v is tough sometimes. They're getting better. I just hope they don't figure out how to do good video editing in after effects lol.
Rex 45 is such a different animal than K390. Rex has piles and piles of edge stability, and needs to be reground nice and thin (like 0.010" BTE) in order to shine. In my experience, properly heat treated and thinly ground Rex is the king of having your cake and eating it too steels. You can abuse the hell out of it, and it doesn't chip, it doesn't roll, and it's slicier than any knife in your quiver. But spyderco factory ground Rex 45 with a 0.025" BTE, 17 DPS geometry is like leaving 6 of the 12 spark plugs out of the V12 in your Lamborghini. Without the regrind, most people never know how awesome it can be.
@@FreedomFox1 I just discovered Erica's channel a couple of weeks ago. I must say she's crafted herself a nice little corner of YT! At stock geometry, absolutely, K390 out-cuts Rex 45. K390 has a ton of carbides that give it that crazy toothy aggression, and forever working edge. Rex is low carbide, stupid high hardness, so it's never going to be as toothy as K390, but it does hold an edge a long time and stops back over and over and over before it needs to visit the stones. I've never had the guts to regrind K390 as thin as I regrind my Rex 45, so I don't know for a fact if K390 has the same edge stability as Rex 45 when it's super thin. But I'd put good money on it being a step down performance-wise when ground 0.010" BTE or thinner. I need to grow a pair and grind one of my K390 knives that thin and try it. Finally, there's availability. Top notch K390 can only be found on Seki knives, while top notch Rex 45 can only be found on Golden knives. I want a Rex 45 Delica that I can grind to 0.005" BTE for the absolute best laser beam slicer. And I want a K390 Shaman I can grind down to 0.012" or so, for a nearly-no-compromise beater.
@@ZPositive Thanks, that’s really helpful. Is there anyone out there doing regrinds who you would recommend? I’ve got a Native in Rex 45 (although it has dlc, so I suppose it would need to be totally refinished if a regrind were done). I’d like to do the same for my lil’ Native in M4… it has the same geometry as the Native 5, but it’s shorter length means it’s constantly slipping out of material.
steel absolutely, these knives no lol. I mean not well anyway. the geometry of a kitchen knife is WAY different. longer taller much much much thinner, edge angles down in the single digits. You want a kitchen knife in the kitchen. Frankly basic carbons are amazing in the kitchen with a proper cutting board. Totally different application. K390 is amazing for a pocket knife but would not be a top choice for kitchen. Nothing wrong with Blue 2 (or white 2 if youre a psycho like me who loves sharpening), if you want something more modern Z-Wear, Ginsan, 26C3. a pocket knife does fine in a pinch ofc and these are better than most but if you have no knife today, and you wanna cut shit in the kitchen, buy a kitchen knife.
My k390 ladybug developed patina quite quickly. I was experimenting with it from just poking it into a burger and left it for 30 minutes. Now half the blade has spotted dark patina. Not a big fan of this much low corrosion
I want one of these, I had the vg10(gifted) and the s30(traded) ended up gettin a wharnie para2 (which is perfect btw) but I’ve heard good about the k390 so I may snag one… custom scale swap for sure tho..
The stains are random on this steel, lol. But I love it. I have a Dragonfly 2, a Delica, and a Stretch 2 in K390. Each have been treated exactly the same in same conditions… but that Stetch got some straight up rust on it while the others barely turned colors. The rust came off with a little Eezox but it was definitely there on that thick blade.
First time I watched you and you’re straight the fuck forward. I appreciate it. I’m debating these two knives as well. But the endella in ZDP-189. WHats your opinion
I have the wharncliffe Delica 4 in S30V and I absolutely love it. Definetly going to have to give Seki K390 a go. Quote of the video “This is Roger. No go the f away!”
I have found that I took your review way more seriously than the "knife priest tabletop reviewers" who might essientially ditch a product because they think a price point might be slighlty over the top, due to latest market things, without having used it beyond opening fan mail. Go on doing it the way you do. No one needs 4K video and a studio to review a knife.
TBH I tend to think that the Delica VG-10 is not very worth it at it's current price, when compared to a bit more expensive alternatives like the Chaparral (more slicey, better steel) or the Para 3 LW (stronger, better steel), Polestar etc, and also when compared to the huge amount of Kizer, Civivi etc knives in that price category of $60-$80... Now, what can you not get in Chaparral and Para 3 LW ? A wharncliffe blade and K390 ! I really love my wharncliffe Endela in K390, it just feels great to use, 101% tool knife !
@@ericasedc yes I know! But what advantage would the wharncliff give? Better cutting power? Looks a bit weird though 😅😉. I really like that black green version yiu have in cruwear. Can’t find it here
Nice Endela. I gotta get the K390 Dragonfly. The Dragonfly's my favorite EDC. I don't mind the VG10 from Spyderco at all for EDC, I'm just in the habit of honing it a lot, but I'm curious to try out your favorite steel ever. BTW, that's funny you use last names with the dogs. Shout out to escape artist Romy Dodge. Keep Erica on her toes.
Companies don't ht there steel softer for tuffness or any other bs they try to tell us. The one and only reason is money, it's cheaper and easier to grind and work with altogether.
That excuse should show their customers exactly how much they respect them, but instead of calling them out they jump through hoops to defend them. Really baffling concept.
Would love to see you carry a svord peasant knife for a month lol. Really curious ur thoughts on them as I find it to be a really good choice for cheapos like me that want a good light weight and strong work knife but don’t want to buy them from a certain country that makes a lot of them.
She is not the first person on RU-vid to say this. I believe Outpost76 was another & he had his Rockwell tested to confirm. Spyderco’s Japanese k390 is ~2 HRC harder than Golden’s. (Someone correct me if I got the person wrong)
My mechanic monkey hands tell me the Endela would be more comfortable but my brain hears the wharnecliffe Delica is the parts box opener I need. Perhaps an Endela wharnecliffe is the answer? 8% beer makes this a hardcore review. Dogs will always find a way out given enough time. Don’t look, there gone!
Ahhhhhhh..............🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️ lol since your in a giving mood uhhhuuh. Umm I would love to have a knife out of your collection that you've used since your in the giving mood... . I'll put to good daily use.... 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹.. happy 4th of July to... we love shayne shayne!!!!!! No but for real...... if you ever have any knives you're feeling like donating......... I'll gladly gladly use it!!!!!! Lol
I'm not a blade steel snob.. In fact, I usually laugh at how anal people are about them. Honestly, I'm just not that impressed... But I try all the flavor of the months. Only one I've ever been impressed with..K390..I have not had the pleasure of sharpening it yet, but that's kinda of the point... It's impressive. Now corrosion.. Just sitting in my nightstand drawer.. It shows it needs more love.. It's a knife though..I care more about it's performance than looks. K390 is impressive.
Nobody ever bought a spyderco because it's pretty. We buy them because they work. Great ergos, great steels heat treated better than anyone else's steels, and handles you don't have to worry about.
That's a really good Spyderco delica 4. I will really consider this one as a purchase. $123.20 from #Knivesshipfree. My choice of IPA today, Tropic Haze, Bremerton Wa.
