Ambitious long term folder test.

[comis]

Great picture, looks like an ad from a knife magazine! 

[Gareth]

I like the enamel mug sitting in the background.

[Grathr]

Thanks Comis

The mug is my buddys. I have a much simpler enamel mug.
Enamel mugs are great for hiking in my opinion. Much better than plastic or aluminum. You can drink pretty much anything from a enamel mug as it does not leave a metallic or plastic taste in the fluid in it. And its easy to clean. 


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[Grathr]

Day 40:
Today I discovered a few specs of rust on the blade. I have not been cleaning it much, so it might come frome opening a sausage pack or my sweat.
It rubbed off easily.


Surprisingly there has still not been any need to sharpen it.


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[ducttapetech]

Wow! 40 days. Very nice.

Nate

[comis]

Wow! 40 days. Very nice.

Nate

+1 

Any knife in the past going thru the same thing will need sharpening?  Just curious as a reference.

[Grathr]

Wow! 40 days. Very nice.

Nate

+1 

Any knife in the past going thru the same thing will need sharpening?  Just curious as a reference.

Both the kershaw shuffle and the Gerber swagger mini needed a touch up after about two weeks. 


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[ducttapetech]

My vics and LMs need a touch up or just plain need sharpened after a week or two of use. My higher end folders or fixed blades go a lot longer before before needing touched up or sharpened. And I am not talking about keeping them razor sharp. Just sharp so I can cut stuff safely.
 

Nate

[comis]

Wow! 40 days. Very nice.

Nate

+1 

Any knife in the past going thru the same thing will need sharpening?  Just curious as a reference.

Both the kershaw shuffle and the Gerber swagger mini needed a touch up after about two weeks. 


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Thank you! 

I just looked up both of them, and shuffle is pretty interesting to me, with the finger choil and its small profile. 

My vics and LMs need a touch up or just plain need sharpened after a week or two of use. My higher end folders or fixed blades go a lot longer before before needing touched up or sharpened. And I am not talking about keeping them razor sharp. Just sharp so I can cut stuff safely.
 

Nate

For me, most of my Vic only need to attend some light paper and card box cutting, so it doesn't need sharpening all that much unless I want it hair whittling sharp.   And I really love my Spyderco Sharpmaker for most sharpening job, it's almost like perfect match for all my Vics sharpening.

[Grathr]

The Shuffle is a great knife for the money.


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[Dragon Lord]

Good mini review so far, I'll keep watching at this post.

 

[Goatlord666]

I'm gonna go out and gent an Ambitious...I never realized they can look so gorgeous outdoors

[Styerman]

A quality folder can last a long time . I have a couple that have seen plenty of use , and are 10 years old . I have a 2005 Strider PT , that's seen heavy jobsite use , it's now late 2014 - it still locks up solid and looks Minty ( when cleaned up ) .

Chris

[Grathr]

Day 67:
After cutting some heavy fabric yesterday it was finally time to give the blade a touch up today.
I am however impressed by how long Ambi has held her edge.


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[comis]

Grathr, thanks for the update!  It's been a while, and surprise it endure for so long.  It does say something about the Byrd QC and the steel is a good user steel for EDC application.  It maybe a little early to say(since it's going to be 6 month test), but it may be an around win-win situation for everyone(brand, manufacturer, buyer+user).

[ducttapetech]

Thanks for the update! I was wondering how you where getting along with it.

Nate

[Grathr]

Ambi is doing great, but Im getting a little tired of carrying the same knife day in and day out, so Im going to give Ambi a rest for a couple of days. Im also going to let her rest all december as I have entered Kampfers Skeletool challenge. But dont worry, Ambi will not be forgotten and the long term test will continue.


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[Grathr]

How does the saying go? You dont know what you have until its gone.
For the last few days I have carried other budget folders. A kershaw corral creek, a Higonokami, a Frost anniversary  folder and a Buck112. And Ambi beats them all hands down as a EDC folder. It cuts better than all of them and its comfortable to use, but still very pocketable.
This has made me wondering: if their budget knives are so good, then the more expensive ones must be awesome. Dont they?
Im looking forward to finding out if thats the case.


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[Grathr]

Day 102:
Ambi needed a touch up again today.
Other than that, evereything is OK.


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[comis]

How does the saying go? You dont know what you have until its gone.
For the last few days I have carried other budget folders. A kershaw corral creek, a Higonokami, a Frost anniversary  folder and a Buck112. And Ambi beats them all hands down as a EDC folder. It cuts better than all of them and its comfortable to use, but still very pocketable.
This has made me wondering: if their budget knives are so good, then the more expensive ones must be awesome. Dont they?
Im looking forward to finding out if thats the case.


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Nice update and thank you for sticking to the test.

I am curious how you will perceive other Spydies after you are quite hooked on Ambi.  The thing about inexpensive user folder is the high price/performance ratio, and it often diminish as the price goes up.

[Grathr]

Day: 110
Quick update.
The skele challenge is now over, and Ambi is back on duty.
I had to tighten the blade screw today, as it had develeoped some blade play. A quick and Easy adjustment.




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[Aloha]

How does the saying go? You dont know what you have until its gone.
For the last few days I have carried other budget folders. A kershaw corral creek, a Higonokami, a Frost anniversary  folder and a Buck112. And Ambi beats them all hands down as a EDC folder. It cuts better than all of them and its comfortable to use, but still very pocketable.
This has made me wondering: if their budget knives are so good, then the more expensive ones must be awesome. Dont they?
Im looking forward to finding out if thats the case.


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Nice update and thank you for sticking to the test.

I am curious how you will perceive other Spydies after you are quite hooked on Ambi.  The thing about inexpensive user folder is the high price/performance ratio, and it often diminish as the price goes up.

I'd agree there is something to this.  I also believe as the price goes up psychologically the knife performs better since in the owners mind it has to. 

I have a Tenacious that gets used quite a lot vs a Native.  The price difference isn't substantial but supposedly the steels are miles apart.

Glad to hear Ambi is back in service.     

[Grathr]

In teory the more expencive knives should perform better.
But do a knife that costs twice as much do the job twice as good?

Also I have ordered Ambi's replacement for the next stage of the challenge. I could not decide between the H1 Salt 1 and the VG10 dragonfly 2, so I did it the MTO way, and ordered both
Ill decide wich one to use in fase 2 when I have them both.


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[Aloha]

In teory the more expencive knives should perform better.
But do a knife that costs twice as much do the job twice as good?

Also I have ordered Ambi's replacement for the next stage of the challenge. I could not decide between the H1 Salt 1 and the VG10 dragonfly 2, so I did it the MTO way, and ordered both
Ill decide wich one to use in fase 2 when I have them both.

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This is the million dollar question.  I believe once the price on a knife goes up the feeling is the performance does as well however I'm not so sure.  There are some fit and finish details for sure that will tend to be better and some "better" materials but 2 X's as much performance  . 

The H1 is a knife I am interested in as well.  It does seem the steel in a particularly wet environment is worth the cost in this case. 

[HarleyXJGuy]

Great idea for a test, not to mention your excellent choice of brand. You may have set this test up for failure from the star by picking the Ambitious. The value line of chinese made Spydercos are very good knives by all accounts and I am not sure how much better your high end Spydie will feel.

8Cr13MoV is a very good steel when heat treated correctly and we all know Spyderco has that down. Wish you would have got a real super steel for your new knife though. While VG-10 is a step up for sure it is no CTS-204P or M390.

Do you have a lot of rust issues where you are? I am thinking that is why you picked VG-10 and H-1 knives?

[JAfromMn]

 

[Grathr]

Great idea for a test, not to mention your excellent choice of brand. You may have set this test up for failure from the star by picking the Ambitious. The value line of chinese made Spydercos are very good knives by all accounts and I am not sure how much better your high end Spydie will feel.

8Cr13MoV is a very good steel when heat treated correctly and we all know Spyderco has that down. Wish you would have got a real super steel for your new knife though. While VG-10 is a step up for sure it is no CTS-204P or M390.

Do you have a lot of rust issues where you are? I am thinking that is why you picked VG-10 and H-1 knives?

Both yes and no.  I live 30 km from a salt water fjord.  And working in constuction I might find my self working real close to the water front again this summer. Also I think I have quite corrosive sweat, wich made Ambi rust a bit after a while, and the crome come off a watch I wore this autoumn.
I picked VG10 because i have a fantastic Fallkniven F1 made from the same steel, and Im curious if the Spyderco will be the same. 

I picked the H1 out of curiosity as a steel that is not hardened by heattreatment, but by rolling.  It is however, the way I understand it, a very specialized rustproof steel for diving and such, and might not be fair to compare with other steels for normal EDC.  Then again, I doubt that most people who buy the Salt knives do use them for diving, and messing about in water. It will also be a great folder to have with me for paddling and fishing.


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[HarleyXJGuy]

So I am convinced we live in a strange world.

Since I got my Spyderco Sharpmaker here it has been decided Harley would be the Camp knife sharpening ho. Anyhow the day after we are talking about your Ambi the EWO NCO comes up to me and hands me a knife to sharpen for him.

No it was not an Ami but its slightly bigger brother the Tenacious. What are the odds?

I am reminded why I like these China made Spyderco's so much. They have a lot of features I enjoy and a price that is just right. I actually like the G-10 on these knives better then the higher end Spydies not to mention these are flow through construction.

Here is a pic of my co workers knife.

[captain spaulding]

All the Tenacious "line" of knives are great. 

[Grathr]

You really get a lot of knife for your money.


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