HEY PETE...I realize this is a knife channel. But IMO, a video of your garden and your fruit trees would be really welcomed. The brief views in this video look great. Also, a chicken update is mandatory. THANKS PETE!!!
H1 and H2 steels aren't heat treated. They're brought to useable hardness through cycles of cold rolling. And, this sort of work hardening also goes on at the blade edge (it hardens somewhat, after being deformed). On the Spyderco forums, you'll find a few voices singing the praises of H1/H2 in serrated edges, where in use the serrations get a bit of edge deformation and work hardening, and as they're serrated, still work 'well enough'. As Vanax, LC200, and Magnacut exist, I don't think there's much use for H1/H2 anymore, except maybe in scuba diving fixed blades with serrated edges. In Spyderco's line, the Fish-Hunter for spearfishers, the Enuff Salt for cutting one's way out of monofilament entanglements (I find $3 EMT shears better here, TBH). H1/H2 is still a step up from the titanium blades many scuba divers carry.
The only H1 knife I have is the Ladybug serrated hawkbill, and I actually really love it. I sometimes have it on my keychain, and sometimes I have it loose, but I carry it almost every day as part of my multi-knife EDC. I find the hawkbill really useful. I do have to touch up the non-serrated portion and the tip pretty frequently, but it only takes seconds. I'm thinking of getting the serrated hawkbill Dragonfly as an upgrade.
Salt water kayak fisherman here. I got a few h1 plain edge blades to use as bait knives and they really disappoint. I really wish Spyderco made something like the NRS pilot knife in H2 with a pfd lash tab mounted sheath. Would be way better suited like this. The serrated versions are good for rope cutting in the salt. For a bait knife or other type of clean cutting in salt water lc200n is great, you just have to make sure it gets cleaned every once in a while. My waterway got wrecked sitting in a hatch bin where there was a little salt water and it took a lot of work to repair.
I’ve been using 154CM in nasty wet dirty environments with good results. Coated in Tuf Glide and let dry overnight but I don’t know if that helped. Was a $30 knife too, feels nice.
I'll be honest, when I can throw a hell of a nasty gritty edge on with sub 400 grit stones, and actually resharpen it, I feel like it's plenty aggressive for rope. You could even go nuts and use something like 36 grit, basically serrated.
The Leaf Jumper doesn’t have a choil , but the top of the handle comes right up to the blade edge , unlike the Delica/Endela. The Leaf Jumper’s grip shape is closer to the Stretch 2.
I view the Salt series as a specialized line meant for those working around water or kayakers. The knife isn't coming out unless it's to cut rope or netting in an emergency.
Sure- but it could be LC200N and be less of a delicate flower for not a huge increase in price. OR it could be a disposable gas station knife/Ganzo etc., that will rust or get lost for a fraction of the price if it's more of a working knife. I wouldn't buy this, even to put on a liferaft- especially when I could use subsitute a Benchmade water (Magnacut, higher price...but if your life depends on it?!) in the lifeboat kit.
@@andrewfournier8817lmfao the benchmade water knives are heat treated soft and also cost what, $100 more? if you’re set on magnacut just buy a spyderco manix 2 salt or pm2 salt.
@@artvandelay1720 I know we have to be careful about what company reps say, but Spyderco was saying they have comparable edge retention in their 2024 Shot Show presentations (they have some models offered in either steel). It sounded like the big difference is that LC200N is harder for knife makers to fabricate, which is a reason for companies to prefer Magnacut. I personally am still saving up for a knife with one of those two steels, and haven't made my choice yet.
@franticflintstone7999 They're trying not to make LC200N and H1/H2 seem redundant for your average person. I'd just go with a manix 2 LW Salt and call it a day or something that you'd like in a decent steel.
Magnacut is basically the best all-round for everything. It's like the best combo of toughness, and edge retention as the best non -stainless super steels but with the free bonus of being stainless
Next year trim all the branches about a foot or so up from the ground at the beginning of your growing season. When I did this with mine I got great results.
I have great success with mine sharpened at 12dps, but capped off with 20dps microbevel on spyderco medium rods and no strop. H2 also doesn't appear to have such wide central soft zone and doesn't require off set bevel as is the case of H1.
8:46 YoJimbo 2/YoJumbo is hollow ground in at least s30v, s90v, 20cv, m4, and cruwear. Further, there was a silver or black bladed variant of each steel, not sure if the black coating requires a modified heat treat, or yields different steel characteristics in such a thin behind the edge hollow grind.
I'm so bitter that spyderco's first FRN stretch 2 XL after the vg-10 was H2. I've been waiting for a k390 OR ANYTHING BESIDES H2 S2XL since the first one was released. I have the Cru-wear version. It is so amazing in hand and a great cutting tool. Though I'd say it is only worth getting if you don't like that the FRN versions don't have liners.
I think the h1/h2 steel is purely made for an emergency water knife. The edge won't cut for weeks but I don't think it was ever meant to. You get it sharp, and then forget about it until you need it. I have a salt series serrated knife tethered to my life jacket for when I'm canoeing or kayaking and it just lives there. And for that it is just fine. If you hard use or edc it you're probably gonna hate it and something like vg10 will be cheaper and better and still faily rust resistant.
Just FYI viewers - don't forget there are two other versions of the Stretch 2 XL, the VG10 lightweight model and the full steel liner and G10 CruWear model. The Stretch 2 XL is the best model ever! Well, maybe the Manix 2 and Manix 2 XL...but those are the two best!
Love watching you actually use a knife the way it was intended to be used around the yard. More honest reviews of knives and steels in this format would be greatly received! keep up the great work!
I have increased a preference for tool steels but have a soft spot for H1 salties. I hardly use them, mostly carry them when I go to the beach and that is only once or twice per year. It is softer steel feels like aluminum in a way, but they sharpen fast. Most of them are in fully serrated only have 2 in plain edge. I would not put them in my edc rotation for obvious reasons but they still have a place in my collection.
I experienced some deformation on the factory edge of my Spyderco Aqua Salt chopping branches. I sharpened it in the their CBN rods and noticed a significant improvement. It’s serrated and those are chisel ground. As others have said, I definitely recommend fairly low grit toothy edges to maintain bite. It should be something that you touch up in a minute on the low grit CBN/Daimond with maybe a couple light strokes on ceramic. That’s just my experience, though. I also like the other Salt steel I’ve tried, LC200N, more.
I've got the exact same knife but with a Spyderedge (full serrated). Every Salt H1 or H2 i had in the past always were fully serrated because they works a lot better than plain edge, the serrations on the Stretch 2 XL are nicer than the ones on the Pacific Salt because they got less depth, i've sold my PacSalt because it was a great rope cutter but not useful for other tasks, but the smaller serrations works better for most tasks (like a serrated tomato knife vs a break knife) Still prefer my Salt in Lc200n and Magnacut but my H2 Salt is a great "marine life" knife (boat/beach/kayak/paddleboard/fishing). I don't mind letting it sleep in my tackle box or opening chemical products bag with it, it will never rust.
I had a serrated H1 Pacific Salt (an Endura by another name) that was an excellent gardening/sod knife. The serrations were aggressive and pretty easy to maintain with a Sharpmaker. Sadly it’s resting at the bottom of a river, victim of a rafting trip! I keep a Tasman (H2 serrated hawkbill Delica) at the bottom of my Kayak/fisshing bag as a backup knife. I think you’ll find most people view H1/H2 as purpose specific, and serrated. I
I use H1 and H2 knives for work doing arboriculture and they really sing if you either just get it in SE, or sharpen it solely at a low grit for a mega coarse edge then gently strop it (around 150 - 200 grit). In SE it not only laughs at other steels, it makes vulgar jokes about their mums. Plus it is almost comically easy to sharpen.
@@sakulascrow1984 I have all three...Endela gets the most pocket time, with the Endura 2nd. Police is a fun carry, but it is HUGE. It cuts so great though, and you never run out of blade...plus, a huge chunk of k390 like that just makes me giggle.
For H2 the edge works much better at low grit (600). Been using H1 for over a decade around work, and also use H2 now in this exact same knife. This steel isn't really made for all day cutting, more for specific use. But I can say for a fact the serrated version of H2/H1 will run circles around any knife steel out there if they go head to head cutting all day. Cheers
I picked up a Pacific Salt with black FRN years ago and pretty quickly came to the same conclusion as you here. It's probably pretty decent in its niche category but for general edc not so much. It hangs out with my orange Endura because I also figured around the same time that I don't like nor need that size of knife for edc use. Even my k390 stretch 2 doesn't see a ton of use with me favoring my others like the Delica or Para 3, Mini Griptilian or Small Sebenza sized knives.
Thanks for the review! I had to get one because of the rust resistance and hollow grind, and on sale for $80. I like it but will reserve it for water sports only.
Although Lc200n and magnacut are not truly stainless like H1/H2 they are so superior in toughness and edge retention that the trade off isn’t worth it to me. Also I think you’re spot on with the kind of single/emergency use with the H1/H2 knives in general. As far as the stretch 2 xl. I’d love to see them make a LW version of the existing $280+ grey G10/Cruwear production model, as I think it is a good in between for vg10 and H2. That said, k390 would be the ultimate of course and in my opinion is what really made the current stretch 2 model so popular.
That is a very nice garden! I've never been tempted to get a knife with the H1 steel. The only reason to own it would be if you're using it around salt water.
I use my pacific salt 2 in lc200n all the time as a I work in an aquatic environment and fire fighting getting all sweaty in our gear. It's perfect for opening with my bunker gloves on as well and the lock back is easier to feel with them on too. Just all around great knife for working thin and slicey.
Fishing knife, kayaking knife, etc. Niche knife steel. Japanese steel from an island country. Not my cup of tea either, but Spyderco does a good job of filling specific ’gaps’ by using normal knife patterns with unusual steels. I’m happy they do this type of thing because it gives us all kinds of steels to try that few companies would even bother with. I’m happy it exists even if I won’t buy it…but somebody will…
I’ve heard of more than a few commercial fishermen that keep a serrated Spyderco on them for emergencies only. I think you’re right on the money with the H2.
apex stability should be better with this steel. i do not know the edge angle, but ug tools from germany made a machete out of this steel, did not hear bad things, but it was a kind of semi custom production, so not many hard users i think. otto used it at the 7 vs wild show season 2
Yeah Pete, enjoying your interaction with the comments. I was initially curious about this steel but after seeing information about how soft it is I'm not a buyer. Don't really have a problem with rust/ salt water. Glad you made this video.
Hey Pete, thank you - that was some very helpful information to know about H2 steel. I think I'll stick to LC200 or Magnacut if I decide to buy a Spyderco SALT series knife. I'm also really into gardening - ESPECIALLY FRUIT and NUT TREES, so I appreciated the tip you gave about picking off the initial fruit from a new tree for the first couple of years to let it focus on tree growth - and showing the results. You give a lot of useful/helpful information. By the way, one of my favorite mandarin orange varieties is "Golden Nugget". It is seedless, easy to peel, and has an excellent, sweet flavor! I'm not sure if they grow in Australia. I used to grow them in my backyard in Southern California. I'm living in Singapore now, and I have not had the heart to start my fruit tree growing again (I had to sell my house in the US along with all my fruit trees! 😢 I need to get back to it - now I can grow all the tropical fruit I always wanted to, but couldn't due to climate. It was just so discouraging to lose all my trees and hard work on them. I can only do container gardening here on the roof of my condo now! Another recommendation: I don't know if you ever heard of Dave Wilson Nursery - they are a fruit tree grower in North America. On the davewilson.com website, they have something called "FruitTube", which has tons of educational videos about growing and pruning different types of fruit trees. I LOVE these videos - very helpful! They especially focus on "Backyard Orchard Culture". Most of them are conducted by Tom Spellman who works for Dave Wilson Nursery. I'm not sure if you can get Dave Wilson trees in Australia, but they have some amazing varieties and many hybrid fruits (e.g. like a "pluot", "aprium", etc.). They also sell several multi-grafted trees with several varieties on one tree that have successive ripening and cross pollinate with each other. Even if you can't get their trees - check out the videos on FruitTube - I think you'll like them!
I can fit most medium gloves but not well so call me a barely large glove guy. I find the Stretch to be really uncomfortable. Like all the other molded handle Spydercos, there are no indexing points for your hand so you grab where you grab. For me, that ends up about an inch back of the blade on a Stretch giving me really crappy leverage. I've carried both a Delica and an Endura, each for about 10 years so I'm no stranger. Joy to me, the Endela hits my sweet spot. Ain't choices grand!
Thank you for the validation I have wanted for over 15 years. When Spyderco first released Salt knives, they were only available in H1, and they hyped it to the moon. I bought a Salt 1 (Delica) in it and absolutely hated it. It went so dull after only 20 minutes or so of cutting at work. I have to aggressively sharpen it every night. I went to Bladeforums to complain about it and got booed and hissed at by all the Spyderco trogs.
If you can believe it H1 / H2 have fanboys, mostly for serrated blades but they are a fairly sizable contingent on the spyderco forums. Gabe from the Home Slice did a test of a Serrated H2 salt against his death rope. I believe it did extremely well, like beat out dual grit magna-cut well.
That's a property of serrations, not of h1/h2. Larrin did his normal edge retention test on serrated vg-10 and it quickly reached a baseline level of sharpness and kept cutting indefinitely
@@willydstyle Thank you for this! This is the kind of intelligent and nuanced reply I like to see. Sadly, this is so often lacking in conversations of these sorts today, being instead filled with "bro science" or assumptions. I had a very strong suspicion this was the case and everyone was wrongly attributing it to the steel rather than the mechanical advantages of the edge style itself. I was unaware of this article of Larrin's so I will have to go looking for it. Thanks for letting us know about it!
@@topfueljunkie100 I'm not sure if he has an article about serrations. I believe I saw it mentioned in one of his articles but we (Larrin and I) had a short conversation about it on the spyderco forums where there is a loud minority that is extremely vocal about the magical properties of H1
The Salt series is intended for people who work in wet environments & especially saltwater environments, @Cedric & Ada Gear & Outdoors so fishing boats, docks, barges, tugs, oil platforms, dive boats etc, etc. not everyone works inland & your knife rusting because it’s any normal day can be really inconvenient.
totally get the purpose- just not seen a good reason you would choose H2 plain edge over lc200 for a very similar price. Some are saying it holds a great edge serrated tho so maybe that?
@@CedricAda H1 was supposedly ‘work hardened’ by the machining process that put a serrated edge on it so I assume it’s the same for H2? Serrated edges are better for slashing through rope & line, which is why they’re a popular for marine use but outside of that you’re right, the plane edged version makes little to no sense, I can say from experience that LC200N is the better choice there, although even it compromises edge holding for corrosion resistance. But all steels are a compromise, try taking Maxamet out to sea, Maxamet has really impressive edge holding performance but rusts if your eyes are a bit damp.
Not sure why you'd buy that steel these days for anything other than experiments. Vanax, Magnacut, LC200N all seem far better, and in almost all cases less stainless (s35/45, 14c28n and so on) stainlesses would probably do. "H" is an instant nope from me, and I spend a lot of time around salt water.
You know there is a strech 2 XL CRUCARTA version ? Maybe it was a sprint run idk. Those salt (except for new Magnacut ones, obviously, I speak about H1, LC200n and H2) are OK for backup diving knives to use once every other month and be resharpened afterwards, not for edc use at all. Idk about the strech 2 being so beginner friendly because of the aggressive downward blade like a shillin cuter, the thumb ramp and straight spine. I love it, k390 obviously, but I think for non knife people, a simple design may be better (think Laconico simple)
I can’t remember if it was Sal or Eric. But at a trade show they mentioned in an interview that either h1 or h2, I forget which, had drastically higher edge retention with a serrated edge. Like more than double I believe. That would be interesting to test. Pit your best h2 mirror edge against the factory serrations.
I have the CruWear Stretch 2XL variant Aside from the fact it came with a rolled edge from the blade hitting the lanyard tube when closed (very annoying), it’s a good knife. The price is absolutely asinine, though, being almost $300 for a basic lockback, which makes me very glad I got it as a gift. Now that the CruCarta Military 2 is out, it’s kind of irrelevant in terms of the market, assuming it wasn’t already. I really want to pick up the VG-10 lightweight version since it seems like a very good Endura competitor to me, but it’s perplexing as to why it costs more than an Endura while having the same steel, same blade length, and no liners whatsoever. The best deal in terms of the Stretch line seems to be the K390 version, since it’s not ridiculously overpriced or in any way redundant in terms of features for where it’s priced
The haighch steels excel at ocean, salty environments (Dead Sea, Great Salt Lake, Salton Sea). Using them anywhere else is sort of, fish out of water and all that. As you stated. I think it’s great for divers.
Thanks for this, Pete. Always wondered abt. H2 after it replaced H1. Now I know I can sleep without worrying about buying an H2 blade. I’ll stick with Vanax & Magnacut for corrosion-possible applications.
The hallow ground lends itself to sharpening. If you are sharpening regularly the thinner blade stock above the edge lends itself to maintaining a more narrow edge after material loss....allegedly 👌
As someone who loves the choil on the Byrd Cara Cara 2, I have always longed for that feature on the Endura. The regular Stretch 2 XL looks like it may fill that void. I'm glad Spyderco don't make a S2XL in Magnacut because the money would be flying out of pockets!
Spyderco made a catcherman sprintrun last year in lc200n. I wan't that thing so bad as it is omega large and quite thin. An absolute dream to use in the kitchen.
If you need or want very high corrosion resistance, then a superalloy like Terravantium is better than any steel and Terravantium also has really good edge retention. Disadvantage, expensive.
Eric Glesser said at blade show multiple times that serrated H2 gets micro hardness at the edge and better edge retention than anything else. Has not been my experience.😊
Dang Pete. I don’t know that this edge damage is normal. I haven’t had a H type steel in my collection in many years, but I remember sharpening my old salt knives fairly acutely, and none of them exhibit such severe edge damage from regular use, like cutting cardboard.
Why all the hate for General Aviation? Fair weather flying Pipers and Cessnas is a joy. I'm stuck on the compression lock with Spyderco. For a spine lock it's the Lawman for me and in XHP.
I remember reading on some forum that the hardness of the steel changes with use. Not sure how that would be possible, but is that something to consider?
they harden it in the factory via some kind of pressure application. some people used to talk about this steel work hardening like aluminium. seemed to get applauded or shouted down in roughly equal measure. I don’t know enough to really spout anything other than other peoples thoughts
Hey Cedric! With an abundance of cheap EDC knives available on the market today, how is it logical for a company to produce a knife with good ergonomics in underperforming H2 steel? I was shocked to see how easily the blade chipped! Thank you for your great knife reviews!
7Cr17 is also one of those that Rolls at 17 degrees, at least at anything lower then 58HRC 4Cr13 seems to do better at 58HRC then 7Cr does Maybe it was just the knife I had was poorly treated, but 7Cr suckkkkks It’s only good in a 50$ kitchen knife set
Hi Peter, I know this is of the video title. My curiosity is if you have had or are intending to have a review on The Spyderco Native chief ? Regards Leith
Love the reaction to the plane, mate I feel less concerned about my own reactions to most things now....since I'm clearly not the only one who reacts the same way.....lol Good vid too mate
HEY PETE...I realize this is a knife channel. But IMO, a video of your garden and your fruit trees would be really welcomed. The brief views in this video look great. Also, a chicken update is mandatory. THANKS PETE!!!
Also whats up with the little basement room and the moisture issue? I need to know pete!
Seconded!
I would totally be down to watch a nice relaxing garden tour.
Yeah Pete! Whats up with the irrigation system upgrade?
💯
H1 and H2 steels aren't heat treated. They're brought to useable hardness through cycles of cold rolling. And, this sort of work hardening also goes on at the blade edge (it hardens somewhat, after being deformed). On the Spyderco forums, you'll find a few voices singing the praises of H1/H2 in serrated edges, where in use the serrations get a bit of edge deformation and work hardening, and as they're serrated, still work 'well enough'.
As Vanax, LC200, and Magnacut exist, I don't think there's much use for H1/H2 anymore, except maybe in scuba diving fixed blades with serrated edges. In Spyderco's line, the Fish-Hunter for spearfishers, the Enuff Salt for cutting one's way out of monofilament entanglements (I find $3 EMT shears better here, TBH). H1/H2 is still a step up from the titanium blades many scuba divers carry.
This
The only H1 knife I have is the Ladybug serrated hawkbill, and I actually really love it. I sometimes have it on my keychain, and sometimes I have it loose, but I carry it almost every day as part of my multi-knife EDC. I find the hawkbill really useful. I do have to touch up the non-serrated portion and the tip pretty frequently, but it only takes seconds. I'm thinking of getting the serrated hawkbill Dragonfly as an upgrade.
Salt water kayak fisherman here. I got a few h1 plain edge blades to use as bait knives and they really disappoint.
I really wish Spyderco made something like the NRS pilot knife in H2 with a pfd lash tab mounted sheath. Would be way better suited like this.
The serrated versions are good for rope cutting in the salt.
For a bait knife or other type of clean cutting in salt water lc200n is great, you just have to make sure it gets cleaned every once in a while. My waterway got wrecked sitting in a hatch bin where there was a little salt water and it took a lot of work to repair.
I’ve been using 154CM in nasty wet dirty environments with good results. Coated in Tuf Glide and let dry overnight but I don’t know if that helped. Was a $30 knife too, feels nice.
I'll be honest, when I can throw a hell of a nasty gritty edge on with sub 400 grit stones, and actually resharpen it, I feel like it's plenty aggressive for rope. You could even go nuts and use something like 36 grit, basically serrated.
I still can’t get the Buck 119 toilet sharpening video out of my head. L’dMAO...
"but that's where my poop goes!" 🤣😂
A ceramic dish and some autosol paste on hard cardboard is too refined for our hero 😂
@3:30 The Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight is FRN and also has the finger choil!
The Leaf Jumper doesn’t have a choil , but the top of the handle comes right up to the blade edge , unlike the Delica/Endela. The Leaf Jumper’s grip shape is closer to the Stretch 2.
I view the Salt series as a specialized line meant for those working around water or kayakers. The knife isn't coming out unless it's to cut rope or netting in an emergency.
Sure- but it could be LC200N and be less of a delicate flower for not a huge increase in price. OR it could be a disposable gas station knife/Ganzo etc., that will rust or get lost for a fraction of the price if it's more of a working knife. I wouldn't buy this, even to put on a liferaft- especially when I could use subsitute a Benchmade water (Magnacut, higher price...but if your life depends on it?!) in the lifeboat kit.
@@andrewfournier8817lmfao the benchmade water knives are heat treated soft and also cost what, $100 more? if you’re set on magnacut just buy a spyderco manix 2 salt or pm2 salt.
Even a mora robust 12c27.. sharp, durable and cheap and yes i would trust my life with it.
@@islandpainter3964it's probably going to rust if you're a boat worker though.
Just for giggles, Sharpen it at around 12 degrees per side at 300ish grit and try it again.
I prefer LC200N. Magnacut as well
@@artvandelay1720 I know we have to be careful about what company reps say, but Spyderco was saying they have comparable edge retention in their 2024 Shot Show presentations (they have some models offered in either steel). It sounded like the big difference is that LC200N is harder for knife makers to fabricate, which is a reason for companies to prefer Magnacut. I personally am still saving up for a knife with one of those two steels, and haven't made my choice yet.
Go magnacut
@franticflintstone7999 They're trying not to make LC200N and H1/H2 seem redundant for your average person. I'd just go with a manix 2 LW Salt and call it a day or something that you'd like in a decent steel.
Magnacut is basically the best all-round for everything. It's like the best combo of toughness, and edge retention as the best non -stainless super steels but with the free bonus of being stainless
Next year trim all the branches about a foot or so up from the ground at the beginning of your growing season. When I did this with mine I got great results.
nice, yes i always look forward to shaping / pruning season
@@CedricAda Your plants look great!
Pete yelling at clouds
It's a good way to relieve stress, and your neighbors stop bothering you with petty crap.
Must be a Saturday lol
I have great success with mine sharpened at 12dps, but capped off with 20dps microbevel on spyderco medium rods and no strop. H2 also doesn't appear to have such wide central soft zone and doesn't require off set bevel as is the case of H1.
😊❤Hopefully magnacut version coming soon. Still waiting for PM2 in magnacut, although coated blade already released if you like it all blacked out.
8:46 YoJimbo 2/YoJumbo is hollow ground in at least s30v, s90v, 20cv, m4, and cruwear. Further, there was a silver or black bladed variant of each steel, not sure if the black coating requires a modified heat treat, or yields different steel characteristics in such a thin behind the edge hollow grind.
I really want a native5 in k390
Been eyeballing the Stretch 2 XL in Cru-wear with the grey g-10 handle scales. The thing looks so good, but it's so expensive.
Yea, what’s up with the price of that one.
meatsaulce, me too !
I'm so bitter that spyderco's first FRN stretch 2 XL after the vg-10 was H2. I've been waiting for a k390 OR ANYTHING BESIDES H2 S2XL since the first one was released.
I have the Cru-wear version. It is so amazing in hand and a great cutting tool. Though I'd say it is only worth getting if you don't like that the FRN versions don't have liners.
yeah they really price up their g10 versions of the japanese knives
I think the h1/h2 steel is purely made for an emergency water knife. The edge won't cut for weeks but I don't think it was ever meant to. You get it sharp, and then forget about it until you need it. I have a salt series serrated knife tethered to my life jacket for when I'm canoeing or kayaking and it just lives there. And for that it is just fine.
If you hard use or edc it you're probably gonna hate it and something like vg10 will be cheaper and better and still faily rust resistant.
Hey Pete
You should use a really coarse grind on it
Just FYI viewers - don't forget there are two other versions of the Stretch 2 XL, the VG10 lightweight model and the full steel liner and G10 CruWear model. The Stretch 2 XL is the best model ever! Well, maybe the Manix 2 and Manix 2 XL...but those are the two best!
When the Military/ParaMilitary series exists it would be hard to say the Stretch is the best, I'd pick a compression lock over a back lock any day.
Love watching you actually use a knife the way it was intended to be used around the yard. More honest reviews of knives and steels in this format would be greatly received! keep up the great work!
"Nothing like having a hobby everyone has to enjoy" 😂 Thank you for brightening my day
I had a feeling Basil could hit that note.
🤘🤘
I have increased a preference for tool steels but have a soft spot for H1 salties. I hardly use them, mostly carry them when I go to the beach and that is only once or twice per year. It is softer steel feels like aluminum in a way, but they sharpen fast. Most of them are in fully serrated only have 2 in plain edge. I would not put them in my edc rotation for obvious reasons but they still have a place in my collection.
I experienced some deformation on the factory edge of my Spyderco Aqua Salt chopping branches.
I sharpened it in the their CBN rods and noticed a significant improvement.
It’s serrated and those are chisel ground.
As others have said, I definitely recommend fairly low grit toothy edges to maintain bite.
It should be something that you touch up in a minute on the low grit CBN/Daimond with maybe a couple light strokes on ceramic.
That’s just my experience, though.
I also like the other Salt steel I’ve tried, LC200N, more.
Had one of the earlier ones in this steel and promptly got rid of it after use and sharpening. Good video!
I've got the exact same knife but with a Spyderedge (full serrated). Every Salt H1 or H2 i had in the past always were fully serrated because they works a lot better than plain edge, the serrations on the Stretch 2 XL are nicer than the ones on the Pacific Salt because they got less depth, i've sold my PacSalt because it was a great rope cutter but not useful for other tasks, but the smaller serrations works better for most tasks (like a serrated tomato knife vs a break knife)
Still prefer my Salt in Lc200n and Magnacut but my H2 Salt is a great "marine life" knife (boat/beach/kayak/paddleboard/fishing). I don't mind letting it sleep in my tackle box or opening chemical products bag with it, it will never rust.
I had a serrated H1 Pacific Salt (an Endura by another name) that was an excellent gardening/sod knife. The serrations were aggressive and pretty easy to maintain with a Sharpmaker. Sadly it’s resting at the bottom of a river, victim of a rafting trip! I keep a Tasman (H2 serrated hawkbill Delica) at the bottom of my Kayak/fisshing bag as a backup knife. I think you’ll find most people view H1/H2 as purpose specific, and serrated. I
I use H1 and H2 knives for work doing arboriculture and they really sing if you either just get it in SE, or sharpen it solely at a low grit for a mega coarse edge then gently strop it (around 150 - 200 grit). In SE it not only laughs at other steels, it makes vulgar jokes about their mums. Plus it is almost comically easy to sharpen.
K390 blue endura, one of the top edc for the money, my pick
you can score the wharnie for $98
i sport the endela in k390, can’t get it out of my pocket. might try the endura or a police 4 too.
I agree
Mine is the k390 police lightweight, or the dragonfly wharnecliffe in k390 if I need something small
@@sakulascrow1984 I have all three...Endela gets the most pocket time, with the Endura 2nd. Police is a fun carry, but it is HUGE. It cuts so great though, and you never run out of blade...plus, a huge chunk of k390 like that just makes me giggle.
For H2 the edge works much better at low grit (600). Been using H1 for over a decade around work, and also use H2 now in this exact same knife. This steel isn't really made for all day cutting, more for specific use. But I can say for a fact the serrated version of H2/H1 will run circles around any knife steel out there if they go head to head cutting all day. Cheers
I picked up a Pacific Salt with black FRN years ago and pretty quickly came to the same conclusion as you here. It's probably pretty decent in its niche category but for general edc not so much. It hangs out with my orange Endura because I also figured around the same time that I don't like nor need that size of knife for edc use. Even my k390 stretch 2 doesn't see a ton of use with me favoring my others like the Delica or Para 3, Mini Griptilian or Small Sebenza sized knives.
Thanks for the review! I had to get one because of the rust resistance and hollow grind, and on sale for $80. I like it but will reserve it for water sports only.
Although Lc200n and magnacut are not truly stainless like H1/H2 they are so superior in toughness and edge retention that the trade off isn’t worth it to me. Also I think you’re spot on with the kind of single/emergency use with the H1/H2 knives in general.
As far as the stretch 2 xl. I’d love to see them make a LW version of the existing $280+ grey G10/Cruwear production model, as I think it is a good in between for vg10 and H2. That said, k390 would be the ultimate of course and in my opinion is what really made the current stretch 2 model so popular.
That is a very nice garden! I've never been tempted to get a knife with the H1 steel. The only reason to own it would be if you're using it around salt water.
I use my pacific salt 2 in lc200n all the time as a I work in an aquatic environment and fire fighting getting all sweaty in our gear. It's perfect for opening with my bunker gloves on as well and the lock back is easier to feel with them on too. Just all around great knife for working thin and slicey.
Fishing knife, kayaking knife, etc. Niche knife steel. Japanese steel from an island country. Not my cup of tea either, but Spyderco does a good job of filling specific ’gaps’ by using normal knife patterns with unusual steels. I’m happy they do this type of thing because it gives us all kinds of steels to try that few companies would even bother with. I’m happy it exists even if I won’t buy it…but somebody will…
Yep, and their heat treatments are usually better than most companies offerings
I’ve heard of more than a few commercial fishermen that keep a serrated Spyderco on them for emergencies only. I think you’re right on the money with the H2.
apex stability should be better with this steel. i do not know the edge angle, but ug tools from germany made a machete out of this steel, did not hear bad things, but it was a kind of semi custom production, so not many hard users i think. otto used it at the 7 vs wild show season 2
Yeah Pete, enjoying your interaction with the comments. I was initially curious about this steel but after seeing information about how soft it is I'm not a buyer. Don't really have a problem with rust/ salt water. Glad you made this video.
would always choose the lc200 for basically the same money
Hey Pete, thank you - that was some very helpful information to know about H2 steel. I think I'll stick to LC200 or Magnacut if I decide to buy a Spyderco SALT series knife.
I'm also really into gardening - ESPECIALLY FRUIT and NUT TREES, so I appreciated the tip you gave about picking off the initial fruit from a new tree for the first couple of years to let it focus on tree growth - and showing the results. You give a lot of useful/helpful information. By the way, one of my favorite mandarin orange varieties is "Golden Nugget". It is seedless, easy to peel, and has an excellent, sweet flavor! I'm not sure if they grow in Australia. I used to grow them in my backyard in Southern California. I'm living in Singapore now, and I have not had the heart to start my fruit tree growing again (I had to sell my house in the US along with all my fruit trees! 😢 I need to get back to it - now I can grow all the tropical fruit I always wanted to, but couldn't due to climate. It was just so discouraging to lose all my trees and hard work on them. I can only do container gardening here on the roof of my condo now!
Another recommendation: I don't know if you ever heard of Dave Wilson Nursery - they are a fruit tree grower in North America. On the davewilson.com website, they have something called "FruitTube", which has tons of educational videos about growing and pruning different types of fruit trees. I LOVE these videos - very helpful! They especially focus on "Backyard Orchard Culture". Most of them are conducted by Tom Spellman who works for Dave Wilson Nursery. I'm not sure if you can get Dave Wilson trees in Australia, but they have some amazing varieties and many hybrid fruits (e.g. like a "pluot", "aprium", etc.). They also sell several multi-grafted trees with several varieties on one tree that have successive ripening and cross pollinate with each other. Even if you can't get their trees - check out the videos on FruitTube - I think you'll like them!
Beautiful orange trees.🍊
I laughed for 2 min after you cussed at the plane.. LoL you are priceless!
Pete the Stretch 2 XL in Cruwear is a great alternative also (for people wanting the XL and don't worry about the stainlessness).
I can fit most medium gloves but not well so call me a barely large glove guy. I find the Stretch to be really uncomfortable. Like all the other molded handle Spydercos, there are no indexing points for your hand so you grab where you grab. For me, that ends up about an inch back of the blade on a Stretch giving me really crappy leverage. I've carried both a Delica and an Endura, each for about 10 years so I'm no stranger. Joy to me, the Endela hits my sweet spot. Ain't choices grand!
Thank you for the validation I have wanted for over 15 years. When Spyderco first released Salt knives, they were only available in H1, and they hyped it to the moon. I bought a Salt 1 (Delica) in it and absolutely hated it. It went so dull after only 20 minutes or so of cutting at work. I have to aggressively sharpen it every night. I went to Bladeforums to complain about it and got booed and hissed at by all the Spyderco trogs.
The Waterway folder(one of my favorites) has LC200n, the choil and is about the same dimensions.
The spyderco fanbois collectively gather on rooftops to scream "h1 and h2 is best in serrations" ...myself included
If you can believe it H1 / H2 have fanboys, mostly for serrated blades but they are a fairly sizable contingent on the spyderco forums.
Gabe from the Home Slice did a test of a Serrated H2 salt against his death rope. I believe it did extremely well, like beat out dual grit magna-cut well.
nice, it is unfortunate that I will probably never buy a fully serrated knife haha
That's a property of serrations, not of h1/h2. Larrin did his normal edge retention test on serrated vg-10 and it quickly reached a baseline level of sharpness and kept cutting indefinitely
@@willydstyle Thank you for this! This is the kind of intelligent and nuanced reply I like to see. Sadly, this is so often lacking in conversations of these sorts today, being instead filled with "bro science" or assumptions.
I had a very strong suspicion this was the case and everyone was wrongly attributing it to the steel rather than the mechanical advantages of the edge style itself. I was unaware of this article of Larrin's so I will have to go looking for it. Thanks for letting us know about it!
@@topfueljunkie100 I'm not sure if he has an article about serrations. I believe I saw it mentioned in one of his articles but we (Larrin and I) had a short conversation about it on the spyderco forums where there is a loud minority that is extremely vocal about the magical properties of H1
The Salt series is intended for people who work in wet environments & especially saltwater environments, @Cedric & Ada Gear & Outdoors so fishing boats, docks, barges, tugs, oil platforms, dive boats etc, etc. not everyone works inland & your knife rusting because it’s any normal day can be really inconvenient.
totally get the purpose- just not seen a good reason you would choose H2 plain edge over lc200 for a very similar price. Some are saying it holds a great edge serrated tho so maybe that?
@@CedricAda H1 was supposedly ‘work hardened’ by the machining process that put a serrated edge on it so I assume it’s the same for H2? Serrated edges are better for slashing through rope & line, which is why they’re a popular for marine use but outside of that you’re right, the plane edged version makes little to no sense, I can say from experience that LC200N is the better choice there, although even it compromises edge holding for corrosion resistance. But all steels are a compromise, try taking Maxamet out to sea, Maxamet has really impressive edge holding performance but rusts if your eyes are a bit damp.
Not sure why you'd buy that steel these days for anything other than experiments. Vanax, Magnacut, LC200N all seem far better, and in almost all cases less stainless (s35/45, 14c28n and so on) stainlesses would probably do. "H" is an instant nope from me, and I spend a lot of time around salt water.
Your videos are usually different then USA knife videos and that is a good change of pace. Like watching your videos
You know there is a strech 2 XL CRUCARTA version ? Maybe it was a sprint run idk.
Those salt (except for new Magnacut ones, obviously, I speak about H1, LC200n and H2) are OK for backup diving knives to use once every other month and be resharpened afterwards, not for edc use at all.
Idk about the strech 2 being so beginner friendly because of the aggressive downward blade like a shillin cuter, the thumb ramp and straight spine. I love it, k390 obviously, but I think for non knife people, a simple design may be better (think Laconico simple)
I see that fender box, nice
A man of exquisite taste.
@@charlessalmond7076daughter of exquisite taste! Its her fender bass 😊
@@CedricAda oh hell yeah!
I can’t remember if it was Sal or Eric. But at a trade show they mentioned in an interview that either h1 or h2, I forget which, had drastically higher edge retention with a serrated edge. Like more than double I believe. That would be interesting to test. Pit your best h2 mirror edge against the factory serrations.
I have the CruWear Stretch 2XL variant
Aside from the fact it came with a rolled edge from the blade hitting the lanyard tube when closed (very annoying), it’s a good knife. The price is absolutely asinine, though, being almost $300 for a basic lockback, which makes me very glad I got it as a gift. Now that the CruCarta Military 2 is out, it’s kind of irrelevant in terms of the market, assuming it wasn’t already. I really want to pick up the VG-10 lightweight version since it seems like a very good Endura competitor to me, but it’s perplexing as to why it costs more than an Endura while having the same steel, same blade length, and no liners whatsoever. The best deal in terms of the Stretch line seems to be the K390 version, since it’s not ridiculously overpriced or in any way redundant in terms of features for where it’s priced
The haighch steels excel at ocean, salty environments (Dead Sea, Great Salt Lake, Salton Sea). Using them anywhere else is sort of, fish out of water and all that. As you stated. I think it’s great for divers.
Thanks for this, Pete. Always wondered abt. H2 after it replaced H1. Now I know I can sleep without worrying about buying an H2 blade. I’ll stick with Vanax & Magnacut for corrosion-possible applications.
Basal for the win. Thank you for the uptick in content, appreciated the wife series, but as always, lovely film making over the past few months
If someone worked on or around the ocean, do you think anything more stainless than Magnacut would be necessary?
I wish they did hollow grinds again. Still have an s30 manix that’s hollow ground. Back when they were $99
The hallow ground lends itself to sharpening. If you are sharpening regularly the thinner blade stock above the edge lends itself to maintaining a more narrow edge after material loss....allegedly 👌
I love the vg10 flat ground version of this knife. I’m patiently awaiting the k390 version.
Thanks again! I love your videos for all the thought and work that goes into them.
As someone who loves the choil on the Byrd Cara Cara 2, I have always longed for that feature on the Endura. The regular Stretch 2 XL looks like it may fill that void. I'm glad Spyderco don't make a S2XL in Magnacut because the money would be flying out of pockets!
Spyderco made a catcherman sprintrun last year in lc200n. I wan't that thing so bad as it is omega large and quite thin. An absolute dream to use in the kitchen.
Yeah. LC200N or definitely Magnacut are both highly preferred over H2!
Do you think the edge would hold longer with a more obtuse angle like 20 or 22.5 degrees?
What’s probably clogging up your stones with the h2 steel is all that soft nickel in its composition if I am not mistaken.
If you need or want very high corrosion resistance, then a superalloy like Terravantium is better than any steel and Terravantium also has really good edge retention. Disadvantage, expensive.
Or HIC.
Eric Glesser said at blade show multiple times that serrated H2 gets micro hardness at the edge and better edge retention than anything else. Has not been my experience.😊
Dang Pete. I don’t know that this edge damage is normal. I haven’t had a H type steel in my collection in many years, but I remember sharpening my old salt knives fairly acutely, and none of them exhibit such severe edge damage from regular use, like cutting cardboard.
The Hap 40 Stretch is one of my most regretted sell I’ve been through. It’s still tough. I carry on tho, with help of meetings and my community.
Nice vid!
isn’t H2 a cold rolled steel? Saw a video about it and it doesn’t feel like a good choice for knife steel at all when I read about it 😅
I have one knife in H1. It lives in the pocket of my kayaking life vest. It might have cut something at some point, but I can’t remember.
You rock, and your videos are ace and thought-provoking. Keep making them.
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on the k390 Leafjumper. But I can't before I've seen a decent review here on UA-cam...
A man named Peter Freuchen once used a poop knife to save his life. I believe H2 is a homage to this myth.
vanax steel for the win. both on edge retention and corrosion resistance. Not sure why no one seems to be acknowledging this.
I got the spydercos pm2 in dlc magnacut. Its awful. Im wondering if its because they have to ruin the temper to do the coating.
Well thanks for the warning Pete, i was pondering the idea of h2 but i think ill stick with magnacut
So you are saying that 17 degrees is “Edge-divergent?” I can; therefore, like it!
Why all the hate for General Aviation? Fair weather flying Pipers and Cessnas is a joy. I'm stuck on the compression lock with Spyderco. For a spine lock it's the Lawman for me and in XHP.
I would rather have a full serrated version, personally in h2. Thank you for your feedback much appreciated 👍
I remember reading on some forum that the hardness of the steel changes with use. Not sure how that would be possible, but is that something to consider?
they harden it in the factory via some kind of pressure application. some people used to talk about this steel work hardening like aluminium. seemed to get applauded or shouted down in roughly equal measure. I don’t know enough to really spout anything other than other peoples thoughts
I believe there's a cruwear one in G10 too.
Keep on dropping lots of content!!!!
I'd be curious to see a head to head "Rust off" between H2, LC 200N, and Magnacut.
LC200N is bomber steel
He already did a video on it and even mentions it in the beginning 1:31
Great review. Thanks, Pete.
Keep them coming Pete!
What did you get from Fender? New amp,guitar?
Our daughter has taken up Bass guitar. 🎸 🤘
I got this funny feeling that when you cut up the bell pepper, then took a bite, that you were going to spit it out in disgust.
they are definitely better when red
Hey Cedric! With an abundance of cheap EDC knives available on the market today, how is it logical for a company to produce a knife with good ergonomics in underperforming H2 steel? I was shocked to see how easily the blade chipped! Thank you for your great knife reviews!
7Cr17 is also one of those that Rolls at 17 degrees, at least at anything lower then 58HRC
4Cr13 seems to do better at 58HRC then 7Cr does
Maybe it was just the knife I had was poorly treated, but 7Cr suckkkkks
It’s only good in a 50$ kitchen knife set
Hi Peter,
I know this is of the video title.
My curiosity is if you have had or are intending to have a review on
The Spyderco Native chief ?
Regards
Leith
New Spyderco Native Chief Full Review and Vs Police 4
ua-cam.com/video/gDNW8kFHnxA/v-deo.html
Yeah, H1 and H2 are austenitic steel, like your pots and pans that aren't magnetic, so there's no heat treatment at all.
Thanks Peter. I too am not a fan of hollow grinds.my only one is a Buck 110 from 1975. 🎸🔪
I’m here on behalf of the anti finger choil league, “Endela is better”, thank you for you time.
Love the reaction to the plane, mate
I feel less concerned about my own reactions to most things now....since I'm clearly not the only one who reacts the same way.....lol
Good vid too mate
I'm not a big snob when it comes to steels, but that extreme close up shot of the mangled edge made me dry heave a little bit.
The manix 2 lightweight has the forward finger choil
Maybe H1/H2 has had its day and it’s time to use LC200 or Magnacut for the Salt Series. I love my Jumpmaster 2 but as said it sits there just in case.