Spyderco Delica, Carbon Fiber + CruWear (Pre-Order)

This is a pre-order with an expected ship date between Mar 18-24, depending on potential shipping delays to and from the distributor. We'll get it shipped to you as soon as we can!

These will come with a free lynch clip of your choice! Add this knife and the clip to your cart and use code FREELNWCLIP!

Story

The Spyderco Delica is an iconic design that has withstood the test of time and goes to show Spyderco's commitment to Constant Quality Improvement (CQI). The C11 Delica is one of Spyderco's oldest designs and can trace its lineage directly to the C05 Economy model from 1984, though it does also have some similarities to the C01 Worker from 1981. The C11 Delica has been in production in one version or another since 1990, when it debuted alongside the Endura. The Delica was conceived as a lightweight, ergonomic, and affordable daily cutting tool that could be opened and closed using only one hand and be clipped to the top of a pocket for easy access. In combining all of these features this knife helped define the concept of the modern folding knife.

Materials

Today we are looking at the Delica 4, the fourth (debatably fifth or sixth) iteration of the famed design. The standard version of the Delica 4 uses a molded Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon (FRN) handle with nested stainless steel liners, a 4-way reversible hourglass-style stainless steel pocket clip, and a full flat ground (FFG) VG-10 blade. This special edition changes things up though!

The main difference you'll notice with this is the all-black hardware and unnested liners, unique for a Delica. There have been unnested liner Delica 4s before, but they were uncoated and remain highly sought after years after they were discontinued. Though technically this variant could be repeated by the same supplier, we doubt that it will ever happen, so chances are, only 700-800 of these will ever exist. The unnested liners are a small change but when in hand, they feel more premium and robust than the standard nested FRN models. 

Another thing that further enhances the premium feel is the woven carbon fiber scales that give this knife a unique, classy aesthetic. The blade is full flat ground and made from CPM CruWear steel with a high quality black oxide coating enhanced with TiCN. To add to the sleek look, all of the hardware and components are also coated black. These features match a previous Dragonfly 2 dealer exclusive that ran a few years ago. like all Delicas, this knife is made in Japan.

CPM Cruwear (also stylized Cru-Wear or CruWear) is a very tough AND wear resistant semi-stainless American tool steel made by Crucible Industries of Geddes, NY and rolled by Niagara Specialty Metals of Akron, NY. Cruwear earned a cult-like following among the knife user community for its very well balanced characteristics and ease of sharpening, especially with Spyderco’s acclaimed heat treatment. Dr. Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds (and Magnacut inventor) rates this steel as an 8/10 in toughness, 5/10 in edge retention, and 5.5/10 in corrosion resistance (“stainless" classification starts at 6/10). This combination of properties means it will stand up to harder use while staying sharp, and with just a little mindfulness, corrosion won’t be an issue. With a sleek blackcoating, the corrosion resistance is enhanced even further. 

This unique version of the hall-of-fame EDC knife stands to become not only an excellent option for a user or gent's carry, but a limited production collectable piece. 

Technical Specifications:

• Overall Length: 7.11"
• Blade Length: 2.9"
• Handle Length: 4.25"
• Blade Thickness: 0.098"
• Weight: 2.9oz
• Liner Type: Full, Unnested
• Blade Material: CPM CruWear
• Handle Material: Woven Carbon Fiber
• Action: Manual
• Lock: Back Lock
• Country of Origin: Seki City, Japan
• Aftermarket Scales: Limited options.
  • It may be possible to change the scales with the old G10 and Pakkawood (KnifeCenter exclusive) variants, but definitely not the FRN variants.
  • Lynch MOD Delica kit (Titanium, linerless conversion set) should be compatible

Disassembly Notes

We advise some caution when disassembling your Delica and using quality screw bits (T8 and T6) and a take down mat. Overall, we rate the Delica as moderately difficult to reassemble; somewhat similar in difficulty to a PM2 or Para 3. The main challenge for Delicas comes from the final reassembly when trying to fit the lockbar and blade together, but since it is a unnested liner version, it should be much easier than the FRN variants.

Also note, Spyderco will continue to honor their warranty on the original components of their knives long as they are dis/reassembled properly and therefore mechanically functional.