Customer Reviews

Spyderco C91SBK Pacific Salt Knife

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my opinion, this is the best pocketknife on Earth, at any price. I can carry pretty much any knife I want, and I use my knife daily for serious cutting tasks. I choose the Pacific Salt for my EDC, and when I finish typing this review, I am going to order another to keep as backup. Here's why:

The ergonomics are perfect for me. The handle is just the right size for my hand, and the knife has enough blade to be useful without being too large. Among other things, I climb rocks and do high rigging, which means that I need a one-hand opener for safety and speed of access. With the pocket clip and large thumbhole, this knife is instantly at the ready. (Tactical concerns are not primary for me, but if called upon, this knife could certainly be put to use very quickly, with great effect) But unlike almost any other knife I've tried, this one can be closed and put away one-handed just as fast as it can be opened, without shifting grip. It takes some practice, but I've been carrying a Spyder every day since 1990, so I've had some practice. And although very easy to manipulate, the lock is also very secure- I have never had it come unlocked unexpectedly, and it seems more than strong enough to lock against any reasonable force. The action is very smooth and precise, having neither play nor drag.

The knife is thin, lightweight, and sits flat in the pocket. It's the flattest, lightest knife of this size I've seen. Bonus points for having a titanium pocket clip, too. I recently lowsided my motorcycle (sudden front flat in a corner) and slid about 50 feet, largely on my Salt's pocket clip. Not recommended, but it barely got scratched, let alone actually damaged.

The Pacific Salt offers more blade and cutting power than any knife its weight. Part of that is the excellent H-1 steel. This is great steel for a real cutting knife. This stuff keeps an edge for a long time, like over a week of heavy-duty 3/8" hemp rope cutting, 14 hours a day, rigging a movie set. When it comes time to sharpen, it takes some doing, as the steel is quite hard, but it's very worth it for the edgeholding. (I use a Spyder Sharpmaker, which works really well for all my knives, even on serrated blades) Part of the cutting power is the unique "spyderedge" serrations, which are the best I've worked with. They rip right through rope, webbing, whatever, like it's not there. Pretty much every time I've let a guy try my knife, he says something like "Damn! That thing is _sharp_!"- and that's from guys who use knives all the time. As far as rust resistance, I have gotten all sorts of nasty stuff on the blade and not cleaned it for a while, and it hasn't corroded or tarnished at all. It's the closest thing to truly stainless steel anywhere, although any steel can corrode under the right (wrong) conditions. Call it extremely corrosion-resistant, but do try to rinse off salt, acids, etc, as soon as possible.

Finally, although I really would prefer this knife to any other at any price, the Pacific Salt is dirt cheap for what you get. Unless you egregiously abuse it by prying with it, trying to stick it through a car door, or something equally inappropriate, it will last forever. With the excellent clip, it'll never fall out of your pocket, even if you're hanging upside down like I sometimes do- you can remove the barrel bolt and adjust clip tension to suit. But if you do manage to lose it, drop it overboard, or whatever, you're not out a bundle. This knife represents absolutely maximal bang per buck, IMO.

Potential negative points: The clip is not reversible. This is actually a positive for me, as I like tip-up carry, and don't want the knife cluttered up with a lug for tip-down. (The knife is, however, ambidextrous; you can swap the clip to the other side for left-pocket carry) The black finish on the clip and barrel bolt tends to fade and wear- maybe leaving them unfinished would be better, and you'd get to see the titanium of the clip. The clip tends to chew up the lip of your pants pocket after a while- if you care, you could take off the clip and round off the edges on the underside with a Dremel. I might actually do that, come to think of it, as it will wear out a Carhartt pocket lip before the pants are fully worn out. The FRN handle is not G-10 or anything else fancy. Fine by me; guys who want to spend more money for cooler looking handles have many fine products from Spyderco and others to choose from. The FRN handle is rigid, durable, and grippy enough for any activity, even with wet hands or gloves. I'm reaching here- I really don't see any serious negatives to this knife.

Conclusion: Buy at least two and keep the spare(s) against the terrible day when they discontinue this, the best pocketknife on Earth.

The Spyderco Pacific is one of a number of models in a specially designed lineup of compact, lightweight folders offering plain, serrated, and 'SpyderEdge' combo blades crafted in Japanese H1 steel and with a coated titanium clip - all impervious to corrosion. This knife is a bit larger than the regular Salt I knives which sport a modified 3" Sheepsfoot blade. Living in a coastal area means that salt air constantly attacks any metal objects, especially knives. I use knives every day, and they all require strict attention to avoid pitting and corrosion even from a single overnight exposure. After searching for the perfect knife for my needs and my area, I found the Spyderco Salt series. You can use this knife on the boat, at the beach, or on the pier, then put it away even after exposure to salt water - and not have to worry about rust! While I like a plain blade for ease of sharpening, this model's mostly serration will come in very handy for swiftly cutting small stuff or line with relative ease. Tightly machined, secure locking with a recessed release, comfortable thumb ramp for leverage, and nicely textured reinforced nylon handle. The knife comes in a little plastic bag in the typical flat Spyderco cardboard box. No sheath, but the clip is reversible for right or left-handers. I only wish this type of steel and knife was manufactured in the U.S. - but Spyderco is a good company with good products, so you can buy with confidence. This is the only offshore-manufactured knife I will buy. By the way, I fail to see how it is possible to cut one's finger using the oversized 14mm thumb hole considering the Japanese machining tolerances used in production of this superior product.

Overall I'm very pleased with this knife. Since all of my diving is in warm, clear water I don't like to dive with a full-size knife. This folder fits well in one of my BC pockets. The blade is sharp and it is easy to open. The rust-resistant claims are 95% accurate. The only issue I have with it is that the engraving on the side of the knife blade says "H1" I belive, for the type of metal used. That spot does rust up first after a week of diving and does need to be scrubbed to remove the light amount of rust. The rest of the blade and knife manage to stay rust free and the blade retains it's sharpness. I would recommend it.

This is an excellent knife. I owned an Endura and this knife feels almost exactly like it. The hole to open it is a little bigger (you can open the knife while wearing a glove) and has more of an 'edge' to it. I read about the other reviewer cutting himself on it and I can certainly tell that the edge is sharp, but I don't think it's sharp enough to cut myself. It fells more 'grabby' to me, less cutting.

It has a good weight, and little notches where you hold your thumb on the knife when it's open. I like these, it gives you more control with your cut.

The steel feels solid and well built. It is extremely sharp. The kind of sharp where you can hold a piece of paper in the air and slice through it w/o tearing. So far it's held an edge fine for me. I'm very impressed.

An no rust forever!

Quick Summary of the SpyderCo Pacific:

Quality: While this knife is only around $50 (rather cheap for a SpyderCo), it handles like a knife selling for $150! The fact is that SpyderCo refuses to release a knife unless it's high-quality, so this model being comparably inexpensive compared to other SpyderCo models means virtually nothing....it's very sturdy and very sharp, and the thumb-hole SpyderCo uses to help their blades open so easily is enlarged to 14mm on the SpyderCo Pacific to help accommodate someone with gloves or wet hands. This comes in handy even when your hands are dry!

Locking Mechanism - The locking mechanism is tried-and-true, and SpyderCo is known for having nearly-unbreakable tactical folders. Once opened they feel like a bar of titanium....they immediately feel "full tang." I've had several SpyderCo's and never has a lock failed on me.

The blade is mostly serrated with that patented SpyderCo design, although I believe you can opt for a different style on Amazon. I love serrated blades, so I went with this specific model. It eats through rope like a lightsaber. Knowing that the "SpyderCo Pacific" is rust-proof is a big ease if you're near the beach, or if it gets wet. The blade is long and thin, which I like.

Overall this is an amazing knife, and it should last you a lifetime (especially with SpyderCo's famous warranty.) I'd have paid DOUBLE for this knife. The lack of fancy bells and whistles makes this knife sturdy, reliable, and unlikely to encounter any problems which a cheap sharpener can't fix.

Go ahead and treat yourself!

I purchased this knife as an everyday carry knife. I've been a fan of Spyderco knives for a very long time and was disheartend when I lost my endura several years back.

I bought the Pacific Salt for it's resistance to the elements and it's ease of carry, not to mention the legendary Spyderco sharpness. I thought having the ability to move the clip to other side would eliminate one of my biggest peeves with clip-carry knives. I put stuff in my pockets all the time, including my fancy smartphone. Almost all of my clip-carry knives sit snuggly in the corner of my pocket but the make it difficult to get in and out of your pocket to retrieve keys and your phone. Some of them down right scratch you or your phone. I often found the knife clipped inside my pocket more of a pain than convenience.

This knife breaks my pet peeve like kindling. It sit's snugly in the corner and the edges you feel going in and out of your pocket are smooth and ergo. The knife is big but weighs next to nothing. It is by far the best knife I own when it comes to carry ability inside the pocket.

I'm going to purchase a slightly smaller Spyderco folder as my gentlemen folder since they clip so nicely inside your pocket.

You can't go wrong with this knife.

I couldnt pass this up @the price I found it for. I already had a Salt1 w/ plain edge in yellow. I use these for cutting bait @ the beach, surf fishing. Either would be fine but the serrated edge goes thru fish scales easier. Something to consider: the plain edge looses super sharpness kinda fast BUT is easy to resharpen. I heard the process of serrating H1 steel work-hardens it so it should hold an edge longer. The Salt1 is a better size for EDC but I can still carry the Pacific. Spyderco doesnt reinforce the handle with steel liners so it prob wont take much prying but why would I pry with it anyway, it is for cutting. The lack of liners make it light weight and help it be rust proof. I recommend it.

Roughly 15 years ago, I was attacked by a pit bull terrier. I reached into my pocket and all I had was a small Swiss Army pen knife. I didn't even bring it out as I would have to take my eyes off the dog just to open the knife and it only had a one & half inch blade. Kicking and backing off ended the conflict, but I was scared big time. I spent the next few months buying different knifes, and ended with this Spyderco. It is very light, it can be opened with a one hand operation as fast as a switch blade without even looking at it. Over the years I never sharpened it as the knife kept its edge. Also no rust. Sadly, I lost it a few months ago, and I am happy to find it here on Amazon so I can buy another one. I still carry my Swiss Army knife for all of those pocket knife jobs, like opening a can or scissors. But I always carry the Spyderco as it is my weapon and I am ready for that damn dog or what else....

Very sharp! Easy to use and very light. I would definitely get another Spiderco. This is my second knife from this company only because I lost the first.

I use these for work. I am a commercial diver in the Gulf of Mexico. I have yet to see one of the rust up. The hard steel keeps an edge. Knife is good for just about any situation you can imagine.