Spyderco Caly 3.5 ZDP-189 Carbon Fiber Folding Knife (3.5″ Satin Plain) C144CFPE

Spyderco has several knife designs that remain steadfast year after year. What keeps people buying them over decades is their basic function but also that they’re upgraded or refreshed with new technology and materials when they become available. A prolific design in Spyderco’s line is the Calypso.

Its arrival over a decade ago as a mid-sized folder has spurned numerous variations and converted legions of knife buyers to the benefits of flat-ground, thick leaf-shaped blades. This is a workingman’s or woman’s folder founded on the premise that a comfortable, usable pocket knife is one that feels like a natural extension of your hand.

A larger, newer Bionic version of the original Calypso Jr. is the Caly3.5. The latest Calypso progeny has a three and a half inch VG-10 leaf-shaped blade that is thick at the tang, then tapering to a tip. The cutting edge is flat-ground and thin for precision and receptive cutting. Ergonomics and control were taken into the designs’ consideration and where handle and blade meet is a substantial finger choil. This is the spot where the index finger settles ergonomically leading the thumb to naturally position itself directly above on the blade’s spine. Also the spine is textured with slip resistant jimping making the knife feels like part of the hand with no sliding forward or backward while cutting. The handle has a mid-positioned back lock and a low profile wire clip, holding the folder deeply in a pocket facing tip-up. The innovative blade has an internal core of high-carbon ZDP-189 that is layered between two more pliable layers of 420J2 steel. This creates a high performance, stunningly visual flat-ground blade with intense cutting power.