C11FPWCBK / C11FSWCBK

Delica®4

Lightweight Wharncliffe

MSRP: $114.95
ORIGIN: Japan

Tracing its roots all the way back to 1990, the Delica is one of Spyderco’s most enduring and iconic designs. It helped pioneer the concept of the lightweight, injection-molded knife handle and even today, in its fourth-generation form, continues to set the standard in compact, high-performance, cutting tools.

The Delica’s tremendous popularity has spawned an entire family of variations, as well as Sprint Runs, Exclusives, and other “elite” expressions of the design. Spyderco is thrilled to announce the latest addition to this proud family—the Delica 4 Lightweight Wharncliffe.

This unique variant of the Delica 4 was inspired by a request from a member of Spyderco’s Internet forum who is a die-hard fan of the Delica Lightweight model, but, as a warehouse worker, appreciates the cutting performance and edge geometry of common industrial knives and box cutters. The perfectly straight cutting edges of these tools enable them to cut with full power all the way to the point and give them the ability to tackle both detailed tasks and challenging cuts with equal ease. In pocketknife parlance, this style of blade is technically known as a “Wharncliffe”—a pattern with a rich and interesting history that spans nearly two centuries.

The Wharncliffe blade is believed to have taken its name from Colonel James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe (October 6, 1776 – December 19, 1845). Lord Wharncliffe, as he was more commonly known, was a British soldier and statesman who had an affinity for pocketknives. He was also well acquainted with Joseph Rodgers and Sons, a noted cutlery company in Sheffield, England's cutlery manufacturing center. As legend has it, Lord Wharncliffe wanted to design a utilitarian blade that was thick and strong, yet still capable of detailed cutting chores. He presented his design to Joseph Rodgers and Sons who embraced the idea and began introducing Wharncliffe-style blades in their folding knives around 1832.

A Wharncliffe blade is characterized by a perfectly straight cutting edge and a spine that tapers to meet that edge at an acute point. Capable of cutting with both scalpel-like precision and power far beyond its size, Wharncliffes are the blades of choice for many savvy knife users who demand maximum performance out of their tools. Spyderco’s new Delica 4 Wharncliffe combines all the advantages of this unique blade style with the proven features of the Delica’s standard lightweight platform. Available in either a PlainEdge™ or fully serrated SpyderEdge™ format, it features a broad VG-10 stainless steel blade with a fully accessible Trademark Round Hole™ that is positioned high on the blade for excellent leverage during one-handed openings. Its full-flat grind gives it incredible edge geometry that, when paired with the Wharncliffe profile, allows it to cut with impressive power all the way to the point.

The blade is paired with the time-tested Delica 4 Lightweight handle design, which includes skeletonized stainless steel liners, injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) scales and backspacer, a sturdy back lock mechanism, and a four-position pocket clip that supports all carry preferences. Spyderco’s Bi-Directional Texturing™ pattern on the scales ensures a secure grip in even the most demanding circumstances, and the knife’s completely symmetrical design makes all aspects of its carry and operation completely ambidextrous.

One of the most potent pocket-sized cutting tools ever produced, the Delica 4 Lightweight Wharncliffe is also a remarkable fusion of one of our best-selling designs and time-honored pocketknife history.

OVERALL: 7.12in 181mm
BLADE: 2.87in 73mm
EDGE: 2.53in 64mm
WEIGHT: 2.4oz 68g
GRIND: Full-Flat
ORIGIN: Japan

EDGE-U-CATION^®:

Comparing Knife Steels

One of the most challenging aspects of being a knife enthusiast is understanding the differences between various blade steels and how those differences actually translate to real-world knife performance. This challenge becomes even more difficult when you consider the fact that collectively Spyderco offers more types of steel in its knives than practically any other production knife company.

Short of earning a degree in metallurgy, how do you understand and quantify the differences between steels? Well, the first step is to compare their alloy composition and learn how those elements affect the properties of the steel. For many years, the Edge-U-Cation materials in Spyderco’s catalog and on our web site have included simple, easy-to-understand explanations of the properties of steel elements. Our ever-growing steel chart has also been the undisputed industry standard in providing a one-stop reference for the alloy compositions of a broad range of blade steels. Unfortunately, as we expand our spectrum of steels, using that chart for side-by-side comparison of steels has become considerably more difficult. To preserve your eyesight and simplify that process, we decided to apply our obsession with Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.) to our steel chart.

The standard version of the Spyderco steel chart (Standard Steel Chart) presents the steels as they are commonly seen—in alphanumeric order. For quick reference of the composition of a single steel, this is still the best tool for the job. However, if you are trying to determine what other steels are comparable to a specific steel, it helps to consider them based on their most important elements—typically carbon and chromium. To make that process easier, we created two additional versions of our steel chart sorted by carbon content and chromium content. To find steels that are similar to a specific blade material, first use the standard alphanumeric chart to find your “base” steel. Once you’ve found it, take note of its carbon content and chromium content. Then, go to our carbon-sorted steel chart (Carbon Sorted Steel Chart) and look down the carbon content column until you find the carbon value of your base steel. The other steels above and below it with similar or identical carbon contents will give you an idea of comparable blade materials. The fact that they are grouped together also makes it easier to compare the proportions of their other alloys.

This same basic process can be used to compare steels—especially stainless steels—by their chromium content using our chromium-sorted steel chart (Chromium Sorted Steel Chart).

Although these tools definitely make comparing blade steels easier, we decided to go one better by creating a special steel comparison tool on the Spyderco web site (Steel Comparison Tool). To use the tool, simply click on the steels you want to compare (up to five at a time) and then click the “compare” box. A custom chart will pop up displaying the steels and their respective alloy compositions side by side for easy comparison. If you “hover” your cursor over any of the steel elements in the left column, an explanation of the properties of that element pops up for easy reference.

Understanding and comparing blade steels is definitely challenging, but knowing “what a steel is made of” is always the first step. Spyderco’s innovative Edge-U-Cation tools now make that process easier than ever before.

INSIDER

the Spyderco Factory Outlet

Spyderco’s Golden, Colorado headquarters is remarkable in many ways. It is the nerve center of all our research and development, sales, marketing, quality control, and distribution efforts, as well as the home of our ever-expanding U.S. manufacturing facility. In addition to all that, our Golden headquarters houses the Spyderco Factory Outlet store.

Affectionately known as “SFO,” our factory outlet is much more than the typical gift shop attached to most factories. It is also much more than a simple retail store. For knife enthusiasts, Spyderco fans, and history buffs, SFO is a destination, a pilgrimage site, and a “bucket list” item. Die-hard knife lovers have literally traveled thousands of miles to visit SFO and make their personal “Spyderco experience” complete.

In simple terms, SFO is in fact a retail store featuring the most complete selection of current-production Spyderco and byrd® knives, sharpeners, and other accessories on Earth. Every model and variation is faithfully represented and backed by our expert sales staff, whose product knowledge is second to none in the knife industry. The countless thousands of retail orders placed directly through Spyderco’s web site are also processed through SFO and fulfilled by its staff.

In addition to our own Spyderco, byrd, and BaliYo brands, SFO also offers a hand-picked selection of other high-quality products, including Fisher Space Pens, Boos cutting boards, Streamlight and Olight flashlights, and many more. It is also an authorized dealer of legendary Randall Made Knives and proudly maintains one of the largest (if not the largest) retail selections of ready-to-buy Randall Knives west of the Mississippi.

SFO is also a museum that provides insights into Spyderco’s rich 40-year

history. Mixed among the showcases of knives for sale are historical displays containing rare, discontinued models that shaped the company’s history and the modern cutlery industry. Patches, challenge coins, flags, certificates, and letters of appreciation from the many duty-bound personnel who trust their lives to Spyderco knives are also proudly on display. The most humbling exhibit, however, is our permanent display of steel girders from Tower 1 of the World Trade Center, recovered from the debris of the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001. It stands as a silent tribute to the lives lost that day, and a constant, compelling symbol of the indomitable strength of the American spirit.

Like Spyderco itself, there is more to SFO than meets the eye. The closer you look, the more you’ll see—and the happier you’ll be that you took the time to visit.

SHOT Show 2017

January was an incredibly busy month for the Spyderco Crew. Our primary focus was the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. Held from January 17-20 at the Sands Expo Center, it is the largest gathering of manufacturers, distributors, dealers, media, and professional end-line users in the outdoor industry. This year boasted the second largest attendance in the show’s history, with nearly 65,000 attendees and more than 1,600 exhibiting companies.

Spyderco’s presence at the show included two booths, both of which were extremely popular go-to destinations. At our main booth, our sales and media relations staff shared our many new products with established dealers and members of the media, while the company’s founders and a select team of custom collaborators showed off prototypes and concept models of upcoming products. The staff at our OpFocus booth shared our “tactical side” with select dealers, media members, tactical trainers, and duty-bound professionals.

The Spyderco Crew was delighted to connect with everyone who visited us at the show and we greatly appreciate your continued interest in us and our products. Based on our non-stop, all-out experience at SHOT, 2017 is going to be an amazing year!

Spyderco, Inc.
820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403

800-525-7770 (T - Toll-Free)
303-279-8383 (T)
303-278-2229 (F)

SPYDERCO.com

Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. All product names, art and text herein are the property of Spyderco, Inc. and may not be reproduced in part or whole without the sole written permission of Spyderco, Inc.

THE

C11FPWCBK / C11FSWCBK

Delica® 4

SHOT Show 2017

Delica®4