Who do you think makes the best EDC knives?
I’m not sure if I can peg it to just one knife manufacturer, but I think Spyderco has to be in the discussion…
Time and time again, they’ve come out with great designs, and right now, two of their most popular knives in the everyday carry niche are…
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Chaparral (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Delica (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
So in this Spyderco Chaparral Vs Delica comparison, we’re going to put these two great knives up against each other and see how they stack up in the following six categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
In the end of this article, I’ll reveal two you if I personally prefer the Chaparral or the Delica, and you should have all the information you need to determine which knife will work best for you…
Let’s start the comparison!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Delica 4
The Delica is one of Spyderco’s most popular folding knives, and part of the reason for that is the high quality materials that are used within the design…
Let’s start by going over the Delica’s blade steel which is VG-10. VG-10 is considered a high end blade steel, and it does a good job at resisting rust and maintaining it’s edge…
It originated in Japan, and it’s first use was in the knives of Japanese chefs, but it didn’t take long for knife manufacturers to see its potential for folding knives…
Spyderco was one of those knife manufacturers, and it’s a steel that they use in many of their knife designs…
Now in addition to holding a fine edge, VG-10 is also not too difficult or tedious to sharpen (it’s kind of similar to 154CM steel)…
That’s a feature I really like, because eventually the edge on your knife will dull, and it’s nice to be able to re sharpen your blade without too much of a hassle…
Now the handle on the Delica is made from Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon or FRN. FRN is a great handle material, especially on an EDC knife because it’s very strong and super lightweight…
It also feels very comfortable in your hand, and it allows you to really lock on to the knife when your using it. All in all, I think the VG-10 blade steel and FRN handle on the Delica are great material choices by Spyderco.
Spyderco Chaparral
The Spyderco Chaparral is also a very popular design from Spyderco, and again, it uses very high quality materials…
The blade steel on the Chaparral is CTS XHP. CTS XHP is considered a premium blade steel. It does a good job at resisting corrosion…
…but it’s superior to the VG-10 used on the Delica because it will hold its edge for a longer period of time.
Also, even though it will hold its edge for a very long time, the CTS XHP blade on the Chaparral is still pretty easy to sharpen…
I love when a blade holds its edge for a long time but is still fairly easy to sharpen (when it eventually dulls down), because it just makes it easier for you to maintain a razor sharp edge on your blade…
Now the handle material on your Chaparral will change depending upon which version you decide to go with…
The most common version is the Chaparral with the carbon fiber and G-10 handle. I really like the combination of those two materials because the G-10 adds extra strength to the handle, but at the same time the Carbon Fiber helps keep it lightweight…
You can also get the Chaparral with an FRN handle just like the Delica has, which I think is a great option, or you can get the Chaparral with a Raffir Noble handle or a fully G-10 handle (the Sun and Moon Chaparral) as well…
Of all the options, my favorite is the Carbon Fiber version, but I really like the FRN version as well.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Delica
The Spyderco Delica has a version of a drop point blade. It has the classic Spyderco styling, and I think it looks very attractive…
It also comes in a version with a full flat grind or a version with a saber grind. The full flat grind is going to be a little bit better at cutting, slicing, and dicing, and that’s the one I prefer…
But the saber grind is going to be an extremely strong blade, and it will still cut very well. You can also get the Delica with a Plain Edge, the Spyder Edge (which is Spyderco’s version of a serrated blade), or with the Combination Edge (which is a half Plain Edge and half serrated blade)…
I personally like the Plain Edge version best because it’ll end up being easier for you to sharpen when the time comes…
…but I think it’s great that Spyderco offers the Spyder Edge and Combination Edge as well for those looking to have serrated blades.
In addition to that, you can get the Delica with a plain stainless steel blade or with a black coated blade, depending on which blade finish will work best for you…
And there is jimping on the spine of the blade that will help give you more control when you need a little extra leverage for making tough cuts…
Last, the Delica’s blade also features the traditional Spyderco deployment hole, which allows you to open the blade quickly and easily with one hand…
Now like I mentioned earlier, the handle on the Delica is made from Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon (FRN). It’s very comfortable and ergonomic in your hand, and the bi-directional texturing helps you really get a solid grip…
It’s also an incredibly lightweight material, which makes the Delica a joy to carry around in your pocket all day…
…and it comes in some really cool colors such as: blue, green, brown, gray, orange, zome green, black and purple.
Spyderco Chaparral
The Spyderco Chaparral also has a version of a drop point blade, but it has a much more leaf-like shape than the blade of the Delica…
I like the way it looks, and I like that it has a full flat grind because that makes it a very capable cutter and slicer…
Also, the Chaparral’s blade comes with a Plain Edge blade, which as I mentioned before is always my preference because it makes the blade easier to sharpen…
And it features the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which makes opening the blade very fast and easy with one hand…
In addition to that, the Chaparral has jimping on the spine of the blade and on the finger choil so you can really choke up on the knife and control the blade, even though it’s a relatively small knife…
Now as I mentioned before the handle material on the Chaparral will depend on which version you go with, but that being said, the actual shape of the handle is very comfortable and ergonomic…
It feels really good in your hand, and you also get a fair amount of traction so the knife stays put when you’re gripping it.
Locking Mechanism…
Both the Delica and the Chaparral use the Back Lock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that incorporates a rocker arm with a lug on the end of it that engages with a notch in the tang of the blade…
It’s a very simple locking mechanism, and it’s used in many folding knives. Part of the reason it’s such a popular locking system in folding knives is because it locks the blade out securely (even though it’s a simple system)…
In addition to locking the blade out securely, the Back Locks from Spyderco on the Delica and Chaparral are incredibly smooth…
That makes it quick and easy to deploy the blades, and it just gives an overall feeling of quality to both knife designs…
The only difference really between the Back lock systems on these two knives is that the Delica features a Boye Dent and the Chaparral does not…
The Boye Dent is a little indentation on the release bar, and the purpose of it is to help prevent you from accidentally releasing the blade by gripping the knife too tightly…
I don’t think the Boye Dent is a necessary feature, but it’s an extra feature I like that the Delica has included in it’s design.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Delica
The Spyderco Delica is a medium sized knife. It actually has a larger version called the Endura and a smaller version called the Dragonfly, but the Delica is the most popular size in the series…
Most versions of the Delica have a blade length of 2.9 inches long, and the handle measures in at 4.25 inches long…
That brings the overall length of the Delica (on most versions) to 7.15 inches long when its blade is fully deployed…
Just for comparison’s sake, the Delica is 1.54 inches longer than its little brother, the Dragonfly when both of their blades are fully locked out…
I think that is an interesting comparison to take note of because the Chaparral is also a smaller knife than the Delica.
Spyderco Chaparral
Now like I said, the Chaparral is a smaller knife than the Delica. Spyderco likes to call it a gentleman’s knife partly because of that smaller size and partly because of its simple and elegant design…
That being said, the Chaparral has a blade length that measures in at 2.80 inches long, and it’s handle measures in at 3.60 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Chaparral to 6.40 inches long when its blade is fully deployed, and it means that it is 0.75 inches shorter than the Delica when both of their blades are fully locked out.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Spyderco Delica
The Delica’s pocket clip is fully adjustable. It can be set up for tip up or tip down carry, and it can be swapped to either side of the knife…
Personally I prefer tip down carry, but there are a lot of guys out there who prefer tip up carry, so I’m glad that Spyderco gives you the option to set the Delica up for carry exactly how you prefer…
I also like that the clip can be swapped to either side of the knife because that means you can easily optimize it for left handed or right handed carry…
In addition to that, the Delica sits relatively low in your pocket. It doesn’t have a deep carry clip, so the knife doesn’t completely disappear…
But it’s still fairly discrete, and because it’s a slim and lightweight design, it’s very comfortable to carry around in your pocket all day long.
Spyderco Chaparral
The Chaparral’s pocket clip is much more limited in terms of where you can position it. It only offers you tip up carry, but it is swappable to either side of the knife…
Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer tip down carry, but I’m fine with tip up carry if that is the only option available to me and I like the overall knife design (which is the case with the Chaparral)…
In addition to that, the Chaparral’s clip is a deep carry wire clip that sits the knife extremely low in your pocket.
That makes it very discrete, and just like the Delica, the Chaparral is a very comfortable and enjoyable knife to carry around in your pocket.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the prices on the knives are constantly changing and the price is also dependent on which version you choose to go with…
That being said, in general, the Delica is anywhere from 10 to 80 dollars less expensive than the Chaparral (again, a lot depends on the version of Chaparral you want to go with)…
If you’re on a budget and really trying to keep the price down, the Delica is going to be the less expensive option for you…
The reason why is because the Chaparral uses CTS XHP blade steel which is superior (and more expensive) than the VG-10 blade steel used on the Delica (even though VG-10 is a very respectable steel).
Usually, the least expensive Chaparral option is the version with the FRN handle. So if you favor the Chaparral and you’re on a budget, that will probably be the least expensive option for you.
Spyderco Chaparral Vs Delica – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, the Delica uses VG-10 blade steel and the Chaparral uses CTS XHP blade steel…
The CTS XHP blade steel on the Chaparral is superior to the Delica’s VG-10 because it will hold its edge for a longer period of time…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both knives have a version of a drop point blade, and they both come with a full flat grind, which is my preference…
They also both have handles that are comfortable, lightweight, and very ergonomic in your hand…
In the Locking Mechanism category, both knives feature the Back Lock locking mechanism which is a simple system that locks both blades out securely and allows them to be deployed quickly and easily…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Delica is 0.75 inches longer than the Chaparral when both of their blades are fully deployed…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, the Delica’s clip can be set up for tip up or tip down carry and is swappable to either side of the knife…
Whereas the Chaparral’s clip only offers you tip up carry (but is still swappable to either side of the knife…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Delica can be anywhere from 10 to 80 dollars less expensive than the Chaparral (depending on which version of the Chaparral you go with)…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Spyderco Chaparral…
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I prefer the Chaparral for a few reasons. First of all, I prefer the Chaparral’s CTS XHP blade steel to the VG-10 used on the Delica…
The CTS XHP steel is superior because it will maintain its edge for a longer period of time, and that means you won’t have to sharpen your knife as often…
In addition to that, I prefer the Carbon Fiber/ G-10 handle that you can get on the Chaparral over the FRN handle on the Delica… It just feels more comfortable in your hand, and it feels a little stronger as well…
Last, I just prefer the look of the Chaparral a little more than the Delica (even though I do like the Delica). To me it’s a little more elegant of a knife design.
Now if you’re happy with VG-10 steel (still a very respectable blade steel), you don’t mind the FRN handle, and you want to save some money…
Then feel free to go with the Delica because it’s still an awesome EDC knife…
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No matter which of these knives you decide to go with, I think you’ll be happy because they’re both high quality, and they’re both great cutters!