I’ve said it before, but I really love Spyderco…
I love the cool designs they keep coming up with, and I love the quality levels that they always put into their knives…
Right now, two of their most popular models are:
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Delica (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Tenacious (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
And in this Spyderco Delica Vs Tenacious comparison, we’re going to see how these two awesome knives stack up against each other in the following 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, I’ll let you know which knife I personally prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which is the best knife for you…
Let’s get the comparison started!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Delica 4
The blade steel on the Spyderco Delica is VG-10, which I think is an awesome blade steel. VG-10 originated in Japan and was first marketed for the knives of Japanese chefs…
Eventually, many knife manufacturers saw its potential for use in folding knives, and today it’s considered a high-end knife steel. I like it because it’s very corrosion resistant, it’s strong, and it holds an edge very well…
It also sharpens pretty easily, and like I said, I think it was a great choice by Spyderco to go with VG-10 on this particular knife design…
Now the handle on the Delica is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon (or FRN), and it has skeletonized stainless steel liners…
FRN is a great handle material for a knife like this because it’s impact resistant and super lightweight. It’s also a comfortable material…
…and the bi-directional texturing gives you a really good purchase on the knife when you’re using it to cut, slice, and dice.
All in all, I’m very impressed with the materials that Spyderco chose to go with on the Delica.
Spyderco Tenacious
The blade steel on the Spyderco Tenacious is 8Cr13MoV, which is a pretty good blade steel. It’s a Chinese-produced blade steel, and you’ll usually find it in more affordable knives…
Even though it’s a more affordable blade steel, it’s still pretty good quality and does a good job of resisting rust and holding an edge…
In addition to that, the handle material used on the Tenacious is a G-10 laminate, and just like with the Delica, it has stainless steel liners…
I really like G-10 as a handle material because it’s very strong, lightweight, and gives you a good purchase on the knife…
In the end, both knives have a great handle material, but the VG-10 blade steel on the Delica is far superior to the 8Cr13Mov blade steel on the Tenacious…
That being said, 8Cr13Mov is still a pretty good steel, and the Tenacious is a more affordable knife than the Delica (which we’ll get into more in the Price Comparison section below).
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Delica
The Delica has a very attractive blade in my opinion. It has kind of a leaf-like shape with the signature Spyderco styling, and it looks pretty cool…
It has a high-performance full flat grind, which makes it a great cutter, and when you get your Delica it’s razor sharp right out of the box…
It also has the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to easily deploy the blade one-handed…
And there is jimping on the spine of the knife which gives you extra control on the blade when you’re using it…
In addition to that, Spyderco offers the Delica with a Plain Edge, the Spyder Edge, or the Combination Edge…
The Spyder Edge is basically Spyderco’s version of a serrated blade, and the Combination Edge gives you a half Plain Edge and half serrated edge…
Personally, I always prefer Plain Edge blades because I find them easier to sharpen, but I’m glad that Spyderco offers this design with the Spyder Edge and Combination Edge for those who are looking for a serrated blade…
Now like I mentioned earlier, the handle on the Delica is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN), and it’s very ergonomic and comfortable…
It feels great, and the texturing really locks the knife in your hand as you’re trying to cut or slice with it. On top of that, Spyderco offers this design in a number of different handle colors…
You can get the Delica in blue, green, brown, gray, orange, zombie green, black and purple. I’ve always liked when knife manufacturers offer a lot of different color variations because it means you can get a knife that fits your specific needs and personality.
Spyderco Tenacious
The Tenacious also has a very attractive blade shape. It’s also kind of leaf-shaped, but it’s a bit more rounded and broad than the Delica…
It also has a full flat grind which helps make it a great cutter, and it’s also very sharp right out of the box…
The typical Spyderco deployment meant hole is also present on the blade of the Tenacious, and it has jimping on the spine to help give you more control when you’re doing fine cuts or slices…
In addition to that, you can also get the Tenacious with a Plain Edge, the Spyderco Edge, or with the Combination Edge…
Again, I’m a fan of Plain Edge blades, but I think it’s good that Spyderco offers this knife with serrations if you want them…
Another cool thing is that you can get the blade in the standard metallic color or in a black color…
I personally really like the look of the black blade (which is obviously gonna be more discreet in low light conditions), but the metallic blade versions look good too…
Now the handles on the Tenacious are G-10 laminate which is a little bit heavier than the FRN handle on the Delica…
Even though G-10 is a little bit heavier than FRN, I think it’s a great handle material because it’s very durable, and it really feels great in your hand…
Overall, the handle on the Tenacious is pretty comfortable and ergonomic.
Locking Mechanism…
Spyderco Delica 4
The Spyderco Delica uses the Back Lock locking mechanism. The Back Lock system incorporates a rocker arm with a lug on it that pivots and locks in on a notch in the blade’s tang…
It’s a fairly common locking system in folding knives, and it locks out the blade pretty securely when you’re using the knife.
All in all, I think it’s a good locking mechanism, and it allows for smooth opening and closing of the blade.
Spyderco Tenacious
The Tenacious uses the Walker LinerLock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that was developed by custom knife maker Michael Walker…
It incorporates a leaf-like spring that wedges up against a ramped surface on the blade’s tang and locks it into position…
It’s also a pretty secure locking mechanism, and it makes it really easy to open and close the blade with just one hand without having to reposition the knife.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Delica 4
The Delica is actually a more compact version of the Spyderco Endura (and the Dragonfly is an even more compact version). So basically, it’s the medium-sized knife in the collection…
Now the blade length will vary depending on which exact version of the Delica you get, but on most versions, the blade will be 2.9 inches long, and the handle is 4.25 inches long…
So that brings the overall length on the Delica to 7.15 inches on the most common versions when the blade is fully deployed.
(Just as a bit of a reference, the Endura’s overall length when the blade is deployed is 8.78 inches long, so the Delica is around 1.63 inches shorter than it’s bigger brother.)
Spyderco Tenacious
The Tenacious is also a relatively medium-sized knife, but it’s a little bit bigger than the Delica…
The blade length on the Tenacious is 3.39 inches long, and the handle is 4.38 inches long. So that brings the overall length on the Tenacious to 7.77 inches long when the blade is fully locked out…
When we compare the Tenacious with the Delica, they are pretty similar in size… However, the Tenacious is around 0.62 inches longer than the Delica.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Both the Delica and the Tenacious have a clip that can be adjusted in four different positions. That means you can set both of these knives up for tip up carry or tip down carry…
…and you can swap the clip to either side of the knife as well. Personally, I prefer tip down carry on my knives, but I know there are many out there who like tip up carry…
I think it’s awesome that Spyderco gives you so much flexibility when it comes to the clip position on both of these knife designs, because it means you can set the knife up to carry exactly how you prefer…
In addition to that, both knife designs sit relatively low in your pocket. They don’t completely disappear, the way some designs do, but they’re both fairly discreet and pretty comfortable.
That being said, the Delica is slightly smaller and lighter weight, so it is a bit more comfortable to carry than the Tenacious.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices on these knives change all the time…
That being said, you’ll usually find that the Tenacious is around 30 to 35 bucks less expensive than the Delica…
That makes a lot of sense to me because, like I mentioned before, the Delica has a much superior blade steel (VG-10) over the Tenacious…
Now again, these prices change a lot depending on the market at the time, but the Tenacious is clearly the less expensive option.
Spyderco Delica Vs Tenacious – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category both knives have pretty good handle material, but the VG-10 blade steel on the Delica is much better than the 8Cr13Mov blade steel on the Tenacious…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both knives have an attractive blade shape that performs well, and both handles are comfortable and ergonomic…
In the Locking Mechanism category, the Delica uses the Back Lock system and the Tenacious uses the Walker LinerLock system…
I like both systems because they are both simple, easy to use, and fairly secure…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Delica comes in at around 0.62 inches shorter than the Tenacious when both of their blades are deployed…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, both knives have a clip that can be moved in four different positions (giving you tip up or tip down carry for either your right or left hand)…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Tenacious is usually around 30 to 35 dollars less expensive than the Delica…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Delica…
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I prefer the Delica for a few reasons. First of all, the VG-10 steel on the Delica is far superior to the steel on the Tenacious…
So your knife is going to resist rust better and maintain it’s edge longer. In addition to that, the handle is a little bit more comfortable, and overall, it’s a lighter and more compact knife…
All of those features make it more comfortable for you to carry in your pocket. So in the end, I prefer the Delica, and I think it’s an amazing EDC knife…
Now if you want to save a little bit of money, and you don’t mind a little extra size and the 8Cr13MoV steel, then feel free to go with the Tenacious because it’s still an awesome knife…
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Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two cool knife designs from Spyderco.