There’s definitely a sweet spot when it comes to the size of an EDC knife…
It can’t be too large because it’ll take up too much space in your pocket, but it can’t be too small either because you need it to perform for tough cutting jobs…
Spyderco is one of the manufacturers that gets it right in my opinion, when it comes to an EDC size that’s “just right”, and right now, two of their most popular EDC designs are…
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Native 5 (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Delica 4 (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
So in this Spyderco Native 5 Vs Delica 4 article, we’re going to examine how these two knives compare in the following 6 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 comparison, I’ll tell you if I prefer the Native 5 or the Delica 4, and you should have all the information you need to determine which is the right knife for you…
Let’s get started by looking at the blade steel and other materials used in each knife…
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Native 5
The Native 5 is one of Spyderco‘s most popular EDC knives. Part of the reason it’s such a popular design is because of the high-quality materials that are used in its construction…
To begin, the Native 5 uses CPM S30V blade steel. CPM S30V is considered a premium blade steel. It does a very good job at resisting rust and corrosion, and it also holds an edge for a long period of time as well…
In addition to that, S30V isn’t too difficult or tedious to sharpen when the edge eventually does wear down. So I’m a big fan of CPM S30V steel, and I think it was a great choice by Spyderco to go with it…
Now the handle material on the Native 5 will be one of two materials. With the Native 5 lightweight, you get a fiberglass reinforced nylon (or FRN) handle…
FRN is a great handle material for an EDC knife because it’s extremely lightweight, but it’s also comfortable in your hand and resists the elements very well…
The other option is the Native 5 with the G-10 handle. G-10 is also a great handle material because it’s extremely strong and very comfortable in your hand…
It’s one of my favorite handle materials precisely because it feels so comfortable, and it also allows you to really lock onto the knife when you’re using it…
In the end, I like both handle material options, but I think I prefer the G-10 handle because it feels a little more solid and comfortable in your hand.
Spyderco Delica 4
The Spyderco Delica is an even more popular knife than the Native 5, and it too uses very high-quality materials in its construction. To begin, the Delica uses VG-10 blade steel…
VG-10 is considered a high-end blade steel. It first originated in Japan and was used in Japanese chefs knives, but it wasn’t long before knife manufacturers saw its potential for folding knives…
Today, it’s a blade steel that Spyderco uses in many of their most popular designs because it does a good job of resisting rust and corrosion, and it also holds an edge for a pretty long period of time too…
Now to be clear, the CPM S30V blade steel used on the Native 5 is superior to the VG-10 on the Delica because it will hold its edge for a longer period of time…
But that being said, VG-10 is still a very good blade steel, especially for a utility knife that will get a lot of use like an everyday carry knife…
Now the handle on the Delica it’s made from fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN). Like I mentioned before, FRN is a great handle material for an EDC knife because it’s extremely lightweight…
… but at the same time, it’s also strong enough to handle day after day use. It’s also very comfortable in your hand, and gives you a good amount of traction when it’s textured properly.
So in the end, I think both the Native 5 and the Delica use very high-quality materials, however the CPM S30V blade steel on the Native 5 is superior to the VG-10 on the Delica…
And for me, that sets the Native 5 a notch above the Delica (at least when it comes to the materials used).
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Native 5
The Spyderco Native 5 has a version of a drop point blade. It has a bit of a leaf-like shape to it, and overall, I think it’s a very attractive blade design…
It also features a full flat grind which is a grind I usually prefer because it makes the knife a very good cutter and slicer…
In addition to that, you can get the Native 5 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 is a half Plain Edge and half serrated blade…
Personally I prefer the Plain Edge version because it will end up being easier for you to sharpen when the time comes…
…but I know that the Spyder Edge and Combination Edge versions are very popular as well, so I’m glad that Spyderco gives you those options with this design.
You can also get the Native 5 with a stainless steel blade or a black coated blade, and there is jimping on the spine of the blade and the finger choil which allows you to really choke up on the knife when you need to…
Last, the blade also features the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to open the blade easily and quickly with one hand…
Now as I mentioned before, you can get the Native 5 with either an FRN handle or a G-10 handle, but regardless of the material, the Native 5’s handle is very comfortable to hold and very ergonomic…
It feels very good in your hand, and you get a good amount of traction with gripping the knife as well. You can also get the handle in a variety of different colors such as: black, blue, gray, pink, and yellow…
I’ve always liked when knife manufacturers offer knife handles in several different colors because it allows you to pick out something that fits your particular style and personality.
Spyderco Delica 4
The Spyderco Delica also has a version of a drop point blade, however it’s much more angular than the drop point on the Native 5…
I also think it looks pretty attractive, and it also performs well as a cutter and slicer because it also features a full flat grind…
In addition to that, the Delica (like the Native 5) also comes in a version with a Plain Edge, the Spyder Edge, or the Combination Edge…
Again I prefer the Plain Edge version because it will end up being easier to sharpen, but the other versions certainly have their place and applications as well…
The Delica also features the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to quickly and easily open the blade…
…and there is jimping on the spine which will help give you more control when you need to make precise cuts.
Now the handle, as I mentioned before, is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN) and is very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand…
It also features bi-directional texturing and that texturing allows you to get a very solid grip on the knife when you’re using it…
Last, like the Native 5, the Delica comes in a variety of different handle colors such as blue, green, brown, gray, orange, zome green, black, and purple…
Again, I love being able to get different colors because it just adds an extra cool factor to the knife design (which I think is already pretty cool).
Locking Mechanism…
Both the Native 5 and the Delica 4 feature the Back Lock locking mechanism. The Back Lock is a very common locking system, and it can be found on a ton of knife designs out there…
The reason why it’s such a popular locking mechanism is because its a simple and strong system. It incorporates a rocker arm with a lug on the end of it. The rocker arm pivots and engages with a notch in the tang of the blade…
Again, it’s very simple, but at the same time it’s very strong. In addition to that, the Back Lock that Spyderco does on both of these knife designs is incredibly smooth…
So you’ll be able to flick open the blade very quickly and easily. Now one difference between the Back Lock systems on these two knives is that the Delica features a Boye Dent and the Native 5 does not…
The Boye Dent is a scalloped portion on the release bar, and it’s basically an extra safety feature. It helps prevent you from accidentally releasing the blade if you end up gripping the handle too tightly…
The Boye Dent is a nice feature to have, but in the end, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that the Native 5 does not have it.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Native 5
The Native 5 is designed to be a fairly compact (medium-sized) everyday carry knife, and I think it’s a very good size for that purpose…
The blade length on the Native 5 measures in at 2.95 inches long, and the handle length measures in at 4.00 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Native 5 to 6.95 inches long when the blade is fully locked out.
Spyderco Delica 4
As I mentioned earlier, the Delica is a smaller version of the Spyderco Endura (and the Dragonfly is an even smaller design in that same Spyderco series)…
That makes the Delica, the medium-sized knife in this particular Spyderco family of knives, and I think it’s a great size for an EDC knife…
Now the blade length on the Delica can vary depending on the version you get, but on the most common version, it measures in at 2.9 inches long, and the handle measures in at 4.25 inches long…
That brings the overall length on most versions of the Delica to 7.15 inches long, and that means that it’s around 0.2 inches longer than the Native 5 when both of their blades are fully deployed…
Last, I think it’s important to note that the blade on the Native 5 is a little longer than the blade on the Delica…
However because the handle is longer on the Delica, it’s slightly longer in overall length than the Native 5.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Both the Native 5 and the Delica 4 have a very versatile pocket clip set up. On both knives you can set your clip up for tip or tip down carry, and you can swap the clip to either side of the knife too…
Personally I prefer tip down carry, but I really love that both of these designs give you the flexibility to choose tip up carry if that’s what you prefer…
I also really like that you can swap the clip to either side on both knives as well because that means you can optimize either knife for left handed or right handed carry…
Now neither knife features a deep carry pocket clip, so you will have a little bit of the handle sticking up out of your pocket…
But that being said, they are both still fairly discreet, and because of the slim design both knives have, they’re both very comfortable to carry around all day long.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the prices of these knives are changing all the time…
In addition to that, the price will also change depending one which version you decide to go with, especially with the Native 5…
All that being said, the least expensive version of the Native 5 (the lightweight) will probably end up being around 20 bucks more expensive than the Delica…
…and the most expensive version of the Native 5 (the G-10) will probably be around 75 to 80 bucks more expensive than the Delica.
So if you’re on a budget, the Delica is clearly going to be the least expensive option for you, but if you favor the Native 5 and you’re looking to keep the price down…
…your least expensive option there is probably going to be the lightweight version with an FRN handle.
Spyderco Native 5 Vs Delica 4 – Final Thoughts…
So to sum everything up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, the Native 5 uses CPM S30V blade steel whereas the Delica uses VG-10 blade steel…
The VG-10 on the Delica is a good quality blade steel, but the CPM S30V on the Native 5 is superior because it will hold its edge for a longer period of time…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both the Native 5 and the Delica feature drop point blades, however, the Native 5’s blade has a bit of a leaf-like shape to it…
…and the Delica’s drop point is a bit more angular. Despite the slightly different shape, both blades have full flat grinds and are great cutters and slicers.
In the Locking Mechanism category, both the Native 5 and the Delica use the Back Lock locking mechanism which is a very simple and strong locking system…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Native 5 is around 0.2 inches shorter in overall length than the Delica 4 when both of their blades are locked out…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, both knives feature a pocket clip that can be set up for tip up or tip down carry and that can be swapped to either side of the knife…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Delica is around 20 dollars less expensive than the Native 5 Lightweight and around 75 to 80 dollars less expensive than the Native 5 G-10 model …
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Native 5…
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I prefer the Native 5 for a couple of reasons. First of all, the CPM S30V blade steel that you get on the Native 5 is superior to the VG-10 on the Delica because it will hold an edge for a longer period of time…
That means you’ll spend less time sharpening your blade, which is always a plus in my opinion. In addition to that, I prefer the G-10 handle option that you can get with the Native 5…
Like I said earlier, I love G-10 handles because they feel extremely comfortable in your hand and they give you a great amount of purchase on the knife when you’re using it…
Now if you’re happy with VG-10 blade steel (still a very respectable blade steel!), and you want to save a few bucks, then feel free to go with the Delica because it’s still an amazing knife…
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Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two great knife designs from Spyderco!