A shot of the Catcherman alongside a Persian, Manix and Paramilitary also from Spyderco :
The Catcherman is a lock back folding fillet knife from Spyderco made from stock removal out of MBS-26 stainless steel from very thin stock, 0.058", weighing a mere 60 g. The 4.5" blade has a full height flat grind which tapers to a very fine and acute edge, 0.08-0.012" thick, ground at 11.3 +/- 1.4 degrees per side. The serrations are very pointy and are 0.020 thick at back and chisel ground at 10.8 +/- 0.5 degrees included. The tip has a full distal taper of 0.4 degrees on a very narrow blade, 0.75" wide. The Catcherman has a very long, six inch, Zytel grip.
Push cutting the 3/8" hemp required a minimal 16.5 +/- 0.5 lbs, very high performance due to the thin blade and acute grind, with with 13 +/- 1 lbs on a two inch draw, showing high aggression combined with strong push cutting ability and thus having a complete sharpness profile. The serrations were however too pointy to make fluid cuts on hemp.
The point on the Catcherman is extremely fine and acute in profile due to the full taper and with a 50 lbs push sank an extreme 550 +/- 5 pages into a phone book. However as the point is so thin it had to be supported with the off hand to keep from bending and a vertical stab was not attempted for this reason.
After the stock testing the blade was used in a variety of ways to get a feel for its scope of work, round out the stock testing profile and examine aspects of long term use.
The Catcherman worked very well filleting some decent sized trout, and breaking down salmon and cod steaks. The very thin point easily penetrates the fish and the thin and acutely ground blade glides through the flesh which just the barest hint of resistance. The handle was stable and secure, even when the grip was covered in blood and fish offal.
The only point of contention are the serrations, while they do come in handy cutting through the thicker and tougher tissues, as well as steaking the thicker fish, some purists would prefer a full plain edge on a fillet blade, as the serrations can be cumbersome if the fillet is wider than the plain edge section of the blade.
Folding knives are in general harder to clean than fixed blades, and this one is no exception, however some rinising in a lot of clean water efficiently removes dirt and debris. If salt water is used, as is the case around here. Once the chance comes, rinse again with fresh water and dry.
While designed as a fillet knife, the Catcherman makes a very nice bread knife. The serrations aggressively tear through the thickest and hardests crusts with ease, and the slim blade readily makes either fine and thick slices, of course for large loaves a longer blade would be preferred.
The Catcherman also works well cutting meats, fruits and most vegetables. It has problems in peeling due to the serrations being in the place where most paring type works is done, plus of course it doesn't have the weight or blade style for chopping or dicing. The point is also problematic for coring and other point work as it is a little too flexible.
As a general utility knife for fruit and vegetables, the Catcherman works very well slicing tomatoes, the blade profile makes quick work of slicing and dicing potatoes, cutting just as smoothly and a very high performance Japanese utility knife. The only problem is that the serrations limit the blade length as the knife can't push cut well with that section of edge.
The steel has high corrosion resistance and resisted spotting and rusting even after being exposed to acidic juices. It was never oiled, just rinsed and dried after use. It would be interesting to see dedicated folding kitchen knives from Spyderco with the same steel.
While the serrations are not as fluid as the regular Spyderco pattern, the still work well on cutting ropes, webbing and as long as it is under significant tension and they readily slice through cardboard and saw through small sections of wood and plastic. The plain section of edge has an extreme level of cutting ability and works very well on all manner of materials, it makes an excellent knife for cardboard, ropes and synthetic fabrics.
The scope of work is however restricted due to the thin blade stock as it isn't stiff enough for some types of cutting, for example while it carves wood well, easily making thick shavings as well as making fine curls for tinder, the point is too thin for most bowl work or digging / prying in woods. As well, for quick hogging work, the blade is too thin to allow maximum force to be applied to the blade. For that type of work the Vagabond makes a much better choice and is overall a much more rugged utility blade.
It does make a nice brush knife for light grasses and weedy vegetation haveing a decent length, much more than most folders, even significantly longer than the Military for example, and the serrations make quite work of the woody weeds, even when they have died and dried out. It is too light though for chopping on even soft woods as it has little momentum on a swing.
The Catcherman was compared to a S30V folder from Spyderco, the Paramilary, through some extended cutting of used carpet : ref. The Catcherman was significantly behind the Paramiliary however due to its narrower edge it resharpened significantly faster. The cutting only compared the plain edged sections, the serrated section on the Catcherman would outlast the plain ede section of the Paramiliary many times over and be more durable in regards to inclusions such as staples, as seen with similar work with the Alantic Salt.
The Catcherman has a very fine and acute edge which raises ease of sharpening significantly. Combined with a steel which responds well to abrasives, forming a crisp edge, taking either a high polish or aggressive finish well and the Catcherman is one of the easiest blades to sharpen every handled. The only real concern is that since the blade is fairly flexible, care needs to be taken in that regard, mainly to prevent rounding the very pointy tip.
The Catcherman has a long grip which is nicely rounded and ergonomic aside from the inside of the grip which is a little sharp and benefits from some rounding with sandpaper. The hump for the blade hole provides a secure thumb rest and the front of the grip is well rounded which raises comfort when the finger or thumb is looped over it for greater control. The Zytel grip is checkered for additional security however for this type of work the more aggressive checkering pattern on the Vagabond would be preferred to give greater retention in extreme conditions such as covered in various fish fluids.
The lock on the Catcherman is stable under spine whacks, and light to moderate torquing while cutting heavy materials. The blade is obviously designed for cutting and not high prying and quite frankly will break or bend long before the lock is significantly stressed. The only real concern is that the lock could accidently be depressed in a tight grip so make sure to test it out to eliminate such concerns.
The Catcherman has a perfect profile for a flexible fillet knife with extreme cutting ability due to the thin stock, flat grind and thin and acute edge. It is rigid enough so that even thick steaks can be cut with no problems but at the same time it can flex if desired. The point is very thin and pierces fish readily and the serrations have strong aggressive and readily cut through the toughest cartlidge, easily removing fins, tails and heads. The MBS-26 stainless steel has a very high level of corrosion resistance and offers solid edge retention, resisting both excessive deformation and chipping while working on a variety of fish.
Comments can be emailed using cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com or by posting in the following thread on Bladeforums :
More information can be obtain at the Spyderco
website.
| Last updated : | 05 : 20 : 2005 |
| Originally written: | 04 : 04 : 2005 |