The KX06 utility knife is an evolution of the K04 utility kitchen knife. From the Spyderco website a note on the alteration of the design with respect to the K04 :
We made a few changes to the blade which includes a wider tip. We have found over the years that tip breakage was more common than we like and so by making the tip a little wider we believe that this will solve that problem. There was also an area at the heel, just before the handle, that was considered a little too sharp and so this area has been rounded and extended to make it more comfortable and more user friendly. The handle on the knife was made in two colors to be able to tell the plain edge from the serrated edge. The serrated edge version is using a black ebony handle and the plain edge has a birch handle. They are more comfortable and more user friendly than the plastic handled version. The steel is the same MBS26 that we have been using for the past 20+ years. We have found it to be the absolute best performing kitchen knife steel on the market today.
The KX06 is made from MBS26 stainless steel, ground out of ~1/16" stock (0.065") with a full height flat grind down to a thin and acute edge. The knife is ~0.034" thick behind the serrations which are ground at 20.3 +/- 1.1 degrees included. The KX06 is 1.15" at its widest, with 15 centemeters of sharpened edge and 28 centemeters in overall length. It is light (85-90 g) and neutral in balance. A shot :
The initial sharpness is quite high, the finish on the blade is without flaw, and there are only minor problems with the tang and pins being a little less than perfectly flush with the grip - a slight roughness can be felt.
The KX06 was extremely sharp new in box (NIB) and would easily push shave, catching hair above the skin and push right down into newsprint, about one inch from the holding point.
On light thread the KX06 serrated required a minimal 66 +/- 3 g, which knocks the Spyderco Temperance out of the #1 spot to date. On the poly under a 1000 g load, it was so sharp it would cut it with no draw, the cord could not even support the weight.
The blade was also very adept cutting 3/8 inch hemp, requiring just 5-7 lbs on a two inch slice. The Spyderedge maintained a very fluid draw while still being extremely aggressive.
With the edges in NIB condition there were no problems cutting meats or trimming fats, and it simply excelled at normally difficult to cut foods like tomatoes and plums. As an aside, through various utility tasks, the blades readily cut ropes, various fabrics, paper, cardboard, woods and rubber tubing.
The point on the KX06 is quite acute given the slim stock and taper, it sank 302 +/- 20 pages into a phonebok with a 50 lbs load. The blade flexes significantly though so care had to be taken when applying the force and the off hand had to be used to support the blade.
The KX06 was used for a variety of cutting on various food both inside and outside the kitchen.
This is a semi-standard utility knife pattern with a more rounded tip for better durability, designed to handle most cutting in between a paring and chef's knife, though the serration pattern tends to precude most paring chores. The RX06 also has a small guard to aid in keeping fingers off the very sharp edge. Due to the thin stock and thin and acute edge bevel, in general the RX06 cut very well, and could make thin slices requiring little force and was also very light in hand and thus had a very low fatigue rate.
KX06 serrated is most deft making slices on a draw through soft vegetables such as tomatoes and fruit like plums. The knife has no problem cutting very thin slices with no slipping on the start of the cut and achives the cuts with mimimal pressure on the foods, just like it sliced the hemp rope very efficiently. In general it works well at all manner of slicing, being just as adept at most meats and trimming fats.
There is a downside to the Spyderedge though which is that it does not do as well on push cuts on stiff vegetables. For example while a Japanese utility knife takes about 2 lbs to slice up a small onion, the KX06 serrated needs about six lbs. The difference is more significant on thicker vegetables, with the Japanese knife took about six lbs and the KX06 23-25 lbs.
Since the Spyderedge is also ground only on one side as are most serrations, the KX06 serrated also tends to pull to the side on thick vegetables, so to make straight cuts the blade should be tilted a little to the left initially.
Note there is a plain edge version of the KX06 which has a much higher push cutting ability.
As a general camp knife, the RX06 fares well in most food preperation for the same reason it excells in the kitchen. The Spyderedge also readily cuts light grasses and weeds though has its difficulties carving woods. The extremely thin and acute profile does restrict its use and the handle isn't designed to handle common tasks such as batoning (striking the spine of the knife with a piece of wood to use the blade to chop/split wood), and again a plain edge would be more suitable for any push cutting type chore.
In general the RX06 has a much harder steel than most production kitchen knives and resists corrosion strongly and thus has better edge retention in general offering less wear and a stronger resistance to deformation while resisting rust very well. The Spyderedge also holds an extreme advantage due to its inherent ability to stay very sharp. Used along side the Japanese kitchen knife, the KX06 serrated was not in need of sharpening even though the Japanese knife was touched up twice in the same time period.
As for sharpening, honing some serrated knives can be problematic. Some like the pattern used by Cold Steel is near impossible to sharpen as the teeth are so small. The Spyderco serration pattern, the "SpyderEdge", however can be honed with almost the same ease as a plain edge using the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Just give the blade a few passes on the serrated side and then wipe flat to the back and the edge is perfectly restored.
The KX06 proved to be a very stainless steel showing no corrosion even when left wet or exposed to frust acids. There was no development of a patina or any evidence of rusting with extended use.
The grip fills the hand well being comfortable and secure in extended use. Even when the handle was covered in grease there was no problem maintaining a secure grip for routine kitchen work.
The KX06 serrated performs very well for its intended function. There was no significant problems with fit or finish, it was extremely sharp NIB , and cut very well while being comfortable and secure in hand. The edge retention was high for a kitchen knife, and the edge remained free of corrosion even when left wet for extended periods of time.
The serrated or Spyderedge provides the option for optimal slicing aggression on very tough to slice materials, cutting through even soft tomatoes and plums and very crusty bread without squashing either, and gives extreme edge retention with very little maintenance. At the same time ease of sharpening is high when using a Sharpmaker as the acute edge bevel is hit immediately with no need to refine the shoulder of the bevel.
Comments can be sent via email : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com or posted to the following thread on Bladeforums :
More information on the KX06 and other Spyderco knives can be seen at the
Spyderco website, and on the Spyderco Discussion forum on Bladeforums .
| Last updated : | Mon Jul 19 23:45:34 NDT 2004 |
| Originally written : | Mon Jul 19 23:45:34 NDT 2004 |