Today’s mail call brings us the Spyderco Aqua Salt. This is an awesome little fixed blade that was discontinued a few years back, and then brought back into production by Spyderco after high demand. It features a blade crafted from H1 steel, which is completely impervious to rust, thanks to its incorporated nitrogen properties.
The design of the Aqua Salt is that of a hollow-ground blade, and comes in both plain edge and serrated (“SpyderEdge”) versions. While these knives are aimed at being used around the water, such as with diving or fishing tasks, they look equally adept at camp and kitchen use, too.
Though the knife doesn’t feature a full tang, cutaway images floating around online show what appears to be roughly a 3/4 tang in the FRN handle. For comparison’s sake, this seems to easily meet or exceed what is found in a popular bushcraft knife — the Mora series. While the Aqua Salt probably wouldn’t make a good choice for batoning thick branches (and neither does a Mora), it sure would make for an interesting survival knife thanks to its rustproof properties.
Supposedly H1 steel is “work hardened” — that is, the more that you use the knife, the stronger the blade will become over time. Others have posted experiences of this, and of H1 steel retaining its edge longer and longer after sharpening.
Here’s a few specs. from the Spyderco page:
- Overall Length: 9.28″ (236 mm)
- Blade Length: 4.70″ (119 mm)
- Blade Edge Length: 4.40″ (112 mm)
- Weight: 4.6 oz. (130 g)
One thing is for sure — I’m definitely looking forward to using this knife and putting it through its paces!
Cascadia Recon 