I have reviewed quite a few different versions of this knife and this iteration is just a steel change, so, as with tradition, it is getting a midi review. A similar fate befell various versions of the Bugout and the Para3 (which is still, to this day, the most overrated knife on the market). Also, this is coming to you from vacation and I have VERY spotty Internet so I am limited on the hyperlinks.

Here is the product page. Here is a video review of the Dragonfly II SPY27.

Since the ZDP-189 Dragonfly 2 went OOP, we have been treated to some really exotic steels in the Dragonfly II line, but none that seem like a good fit for what is one of the very best EDC knives ever made. Some are too corrosion resistant. Some are unnecessarily tough.

Low corrosion resistant steels like K390 are great at holding an edge but only look nice and stay rust free in the driest of environments. One night outside completely tanked my Stretch 2 and I live in New England. I am not asking the steel to be okay in the swamps of Florida (or is that: the swamp that IS Florida). It took some significant elbow grease to restore even a cloudy satin grind. So I am not sure that steel fits the profile of a knife that should be carried everyday without fail, even in the summer when your pockets might be a little moist.

On the flip side Spyderco has also been minting DF2s in some really, really tough steels, which, while nice when looking to around out a collection, also don’t make a lot of sense. No one is batonning with a DF2, so aside from collecting, what purposes does a Cru-Wear or PD#1 DF2 serve? Many of these steels, like the high edge retention ones, add a hundred or even two hundred dollars to the price tag. And for what? A feature you don’t use. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Of course, ZDP-189, even with its massive dollop of chromium (20%!), isn’t the most stainless steel, but it was good enough for me to regularly carry in New England without getting rusty. And so for a long, long time, even years after it went OOP, I still thought the ZDP-189 DF2 was the best all around version of the knife that launched this site. Nothing hit edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance quite as nice (noting, of course, that the design doesn’t really need a lot of toughness).

But in the past two years, Spyderco released a SPY27 version of the Dragonfly 2. It is an amazing steel that perfectly fits the role the DF2 serves. It is a S35VN/S45VN that has better sharpenability. The result, in my mind, makes for the absolute best all around DF2 ever made. This, in turn, makes this DF2 one of the best EDC knives available. The ergos are, of course, still the best in the knife business. It is incredibly light, even now in an era of CF Mini Bugouts. And with the SPY27 we have a powder steel with great stropping response. It is an amazing package for around $95. If you have been waiting to wade back into the DF2 waters after sitting out ten different steels that both add $200 to the price and speckle with rust if you play the word “RUST” in Scrabble, its safe to come back in. This is a DF2 that holds an edge, rides nicely in a pocket, AND is really user serviceable. Its not a 8 ounce nugget of titanium with a 4.75 inch cleaver blade made of 1/2” blade stock and a Mokuti pivot collar and clip, but it is exactly the knife that actually does the work most people do when they EDC a knife.

Score: 20 out of 20.

Amazon Link:

Spyderco Dragonfly in SPY27 (affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B0e2Pm3wZ)