A question for Sal or Eric

G

Gorky

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Jul 2, 2020
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Have you designed a knife that you were SURE was going to be a hit and it either flopped or didn’t catch on near as much as possible ?

I look at my Pattada and like many who love it, I am surprised that more do not love it. The Pattadese has me VERY excited with the smaller size, upgraded steel, and same general great shape. So I wonder if the Pattadese is either a response to feedback on the Pattada or a shake of the fist akin to “we will try this again until you mortals realize how awesome this design is” :-)
 
Just got mine yesterday, awesome knife, wicked looking to me. Probably not most people's cup of tea. The story behind it is interesting to me.
The Pattada is a member of Spyderco’s unique Ethnic Series™ of knives—an ongoing project that recognizes and pays tribute to the world’s distinctive cultural cutting tools by expressing them in modern form. This unique knife draws its name from the cutlery capital of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy and the second largest island in the Mediterranean. There, a traditional style of folding knife called a resolza has been made for generations. Also commonly called a Pattada because of its place of origin, this do-everything cutting tool is an integral part of everyday Sardinian culture.

Spyderco’s expression of this remarkable knife takes the classic lines and timeless styling of the original and faithfully renders them using state-of-the-art materials and manufacturing methods. The iconic Pattada blade shape, characterized by a straight clip point and long curved cutting edge, is faithfully executed in premium N690Co stainless steel. Its full-flat grind and PlainEdge™ cutting edge ensure superior edge geometry and low-friction cutting performance.

The blade is paired with a gracefully curved handle built with full stainless steel liners and painstakingly machined contoured G-10 scales. The handle’s liners provide exceptional strength and also form the foundation of the knife’s sturdy LinerLock mechanism, which locks the blade securely in the open position. A non-traditional, but highly functional, deep-pocket wire clip supports ambidextrous tip-up carry and keeps the Pattada poised for immediate access.
IMG_5119.jpg
 
I love everything about this knife, except for the lock. If it were a back lock I'd be all over it. I generally dislike liner locks and frame locks.
 
The Pattada is one of my favorite Spydercos, as is the Tropen (among other knives) that other people do not appreciate.

What's great about the Spyderco lineup (past and current) is that there is so much variety that there's something for everyone but every knife is not everyone's cup of tea.

Unfortunately for me, I have pretty broad interests and not many restrictive criteria, so I'm constantly being challenged to decide whether I "should" buy yet another Spyderco or not.

I've pretty much purchased all of the prior and current releases that I care to own -- over 130 of them at last count; a few of them pair/trio blade variations of the same model knife, like the Police, Military, Renegade, Calypso, Yojimbo and others.

There are only a couple of discontinued Spydercos that I'd still like to own -- like the Szabofly and Slyz Bowie -- but don't want to pay the prices currently asked for them.

As for pending releases, I am interested but ambivalent about the Pattadese because of the suggested price and it's smaller size but, like the Chowke and Watu that I also own, I'll probably buy the Pattadese to pair w/the Pattada to just complete the 2 knife set.
 
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When i read your opening statement i had never heard of this knife. Was surprised it wasn’t some outrageous design but to me it looks quite normal and straight forward.
I like and thought the Ouroboros was akin to the same kind of knife you speak of here as being not for everyone. It was out there and then it was gone?
 
It's not surprising lots of folks like that style of knife. They've been making them in Italy for a very long time. I think that's the whole reason for the ethnic series. Classic styles with modern touches and steels.
 
Hi Gorky,

Interesting question. I'll get back to it when I have more time.

sal
 
Hi Gorky,

Taking an idea from concept to production has quite a few steps. It's been a long time since we were "sure" it would be a winner. Now we accept the fact that we can't know the success of a design. Sometimes the market is just too small to support the design, even if it's a good design. So it's always a crap shoot. We also often offer a new concept like the Rock Jumper and we watch closely to see if we should continue to pursue the concept.

Sometimes we do oddballs like the Pochi that we don't expect a great return or many runs. Sometimes we'll do a run of a collaboration design because we think that the designer has promise and we can help, like the Kapara.

Sometimes we'll do a design that we feel will be smaller sales, but for a long time. Sometimes we'll do a design like the P'Kal that serves a market that we choose to serve even if sales are minimal.

Hope that helps.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Gorky,

Sometimes we do oddballs like the Pochi that we don't expect a great return or many runs. Sometimes we'll do a run of a collaboration design because we think that the designer has promise and we can help, like the Kapara.

Sometimes we'll do a design that we feel will be smaller sales, but for a long time. Sometimes we'll do a design like the P'Kal that serves a market that we choose to serve even if sales are minimal.

Hope that helps.

sal
Click to expand...

This right here, the willingness to go after niche markets and put out a design with an expectation of lesser sales and the til-late-night experiments in design and testing are what make Spyderco the top knife brand, no question. Profits above all else only takes you so far and has you chasing others in the market. No surprise there are so many loyal users.
 
Hi Kreole,

thanx much for the kind words. We try. I call it the "right mix".

Hey GAGL, I have some wood scales made for me coming in for Watu's'. A nice change from Carbon Fiiber.

sal
 
I feel like the Mantra is kind of an example of this. It started with the 1/2 which were Ti frame locks in HSS, definitely an appeal to enthusiasts and priced accordingly. Unfortunately, there were issues with the action on some, either in reality or in reputation. I regret selling my 1 to this day.

The 3 comes along and the reception has been...tepid? Cost was lower, steel is less exciting to many (but also lower maintenance and probably a top tier example of the alloy in use given Spydercos propensity for aggressive heat treating)...and then the controversy over comp lock flippers and the whole tab-in-the-way thing.

I believe the 3 is still made but I wish they would make a 4 that was a solid CF scale, Ti frame lock (now that it’s perfected), high end stainless like XHP, S45 or 20CV.
 
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