always wanted to ask: whats the deal with spydercos?

Well, for me its the design. I have a benchmade 940. Its a very nice knife, very good looking knife. Its nice to hold and use for normal tasks, and the axis makes its operation just kick arse. Basically, its the easiest to use for light cuts that dont require much time with the knife or much force.

In comes my spydercos. Each one of them feel awesome in the hand. Absolutly awesome. I have handled maybe 2 spydercos that dont feel great. These knives will cut unrelentlessly, and feel good doing so. It is often said that spyderco knives are "designed in the dark". To some that may just mean they are fugly, but to me, it means that there is absolutly no performance compromised for the sake of looks. Most of my knives are EDCs and I hope for it to stay that way. I certainly cant afford to collect lots of knives atm.

I agree, at first spyderco knives were butt ugly, but i got used to it. I bet the first beer you had made you want to spit it out...or the first sip of wine...these are both acquired tastes. Same with spyderco, except its more addictive than crack...well almost.

I think once you handle and use a spyderco, it will all come to you. Calypso Jrs are only 40 bucks on newgraham. for 30 you can get an FRN dragonfly, a great small user, though it might not give you the same level of ergonomic satisfaction. My personal favorites are those with a choil made of blade and handle. If you want to get your foot int he door, everyone needs a jester on their keychain, and you will be able to appreciate the ergonomic design of such a small knife. It might be ugly, but you can get complete control over that little scalpel.

For some good looking knives, check out the almite walker, persian, spyker and a few others are nice. The Lum Chinese is a nice looking knife also. If the source of your dislike comes from the hole elevated above the blade, check out the native, this knife has the smoothest top line of any spyderco, and a very smooth line when closed. It is also one of the most ergonomic designs, and it does feel excelent in hand. Its only downside is by not making the hole so obvious, it is a little harder to get to, so its not a great gloved or big hand knife.
 
Amen on the Native being hard to get to the hole. I have a bad thumb and although I liked the Native (my first spydie) I traded it for a Delica and have never regretted it. I also thought the Delica looked "weird" but now try and get me to use a different knife.

:)
 
I like some of the 'different' designs. The Matriarch, Scorpius, Gunting, (looks better than the Escalator, imo) Spyderhawk are ones I owned. Along with Delica, Endura, Ladybug, and Dragonfly. Only problem was they all had the same problem-too much material around the cutting edge. The hole makes the blade too wide, and the blade/handle ratios on a lot of models really turn me off. I don't like my folders to have more than an inch of handle over blade, maybe 1 1/4 really pushing it. Only my 806 gets an exception, becaue that gives you a decent striking pommel. The Scorpius has this idea, but the slender ss handle doesn't help, even with the profile.
 
Well, sorry, I guess you just have a different preference than we do. Spyderco isn't the only premium brand. You're free to dislike them, I mean, that's perfectly valid. Go get a Benchmade 940. You'll love it.
 
Blackhearted said:
wow, talk about taking things out of context :)
basically everything under your 'bad' list are just points that i made to qualify why i dont like their apppearance...
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Maybe, but just making a point. Asthetics IS important to most folks and if you can't find a knife you like, then I would suggest to wait until you can.

I happen to not like the look of the Native although I have read numerous great posts on it. I like my Scorpius quite a lot and many don't. No biggie.

May I also suggest you feel some before you buy. My first in hand spydie was a FRN handled...delica, I think. I did not like the feel of the knife at all. The one I held was loose and rather flimsy feeling. Shoot, I should do a search because I think I posted on it and now I can't remember it too well. Anyhow, that experience further drove me away from my first Spydie. Now, 2 years later, I like them quite a lot. I think what I learned was that I need a steel lined folder to feel confident...Spydie makes them too and I found a model I like...next may be a Manix.
 
Carlos said:
Spyderco is the engineers knife: Function determines design. For someone looking at function as the first priority, Spydercos are "beautiful."
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That and value from a users standpoint. The subtle refinements that you mention become apparent the more you use the knife. The texturing on my FRN Endura's handle is a marvel unto itself. The saber grind, while not my favorite type is actually a superb compromise of strength and slicer. That "too delicate" tip is now something I can't do without. Such a solid big knife that weighs so little with premium steel for @ $40 is just magic.
 
It's all about the feel to me. They just feel so much better than anything else I've used. When I find other knives I like, it's usually because they have a lot of Spydercoish qualities.

I'll also go out on a limb and say that I truely like the way they look, completely aside from how great they are in other aspects. I find the look to be refreshing and interesting when compard to the common, boring-looking knife.
 
Now I hate you guys! I've been trying to limit my knife buying for a while, & I don't really care for Spydercos. Then you &*&^%$'s had to mention the Persian so I looked it up. Now I have to buy one! You're all chipping in for my divorce! :D
 
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The thing I respect about Spyderco is they started the one hand clip folder revolution. Admit it, before Spyderco, no one made both a one hand opening knife that clipped to your pocket. Sure, some people sold screws you could attach to your trusty Buck 110. but you still needed the sheath. Other people sold special sheathes that held your knife in a semi-open position, but that invited a lot of unwanted attention. Give Spyderco the credit they deserve.
 
I have 4 Spydercos and I'm sure I will add more in the future. Did anyone mention they are very sharp?
 
They're sharp. They stay sharp. They're light. Handles are pretty good. The locks work. Heat treats seem to be consistent. They're relatively affordable. They offer great service. What more do you want in a company?
 
The Kiwi is purty. I like my Cricket. I mostly use custom folders. My fave folder is a Crawford Kasper with a Spyderhole :) so that's close...
The "deal" is that they make good knives. And the whole inventing/popularizing "the one hand opening pocket clip folder" thing, that was kind of important.
 
They're beautiful, just like my Glock is beautiful. If you don't think a black blade Spyderco Native is sexy then you need help. Form and function, Spyderco has it all.
C41BBK_M.jpg

I own a great many knives and no matter how many I try to rotate into the EDC schedule I always return to Spyderco. Again like my Glock they are simply everything you need and nothing you don't.
 
Ya, Spydercos are ugly. People looking at Sypdercos for the first time are often confused why so many spyderco fans earnestly claim that Spydercos are beautiful ... how can these people do that? Do they love velvet Elvises and dogs-playing-poker paintings as well, or what?

Well, as it turns out, performance has its own aesthetic; or rather, when you find that something performs beautifully, your aesthetic perception of that object changes as well.

To figure this out for yourself, here's an exercise: go pick yourself up a Calypso Jr. Not too expensive, and fairly ugly. Carry it around and use it for awhile. When you pull it out to cut something, take your current folder and compare it to how the Calypso Jr. performs (keeping in mind that Calypso Jr. is a medium-cuty knife, not a super ninja SEAL knife). See if you don't come back in a few months with a new outlook on Spyderco aesthetics! Now, having gotten over your hangup over Spyderco looks, you're free to check out the entire line until you're bankrupt, a happy ending if I ever heard one :)

Joe
 
Check out the manix if you are a fan of the chinook handles. While you might not like the look of that leaf blade, it is a great performer. The manix is nearly the size of the strider AR so it IS big.
 
Hi Blackhearted.

Sorry we haven't caught your "eye" with our designs. "Eye" is not first on the Spyderco "design agenda".

Safety, function, reliability, high-performance are the goals.

And yes, Spyderco did create hole-openers and clips and Spyderco did intro serrations to folders....all in the interest of providing reliable high performance.

Not everyone selects their tools, tractors, wifes, autos, etc. by "eye".

BTW, Thanx for the kinds words in argument.

sal
 
In modern world almost every single thing has to be "designed", not just properly made, to sell well. Not Spyderco. Its knives are users not lookers. It is one of a very few such knife brands (the other I can think of is Fallkniven) and everyone should appreciate this. Inventors not designers
 
Keep in mind that not everyone on the BF is a collector.
Some of us want something that works, because it's going to have to work.


Everything you buy should be chosen by these rules
1. what does it do.
2. how well does it do it.

spyderco's start lookin a ton cuter with that in mind.
 
Hi Sal, thanks for piping in. It is very interesting how you kept putting in that Spyderco doesn't design primarily for the "Eye", because I think that it is the "Eye" that makes the Spydies look odd to people. The Eye I am refering to is the eye-like hole in the blade. When you look at page full of Spydercos lined up they tend to look like a series of alien or orc silouettes. The hole catches your attention and your subconscious identifies it as an eye. Then it identifies the point of the blade as a nose and you see a weird stretched charicature of a face. This face has weird crocodile eyes on top and a stretched-out pointed crocodile muzzle (or more likely a long beak). This identification is at least half subconscious. It is more pronounced when you look at pictures than when you look at the knives in person and least pronounced when you are holding the knives. The word grotesque comes to mind. Some kind of freakin weird bird.

So the unconventional looks of the Spydercos interacts with this funny silouette thing to put off many of us at first. But then you come to Bladeforums and are drawn to Spydercos. This happens when you search for high quality technical features. If you want a great edge (and what is a blade, but an edge carrier) or if you want a great alloy at an affordable price the name Spyderco keeps coming up. You just find yourself over at the Spyderco forum where you meet Sal. You find a guy who cares more about knife performance than you do. Much to my chagrin I find a guy who knows more about knife sharpness than I do. I find a knife manufacturer who is so serious about sharpeners that he started out in the sharpener business and went in to the knife business. You look at the Spydercos line and find a knife that has every technical feature that you want. You try one in the hand and say, "hey, this is really going to work for me". You carry it and it really does a job and really grows on you. You find that you seldom leave it lying open on a table where that "eye thing" bothers you. Your pride and satisfaction in what it can do dominates your attitude.

I think the Calypso Junior is one of the best ways into the Spyderco door. Sal has yet another incredible version coming out soon. A high performance yet affordable knife (with a less anthropomorphic silouette) with a laminated blade with a ZDP-189 alloy core. This is an appealing must-have item on technical merits and once you use one you'll find you want it on you in critical situations. For example I picked my original Calypso Jr Lightweight to clip to my shirt for my first cliff rapeling trip.

I still tend to limit myself to Spydercos that have technical features that match my technical aesthetics, but I don't look at the line in the same way anymore.
 
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