Amsterdam Meet 2011 Report

[tradja]

Great pics! I thought I'd be able to make it to the end, but that H1 Dragonfly 2 is a must-have. The Ti Native and FRN Manix 2 are winners as well. Can't wait to handle the protos at the OKCA show!

 

[legion681]

Yojimbo 2 FTW!

 

[ZippoThisKnifeThat]

Boy do I love a good bag of EYE CANDY!!!

Thanks so much for the pics and your time!

Always something to look forward to with Spyderco.

 

[ohmyheckinslc]

...Is there any chance of the Tuff being far enough along that we'll get some high quality pics?

I'll second and move for a vote!
Come on! I'll even volunteer to "real world" test the blade, for free! It feels like I've been waiting forever! Like, literally...

 

[Vic303]

If the SS Balance comes in at a Bug/Grasshopper/Honeybee price point, I will be sure to get a couple!

 

[knoefz]

Here some shots I took, so you guys get to see the great atmosphere there

The Glesser family, Sal and Eric at the table, Sal's wife on the far left of the pic:

All the proto's and concept models(blurred out) that were shown and passed around the audience. Highlight for me was a Southard concept. Hope that'll make it into production some day. Othe great thing shown were the Native 5 with ti fluted handes, the lightweight Manix2, a friction folder concept...

The Mule collection from Jur van Rietschoten, organiser of the day. Also the G10 Bushcraft, what an awesome knife!

At the and a chance to give some thoughts about the new models, shake hands and everything.

It was a great event!

 

[SaMX]

It sounds like a cool event

how did it get started? who gets invited?
we get a lot of great pictures from the Amsterdam meet each year, and I've always been curious how it works.

 

[Soulrack223]

Thanks for the pics! The knife in the bottom of this pic, to the right of the blurred one, I believe is the Tuff. Since it's not blurred, is there hope of some better pics?

 

[forcedestrike]

If the SS Balance comes in at a Bug/Grasshopper/Honeybee price point, I will be sure to get a couple!

It wont unfortunately, made in Seki.

 

[psychophipps]

For future reference, VG10 and H-1 = Made in Japan with a price point to match. Full Stop.

Just a FYI.

 

[knoefz]

Thanks for the pics! The knife in the bottom of this pic, to the right of the blurred one, I believe is the Tuff. Since it's not blurred, is there hope of some better pics?

Sharp eyes you have my friend, that is the Tuff alright!
I have no better pictures, I think Mr Blonde took shots of a lot if not all of the knives shown, lets hope he's got this one as well.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Sharp eyes you have my friend, that is the Tuff alright!
I have no better pictures, I think Mr Blonde took shots of a lot if not all of the knives shown, lets hope he's got this one as well.

I will but I have a lot of pics to stil go through.

 

[knoefz]

Take your time man, there were alot of knives
Your pics are superb!

 

[berserk87]

Thanks for posting your photos. I enjoy them.

 

[Mr Blonde]

A new coat for an old friend; the stainless steel Ladybug 3 with a tattoo. It is a nice graphic and apparently, the technology with which the Japanese manufacturer did it, is a secret. I like the vibrant colors and I’d love to click one on one of my Victorinox Classics (I always carry two of those together) and see how the tattoo holds up in daily carry and use.

 

[Mr Blonde]

I don’t think I ever will become a fan of the Dyad design, for the simple fact that a left-hander like me can’t one hand open the blades. Fans of the design should welcome this sprint with open arms though. I liked the smooth action of the blades. The shade of blue on this model reminded me of the blue sprint FFG Meerkat. I’m sure these will vanish quickly from dealers’ shelves.

 

[Mr Blonde]

This new part, pictured below the FRN Slipit, is part of Spyderco’s constant quality improvement or CQI. The blade on the FRN models closed to easily for many customers so the Spydercrew looked at it and decided that the backspring needed some improvement. This ‘forked’ spring offers just the right kind of resistance.

You don’t have to worry about dirt getting in there; the fork only opens when the folder is opened, when the blade is closed the fork compresses so nothing can get stuck in there. To give you an impression of the effectiveness of this new spring; when I tried to one-hand close this knife, I dropped it. I didn’t expect this resistance on an FRN slipit. I just hope I can backorder a handful of these springs to upgrade my collection of FRN slipits.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Finally the Squeak is gearing up for production! Last year it was still a concept model, but now it’s ready. As small as it looks, it is one of those folder that seem to immediately find their home in the palm of my hand. As an innocent looking folder that complies with any possible regulations, this should be a great lightweight folder around the office or when traveling. I like to think of it as a ´universal opener of stuff´.

 

[Mr Blonde]

The only Byrd at this year’s meet, the Tern, is a slipit. It looked to me like a Byrd counterpart of the regular UKPK. The action was smooth and the ‘lockup’ solid. It could be a nice entry model for those interested in the Spyderco Slipit series.

 

[carrot]

Mr. Blonde. More great pics from you, always a treat. Got a few questions I hope you can answer:

On the Squeak2.0: Is this model made in Italy, since N690Co has traditionally only been seen on the Italian-made models? (Hossom, etc)

When can we expect to see the "tuning fork" UKPK models to ship?

I'd like to note that the Tern is the first Byrd that I found really attractive. I think I'll be picking up a few of these to give away! And of course, one for myself.