Another Great One For The Collection!

G

Gene

Joined
Oct 2, 1998
Messages
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Just wanted to share a Spyder I've been searching for, for a long time. The earliest of all the Mariners, the "no vents" Mariner. It's been shown here before but wanted to share again. A big "THANK YOU" to our friend Dave, (Recoil)!
 
Always nice to find one of the old ones. Is that orange tag an old price tag?
 
Glad you are happy with the Mariner Gene but you cropped out my favorite bluefish! (36 incher)
I kept the all black version of the no vent Mariner that I have so I'm not Marinerless.
32055, If I recall, the pricetag was in the area of $67, big bucks back then.

dave/recoil
 
Dave, thanks for the info on the tag. I always love to see the old prices. I know a dealer with a PE Blue Delica with the slim plastic clip that is marked 22.50. So far I have not succeeded in prying it out of his collection.
 
Yeah, sorry Dave! Those eyes on that bluefish took away the emphasis on the knife! Thanks for the clairification on the price tag because it's gone! I agree. $67.00 was a TON of money in those days but this is a TON of knife as were ALL the Spyders in those days. As with all the old stuff, things were OVERBUILT, which I love.
 
Congratulations Gene. nice find, you jog old memories. That was a breakthrough knife in the industry.

sal
 
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Sal, thanks for the info,
Gene, Heres the black-ti noventa, couldn't resist getting the fish back in!

recoil
dave
 
Dave,
Thanks for the pic and nice piece! Please post a lttle history on this knife. Surely it didn't come black, did it?

Sal,
How about a few sentences on the history on the Mariner? Thanks.
 
I think maybe the knife in Strange Days was a mariner. that blond chick who worked as a hired thug liked to swing it around.
 
Just to make it up to Dave and that beautiful bluefish, here's his original pic. ;)
 

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Gene,

Thanks for posting the original fish pic, it kinda adds to the Nautical theme of the Mariner.

As for the black mariner. I picked it up since it seemed odd. It is the original no vent, MARINER on blade, unchamfered version but somewhere along the line it was coated.
I don't think Spyderco contracted out for the coating that early, however, John F. Jensen was doing the coatings for Spyderco and I suspect it may have been done by him sometime later on.
Maybe someone else can add to the story.

dave
recoil
 
Interesting knife.
We never did a Mariner in the black TIALN. The picture looks darker than the TIALN process. Could it be the Blak-Ti process that spyderco used at one time? Maybe a prototype? Also interesting is the box label of C02 "R", what does the "R" stand for? Once upon a time the "R" could mean right handed vs left hand. The mariner did come in a left hand model as well. It is definetly a Spyderco label. Maybe Sal knows.
 
Added note. The 1002R-SER label (SER for serrated)is the early label. Mariners were designated 1002 early on and then became C02 when numbering system changed.
 
When we started playing around with coatings in the "old days" (mid '80's), Darryl Lewis (Bodycote) was working with Spyderco to determine the needs for a ggod knife coating. We were using Titanium carbonitrate at the time. I believe we coated about 50 Mariners.

The "R" is for right handed. back then, we made right, left, plain and serrated in each model.

sal
 
John And Sal, Thanks, I appreciate the time in providing the valuable insight.
I usaully keep an eye out for odd spydies and thats why I picked this one up. I had heard that there were a few black Mariners made but this was the first I had seen. Since it was the first run ventless model in the original box and foil wrapper it was too nice to pass up.

Gene, This one's staying in Jersey with me & the Bluefish!

dave/recoil
 
This is what makes Spyderco so fun! Every time you think you've seen it all, you get surprised! What a wonderful history your company has Sal!

What a neat piece Dave! Yeah, sure. You KNOW where you can get rid of it. :)

I concur with Dave and thanks much John and Sal for the info!
 
Wow!

Great post everyone! The Spyderco History Channel is up and broadcasting. Gene and Recoil: Excellent finds! Great info contained herein. Well done!!

Now, I have another quest!


Stay safe! Stay sharp!
 
Thanks for the pics and info. I have never seen a Black Mariner and it has started me wondering how many models have this treatment. Anyone know?
I have the Military, Delica, and Endura. I could have gotten a Black Worker, but let it slip away.
Recoil, that fish is beautiful as well.
 
32055,

The SS police was also done up in black.
The Military is rather rare in black as well as the workers.
Just recently, spyderco began doing the black blades again after a long layoff. I just picked up the coated Lum G-10 folder for duty.

As for the Bluefish, I caught that 36 incher back in 1975.

recoil
 
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