Are Spyder Holes Liabilities?

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I like tough folders, yet the Spyderhole doesn't at all put me off Spyderco. I even do light prying with my folding knives on a fairly regular basis, which is akin to blasphemy for many on this forum. I've actually never had a prying induced failure, breakage or issue, but all the ones I've heard of or seen focus on three various points, the tip of the knife, the pivot or, in some rare cases, the lock. I would honestly rather see the knife world do away with the flipper than the Spyderhole. I don't have anything against flippers, but it's the one opening mechanism that seems to fail more than any other in my experience. It also makes a slow, controlled opening difficult to impossible depending on the model. Thumbholes in general, and the Spyderhole in particular, are, for me, the easiest and most intuitive opening method available. Very, very easy to find and actuatue even in poor conditions, bad lighting, while wearing gloves, with wet or slippery hands, really in just about any circumstances I use a folding knife in I'd rather have a thumbhole. The only thing that I feel authentically trumps it is the spyderhole with a cobra hood as on the Spyderco Assist.
 
All knives with thumb studs have hole too. I know they are not as big as a spydie hole but if a hole matters then a hole is a hole. I don't think it affects anything because it is at the top of the blade. There is still plenty of meat for strength.
 
It's a decision one makes for themselves. A weaker blade? Sure. Unreasonably weak? No. Easy to open multiple ways? Yes. Easier to sharpen? Yes. Intuitive thumb placement? Yes. Natural thumb ramp? Yes.

I like em on folders. Don't like em on fixed blades. They serve a lot of uses and add practicality to a lot of folder designs. They simply weaken fixed blades.

Something I'm really starting to get turned off by are flippers. Especially flippers with overly weak detents and/ or without usable thumbstuds. You always need the knife in a certain grip in just the right manner to get the flipper to open right. Good holes in blades don't have those problems.
 
Sosa said:
Why drag cold steel into another thread. Let it go.
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I like Cold Steel quite a lot, but they've certainly dragged other companies into their advertising. Personally, I like direct comparison testing, but I can't be mad if others drag them into a peripherally related discussion. Good for the goose, good for the gander as they say.
 
The Spydie hole is the most fool-proof, reliable opening method in any circumstance: wet hands, gloved hands, muddy hands, freezing hands, you name it. Thumbstuds and flippers (as well as all other deployment methods) have drawbacks in some of these areas that the Spydie hole does not.
 
Love a good hole.

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Dean Crail said:
Spydercos universally have the spydie hole, thin blade stock and full flat grinds. They are designed to do one thing very very well and that is cut. If you want a pocket fixed blade buy one or pony up the cash for a Medford folding knife. Also dont believe everything Cold Steel tells you there is a reason most knife people hate that company.
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Ken Onion told me that, not anyone associated with Cold Steel.
 
I also find the round hole to be the best and most reliable opening method for folding knives. It is much easier to find and stay with through the opening arc than thumb studs. Flippers tend to only work fast, not slowly.
 
Ken Onion. He wasn't bashing the knives or the company, but he said it made it an inherent weakness.

I don't torture test my knives, but I use them. I would think that if cutting something you hit a hard spot, torsion would create the most stress around the hole or the pivot.
 
Not even a little bit. I find the SpyderHole to be the easiest, most reliable opening system. Flippers are often inconsistent, thumbstuds often interfere with cutting and sharpening. The SpyderHole will make the blade more likely to break than the same blade shape without the hole, but that won't be a problem under normal cutting and even most abuse. Many knives and knife companies are marketed to a crowd who doesn't use knives for a use that knives don't perform. Spyderco makes knives that cut. Sal has said that he designs from the edge outward. Makes sense.
 
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