Are Spyder Holes Liabilities?

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Interestingly, Ken Onion also invented a lock that's only made possible by having a hole in the blade about where a Spyderhole would be.
 
Considering he makes his living from flipper knives and he isn't an engineer or materials scientist it's safe to conclude he's a little biased.
 
Honestly if you feel like the spyder hole is a liability than just get and carry something that you are comfortable with.
 
Not a liability to me.

This is Oak

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Even batoned

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I've done much worse to it at work since those pics were taken close to a year ago.

It is still in one piece.
 
The Spyder hole might weaken the blade, I guess it depends on where the hole is located and how stress is actually distributed through the blade. However, in a folding knife, I think that under normal (even demanding) work conditions there are other things that are going to break or get damaged before you somehow manage to snap a blade.

There are lots of knives with opening holes on their blades, not just from Spyderco (I've got Benchmades and Cold Steels with holes), and so far we haven't seen many examples of broken blades that can be blamed on those holes.

If your job or hobbies demand a tough knife, you might be better off with a fixed blade.
 
Google Spyderco broken blade. There are pics but not many. If it was really a weak point it would be known by now. Especially known in this community.
 
Ok 6 years on Bf with like no posts and today you decide to school us all on why you imagine spydercos suck, based on second hand info.

Why dont you just tell us what awesome knife you have found, that doesnt have a weak hole in the blade or pivot, and can pry? Fixed blade perhaps?
Cant wait to see...
 
RockCowles said:
Ken Onion told me that, not anyone associated with Cold Steel.
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And the truth comes out! And who does Ken Onion design for mostly? Well, it is not spyderco but rather their competitors. I believe he only did one knife for spyderco. Guess what it had? Not one hole in the blade but three! And he got paid for it that one too. Follow the money.

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=176

I wonder when he was designing this knife with Sal if Onion brought this liability to his attention. Doesn't really matter through. I bet the check cashed just fine either way ;)

stabman said:
Just because someone can design a good knife does not prevent them from being absolutely wrong.
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:thumbup:
 
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Give me any knife of any kind and I can break it for you. Abuse and use of a knife far beyond what knives are intended to do (cutting and slicing) is not a weakness exclusive to Spyderco.

Has Ken Onion ever broken a Spyderco because of a blade snapping in real world hard use or only in lab tests?

If Ken Onion broke his own knives and lock mechanisms in his laboratory tests, would he tell you?
 
Liability mostly means damage liability to the manufacturer to me. My first Spyderco was a Native from Walmart and I have liked them ever since. I use knives for knife things and I don't try to break them.
 
Stays Sharp said:
Give me any knife of any kind and I can break it for you. Abuse and use of a knife far beyond what knives are intended to do (cutting and slicing) is not a weakness exclusive to Spyderco.
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The hole (along with deep jimping or other material reduction in the blade) will be the weakest point but will only break when used improperly. For normal knife usage it will certainly hold up just fine.

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Fanglekai said:
Yes, it weakens the blade. That's a fact. But, does it matter? There is something called engineering. It's where smart people use applied physics and math to design objects, test them, and then produce them according to a specific set of instructions. Spyderco knives don't fail under normal use. I've only seen a few broken ones in years on the forum. If they aren't breaking often then there isn't a problem.
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+1

If you look at spydero knives they tend to be taller around the hole area than most of their competitors. This is to add strength in what would otherwise be a weak area. If they just designed a knife and then put a hole in the middle of it there would be major problems. Instead, they design their knives to include a hole and still be plenty strong.
 
Doors weaken walls too but unless we all wanna start going at it Kool Aid Man style, I think they're worth it.
 
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