C150G - The Spyderco Junior by DiAlex

Wow that is nice. A little shorter than the Delica when closed, a little heavier, and a bigger blade.
 
Great news. I'm really interested in this one.
edit: just noticed the MSRP. It's the same as the Military and more than the PM2. I'm anxious as to see what actual retail price will be.
 
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photonjunkie said:
edit: just noticed the MSRP. It's the same as the Military and more than the PM2. I'm anxious as to see what actual retail price will be.
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I am also disappointed in the price. MSRP is $50 higher than the PM2. OK, so it's made in a different location and a collaboration knife with a smaller production run, compared to the PM2. But then its also $30 more expensive than the Anso Zulu (in S30V!). Can anyone explain that? Perhaps it just reflects the weakening of the dollar between the times these two models were produced??

I'll get one anyway as I really like the design ever since I saw it, but overall I'm sure the high price in comparison to similar sized VG10 / G10 knives can't help but hurt the sales on this model.
 
Brummie said:
I am also disappointed in the price. MSRP is $50 higher than the PM2. OK, so it's made in a different location and a collaboration knife with a smaller production run, compared to the PM2. But then its also $30 more expensive than the Anso Zulu (in S30V!). Can anyone explain that? Perhaps it just reflects the weakening of the dollar between the times these two models were produced??

I'll get one anyway as I really like the design ever since I saw it, but overall I'm sure the high price in comparison to similar sized VG10 / G10 knives can't help but hurt the sales on this model.
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Country of origin also has something to do with it. Last I heard, it was 1.25 times as expensive to produce a knife in Japan as in Taiwan or the USA.
 
The Deacon said:
Country of origin also has something to do with it. Last I heard, it was 1.25 times as expensive to produce a knife in Japan as in Taiwan or the USA.
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I mentioned the Zulu cos I thought both were made in Taiwan, but you are right, the Junior is made in Japan. And you get a lot fewer Yen to the dollar now than was the case a couple of years ago.
 
It's a great design, a but pricey, but if the quality is there it is worth it. If the Para 2 or the Military cost $30 more I would still think they offer good value.

I am a bit alrehensive about how it will feel in the hand, I would like to hold one before I buy it.
 
I'm disappointed that the street price is so high. It's seems to be much more money than similarly featured Spydercos and popular contemporary models. For example, the discontinued Delica 4 had a MSRP $179.95, was Made in Japan with Foliage Green G-10, VG-10 and Lock Back. It had a street price of $95 to $105, which is where I expected the Junior to be.

DiAlex Junior MSRP $219.95, Made in Japan with Black G-10, VG-10 and Compression Lock, street price $140.

Paramilitary 2 MSRP $169.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Compression Lock, street price $105 to $115. :eek:

Military MSRP $219.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Liner Lock, better features for same approximate $140 street price.

Gayle Bradley MSRP $224.95, Made in Taiwan with Carbon Fiber, M4 and Liner Lock, once again better features for same approximate $140 street price.

I still love me some Spydercos but I'm passing on this one.
 
Soulrack223 said:
I'm disappointed that the street price is so high. It's seems to be much more money than similarly featured Spydercos and popular contemporary models. For example, the discontinued Delica 4 had a MSRP $179.95, was Made in Japan with Foliage Green G-10, VG-10 and Lock Back. It had a street price of $95 to $105, which is where I expected the Junior to be.

DiAlex Junior MSRP $219.95, Made in Japan with Black G-10, VG-10 and Compression Lock, street price $140.

Paramilitary 2 MSRP $169.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Compression Lock, street price $105 to $115. :eek:

Military MSRP $219.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Liner Lock, better features for same approximate $140 street price.

Gayle Bradley MSRP $224.95, Made in Taiwan with Carbon Fiber, M4 and Liner Lock, once again better features for same approximate $140 street price.

I still love me some Spydercos but I'm passing on this one.
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That's your right. Said it before, will say it again, there's no way to please everyone. If they made them China using 8Cr13MoV so they cost 1/4 as much, a different group of folks would be complaining.
 
Soulrack223 said:
I'm disappointed that the street price is so high. It's seems to be much more money than similarly featured Spydercos and popular contemporary models. For example, the discontinued Delica 4 had a MSRP $179.95, was Made in Japan with Foliage Green G-10, VG-10 and Lock Back. It had a street price of $95 to $105, which is where I expected the Junior to be.

DiAlex Junior MSRP $219.95, Made in Japan with Black G-10, VG-10 and Compression Lock, street price $140.

Paramilitary 2 MSRP $169.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Compression Lock, street price $105 to $115. :eek:

Military MSRP $219.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Liner Lock, better features for same approximate $140 street price.

Gayle Bradley MSRP $224.95, Made in Taiwan with Carbon Fiber, M4 and Liner Lock, once again better features for same approximate $140 street price.

I still love me some Spydercos but I'm passing on this one.
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Remember, the cost of Spydercos directly reflect the cost of manufacture. They are not just charging what they think the market will bear.

The facts are as follows:

- Manufacturing knives in Japan currently cost more than manufacturing knives in the US.
- Spyderco's US factory is still running at maximum capacity, and with traditionally American models (Military, Paramilitary, Native) and there corresponding sprint runs it may be impractical to try to and squeeze in a new model, especially one that requires entirely new tooling.
-Sal has said the compression lock can be difficult for many manufacturers to perfect, and Spyderco's Japanese contractors have already demonstrated that they are capable of producing it well (ATR, Super Hawk, Super Leaf)

Of course, one has every right to declare that the Junior, or any other knife is too expensive. But the additional expense is not unjustified, and as there are extremely few knives with similar qualities many will find it easy to justify an additional $20-30 premium.
 
Im still kind of on the fence on this one. To me it just looks like that handle will be really uncomfortable in hand IMHO, so I'll hold off buying one until I feel it in hand
 
Soulrack223 said:
I'm disappointed that the street price is so high. It's seems to be much more money than similarly featured Spydercos and popular contemporary models. For example, the discontinued Delica 4 had a MSRP $179.95, was Made in Japan with Foliage Green G-10, VG-10 and Lock Back. It had a street price of $95 to $105, which is where I expected the Junior to be.

DiAlex Junior MSRP $219.95, Made in Japan with Black G-10, VG-10 and Compression Lock, street price $140.

Paramilitary 2 MSRP $169.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Compression Lock, street price $105 to $115. :eek:

Military MSRP $219.95, Made in USA with Black G-10, S30V and Liner Lock, better features for same approximate $140 street price.

Gayle Bradley MSRP $224.95, Made in Taiwan with Carbon Fiber, M4 and Liner Lock, once again better features for same approximate $140 street price.

I still love me some Spydercos but I'm passing on this one.
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The Deacon said:
That's your right. Said it before, will say it again, there's no way to please everyone. If they made them China using 8Cr13MoV so they cost 1/4 as much, a different group of folks would be complaining.
Click to expand...

darthsoaker said:
Remember, the cost of Spydercos directly reflect the cost of manufacture. They are not just charging what they think the market will bear.

The facts are as follows:

- Manufacturing knives in Japan currently cost more than manufacturing knives in the US.
- Spyderco's US factory is still running at maximum capacity, and with traditionally American models (Military, Paramilitary, Native) and there corresponding sprint runs it may be impractical to try to and squeeze in a new model, especially one that requires entirely new tooling.
-Sal has said the compression lock can be difficult for many manufacturers to perfect, and Spyderco's Japanese contractors have already demonstrated that they are capable of producing it well (ATR, Super Hawk, Super Leaf)

Of course, one has every right to declare that the Junior, or any other knife is too expensive. But the additional expense is not unjustified, and as there are extremely few knives with similar qualities many will find it easy to justify an additional $20-30 premium.
Click to expand...

I don't think I was failing to understand anything in either of your posts. I'm hoping it sells really well and is released in a different version. I think it's strange that a design for young/first time knife users has such a high entry point. To me, that demograpgic equals more likely to lose their knife. If Japan is so expensive, why not make it Golden with FRN and some of the blade steels used for the UKPK (GIN-1, BD1) that has gotten its price point way down?

Generally I'd let it go and not post anything but I really like this design. Its concept is a real winner IMO.
 
Soulrack223 said:
I don't think I was failing to understand anything in either of your posts. I'm hoping it sells really well and is released in a different version. I think it's strange that a design for young/first time knife users has such a high entry point. To me, that demograpgic equals more likely to lose their knife. If Japan is so expensive, why not make it Golden with FRN and some of the blade steels used for the UKPK (GIN-1, BD1) that has gotten its price point way down?

Generally I'd let it go and not post anything but I really like this design. Its concept is a real winner IMO.
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I'm guessing that Golden is operating at capacity, or very close to it. Plus, FRN is generally only used for knives already proven to sell well in G-10 (UKPK) or CF (Stretch) because the molds are expensive.
 
I'm not sure that a knife designed to be very safe is by definition just for first-time knife users. If anything, I'd suggest that something like a Dragonfly or even a Grasshopper would be a better knife for a new user- the Junior is larger than many folks want, and certainly large for a very young user. Yeah, it's called a Junior, but how many people are going to give a 12-year-old a folder with a 3"+ blade?
 
"Yeah, it's called a Junior, but how many people are going to give a 12-year-old a folder with a 3"+ blade?" Particularly when in many places 3" is the magic length between legal and illegal.

"They are not just charging what they think the market will bear."

Every company charges what the market will bear. To not do so would be irresponsible to your employees and investors. Every market changes, a company needs to have a price that is competitive and can be sustained, while maximizing profit.
 
The Deacon said:
I'm guessing that Golden is operating at capacity, or very close to it. Plus, FRN is generally only used for knives already proven to sell well in G-10 (UKPK) or CF (Stretch) because the molds are expensive.
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I think that you are right. Like I said, I hope it sells great in this configuration so that it comes out in FRN and I can buy several to give away.

A ~3" blade is a great size for a first knife IMO. When I was in Cub and Boy scouts our non-locking "Scout" knives were all about 3" in length. I think a bigger "senior" version of the knife would be great too. It would be like a folding chef's knife, perfect for picnics. :)
 
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