C55 discontinued?

I do not understand this decision. I love my StarMate and I always will. It is, I think, my favorite knife, one that I have frequently compared favorably with the CRK Sebenza. Spyderco keeps such knives as the awful C13 Pro Grip in production but takes a wonderful knife like this one out of production. It makes no sense to me.
 
Hugh, could you elaborate on why it is your favorite knife? Not challenging you, I'm just wondering. I have looked at it often, but for some reason I never come around to buying one. Plus, I know you're living in an area where a blade that size is strongly frowned upon (unless you've moved and I didn't catch it). So obviously the Starmate has something strong going for it for you to be so adamant about it being your favorite.

By the way, are you planning on going to the Chesapeake Knife Show in Timonium? I'd really like to meet the guy that I feel like I have sparred with a few times in friendly jousting regarding blade length in your (former?) location.
 
Hi, rockspyder. Glad to hear from you! And I mean that.

I like the shape of the StarMate. The aesthetics appeal to me, and have from the very first time that I saw it. I love the shape of the blade, it is just about perfect for the kinds of cutting and other utility tasks that I do with a knife, and I really, really love the CPM440V steel. I know that you do not, that you have had at least one and maybe more than one very unfortunate experiences with it, but I have not. I have found it to live up to and to exceed all of the claims made for it, including how hard it is to sharpen. It finally made me buy a SharpMaker rather than sticking to my old stones and hones. It chewed up a Gerber steel that I had! My StarMate was exceedingly smooth from the gitgo and I have never had a lick of trouble with it.

As to carrying it, I am not condemned to living in DC, I only work there. I carry my Gunting to and from work and in the office as it is 3", but I generally carry my StarMate otherwise. I live in Arlington, Virginia. Now Arlington may be called the "Democratic Peoples Republic of Arlington" by people from downstate due to its generally liberal voting record, but Arlington has generally not tried to restrict the carrying of weapons as other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth have. When Virginia passed its "shall issue" CCW law, Fairfax and some of the other counties and cities went berserk over it, but Arlington simply set about enforcing the law as written and without any great hue and cry. They have had no problems of any sort with it. It is an interesting jurisdiction. It had the lowest total tax burden in the DC area and one of the lowest crime rates, despite its urban nature, but it has a record of liberality on several social issues that has upset the rest of the Commonwealth. Arlington was the county that pushed the segregationists into "Massive Resistance" in the late 1950s when it became the first school district in Virginia to vote to desegregate. The Commonwealth promptly passed a number of restrictions, including taking away popular election of school boards until a few years ago, as a result. In any case, I have never had a problem with any pocket knife in Arlington, although I might have some police reaction to a Sifu if I were waving it around.

Again, good to hear from you.
 
i like my starmate too, but whats with the ROUGH finish on the blade?? and mine isnt the only one i have heard of - doesnt effect the knifes use, but sure makes it look crummy imho, like it missed the polishing process - thats my only complaint about the knife,,,,,


sifu
 
Thanks for the detailed reply, Hugh. I'll have to think about getting one of those. I have rethought my stance on 440V somewhat, after using my Military for some pretty heavy duty stuff. I used it to cut up carpet that I was removing from my house, and I was truly impressed with it. The steel held up well enough, and with the geometry of the blade (planform), it worked better than my CUDA Talon (in Taloniteª)! So, while it remains not my favorite steel, I have come to recognize its strengths, not just its weaknesses.

Good to hear that you don't have to live in DC, just work there. Northern VA is nice, IMO. Well, actually, ALL of VA is nice IMO. I head over there every chance I get, pretty regularly to the "northern neck". My wife and I can make it to Fredericksburg in about the same amount of time as Annapolis, with a much nice drive along the way.
 
How long a model stays in the line is pretty much controlled by the amount of sales that the model sustains. Some models have a fast growth curve and a fast decline. Some models have a slow growth curve that goes for a long time. Some models, like the Pro grip are just very consistant in sufficient sales to keep it in the line.

Some models have to go every year to make room for new ones.

Once a model is discontinued, it generally will hold its value, or even go up in value, so there is aftermarket potential as well.

The Calypso jr is a perfect example of what I think is a very good design that did not hold up on the sales end. Some say it is because the dealers don't like to carry them. We have 3 FRN models in the same size range and dealers have limited space. Some say it was the name. Who knows for sure? But the model will be discontinued next year.

sal
 
Originally posted by Sal Glesser
The Calypso jr is a perfect example of what I think is a very good design that did not hold up on the sales end. Some say it is because the dealers don't like to carry them. We have 3 FRN models in the same size range and dealers have limited space. Some say it was the name. Who knows for sure? But the model will be discontinued next year.
Click to expand...

I guess it's time to quit putting off buying that one now.....
 
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