Thanx much for all of the kind words, especially Moonwilson. We appreciate that some understand and appreciate the effort that we spend in the details of a design. More often than not, most ELUs do not look that closely. It usually takes a closer look and some use time to see.
I've had many conversation with many knife designers and what we do is apparently not common, and many feel is "not really necessary, as most knife buyers purchase by looks".
Many hours went into speaking with our cusomers on "what do you like, what don't you like?" questions.
Many hours were spent in studying that information.
Many hundreds of hours (mine, Eric's & Peter's) went into the D4 & E4 designs. Sizes, weights, thickness, balance, etc. Nothing remained the same.
Many hours with the makers, models, hand carvings, etc. The mold makers, FRN shooters and knife makers all did a commendable job. We appreciate their efforts.
We're glad that you appreciate our offering.
sal
See? That's what I'm talking about. It does seem that too many designs these days are based upon what looks "cool" or threatening, or "tactical".
Examine the new Boker "Reality Based Blade", the MOD CQD Mark V, or any of the all-too-easy to criticize Dark Ops products. One of the design parameters for all of these knives appears to be that they must look as mean and pointy as possible, which to me is superflous outside of a movie prop. A box or length of cord does not care how mean your knife looks. Wing walk inserts are not going to compensate for poorly thought out ergos in long term use, and they will tear apart anything they rub against. Using quillions as some sort of compliance tool? What about the 7" blade sticking out in front of those quillions- wouldn't that tend to get in the way when grappling with an "adversary"? There are dozens of critiques I could apply to each of these blades, and many more on the market.
The set of design parameters for Spyderco products is short and center around the actual mechanics of efficiently cutting material, and how to efficiently carry and use the cutting device.
The shorter your set of design objectives, the more efficiently each of them can be addressed. Every design, for any product, whether it be a watering can, a hydraulic pump, a toothpaste tube or a knife, has to be a balance of characteristics that address the needs that will make that object useful for its intended purpose.
When you look at any manufactured product, you can see the design goals behind it when looking at the form. A watering can, for example, needs to carry water, and deliver that water to a specific point when tipped. It's form is determined by the above usage goals, along with the requirement to be easily carried, filled and used. The common form of the watering can has been determined by the efficient balancing of all of the above factors, combined with current material and manufacturing technology. If you were to add an additional requirement to the watering can- say, "it needs to whistle when it pours", you add another layer of complexity that can only detract from the purity of the design. A whistle on a watering can would detract from the lines of the design, would add cost in manufacturing, and could get clogged or broken, impeding the intended function. So it's not a good idea to make a watering can whistle, just as it's not a good idea to make a knife look threatening simply from a visual perspective. The more you look at anything, and think about why it is the way it is, the more interesting that thing becomes. Of course, the "look mean" aesthetic is brought about by market forces at work, which more than offsets the damage to the purity of design from a business perspective. Manufacturers are going to make what sells, they are business people after all. They have families to feed, and their employees have families to feed as well. Spyderco is remarkable in that they have mangaged to be very successful while sticking to a purist core design philosophy.
This is the way I look at and think about knives. The more efficiently it achieves what I perceive to be its design goals, the more successful it seems to me, and thus more appealing.
Usually, when I'm using either the E3's or E4, the weight difference is negligible for me, as I don't carry as much - usually during gardeing, home reno stuff, etc. I still like my E3's, but I feel that the E4 was definitely a good move. Now the Delica is a little different because I EDC the Delica every day. I miss the "pointiness" a bit more. Not that the D4 doesn't get the job done, but the D3 just did it better there. I still like the D4 better.
then the dealer showed me one of the new Endura 4 Wave models, Holy crap I thought to myself this knife is the size of my buck only lighter and easier to carry, it also has a very similar profile to a Leek!, and after he demonstrated the wave feature a few times, and I was able to try it out for myself I was sold!, about $20 over my budget I was planning on but hey I feel good about the purchase! My brother sure isnt going to be getting this Spyerdco,
.. maybe a different one though after he sees it