GOLDEN ERA Of Spyders: 1998 -2003

SpeedHoles said:
So that brings up a question in my head; in which way does it bias your outlook, like you mention?
Do you prefer the time period when that knife was first designed, or instead, do you bias towards the slightly more modern period with it being rehashed with different materials?
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The changes that were made to the original, milling the liners to make the knife lighter, as well I prefer standoffs to the original backspacer. On he other hand they could continue to release lum tanto sprints with minor modifications but I think the original design of the blade is what draws me to the knife.

When I indicated bias originally I meant it in that the lum is my favourite spyderco model as opposed to any other knife including earlier and or later models.
 
The "Golden Era" ended when Spyderco stopped beveling the Spydie hole. This coming from the guy who's kid freaked out when dad (me) sliced his thumb open in the car. Guess the little guy never saw that much blood. I had just picked up my new Tuff at the Post Office. The damn hole is sharper then the blade edge;)
 
It's very hard for me to nail down a specific era that I think of as the Golden Era of Spyders. One thing I can be certain of, however, is that it's definitely not the same as yours, JD!

I wasn't a Spyderco collector then, so all my info comes from dates on Spydiewiki and Spydercosource, but from what I gather 2004 was a revolutionary year. It saw the Military and Paramilitary join the game, S30V steel take over for ATS-34 and 440V, and the first iterations of the Manix and the Stretch. 2003 was also very important in bringing us our first H1 model, the Salt 1. While not its own unique model, it was the beginning of the Salt line which I think of as one of Spyderco's crowning achievements. The Atlantic and Pacific arrived in '05, and the Tasman joined in '06. I'll even go as far back as 2002 because that is when it seems VG-10 took over as the standard steel from Japan, and when the first ATR came out. That's about where I'll stop. Sure, a lot of great models came out in earlier years, but these years are when things really seemed to start getting good!

Where does it end? Hard to say. I thank 2007 for introducing the Mule Team series, 2008 for the Superhawk and the beginning of the Sage series, 2009 for the Gayle Bradley, 2010 for the PM2, 2012 for the Southard, and 2015 for the production Foundry!

I think we're in the Golden Era right now, and it began as early as 2002. Coincidentally, I did get (find, though in a way I did pay for it) my first Spyderco in 2003, a serrated Delica 2. Nostalgia and psychology aside, I believe these were the years when it all started coming together and gave us some really long-lived classics and industry-changing advances.
 
Hi people!
In my humble opinión, the "Golden Era" of Spyderco is currently. Prices reaching some "old" models, are more related to its availability today.
JD Smith and Lum Tanto also are my favourites but recently there have appeared several collaborations and fully own fantastic models
 
Joe58 said:
I think there's some truth that most knife guys, no matter which is their particular favorite maker, have soft spot for the makers lineup that they first started buying. Not always, but perhaps.

I've been fortunate in that I've been buying Spyderco right from the get go in the early 80's. The Hunter, Standard, Worker, etc. Those ugly knives with the holes and SS handles. They are great knives though. Then models in ATS-34 appeared and we all thought blade steel couldn't get better.

So I've gotten to watch Spyderco grow, adapt, and increase their market share
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Well "joe58" there's a great point you just made about having a "soft spot" in your heart for the era in which a person got their feet wet on Spyderco's great blades. However I first got my feet wet in 1995 when I got my very first Spyder which was a stainless handled, GIN-1, Full SE Mariner model. But it wasn't until I got a JD Smith, C-54 big Calypso, Stainless Rescue and my first C-50 Centofante when I truly became fanatical about the Spyderco brand.

I actually got into the premium knife market with my first premium blade which was one of Benchmade's Boguszewski Spike models. I actually had close to a half a dozen Benchmade blades before ever getting my first Spyder. I even had some of Bokers and Al Mar's great stuff before I got my first Spyder.

But it was truly the models I fell in love with beginning with the ones I just mentioned above as well some others I could name off as well. And mentioning the ATS-34 Era it might be fair to say that may have been the launching point.
 
I completely understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I wholeheartedly agree with your idea of what you refer to as the " GOLDEN ERA"... The knives made during that time demand nothing less that premium prices... In comparison; A CURRENT RUBICON SELLS FOR NEARLY THE SAME PRICE AS A USED CHINOOK.
I have read through the responses to your post and many have valid points... however, I consistenly peruse thru the different Spyderco threads and rarely see people speak of the Chinook, Persian, Kris, Shabaria,Viele,Masaad Ayoob, etc... Many times I realize that some have no idea of the existence of those models and if they do, they've never had the experience of touching one... or even have been able to walk into an actual store and buying it..... I do own multiple models and variations from 1981 to now.... and there are great knives still being produced by Spyderco( no matter where it was made), but you're right...
That was truly a different era of production at Spyderco.
 
BOHAWG said:
I completely understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I wholeheartedly agree with your idea of what you refer to as the " GOLDEN ERA"... The knives made during that time demand nothing less that premium prices... In comparison; A CURRENT RUBICON SELLS FOR NEARLY THE SAME PRICE AS A USED CHINOOK.
I have read through the responses to your post and many have valid points... however, I consistenly peruse thru the different Spyderco threads and rarely see people speak of the Chinook, Persian, Kris, Shabaria,Viele,Masaad Ayoob, etc... Many times I realize that some have no idea of the existence of those models and if they do, they've never had the experience of touching one... or even have been able to walk into an actual store and buying it..... I do own multiple models and variations from 1981 to now.... and there are great knives still being produced by Spyderco( no matter where it was made), but you're right...
That was truly a different era of production at Spyderco.
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I thank you for your kind and encouraging words BOHAWG>> and you put it so succintly pointing out that so many of the GOLDEN ERA models are not even known to a lot of the guys that just recently got on the Spyderco ship so to speak. All 3 of the Chinook models are extremely high in demand and would fetch a handsome price used or new. Extremely obscure models like the Shabaria, KRIS, Viele, Herbst, Merlin, Dodo and so many more that I could mention are all wanted to be brought back in Sprint Runs and I've heard many cry for the Dodo to come back as a full production model>> and I have no doubt it would be a big seller especially if they would make the Spyderedged version available again. Another aspect of the GOLDEN ERA models is that you could get many of the premium models in plain edge and Spyderedge both>> which is a trend that sadly is going in the oposite direction :(

I've been trying to get another G-10 Sprint Ayoob model recently because I love that model so much. I've got two of them now but I want a third one to be absolutely sure I'll always have an Ayoob model in my arsenal. And the Spyderedged Ayoob was touted by some big Spyderco fans of the past to be the very best Spyderedged blade they ever produced and I got that from some guys who really were not fans of serrated blades. I challenge any of you to get some catalogs from 1998 to 2003 and see for yourselves some of the exquisite models that came from that ERA>> that is the GOLDEN ERA OF SPYDERS 1998-2003
 
Start of the Golden era was to me was when the lineup
No longer consisted of the standard plastic or ss handled
workers, delicas, endures.
Along with a couple of similar looking knives in various sizes.
Golden era was seeing a myriad of custom collaborations models in titanium, g10 or cf scales.
 
JD Spydo said:
I cut my Spyder Teeth on my very first Spyder I bought back in 1995 which was a GIN-1, SE Mariner model with stainless handles. Since then I've been hopelessly hooked on the divine hardware of the Great Spyder FActory as many of you all are :D

I've gotten new models off and on over the years with little time off and I came to the conclusion quite a while back that Spyderco had an Era in which the amount of Super Classics was mind-boggling. I personally call it the GOLDEN ERA Of SPYDERS 1998 to 2003. The models that they produced during that era to me are just in a class and a league of their own.

Some examples are the Dodo, Lil Temperance, Chinook, Spyderhawk, C-60 Ayoob, Lum Tanto folder and Lum Fixed blade, Lum Chinese and JD Smith just to name a few. When you see any of these super classics from that era go up for sale or auction they demand a lot of attention and a high price tag with very few exceptions.

But because 1998 to 2003 is what I JD Spydo call the GOLDEN ERA Of SPYDERS it doesn't necessarily mean that would be your GOLDEN ERA Of Spyders. So do any of you agree with me and I'm sure a few of you old timers like myself probably will but I'm also sure that some of you have fond memories in another era. So what's your Favorite Spyderco ERA?
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I agree with you except you left out one of the best ever.
The Starmate.
 
I think that RamZar has a point. I love my Taichung Spydies a lot, ...in addition to the others.
 
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