help me understand spydercos!

yablanowitz said:
Spyderco has a long-standing policy of constant quality improvement, which results in frequent incremental changes. The blade currently being produced may or may not fit in a knife made last year. To offer blade replacement would require them to either warehouse a stockpile of blades before every change and hold them until they are needed (or forever if they are not) or individually custom-make the replacement blade, thus taking one of their skilled makers off research and developement to do the job of making a $200 blade for a used $100 knife. If the blade breaks due to a defect in material or workmanship, they will replace the knife. If it breaks due to the user's misuse or abuse, then in my opinion, it is not their problem.
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Yeah, I understand. But if company X provides a service that company Y doesn't, I'm taking my money to company X.
 
Spyerdco is like the McDonalds of knives, by that I mean CONSISTENCY. You can pull over at damn near any McDonalds in the world and know what your going to get. Is it possible to get a bad QP with cheese yes but no likely. Same with spyderco your going to get a knife that is made with average to average/good quality materials and workmanship, cuts, slices, and maintains sharpness well and can be readily purchased at a moderate price. Also like McDonalds spyderco is going to now and again have sprint runs of exotic boutique steels, kinda like exotic fillers with the McRib, etc.

Don't start with McDonalds bashing it is merely an analogy of why sperdco's are so popular, Sal has a helluva business model as does McDonalds regardless of the nutritional value of their offerings. Go back and read some of the early knife rags when Sal and his family were traveling around in a work truck making knives in the back of it and selling them and gun and or gun and outdoor shows. He is incredibly in tune with his customer base and has been since day one, again kinda of like McDonalds when Ray Crock actually flipped burgers at the original McDonalds for YEARS.

A business is a like a child, the more time you spend with it the better it is going to be.
 
Spyderco makes some of the best bang for your buck knives there are. For the money you are getting a lot of knife compared to some other companies who provide excellent products but their cost to product ration leaves a little to be desired. Ergo's are perfect on every Spyderco I have ever held, they are made to feel like when you grip them every aspect of where your hand would rest was taken into consideration making it a dream to use for any period of time.
 
Someone , on the spyderco sub-forum, started a thread about having found and purchased an original Massad Ayoob (before there was a sprint version of it). The discussion then evolved into a praise-fest of the Ayoob as well as a petitioning of sorts for a sprint. Spyderco listened and released a Massad Ayoob sprint run last year. More recently, there's this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/884643-K390-Military. A thread discussing bohler-uddeholm K390 with Sal participating (and Phil Wilson:thumbup:) in the discussion leading to Sal confirming that they had just ordered some K390. Amazing interaction with the customer/end user and wonderfully functional knives is why I enjoy and respect spyderco.
 
What are looking for in a knife? Say good steel, =s30v , good handle = titanium or g10 , good weight = 3-5 oz, safe knife choil and grip. Look around and you won't find those things from less than 200$. Spyderco gets you all for 150$ or less, and repeatedly in enough different sizes and knife designs that they fit everyones hand comfortably.

If you want to collect knives I would suggest someone like yuna knives or other makers that offer truly beatiful and useful works of art, you want a knife for work at the best price/quality/design then get an s30v manix or paramilitary.
 
I agree, they are generally quite ugly. That suits me just fine, though - I generally like ugly knives best.

It also helps that they work.
 
Spyderco is one of my favorite (if not overall favorite) knife manufacturers. That said, I think they sometimes go out of their way to produce... ummmm, let's say....."distinctive" looking knives. I think some of their knives are absolutely beautiful -- e.g., the Delica, Para 2, Military, Sage, Manix and others.

Others -- regardless of how they function or feel -- look absolutely hideous to my eyes. The Sharbaria, PKal, Zulu, Balance, Junior, Yojimbo and others all look deformed to me. I'm sure they're all outstanding knives in their way. I just think they're ugly.

Though ugly or not, I'm probably in for at least the Yojimbo. Probably the Zulu too eventually.
 
I think they're one of the more mainstream companies, have a history of being used by LEO's, military, shown up in countless movies going on 2 decades now. People latch onto what's popular. When somebody comes here and says "I like knives now, what's a good knife" the answer is usually Spyderco above all else. When I bought my first back in the mid-nineties I was intrigued by the hole, and the salesman put the hard sell on them being "the choice of police & EMT's" that came into the shop. It worked on me. My tastes have changed, I could care less about the hole, I do wish they'd make a knife once in a while that's outside of their comfort zone (leaf blade, huge choil, HOLE!) but that's their thing and I guess they're sticking to it. Quality knives, history, they're one of the best for a reason. Still don't care for them save for a few models though.
 
My first big folder (other than a jacknife), was a Spyderco. Since then I have tried many other knives, Emerson, Cold Steel, CRKT, etc. & none of them suited me as well as a Spyderco. It's all I carry.
 
I also thought at first they were ugly. I held one in a store and realizes function> Looks. Blades use decent-good steel. They tend to be lite. The hole is an easy way to open. Never had any issues and have heard their costumer care was good. And last but very important They are quite affordable.

Also for me they had the Salt series with H1 steel. They are great and because of them I have bought several spydercos.
 
I agreed with the OP and then I got a Native for Christmas. Now I kind of want a Dragonfly 2 ... and ... and ...

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Beckerhead #42
 
I think that everyone so far has covered it. Spyderco knives are meant to be used and focus on function rather than style. The company really does push the envelope on what is possible, and gives full and fair credit to the "competition".

Sal really does listen to his customers, and makes us the knives we want.
 
Spyderco makes knives for people who use knives. Their knives cut. They aren't sharpened pry bars or folding axes. They invented the tactical knife as we know it, top of the line steels, the opening hole for one handed opening, and the pocket clip. They are one of only two companies that put out fully serrated knives (cold steel being the other, and their serrations are poorly designed.) If the opening hole wasn't an excellent design to function as a one hand opening method, other companies would not be borrowing, copying or stealing the idea to use on their knives. It is fool proof. Spyderco is one of the few companies that put out the same knives with different locks (the sage, manix etc), different steels (endura, manix, mules, etc) and different grinds (endura, delica) to test them on identical platforms. They offer the most rust-proof stainless steel on the market (H-1) and offer the broadest range of knives for every taste, from the tiny bug to the manix xl. They make slipjoints and automatics. They regularly collaborate with well known makers and amateur designers and the listen to their end line user.

They offer knives in every price range and knives for users and collectors alike. They make knives designed for hard work and knives designed for self defense. If aesthetics are the number one concern in your decision to purchase a knife, then spyderco probably isn't for you. They are designed in the dark and function trumps form. They must be doing something right when other larger knife companies copy their designs to the tee. Benchmade and SOG both have endura clones and there is a reason for that. The endura/delica platform is a tried and true design that has been put to the test for decades.

Spyderco is one of the most versatile production knife companies on the scene today. They are not for everyone but that just leaves more for us :D
 
Ok... kind of digging that ambitious... (been checking out their whole line!) How's that steel? Not familiar w/ it...
 
jasonbroni said:
Ok... kind of digging that ambitious... (been checking out their whole line!) How's that steel? Not familiar w/ it...
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It is a good working steel that takes a sharp edge and holds it for a reasonable amount of time. It is easy to resharpen or reprofile, even in the field, with the most rudimentary of sharpening equipment. I have regularly used 8Cr13MoV as a commercial fisherman and a professional mariner and it is a very good steel in a very affordable knife. I routinely cut a lot of dirty rope and haven't had any major issues except it will show rust spots if you use it around salt water.

Steel snobs sometimes poo poo it and some people don't like the fact that the knife is chinese, but any of the chinese spyderco and byrd knives are the best bang for the buck on the market today.
 
RetiredGuns said:
We are born, not converted.
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:thumbup:

I never thought the Delica was ugly, and it just got more beautiful the more I used it.

Now if they ever make a textured SS delica with a combo edge zdp-189 or 440V blade I'd probably have no reason to buy another knife, the SS handled models have a much smoother action than the FRN models.
 
matt1987 said:
Yeah, I understand. But if company X provides a service that company Y doesn't, I'm taking my money to company X.
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This works both ways though. If company A makes constant improvements that allow you to get the most bang for your buck and company B does not, then company A gets my money. :D
 
matt1987 said:
Yeah, I understand. But if company X provides a service that company Y doesn't, I'm taking my money to company X.
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Fine with me. My personal feeling is that if you are breaking so many blades that availability of replacements is a factor in your buying decisions, you need to take a hard look at your knife using skills. I'd rather give my money to a company willing to improve their products over time.
 
Agreed about the choils. After some experience, I don't think I will buy a Choil-less Spyderco. Their models with choils are a dream in hand though. Easily the best ergonomics overall of any of the knife brands I have handled. Practical knives, and they have a very signature look. The Spyderhole works extremely well. Their knives tend to be thin as well. Something very geometric about their designs.

My only real problem with Spydies is that they tend to take up a very large amount of space for how much edge they have. The Spyderhole requires either unsightly humps, or a more leaf blade shape that makes for very fat blades. Just a side effect of the Spyderhole. I find that when other companies "borrow" the Spyderhole, they just don't do it right. If it's not Spyderco, it shouldn't have a Spyderhole, just use thumb studs or a flipper.

They also look very unique. A lot of companies knives could be swapped out except for proprietary locks, logos, or what not, but nothing looks like a Spyderco but a Spyderco IMO.
 
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