If you were a custom maker, what company would make your collab/mid-tech?

Comeuppance

Comeuppance

Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
4,765
I guess the underlying question really is "which company do you think best reflects your knife philosophies", but that's almost a different question entirely but the answer is probably the same.

If I were a custom knifemaker, and I were to solicit a company to mass-produce my knife... I'd have to think for quite some time about deciding between Spyderco and Reate. Spyderco probably best reflects what I want the most out of a knife company; novel materials, experimentation, functionality and customer service as primary driving forces. Who was putting out a 204p bearing framelock flipper while ZT was in its diapers? Spyderco. Who still has the better price? Spyderco.

Reate has the machining skills to pay the bills, though. Tough call.

ALTERNATE QUESTION:

Which custom maker would you like to see do a factory collaboration, and with who?

For me, that's an easy one. I want to see a production Vallotton auto - not a conversion - done by Spyderco. For real. Make that happen already. Yeesh.
 
I would collaborate with Spyderco. With the release of the Nirvana soon ( given that it releases with no issues ) that will show that they have the ability for complex machining. Although in my mind they have already proven that with other designs.

I would love to see Tom Krein work with Spyderco. Last I heard he had sent a fixed blade model to them for a possible collaboration, I hope it happens. Him, or Gavko. I think a Gavko collab would be equally stellar.
 
Benchmade...

Why?

Because I have a Benchmade tattoo. No other reason.

 
Whomever was apt to net me the most money in the long run without ruining my reputation... So probably Spyderco or Kai.
 
Whichever reputable company came at me with the best offer; money + production standards. They would have to offer a solid production platform, but at the end of the day, if my name is on it, while quality is key, I have to get paid too...
 
I think on the fun scale, probably working with Busse

but....... It would be cool to work with any big name just to see what they were like on that level
 
Direware teaming up with ZT would be pretty fantastic.

But I like the odd ball mix-ups that could happen:

Strider/Spyderco
Hibben/KAI
CRK/CRKT (lol been there done that)
Perrin/Cold Steel
Snoddy/Emerson
 
I would almost certainly go with Reate - the consistency and precision of their machining is tremendous, and there's likely a higher profit margin. Following that, I would say Zero Tolerance but I would be worried that the cutting performance would be degraded due to ZT's history of thicker stock and more obtuse grinds. Spyderco would be in third place for me, mostly because I wouldn't want a Spyderhole shoehorned into a design (unless it was originally designed with that in mind) and the profit margins appear to be quite bad, if Sal's explanation of the Taiwanese knives' pricing is to be believed.
 
Reate because they would i feel best represent my design. But i would insist i be sent parts so i could personally handle warranty issues. Spyderco makes a great knife. But i dont feel they would produce a knife without the need to impart their touch on it. If i wanted a spydie hole great. But not all designs work with that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top