Lil Temperance price = big

M

Mike990

Joined
Sep 25, 2000
Messages
535
Lil Temperance is 140 bucks from Knife Center. I about fell outa my chair, its more than the military, or chinook or any other spyderco street price I have seen to include the G-10 civi. Whats the deal, its 3 inchs of 440V and G-10, but what else? The lock? Not buying one at that price now. Seems like an aweful lot. Is it really that slick? Is the knife center just testing the waters here or is that price likely to stick. Wonder what list is? Syderco does not have it on their web site that I could find.
 
I've seen it other places for about 130-140.... I think knife outlet and some others have it around there... I too wish the price was lower, maybe 100-110 would be more reasonable... It is however a quality knife from what I have heard.
 
The Gunting started out high, but it got lower, so I assume that this will two. Just like the BM 710, it started out quite highly priced, but now you can get it for marginally less.

Jeff
 
I believe Spyderco MSRP is $200. Not a cheap knife but there is not another one out there like it right now. Since it will be a limited run piece it will probably retain it's resale value so you can sell it later at minimal loss if you deem that it isn't for you. I'm sure you could unload it quick here on the forums w/ the interest surrounding this knife at the moment.
 
The handles on a Chinook or Military are machine cut out of large flat sheets of G10: just simple slabs.

The handles of the Lil' Temperance have a complex shape and additonal depth: the fiberglass layers have to be laid up by hand into individual molds to form each handle scale. This is one reason why they can only make 200 per month, and why the price is so high.

It is technically the most advanced design yet produced by Spyderco.
 
Really? The handle patterns, nestled Compression lock area and the index points seemed milled into a 3/16" slab of OD green G-10 w/ some type of CNC mini-mill set up. They don't appear to be built up in layers such as w/ fiberglass. There even appears to be faint milling marks and "swirls" on my #037 model in the milled out areas. Character marks to me :).

Then again I could be completely wrong :(. Sal, would be the man to go to.

But I highly suggest checking this knife out. A very intriguing execution of design, high-tech materials/manufacturing techniques and ergonomics.
 
I was led to believe that they handle in laid up G10 rather than milled G10, but I could also be wrong. We'll have to wait for definitive word from Sal.

However, knowing Sal, I wouldn't be suprised if producing the handles utilized both techniques.
 
I spent a little extra to get a Li'l Temperence early and IMHO it's worth every penny. There appear to me more production steps than most if not all other Spydercos. The execution is top notch and it's a strong knife.

Ben
 
As noted above, my Temperances also have tooling marks where I thought they were milled out. Maybe milling and stacking both took place, as Carlos suggests. Even if it's 'only' milling, it's clearly a complex process which adds to the cost.

IMO, it's worth every penny. I love both the leaf point and the upswept point. I've been waiting for this model for so long that I was more than happy to pay and I'm glad I did.
 
I look to spyderco for value and performance. I dont care how they make the temperance. Its not a custom collaboration, and its not "awesome" pretty like the Microtech LCC. So it better just offer some pretty darn great performance for all that money. Better than the Military, Chinook, Police,
Endura, and all the rest that it out costs. We shall see, but if its between that and the new AFCK with axis lock and D-2 steel, 4 inch blade, by Benchmade, at the same price, well I am buying the benchmade first. If the Temperance was the size of the Military with the same price, then I might see it as a tough full size folder, but for now, I will wait.
 
The G10 is custom made to maintain strength after milling operations, which cut out quite a bit of material. Everything on the handle slabs are milled; shape, finger forms, indexing indents, nesting channels for compression lock liners and clip channels. That is a lot of milling time. Time = money.

The knife is expensive to make and production numbers are small. Believe me, if we could produce and deliver the model at a less expensive price, we would. If demand is there, some additional tooling might help.

This is a very unusual design and we're not sure of customer reaction. It was designed to be a 3" folder with the grip and strength of a larger knife. Most 3" knives are "gents" folders. The Lil' Temperance is a "pit Bull" of a 3" knife.

sal
 
I checked out a Temperance at my local B&M dealer (Grand Prairie Knives) and I was very impressed. I believe that the Lil' Tempreance compares very favorably with the absolute best of high-end production likes Chris Reeve and William Henry. It is definitely a better made knife than the Military (not that I'm slamming the Millie). At my local store, it is selling for $139. Considering the quality, I think its a steal. AS for the size, it is robust for a 3" bladed knife, for comparison, think about some of the small Obenauf customs or the custom Lightfoot LCC but with a slightly shorter and wider blade. This is defintely my favorite MBC knife so far. The Chinook is great but it is too large nad heavy to be an EDC for me and I never warmed up to the Gunting. The Lil' Temperance keeps the traditional Spyderco style profile, but it is several times more sturdy than the standard Spyderco offerings.
 
Maybe the Temperance is one of those knives you just have to see in person to understand. No size does not equate with quality or toughness, but size does matter in what role the knife plays. Also I wish the darn thing either was 3.5-4 or 2.75 blade length. The county where I work (major city area) requires knives to be sub 3 inches or its a violation of a county ordanance. You will not go to jail or anything, but........and the rest of the state is no size limit. So I could use a super tough sub 3 incher, but have no use for a 3 incher. Its not spydercos fault. I am sure in most areas the limit is 3 and below. They worded this one less than 3 inches. I could lie and say I measured wrong. :0(
 
I too was shocked and dismayed at the asking price for the Temperance, for it is a folder I would like to own (Chinook's lil' Brother :) ).
It is just plain out of my league and sure hope it does come down someday.
The quality, I do not question. If I had, I wouldn't own the Chinook.
 
Before you pass judgement on this knife you really should check it out in person at a gun/knife show or B&M store. It is an amazing design w/ a huge amount of machining operations involved that runs up the price. But all this machining pays off the first time you pick it up and it "locks" into your hand. Not too mention the handles are OD green not black G-10 and the blade is CPM440V which also runs up the cost. The price difference between the Temperance and Military for example are more apparent after you check both out in person. I was very impressed when I got mine in the mail and held it the first time after only seeing pics on the web. I like it so much I'm looking for an un#'ed one as a user.
 
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