Most PC knife? "SAK meets Spyderco?"

D

Doni Patrisso

Joined
Aug 11, 2000
Messages
25
Hello I was wondering what youre opinion of this knife is:

http://www.swiss-knife.com/asp/deta...&LAM_NUM=308&submit1=search&OPERATOR=au+moins


Its the only one hand opening SAK I've ever seen. (Plus it seems to have a lock)

Has anyone ever seen this? Know any other place to get it? Do you agree with me that while no knife is PC anymore, this one would be alot more PC then most one hand opening/"tactical" knives?

Also anybody have an North American source for it??

Thanks

Doni

P.S. I already posted this to the Practical Tactical forum so you can look there too.
 
I know that the knife has nothing to do with Spyderco, just thought it was a catchy title, plus Spyderco is most famous for introducing the thumb hole, so I thought it would make sense.

-Doni
 
You are probably right about it being more PC. It also looks like a pretty good knife. I have no experience with it myself so I can not review it for you at all.

Personally, I really am not to concerned about making sure that the knives I carry are PC. I just don't think that knives would be any fun to me if my main concern was that sheeple didn't like the knives that I carry.
 
If it were available in SAK red it would be a lot less likely to scare the sheeple.

-Al-
 
They had better change that round hole or they are going to be in trademark violation.

I wonder if Sal will sue?
 
Looking at the picture, the hole does not appear round on the Victorinox, it's oval shaped, so I don't think it's a trademark violation. The round hole does belong to Spyderco.

Anyway, I've been waiting forever for an SAK like this. I haven't found a source for it in the States, and it doesn't appear on Victorinox's website, so the only source seems to be through www.swiss-knife.com for the moment.

0.8463.M3.jpg
 
It is my understanding that Spyderco holds a trademark on all opening holes period. Trademarks never expire so Spyderco has it forever as long as they update their dues. Meanwhile, any manufacturer that wants to use an opening hole must pay them a royalty and from what I have heard they DO come around at shows and check from time to time.

That said, cool knife! I've been wanting a new SAK for awhile but haven't decided on a model. That's the one for me!
 
Cool knife!

Here's my understanding of the spyderco sitch, it's probably wrong, just like everyone before me :)

Spyderco has patents on the round hole, and some other shapes as well. Patents run out in 17 years.

Spyderco has trademarked the round hole. Trademarks never run out.

I don't believe Spyderco has trademarked other hole shapes . After all, they do not use any other hole shape on any of their knives. Can you keep a trademark if you never use it?

Anyway, I'm probably wrong on this, just adding more speculation to the mix.

Joe
 
I believe a Spyderco design with a diamond shaped hole was/is made by Timberline.
Sal.....help us out here!

Paul
 
I wouldn't worry about a U.S. source for the knife. I've got very good prices and service out of the swiss-knife.com company. I would go ahead and pay for quicker delivery than their economy price.

My wish is that they had a non serrated version.
 
Originally posted by Paul Work
I believe a Spyderco design with a diamond shaped hole was/is made by Timberline.
Sal.....help us out here!

Paul
Click to expand...

That's right! But that's a Timerberline knife, not a Spyderco knife. Spyderco's knives have round holes, or no holes at all.

At some level, a trademark is something that you put on your products to make them identifiable to consumers. If all your knives have round holes, then, you'd be able to trademark that. If none of them have square or elliptical or diamond-shaped holes, I don't think you can trademark those shapes. I'm just going to keep talking here until someone who knows what they're talking about corrects me :)

Joe
 
Joe, you might be right about the spydie hole. I was just remembering what Tom Anderson told me about the whole subject and I thought he said all holes regardless of shape.

ANyhow, I ordered one! Supposedly it will be here in 4 to 6 days. We'll see.....Oh boy, a new toy!:D
 
Joe, if I'm not mistaken (like that never happens), Spyderco claims three different hole shapes. Round, diamond, and I'm not sure on the third. The round hole has been trademarked. The other two may only be patents.

Paul
 
AFAIK, in another thread in the distant past, Sal mentioned that they patented the hole-in-the-blade opening system, but only trademarked the round hole. Check the boxes that your Spydies come in. I believe it says "Spyderco Round Hole" with the "registered" sign on it.

Anyway, back to topic, is that knife only available through swiss-knife.com? And is it fully serrated or partially serrated? Is it available in plain edge? Is it really a Victorinox or is some other company cashing in on the name?
 
Hi Everyone,

The Spyderco Round Hole is registered as a trademark. It will last as long as Spyderco maintains use and keeps the fees paid on the mark itself. As for other shaped holes, the diamond shaped hole is protected under a design patent through contractual agreements with Timberline.

Oval holes, square holes, kidney shaped holes are now fair game as the 665 Patent has expired. How close to round Spyderco will allow new 'holes' out there is kind of a quiet subject. Our legal eagle isn't too talkative about this as it is a core issue with our intellectual property package.

That's pretty much the 'hole' story.

Joyce
 
Thanks Joyce. I don't think that's too far off from what I was guessing.

Trademarking the hole is a fascinating move. The interesting thing about it is that the round hole is not just a recognizeable feature, it is actually functional. Well, not totally, since other hole shapes are available for use now, but no shape works nearly as well as the round hole, in my experience. Anyone know of any other examples where something functional was trademarked? Pretty slick way to protect Spyderco's intellectual property!


Joe
 
The famous one is the GE logo. It is round for a purpose, they wished to make light bulb sockets that could only use GE light bulbs because the pattern in the bottom of the socket was the GE logo. Patent court didn't allow it. Nintando tried the same thing with it "N" trademark and the slot in their game machine. Didnt' work that time either. My guess is that if only the round hole could be used as an opener Spyderco wouldn't have been allowed to keep it as a trademark.

Ben
 
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