Nirvana

Well said nccole. I completely agree. And as for "marketing hype that this is basically a mid tech", I would like you to show me that marketing hype Murdamook. I don't believe Spyderco had said anything about the nirvana being a mid tech or midtech like knife. People on the forum have. So really, there is no marketing hype.

Spyderco is simply producing a beautiful knife and has let us know about it.
 
Nirvana is just awesome. I saw the custom version last year and was blown away.
I really do hope that they will be making its younger brother in the near future.
Its rather too big for my EDC in los angeles.
 
The Nirvana looks to be one exceptional knife. I hate May. But at least this year I'll have a reason to look forward to it.

In the meantime , a couple other Spydercos will fill the void nicely.
 
These arguments about Spyderco and foreign production always confuse me. Correct me if I am wrong, but Spydercos line of knives started as a foreign-made line (the Worker - made in Japan) and it was many years before any Spyderco knife was made in the USA. It's always been about global production, and global sales, and global marketing.

Now back to that Nirvana......I want one bad! Glad it's being made in Taichung, if that factory has the right skills to produce it with good F&F at the high asking price. I'm guessing they do, based on their track record of making the best Spydies out there (IMO).
 
Yes, to my knowledge the first Spyderco designed knives were made in Japan. There's an interesting video where Sal and Eric are both interviewed and they stress it has nothing to do with the country where these fine makers reside but rather the people and the relationships that are developed. They discuss the different makers in China and how they slowly develop them as well. I once saw a video with I believe the Taichung makers and they seemed like a big family.
 
Also worth noting, is that when the Worker came out "made in Japan" carried as bitter a taste as "made in China" does now. Times change, things improve, smart and skilled people prove their worth, regardless of nationality. It's cool to have great Spydies made in the USA, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, China. Arguably, without the American folk who bought those early Spydercos with the distasteful (at the time) 'made in Japan' script on them, we wouldn't have a PM2 made in Golden today.
 
kidcongo said:
Now back to that Nirvana......I want one bad! Glad it's being made in Taichung, if that factory has the right skills to produce it with good F&F at the high asking price. I'm guessing they do, based on their track record of making the best Spydies out there (IMO).
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I agree. The f & f on Taichung Spydies is generally superior to those made in the US, in my experience.

I think the Nirvana's being made in Taiwan is a good thing.

Of course, I own Spydies from the US, Taiwan, Japan, and mainland China, and they're all awesome. :D
 
Let's see if I have this straight. You're getting a most likely super well made version of Peter Rassenti's Iconic Nirvana for a fraction of the cost of his custom Nirvana, right? Spyderco has a great track record with its' various collaborations, right? I'm not going to go down the "rabbit hole" of whether or not the Nirvana is a midtech. Just take my money...Please.
 
Tony @ EverydayCommentary put out an article last year attempting to standardize at least his own working set of definitions. This is his definition of "midtech":
"This is like my GMT Stubby Razel or the Tolk--it is a knife where the majority of parts and processes are done by someone other than the knifemaker, but the final steps--lock fitting, grind, and the like, are done by the knifemaker. There is a spectrum in handmade knives and at some point, let's say 50.1% to be arbitrarily specific, that the knife ceases to be a handmade object and more of a production piece. So long as the knifemaker still lays hands on each blade in a meaningful way, more than say, assembling finished parts, its a midtech; if not, it is a production piece."

Article here: http://www.everydaycommentary.com/2015/05/taxonomy-and-terminology-change.html

I think that the definition is pretty accurate, especially compared to "production". The Nirvana is, to me, clearly a production piece, because Peter Rassenti doesn't have any hands-on role in the manufacture of these knives. If Spyderco were producing the parts, but Peter R. was assembling them, fitting the lock, and grinding the blade, that would be a midtech, and likely be significantly more expensive. The price on this knife as it is now is paying for materials(Ti, S90V) and machining(integral handle, exterior machined pattern). If I could afford it, I'd buy it, and honestly I'd rather have this than many customs because I think the Taichung plant has a better average F&F than custom makers(this is an EXTREMELY general statement; some of them are near-perfect every time but some are more inconsistent).

As for US vs. Taiwan, I think it's the height of pointless jingoism to (try to) exclude foreign-made products from your purchases. It's your right, but you're missing out. I just don't get the mentality that I'd buy a product of lesser quality just because it's made in a certain place. Plus, you literally cannot not buy something that's not at least partially sourced from other countries. Even if you buy, say, a Ford made in Michigan, it almost certainly has parts made outside the US. The Taichung facility is widely regarded to be at the very pinnacle of production knife manufacturing, and there's no way I'm not buying from there just because it's not "Made in the USA". Taiwan doesn't really have a steel-making industry like the US or Japan(or China, considering the progress they've been making), so when I buy a Taichung knife it almost certainly will have a US-made steel, and could very well have US-made materials elsewhere. Plus, that keeps the US-based Spyderco open for business, and enables them to make knives in the US at reasonable prices. I want a PM2 because it's a great knife, not because it's made in Golden(although that's certainly not a bad thing). I also want a Mantra 1, and I am totally ok with it being made in Taiwan and with US-made steel. I don't see the problem anywhere in that.
 
cigarrodog said:
Let's see if I have this straight. You're getting a most likely super well made version of Peter Rassenti's Iconic Nirvana for a fraction of the cost of his custom Nirvana, right? Spyderco has a great track record with its' various collaborations, right? I'm not going to go down the "rabbit hole" of whether or not the Nirvana is a midtech. Just take my money...Please.
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This... I'm waiting patiently for it to hit the market!
 
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