No love for SS Spydies?

I had made this thread a year ago when I was a pretty avid SS Spydie collector. Seems SS models are more popular with old school collectors and those that prefer pure functionality, in terms of many claiming SS spydies to be virtually indestructible.

I will say there are significantly more SS Spydies than people think. Many of their popular lockbacks have SS versions and there are numerous stand alone models only in SS that arent very common anymore (like the scorpius).

https://bladeforums.com/threads/any-love-for-ss-spydies.1604696/

If anyone has an questions about anything feel free to ask!
 
I have one Stainless model that I've owned for almost 20 years now and I won't give it up for anything. Actually I'm EDCing it today>> I'm speaking of the late 90s Stainless Handled RESCUE model. There were two of those Stainless RESCUE models i.e. the C-45 and the C-14. I find the C-45 to be a pitbull of a folder in SE and I use it almost daily. The stainless RESCUE models had ATS-55 blades which is a darn good blade steel in SE.

I also used to have a pair of the Caly Jr model in Stainless>> I had the full PE and the full SE. Very few hard core Spyderco collectors remember the stainless Caly Jr.
 
I remember the SS caly jr. Though I was never fortunate enough to own one.

OR that sweet sweet ats55 rescue model.

I believe we also talked a bit on the post I linked in my previous comment :)
 
beattheheat said:
without a doubt no love for SS Spyderco's,for me SS is outdated.
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I would tend to agree with the materials available now. Seems like there was a specific time frame when spyderco produced a lot of various SS models compared to nowadays where you see much more g10
 
Oh heck no!! I don't agree that stainless handled Spyderco folders are out-dated. The 4 stainless handled Spyders I own and use still perform great. Now I will admit that Stainless is not my favorite handle material. That distinction would go to G-10 and Titanium for the most part. I find stainless handled Spyders to be far more rugged and durable than their FRN handled units.
They sure don't have the stainless handled line up that they used to but things do change over the years. I even wish that they would bring back the stainless handled RESCUE model >> It's been a main-stay in my "user arsenal" for many years now.
 
Was G10, etc. a replacement for stainless steel because it was cheaper and easier to manufacture a knife with it? Any knife makers care to jump in on this?
 
GatorFlash1 said:
Was G10, etc. a replacement for stainless steel because it was cheaper and easier to manufacture a knife with it? Any knife makers care to jump in on this?
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I wouldnt say stainless steel handles have not been replaced at all. Spyderco still makes SS folders and numerous other companies still use stainless as handle material. As far as cost, usually g10 is on more expensive knives (though not always like with the tenacious) and I would speculate SS is cheaper than g10 (given there are also SS handled folders for like $10 at gas stations).
 
JD Spydo said:
Oh heck no!! I don't agree that stainless handled Spyderco folders are out-dated. The 4 stainless handled Spyders I own and use still perform great. Now I will admit that Stainless is not my favorite handle material. That distinction would go to G-10 and Titanium for the most part. I find stainless handled Spyders to be far more rugged and durable than their FRN handled units.
They sure don't have the stainless handled line up that they used to but things do change over the years. I even wish that they would bring back the stainless handled RESCUE model >> It's been a main-stay in my "user arsenal" for many years now.
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I would still say SS is a bit out dated when we have stronger and lighter materials to use like Ti.

Which isnt to say it doesnt have its place or its use though!!
 
GatorFlash1 said:
Was G10, etc. a replacement for stainless steel because it was cheaper and easier to manufacture a knife with it? Any knife makers care to jump in on this?
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It seems intuitive that a knife made w/G10 "should be" less expensive to make than one w/stainless steel BUT . . .

the price of the discontinued Police 3 G10 ($250 MSRP) was slightly more expensive than the current Police S/S ($205 MSRP) is now; even more expensive if you factor in inflation. Both were made w/VG10. The current Police 4 G10 ($310 MSRP) isn't comparable because it uses K390 steel which probably accounts for most of the difference in price between it and the S/S.

Go figure . . .
 
Got a couple of Scorpiuses (or should it be Scorpii?), one serrated and one plain edge. A bit on the heavy side, but fantastic ergonomics in hand. Love them both!
 
sv4 said:
Got a couple of Scorpiuses (or should it be Scorpii?), one serrated and one plain edge. A bit on the heavy side, but fantastic ergonomics in hand. Love them both!
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I feel like one could say Sal definitely was on a stainless steel kick for a few years there. Even with other materials available, there is still a significant amount of unique models only in SS, like the scorpius. Many times these models came out with a sprint run in g10 or other material. Maybe there will be a g10/CF scorpius sprint in the future!
 
maugust09 said:
I feel like one could say Sal definitely was on a stainless steel kick for a few years there. Even with other materials available, there is still a significant amount of unique models only in SS, like the scorpius. Many times these models came out with a sprint run in g10 or other material. Maybe there will be a g10/CF scorpius sprint in the future!
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A CF Scorpius sprint! That would be glorious, lightweight & ergonomic haha
 
maugust09 said:
I feel like one could say Sal definitely was on a stainless steel kick for a few years there. Even with other materials available, there is still a significant amount of unique models only in SS, like the scorpius. Many times these models came out with a sprint run in g10 or other material. Maybe there will be a g10/CF scorpius sprint in the future!
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Interesting that you said that last sentence about some Stainless models having a G-10 Sprint. The original ATS-55 POLICE model immediately comes to mind as well as the ATS-55, G-10 Harpy that I carried and used for many years before it got stolen. They obviously brought back the the G-10 Police model and I really wished they would have brought back the G-10 Harpy as well>> but I'm still waiting for that one. I want a Harpy with a G-10 or CF handle so bad and I know others do too. Why they don't accomodate us I'm not sure. But hopefully in time they will at some point.

I'm also wondering why they don't try to do a stainless handle with some type of grip aid like knurling or some type of coating on the surface to give it better grip in wet conditions. It wouldn't take much to make stainless handles quite usable and maybe even popular again IMO.
 
I prefer lightweight knives in my pocket. I really love titanium scales, but they also add a significant weight to knives.
 
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JD Spydo said:
Interesting that you said that last sentence about some Stainless models having a G-10 Sprint. The original ATS-55 POLICE model immediately comes to mind as well as the ATS-55, G-10 Harpy that I carried and used for many years before it got stolen. They obviously brought back the the G-10 Police model and I really wished they would have brought back the G-10 Harpy as well>> but I'm still waiting for that one. I want a Harpy with a G-10 or CF handle so bad and I know others do too. Why they don't accomodate us I'm not sure. But hopefully in time they will at some point.

I'm also wondering why they don't try to do a stainless handle with some type of grip aid like knurling or some type of coating on the surface to give it better grip in wet conditions. It wouldn't take much to make stainless handles quite usable and maybe even popular again IMO.
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I'm afraid without cutting down the weight on stainless handles that they wont be popular again. Maybe its possible though, they did it with the ATR (another SS with g10 sprint). If they did more handles like the ATR we might see more interest.
 
cbrstar said:
This is gonna sound silly...But when I was a kid there was a lot of cheapo gas station knives with stainless steel handles. But the better knives at the time had wood handles or even plastic. To this day I still associate steel handles as a inexpensive knife. I need to get over that as I actually do have a vintage Spyderco in SS and I really like it. But I'll always chose G-10 over anything else.
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Those gas station knives were copying the stainless steel spydies like the Worker etc. That's the script cloners follow. Find the current top ticket and knock it off.
 
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