Police model observations

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Cannon916

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Hello all, here is my intro! I am a cop in Florida. A few months back, I had thought I had lost my EDC, a Benchmade Stryker. I have carried it for at least 10 years, I dont even remember when I bought it. I tried to find a replacement, but they only make assisted opening models now, and I am not a fan of assisted or auto knives. So I began to look around, and decided on trying out a Spyderco Police Model. It was a bit big for my tastes, so I traded it to one of my friends for a Spyderco with a sheepsfoot blade (sorry, I do not remember the model name). I ended up getting another Spyderco, a SS handled Delica with a plain edge. In the course of conversation with my friend, I told him that I have never seen another cop in my agency carry a Spyderco. He is a member of the Spyderco forum, and mentioned this to the forum. Due to the nature of the comments and my integrity being questioned, I tried to join that forum and eventually sent 4 emails to the site admin, all of which were ignored. Sorry I use a web based email for a permanent email address, I find it more convenient to have an email account I can check from any computer, plus I can keep the same address if I ever change ISP's. So I searched around, found this forum, (registration even with my free email was quick and painless) and lo and behold, many of the same people are here as well.
Anyway, this is my take on the Spyderco's and the police model, firsthand, not secondhand. I have been employed for over 18 years with my agency. I have been a field training officer for 11 of those years. I was also involved with two pilot computer programs, which involved training the entire patrol and detective divisions, so in my career I have come into contact with a whole lot of people in my agency. Have I personally interviewed all 1200 of them? No, and I have never said that I have. But in my years, I have never seen another officer at my agency carry a Spyderco. This is not a knock on Spyderco, just a simple observation. That's all.
Am I mistaken? I don't think so. I know what I have seen and not seen. I am not trying to offend anyone, but some people who value brand loyalty will no doubt attack me for making a simple observation.
 
The exact statement your buddy made over there was "As a matter of fact... out of the 1200 officers in my buddies district... None of them even carry Spydercos besides him. (According to him.)" I do hope you see and respect the difference between that, and what you have posted here and can understand why some of the folks there might have questioned that statement's, and by extension your, credibility.

Paul
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Hi Cannon916,

Sorry you cannot get onto the Spyderco forum, but at least you are over here. It is not too hard to believe your statement after understanding what you are saying. I am too in Fl and have a foot in the Leo community.:D Many carry whatever they can get there hands on and only those who start getting more than a common knowledge knives begin to explore.

I do not want to speak for every leo around because that is just stupidity on my part, but I get to train and talk with many. I came onto Spyderco relatively late myself. This after training in the combatives community for years. I hope you like your new tool and welcome aboard. Take care of yourself down in Tampa and God Bless.;)
 
Hi Cannon,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum and thanx for chiming in.

Your comments are appreciated. The original thread that began the question is still going on the other Spyderco forum. you should continue to try to join. Kristi is out of town at a show (She does the Military and Police shows). I'm sure she can get you registered to join when she returns, should you still have interest.

As far as the comment on the Tampa cops and their carry preferences. I think you can see that some might question the "fact" that out of 1200 officers, none carry Spyderco. I imagine it's possible? But we do sell an lot of knives in Florida.

But it really wasn't that big of a deal. I think your friend might have taken it personal, in that someone questioned what was really 2nd hand information, from an unknown source. I don't think it was an attack. Just a question.

sal
 
I was watching an episode of cops about 3 days ago. This episode was in florida, and I remember looking and seeing a spyderco being carried by the LEO. He used it to cut some zip ties that a lady had restrained another person with. I can't speak for your neck of the woods, but I have met plenty of military types who carry spyderco's, and speak highly of them (myself included.) Do I have every model ever made, or hundreds of blades? No, just 2, but they have been my field knives since picking them up. The Police is a good model, I recommend giving it a shot and maybe you can convince some of the people you work with to switch their EDC's. Take care.
 
Deacon, I guess when Tomahawk quoted me I may have said something like "no one else carries Spyderco's" as a general statement, but I will be the first to admit that me speaking for well over a thousand cops is ludicrous. Maybe something got lost in the translation.

Stonyman, I see a decent percentage, 25 or so percent of those I notice, buy assisted or auto knives. Maybe because they can, I don't know, but like I stated before, I wont have another. I can't remember seeing/using one auto that keeps the hand in a great grip without repositioning. Plus, I once broke a switchblade spring I had from thousands of uses (yes, they are very fun to play with!!!), and they what happens to the knife? Will it still open, or lock properly?

Sal, I personally don't think I can be the only one out of my agency who carries a Spyderco. The numbers are too big, and to be honest, I am surprised that I haven't encountered one before.

Mister Wilburn, I started with a Police model but wanted a smaller knife, so now I carry a SS handled Delica.
 
I believe, at this time, the Delica is the most carried Spyderco by Law enforcement professionals.

sal
 
Spyderco recently released an auto that they only sell to LEOs, perhaps it is more reliable than the one with which you previously had a bad experience. Although, most spydie fans already know the original spydies are best. :D
 
I don't think it is that unreasonable a statement. I would guess that Spyderco knives are fairly common among police but there are probably several police agency's of a similar size where not a single officer carries or even owns a spyderco knife. There will also probably be agencies where they are quite common.

In some places there will be certain brands of knives that will be popular. Where I live the Buck 110 in a black leather holster that matches all the other gear on the belt is quite popular. It helps that you can get them for 50$ at the local Wallmart and everyone knows it is a good knife. You have to go 100miles to get to the nearest Spyderco.
 
Fact is nobody but a "knifenut" would be willing to individually pay for "a whole lot more than what is necessary" for his or her personal equipment to make the job easier... I suspect the "evidence room" is a favorite spot to "discuss knives".
 
Not really, GM. How would it look if you "discussed knives" in the "evidence room", then lo and behold, when it is time to go to court to again discuss said knives, they are nowhere to be found.
Case dismissed. And oh by the way, Mr. Not Guilty wants his knife back.
 
Cannon916,
I'm sorry for the issues you've had with trying to join the Spyderco.com Forums. Unfortunately, it's been a bit of bad timing. We recently went through a major server upgrade/change. As with all things related to computers, we experienced a few glitches, receiving the Admin/Webmaster emails from our own site was one of them. So, I'm sorry to say, I never received your emails. If you would like to contact me directly at khunter@spyderco.com, I would be happy to get you registered.

Kristi
 
GIRLYmann said:
I suspect the "evidence room" is a favorite spot to "discuss knives".
Click to expand...

Sure used to be around here, when I was in school, one kid had a thriving business selling knives that his father a local corrections officer had "liberated" from guys when they were booked. :thumbdn:
 
Cannon -

Welcome aboard! The old stryker is a good knife. I have a mini that I carry every once in a while. It's not really about what everyone else is carrying, it's about what works for you. There are plenty of reasons why Spydercos may not be popular on your force - with availability and cost being near the top. Most of the stores I've been in that carry "cop gear" have a bunch of knives at lower price points (Smith and Wesson, Columbia River, Ka-bar), with a few nicer Benchmades, Spydercos, and Bucks mixed in.

However, Spyderco makes quality products that get the job done for lots of law enforcement officers. If the police doesn't work for you, and you like the feel of your stryker, I'd recommend trying one of the new G10 Enduras - the blade length and materials are very similar to the Stryker, though the knife is a bit wider. Other similar spyderco models might be the Paramilitary, Military, and G10 Delica.

I hope your forum experiences so far haven't turned you off completely. There's lots of good information floating around, and you seem like a down-to-earth type with useful insights to share. How is the Delica working for you so far?
 
I'm a Texas cop and carry an Endura 4 nowadays. Off duty, I regularly carry a a Chinook or a Native. The Native is my all-around favorite. I just wanted a bit more blade while on-duty.

Among the Spydercos that I see on cops, it tends to be the Delica. I have talked a few into trying the Native. CRKTs are being purchased, I think the feeling of heavy duty construction for the price being the major factor. I've tried carrying a CRKT for a while, but I had to pay attention to keeping corrosion at bay on the internals/parts. Have not had a corrosion issue with the Spydercos.
 
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I really love the SS Police model; I have 4 Police models in different steels/edge configurations.

That said, in general, I prefer to actually carry my SE Delica 4. It feels more comfortable and easy/safe to handle doing all kinds of work.

I also have a couple of old Benchmade Strykers and one Mini-Stryker. Those are some great knives, some of the most comfortable in hand.
Jim
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
Sure used to be around here, when I was in school, one kid had a thriving business selling knives that his father a local corrections officer had "liberated" from guys when they were booked. :thumbdn:
Click to expand...

And there was a kid in Chatham whose father(a cop) gave him weed he'd confiscated from other teens.:thumbdn:
Any time cops get pissed with people saying illegal things get done by some of them, they should take the time to remember they're HUMAN, meaning some will be dorks.
I don't think it's SOP for evidence to go "missing" that way though; it's just unfortunate that the bad cops don't get found out more often, leading to a perception that the majority aren't good.

On topic, the Police is a great model, and was my first Spyderco. Bit slippery, but nothing beats it for IWB carry.:thumbup: Just got it back from my brother and "deuglified" it(I had previously botched an engraving job on it).
 
My father was a police officer/detective for over 30 years. The first knife I ever saw him carry, around 1993, was a spyderco endura with the integral clip and a serrated blade. He lost it and replaced it with a serrated rescue with the metal clip. At some point he commandeered a FRN serrated dragonfly and carried and lost that. (I recently found that knife, 6 or so years later at my parents' house and put it on his night stand.) Then was the FRN mini-dyad, that he carried for a few weeks before he lost that at puppy class. Now he's retired and can spend more time boating, so for fathers day a couple years ago I got him a serrated atlantic salt. I don't think it's left his pocket since. He loves his serrated edges and spyderholes :).

Pete
 
i carry on a regular basis either my PE endura 4 and s30v native, rotating with delica 4 and para. very rarely am i ever seen without my endura though, and i am not the only officer like that. I have run into a bunch that carry at least a delica in the pocket. i guess you just havent met those who carry spydies yet.

hell, how many of us can say they carry a knife at 35000 feet regularly?

i can. hehehehe

oh yeah i sharpend at 35000 feet too. and i used a sharpmaker.

all Hail SAL!

HAIL SAL-ZER! HAIL SAL-ZER!
 
Cops are people too. They likely carry Spyderco brand knives just as much as the general population. I don't know anybody personally that carries a Spyderco or any other quality brand knife. That doesn't mean that they don't carry Spyderco knives. It just means that I don't ask people what they have in their pockets. When I do see knives come out, they are usually SAK types. I do see clips, but I don't ask. If you did ask 1200 people and 1200 cops, I suspect that the percentage of Spydercos as opposed to other brands would be about the same.
 
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