Sal, How did you come up with the name Spyderco?

Mitchell Knives

Mitchell Knives

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Just wondering how the name Spyderco was created...it's really a very unique name for a knife company. Did the company have another name before Spyderco? Any reason why it's spelled SPY-derco and not SPI-derco? Thanks.
 
Until Sal and those more qualified answer this...

If I'm not mistaken, I think I read it had something to do with the name originally inspired by the Spyder racecar(?).

Jim
 
From The Spyderco Story

The name Spyderco and the mascot spider that became embodied in the company's logo were derived from the word "spyder," which represented two things: the spiderlike shape of the Portable Hand and the designation some European automakers gave to high-performance roadsters. High performance, then and now, was what Sal wanted to provide in whatever products he sold.
Click to expand...

The Portable Hand was Sal's first invention: a device with multiple legs and clips that could be fastened to a fixed surface to hold objects. The Portable Hand was primarily used in the circuit-board assembly industry.
 
Wow. I can't beleive someone actually knew that.

I really need to buy that Spyderco book.

Thanks TOTC
 
Well a couple of days of web searching and I cannot find the venerable Portable Hand. Does anyone have a picture?

I'd love to get hold of a bit of Spydie history, I can envisage what it must have looked like as I have a similar thing with two articulated crocodile clips on a weighted base. But the original pre-knife Spyderco Portable Hand would be great - I could even display a Spydie in it's jaws!

Is there a picture in The Book? Must get a copy.
 
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