From "The Spyderco Story" book:
"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."
(The Portable Hand was one of Sal's early inventions which was a device that had multiple legs and clips and could be fastened to a fixed surface to hold objects in a stable position for tasks such as circuit board assembly.)
Also, in the footnotes:
"Because it is a stylized spider, it has hilariously been misinterpreted as a crab (Crabco Corporation) and, considering the company's home base, a Rocky Mountain tick. Around the company, it is often referred to simply as "the bug". Naming conventions aside, Spyderco's desire for this creature to convey a friendly rather than a dangerous appearance seems to have been realized."
