On Sunday 22 February, a large group of Spyderco fans got together again in Amsterdam to meet Eric, and Lisa in Amsterdam, for a first look at the many new designs Spyderco has in the works. But also, to share their shared love Spyderco and knives in general, and to meet and catch up with old friends.
Eric brought about 70 knives in various stages of development, to present to the group. Some of these knives were production samples that are expected to be delivered soon, with some minor refinements that could be added to the final production version. Other knives were labeled ‘concept models’; these knives were still in development after the initial engineering process. Eric also brought in a few knives that came straight from the workbench from a custom maker who submitted it to Spyderco. This way, you could get a unique insight into the development process of a new knife design; from its first prototype to (almost) final production version. Some visitors who attended the meet before, noted how cool it was that they recognized how a design was now more refined compared to its prototype from the year before.
Please note, no photographs of any of these knives were allowed to be recorded to keep the designs proprietary before they are ready for manufacture and release to the public. I was allowed, and invited, to take photos and video of a few of the upcoming new Spyderco production samples. They are expected to be released later this year. Mind you, nothing gets released before all the kinks have been worked out. And as Eric noted on a few examples during his presentation, unforeseen ‘surprises’ can happen at any stage of development which can lead to delays.
After registration and welcome, Eric started the meet with a presentation of all the knives he brought along to the meet for feedback from the group. It was hardly a dry presentation going from model to model. A minor detail of a particular design, as well as the many great questions from the audience, would lead to all kinds of background stories. These would sometimes turn into fascinating ‘mini-classes’ in design, manufacturing, and business. People walked away from the meet with a lot more than just an overview of the new designs. Eric shared Spyderco’s philosophies on design, production and customer relations and much more.
In between the presentation, Lisa and I -as well as my daughter who pitched in (yes, very proud papa over here
)- handed out a few prizes to the participants of the meet. Since we forgot the traditional raffle tickets, we quickly came up with a few contest trivia questions of various level of ‘Spyderco nerdism’. Of course, the attendees all crushed these questions. Among the prizes were t-shirts, hats, a spyderpac, the new sling bag and -naturally- a few very nice new Spyderco knives. Everyone left the meet with something though. A gift bag was included for each attendee, containing the commemorative Amsterdam Meet 2026 coin, a new Charisma pin, 2026 catalog and Reveal 20, a full-size Bodacious patch (it’s actually full sizes, I checked), a few new stickers, a Spyderco 50th anniversary bag and a C243 Spyderco Endela in CPM SPY27.
I keep being impressed with the crowd at the Spyderco Amsterdam Meet. It seems each year more and more foreigners found their way to the meet. What started as small event for Dutch Spyderco fans, has truly evolved into an international gathering, featuring guests from Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, UK and even two gentlemen who traveled all the way from the United States. Since everyone ‘speaks knife and Spyderco’ everyone got along great. Thank you all for making the meet such a great event.
Please note, I have no information about the availability or pricing of these knives and products. I took some notes down, but I’m well aware I didn’t catch all the info, as I was making sure the event was going along as best as possible. If any other attendees have any corrections or additional info on the models I’ll show, please add to it! I took rudimentary measurements of these new upcoming designs, none of which should be considered ‘catalog-correct’. Any mistakes or deviations etc… are mine. Basically, when it comes to these photographs, videos and measurements; I’m a fan – not an expert.
I’ll post the first batch of content momentarily, and I’ll add more to this thread in the coming days.
-Wouter
Eric brought about 70 knives in various stages of development, to present to the group. Some of these knives were production samples that are expected to be delivered soon, with some minor refinements that could be added to the final production version. Other knives were labeled ‘concept models’; these knives were still in development after the initial engineering process. Eric also brought in a few knives that came straight from the workbench from a custom maker who submitted it to Spyderco. This way, you could get a unique insight into the development process of a new knife design; from its first prototype to (almost) final production version. Some visitors who attended the meet before, noted how cool it was that they recognized how a design was now more refined compared to its prototype from the year before.
Please note, no photographs of any of these knives were allowed to be recorded to keep the designs proprietary before they are ready for manufacture and release to the public. I was allowed, and invited, to take photos and video of a few of the upcoming new Spyderco production samples. They are expected to be released later this year. Mind you, nothing gets released before all the kinks have been worked out. And as Eric noted on a few examples during his presentation, unforeseen ‘surprises’ can happen at any stage of development which can lead to delays.
After registration and welcome, Eric started the meet with a presentation of all the knives he brought along to the meet for feedback from the group. It was hardly a dry presentation going from model to model. A minor detail of a particular design, as well as the many great questions from the audience, would lead to all kinds of background stories. These would sometimes turn into fascinating ‘mini-classes’ in design, manufacturing, and business. People walked away from the meet with a lot more than just an overview of the new designs. Eric shared Spyderco’s philosophies on design, production and customer relations and much more.
In between the presentation, Lisa and I -as well as my daughter who pitched in (yes, very proud papa over here
)- handed out a few prizes to the participants of the meet. Since we forgot the traditional raffle tickets, we quickly came up with a few contest trivia questions of various level of ‘Spyderco nerdism’. Of course, the attendees all crushed these questions. Among the prizes were t-shirts, hats, a spyderpac, the new sling bag and -naturally- a few very nice new Spyderco knives. Everyone left the meet with something though. A gift bag was included for each attendee, containing the commemorative Amsterdam Meet 2026 coin, a new Charisma pin, 2026 catalog and Reveal 20, a full-size Bodacious patch (it’s actually full sizes, I checked), a few new stickers, a Spyderco 50th anniversary bag and a C243 Spyderco Endela in CPM SPY27.I keep being impressed with the crowd at the Spyderco Amsterdam Meet. It seems each year more and more foreigners found their way to the meet. What started as small event for Dutch Spyderco fans, has truly evolved into an international gathering, featuring guests from Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, UK and even two gentlemen who traveled all the way from the United States. Since everyone ‘speaks knife and Spyderco’ everyone got along great. Thank you all for making the meet such a great event.
Please note, I have no information about the availability or pricing of these knives and products. I took some notes down, but I’m well aware I didn’t catch all the info, as I was making sure the event was going along as best as possible. If any other attendees have any corrections or additional info on the models I’ll show, please add to it! I took rudimentary measurements of these new upcoming designs, none of which should be considered ‘catalog-correct’. Any mistakes or deviations etc… are mine. Basically, when it comes to these photographs, videos and measurements; I’m a fan – not an expert.
I’ll post the first batch of content momentarily, and I’ll add more to this thread in the coming days.
-Wouter
