Spyderco knives are really ugly

stabman said:
No they don't.
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For me they do, I understand that for some they are the epitome of a great knife , for me it looks like something that you could buy off a street corner in Taiwan. Not judging, I think the A-10 Warthog is the most beautiful aircraft ever built, and would bone Jamie Lee Curtis (from the 80's) over any other woman in history. Why take my opinion seriously?
 
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Well, I think the unadorned Sebenzas are very plain looking but the Mnandis, however are little beauties. And I believe they are that way be design.
 
call me crazy love the looks of almost all spyderco designs. The spyderco salsa was the knife that "got me into blades".
 
I have just recently got into knives the past few months, and I did not like the way the Spydercos looked, but after picking up a a BM and a few kershaws, I decided I might as well try it, and I went with the most 'conventional looking' Spyderco Native, needless to say, I now own quite a few knives with that big old spyder hole jutting out from the handle.
 
About 6 years ago I thought much the same as you, sharpenit.

In fact I would be very surprised if almost EVERY new knife owner that started getting into a wider variety of brands didn't initially think Spyderco's were uglier than any other brand out there. I instead opted for the much prettier knives from Benchmade and the fun knives from Kershaw. Had a few from CRKT but gave those away quickly due to fit and finish issues (but not functionality).

I bought a Delica 3, Lil' Temperance and then a Ti Salsa and finally a Dodo one year. I was hooked. Admittedly I ended up selling or trading the latter three away because I didn't, and still don't, like how wide some of the knives were in my pocket, nor how the finger grooves didn't QUITE fit me.

I now own something like 20-30 Spydies. Try googling the Spyderco ZDP Walker if you think Spyderco's can't be pretty AND darn functional too. Speaking of functional, I kind of miss my cobalt blue Dodo PE, not that'd I'd ever carry one. Probably one of the ugliest knives I've ever held, but it sure outcut pretty everything I've owned, including a BG-42 and S30V Sebenza and a couple of Benchmades and Kershaws I owned (now sold) at the time.

The one exception? A BG-42 carbon fiber Spyderco Military with the edge thinned by Vivi. Still have it, carry it as my large EDC 90% of time. I figured why carry the Dodo if the Military had an almost as functionally shaped and thick blade and was quite a bit lighter and slimmer in the pocket too.
 
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Once you own one and use it you will understand.
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Bar none. I still find myself stuck with ZT and Spydie. I'm not a folder guy but Poliwog is quite simply one of the best design out there with the ball bearing locking feature.
In fact i'm still looking out for more Spydie than i thought; Manix 1, Chinook and possibly the incoming M4 Para.

It's indeed cutting edge as well as ergo to your hand. After market price it's tempting as well.
 
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I'm curious as to what the OP (and all the other folks who think Spydercos are ugly) view as a pretty knife? The Sebenza has been posted, but what else?

There's a lot to be said for tact. If you don't like the looks of something, there are far better ways of interjecting that into interesting conversation other than starting a thread called "Spyderco knives are really ugly".

Think about it - this post seems a bit inflammatory (even if followed by "Not trying to start a flamewar"):

Spyderco knives strike me as really ugly. That big ol' thumbhole making the blade look like the head of a duck or something. The blades look totally out of sync with their handles. And the handles, by and large, are ugly, too.

Most knives are seductively lovely. Not these babies.
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I don't find Sebenzas particularly attractive (nor many of the benchmade alum/Ti handled models including the 710 - which I know is blaspheme, but that won't stop me from using any of those knives).

I use my knives, they're not for collection. If your knife is a talisman, then more power to you - you basically have jewelry. If you actually use your knives, then their beauty isn't the only thing that matters to you, so you have to understand some basic concept of form over function.

Spyderco knives were the first to allow opening with one hand - the Spyder hole is to thank for that and it stuck out of the top of the scales in order to allow for thumb purchase to enable one-handed opening. Nearly every manufacturer of production folders has adopted that round hole in one of their designs. There's a reason for that - it works.

As to their blades being "out of sync with their handles" - that really couldn't be further from the truth. Look at the Sage - much care has been taken to ensure that the contour of the blade-tang matches both the closed and opened scales. Many other manufacturers leave a chunk of unmatching blade-tang out when closed. That to me looks "out of sync".

Fit and finish on Spyderco knives is top-notch for a production folder. I've owned several more expensive knives that lacked that very thing. Edge/blade geometry are also taken into consideration for some of the "uglier" models too - they're cutters meant for specific tasks and they work well for what they were designed for.

If every knife looked the same, I think things would be pretty boring.


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EZ Bake,

You it the nail on the head about the Sage, the tang/blade lining up both opened and closed. That's why it was my first Spyderco.


Ric
 
I buy knives mostly as tools, and so looks are secondary. Having said that, the look of the spyderco is unique. And I am attracted to that. Similarly, I tend to be most attracted to women that are not super models but instead have a unique look and some type of character. It is all so much more subtle and interesting in that way, both in knives and other aesthetic areas.
 
On the topic of nice-looking non-Spyderco knives, the Fallkniven folders, and Al Mars, and Seki-Cut, and MCusta are definitely up there.

On that of nice-looking Spydercos, I really love the blade shape of the Military and the Para.
 
One of Sal's mottoes is "tractors don't have to look like Ferraris". For the most part, his knives reflect that philosophy. They work great and look totally utilitarian. Balance for that, at least in my eyes, are some of the custom collaborations. Some of those have been truly elegant looking. There have also been at least a few exceptions to the rule among in house designs as well, at least for me. I find the Kiwi a very elegant looking little knife.

As for my reasons for owning and using them, the idea of an easier to use opener that worked equally well left or right handed was the main reason I tried one. That, plus the ergonomics of the models I like best, are the main reasons I've kept buying them.
 
Spyderco's grow on you, and fast. Two years ago I thought they were ugly, now I have over a dozen of them.
 
Another pic of a gorgeous Spyderco. Spydies lend themselves to the Bauhaus school of thought; form is function and less is more.

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I have trouble viewing this thread as anything but stirring the pot, the OP posted twice on the first page then vanished. Hard to have a debate on aesthetic preference.
 
I think people who find them ugly do so only because they don't match the idea those people have of what a knife usually looks like or "is supposed to" look like. Beauty is very subjective. Spyderco knives often need some getting used to aesthetics wise.
 
I'm going to have to disagree with you on that sir. I would go so far to say that many of them are pieces of art.
 
Form Follow Function = I <3 Spyderco

Most beautiful knife in the world is worth of nothing as user if its paint to use it. Knife are first and fore most a cutting tool and tools need to be ergonomic. I find most Spyderco's very beautiful... I am still not convinced few of their models but some like oranges and some like apples... and others like fruit mix ^^
 
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