Spyderco Persian 2 question

B

Bubblinwaters

Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
71
I picked up a Spyderco Persian 2 at my local brick and mortar last night. I most likely wouldn't have but they had an amazing deal on it. Like all knives I purchase, I couldn't wait to get it home, take it apart, polish a few things here and there and slather it up with the Reeve fluorinated grease. To my astonishment, I noticed that this knife came without bushings. Things are pretty smooth with all that grease applied but I still can't get over the lack of bushings. Is the lack of bushings on this model intentional or did the factory goof up? On an unrelated note, this is my only Japanese spydie not stamped "Seki City". Was this produced by another factory? I could care less, I'm just curious. Lastly, all of my spidies except for my Sage 2 have been super sharp from the factory but the Persian 2 is just downright scary! I only wish this model came with removable scales, thumb ramp/choil jimping and a compression lock. Gonna try some skateboard grip tape on the thumb ramp........
 
The Japan marked Spydercos not Seki marked are usually Moki made. Top shelf maker, one of the best in the world. It's an Ed. S. design and is supposed to come a bit tight. He wants it that way on his collab. knives so they break in nicely and have a longer, tighter life. Ed Schemp and Moki mean a well made knife designed to be used and carried with a long design life getting smoother and smoother as it ages. They really grow on you the longer you carry one, and the more you use it. Ed is a great guy and a frequent contributor in the Spyderco forums. As a knifemaker he does it all, competes, makes high performance damascus, ergonomic knives. About everything you could want. Spyderco's match up with him is a good one.

Joe
 
Yep. Moki Spydies are one of the last best kept secrets in the Spyderco lineup. Back in the day, when only true Spyderco enthusiasts knew the deal, any "Japan" marked Spydie (in that distinctive typeface) meant that Moki was the maker and therefore it was gonna be a homerun quality-wise. The savvy collector/user scored a knife that the world basically knew nothing about and came off like a bandit. Now the world is catching on. It's never been a secret that Moki is near custom level quality, but it's been a not-so-well-known-fact that "Japan" marked Spydies are contract made by Moki to Moki's anal-retentive quality standards. A pure bargain is fast becoming a worldwide phenomenon and we Spydie enthusiasts are finding less and less Moki-made Spydies in the bargain section. DAMMIT!!

Enjoy that Persian. Great designer and phenominal (spelling?) maker. Cheers.
 
To carefully clarify my earlier post, "Seki City" marked Spydies are made by the contract shop that's been making the Enduras and Delicas for Spyderco since the early 90s. I meant absolutely no disrespect to them in my previous post. They are a spectacular maker and I own (and carry) several of their Spydies. But I love the Moki produced Spydies and I think they're the best kept secret (up until recently) of the knife industry. However, the knives that the "Seki City" vendor has been cranking out for the past, what?, twenty years...has been the workhorse of the pocket cutlery world. Didn't mean to take away from their shop. No way. That "Seki" maker is a freakshow of talent. Pure, plain, and simple.

My point was that the Moki knives are (up until very recently) the best kept secret in the knife collecting world. I always felt like I was getting a killer deal when I purchased a "Japan" marked Spydie (Moki made) for a bargain price because I felt like I was getting custom level quality for a workhorse price.
 
Thanks to all for the fantastic feedback. Moki, huh? Being somewhat of a noob, I haven't heard much about them but I can say that I'm impressed. The grind on the Persian 2 is better than anything I own from Golden, Taichung or Seki. I was on the fence about this knife as I'm not a huge lock back fan. I was also a bit turned off by the lack of jimping. I tried skateboard grip tape with no real luck (stuff would slip off) so I cut grooves into the thumb ramp (like the citidel) and now I love the knife! I'll have to keep my eye out for other Moki blades!
 
I like the Moki made Spydercos, I have a Caly 3 carbon fiber and a Caly 3.5 Super Blue, but they both have vertical blade play and the lock bar moves. I have several Seki made Delicas and Enduras that lock up tighter with no blade play. My G10 Endura beats my Calys fit and finish hands down, I think from my experience the Seki made knives are slightly better than the Moki made knives. None of my Moki made knives are defective, but I think the tolerances are tighter on the Seki knives.
 
I can't document it but I'm almost certain that I read (either here or over at the official Spydie forums) that Ed Schempp specifically requested Moki's contract shop be the producer his Spydie collabs. To date, I believe they have exclusively.
 
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