Spyderco Tenacious: Great knife, how valuable is it to you?

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The answers people are writing in my other thread, "Spyderco Tenacious v.s. Benchmade Vex Face Off!" got me thinking...

Many of you guys are saying the Tenacious is worth much more than the price it sells for and that it performs much better than some of your more expensive knives.

It would be fun to hear from you all exactly where your Tenacious stands in your collection. Tell us about some of the knives from you collection that cost more than your Tenacious but if God forbid, you had to give some up, would be sacrificed before you would ever let anyone pry your Spyderco Tenacious from your dead, cold hands. :D
Or if Sal wasn't nice enough to let us have them for less than $35, how much would you pay for them? $50? $75? $100 or more?

My Tenacious is in the mail so I will comment on Saturday or Monday when I get mine!
 
It is 1 of my 2 favorite knives right now. I'd easily pay twice the $30 I paid for it so $60-$75 would be a decent price. I thought my Kershaw Lahar was under-priced at $60 and would have valued the knife around $100. The Lahar is bigger and "beefier" though with a much better blade steel (VG-10).

As far as my other knives, well I have a BM Mini-Grip, Spyderco Endura 4, Spyderco Native 4, SOG Flash II, SOG Twitch II, Kershaw Skyline, Kershaw OD-1, Kershaw Zing, Kershaw Barrage, Kershaw Scallion. So that is my reference point. The Native I bought for $30 on clearance which was a great deal with online pricing at ~$50+ but I still think my Tenacious was a "better deal" just from a quality and features standpoint.

I will be purchasing the Zero Tolerance ZT0200 ,ZT0300 and ZT0350 in the near future so it will be interesting to see if these expensive higher-end knives will 'tarnish the luster' of my Tenacious any. But putting the price into perspective, a $30 knife compare to $111-235 knives is not exactly fair.
 
I have one. I think it's priced right. Since it's made in China I can't see that they could charge any more for it than they do.

I bought one because of the rave reviews, and I really don't care for it all that much. it's a little large for EDC, and I have others that I use outdoors. I guess I was expecting something like my Wegner, which it isn't.

Not a bad knife, just not what I was expecting.
 
While I can't speak about the Tenacious, cause I haven't picked one up (yet), I will say that there are many knives that are put together so well for the money. Rough Riders go for about $10 and the fit and finish on some of them are even better than a few Old Timers, not to mention that they use real bone and stag. Heck, I constantly find myself picking up my old Opinel #8 even after carrying so many higher-end folders simply because it feels so sturdy and the steel is so easy to work with. Right now, I'm waiting on an Okapi from Ragnar's Ragweed Forge and, from what I've heard and read, it should be another steal.

For me, value is in its utility. If I'm willing to take a knife and use it and, at times, even abuse it, and it can handle everything I give, that's value. I want a knife with a time-tested design that cuts cleaner, sharper, and works better than what I expect, and if it can, I'm happy.
 
UpChUcK said:
But putting the price into perspective, a $30 knife compare to $111-235 knives is not exactly fair.
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I agree. This could get really silly, really fast. The Tenacious "is what it is". Part of its appeal is the price. If you paid $60 - $75 for it, SURELY you would want better steel. In fact, you would probably want it to be made in the USA as well.

At $30, it is an excellent value. Is it as sweet as my BM Apparition? Not a remote chance. But, it didn't cost $125, either. While the Tenacious will acquit itself well as a nice knife, you can't expect it to compete with luxury knifes, hard use knives or specialty steel knives.

It's a great buy, a great knife for the price, and you will easily get your $30 out of it. It is a great primer on Spyderco for someone to try the product, and for anyone else it is a great user.

I don't know how valid a "if you had to toss other knives", "if you had to sell your other knives and keep just one"
or "if you were stuck on a desert island with one knife" or the "lost in the wilderness after a plane crash" comparisons will be.

For $30, it kicks ass. In the end, it is a $30 knife, made with a pretty good steel, made in China.

Robert

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
I agree. This could get really silly, really fast. The Tenacious "is what it is". Part of its appeal is the price. If you paid $60 - $75 for it, SURELY you would want better steel. In fact, you would probably want it to be made in the USA as well.

At $30, it is an excellent value. Is it as sweet as my BM Apparition? Not a remote chance. But, it didn't cost $125, either. While the Tenacious will acquit itself well as a nice knife, you can't expect it to compete with luxury knifes, hard use knives or specialty steel knives.

It's a great buy, a great knife for the price, and you will easily get your $30 out of it. It is a great primer on Spyderco for someone to try the product, and for anyone else it is a great user.

I don't know how valid a "if you had to toss other knives", "if you had to sell your other knives and keep just one"
or "if you were stuck on a desert island with one knife" or the "lost in the wilderness after a plane crash" comparisons will be.

For $30, it kicks ass. In the end, it is a $30 knife, made with a pretty good steel, made in China.

Robert

Robert
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I agree with your comments too. But to me just because it was "made in China" doesn't automatically devalue it. Generally, yes. I also like and collect LED flashlights and there are some "made in China" that are of excellent quality and a lot that are just plain junk. And they charge a premium for the high quality lights. I feel that with the Tenacious, it is from a higher echelon manufacturer than the Chinese junk they sell at flee markets and gun-n-knife shows. Which is why I said that I'd pay double for it. Now if it were say AUS8 and made in the US, I think that $60 is a great deal. I buy Kershaws that are made in the US and range between $35-50 with good Sandvik steel.
 
I bought one for a friend and I think its a great quality knife for the price. I've thought about buying one but the ergonomics just didn't seem right to me....for some reason it doesn't fit my hand well.

I still might buy one though.
 
Actually I paid 50 euros for my Tenacious, which is about 66 bucks. The situation over here in Europe is obviously a lil' bit different. If I could get them for around 27 euros, I'd have already bought a couple of them.
 
UpChUcK said:
I agree with your comments too. But to me just because it was "made in China" doesn't automatically devalue it. Generally, yes. I also like and collect LED flashlights and there are some "made in China" that are of excellent quality and a lot that are just plain junk. And they charge a premium for the high quality lights. I feel that with the Tenacious, it is from a higher echelon manufacturer than the Chinese junk they sell at flee markets and gun-n-knife shows. Which is why I said that I'd pay double for it. Now if it were say AUS8 and made in the US, I think that $60 is a great deal. I buy Kershaws that are made in the US and range between $35-50 with good Sandvik steel.
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I couldn't agree more with your post.

The point I was trying to make was that it was unfair to compare it to knives that cost 3X as much. I love mine, and I don't care where it is made.

I am a professional woodworker, and I had to swallow the bitter pill of foreign made tools long ago. Now I look for value-to-dollar ratio. The Tenacious has it hands down.

I don't understand why the posts keep popping up that want the Tenacious made with VG 10, SV30, and with different colored G10 scales. If all those things were part of this knife, how would it be a $30 user?

If those options were available, it would be just another $65 knife in the mix of things. It would no longer be the "Tenacious" knife package as we know it now. As it is, it stands out because of its outstanding value as a great priced, well made knife.

Robert
 
I have one it is sorta large for me to edc. It is a nice feeling knife in the hand,it just feels big so it doesn't get carried a whole lot.:thumbup:
 
I read good reviews of the Tenacious and so I thought I would get it to replace the Kershaw Cyclone that I used to carry. The Cyclone was added to my EDC to give me a utility knife so I would not use my fighter (home waved Spyderco Delica) for mundane chores. The Delica is kinda stiff to open with the thumb and I was very pleased that the Tenacious was not like that at all. Smooth open, good lock (probably prefer a lock back version) and the G-10 is better to grip than the slick Cyclone. I like the fat blade and the handle fills my hand very nicely. I feel like I'm rambling (too little sleep), but I won't be giving up the Tenacious for a long time.
 
midnight flyer said:
The point I was trying to make was that it was unfair to compare it to knives that cost 3X as much. I love mine, and I don't care where it is made.
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Actually, I think it is fair to compare it to more expensive knives. It really highlights the value of it.


midnight flyer said:
I don't understand why the posts keep popping up that want the Tenacious made with VG 10, SV30, and with different colored G10 scales. If all those things were part of this knife, how would it be a $30 user?

If those options were available, it would be just another $65 knife in the mix of things. It would no longer be the "Tenacious" knife package as we know it now. As it is, it stands out because of its outstanding value as a great priced, well made knife.
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So true.The appeal of the Tenacious is the quality at its price point. Still, it would be nice to have different options. 154CM + $5. VG-10 + $10. S30V + $15. I'd gladly pay $45 for the Tenacious in S30V. My Native 4 goes for $50+ and it is not nearly the quality or have the features that the Tenacious has.
 
Tenacious is easily worth twice it's price. You can't beat the deal. If people can get it through their thick skulls tat not all chinese made knives are crap, they'd be very satisfied.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Tenacious is easily worth twice it's price. You can't beat the deal. If people can get it through their thick skulls tat not all chinese made knives are crap, they'd be very satisfied.
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Usually explaining to folks that the IPhone is made in China makes them stop and think about the scope of Chinese manufacturing ability. They have the technology and know-how; if you tell someone to make it cheap, they will. If you ask them to make it well, they will also do that.
 
The Tenacious is my work edc. The price of the knife is one of the reasons I can carry it at work without worrying too much. The quality and features are the reasons I chose it over all similarly priced options. It provides a very well made and effective cutting tool that can handle tough jobs. This is the ideal balance of price, materials and function. With G-10 scales, full flat ground, strong lock and good working steel, I would normally pay $60-100.
 
if it was vg-10 I'd probably be willing to pay around $70. maybe $65. I would probably buy it for about $50 now
 
If I need a knife that has to cut some nasty stuff or has to be cut fast i use my tenacious. If I have time I use my slip joint. The tenacious is a solid knife and takes a great edge. The construction is good and I have used it on roof tiles, carpet, and data cable and it works just fine for that. It is not very expensive so you don't have to worry about ruining a high dollar blade.

-frank
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Usually explaining to folks that the IPhone is made in China makes them stop and think about the scope of Chinese manufacturing ability. They have the technology and know-how; if you tell someone to make it cheap, they will. If you ask them to make it well, they will also do that.
Click to expand...

good point. I had an old wal mart POS tent made in china that flooded in just a little bit of rain.

I just came back from camping today and my Kelty tent took an all night beating of rain (this is the 3rd or 4th camp trip with this tent where it was also been exposed to rain) and still have had no leaks, and no other problems at all. When i was packing it away today i noticed the tag that said "made in china" and it reminded me that china can build GOOD stuff. Like the Tenacious, and my Kelty tent and backpack.
 
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