Spyderco- the working man's knife

nigol said:
My very first benchmade was a mini adamas that I received as a gift. At first I was so thrilled with this knife. Felt better in the hand than any knife I have ever held. Looked super cool with o.d. green and flat earth and the cruwear cut like an absolute beast. Was all good until I seen a you tube vid about lock failure on this model. Sure enough, I very gently tapped the spine of the blade on my steel toe boot and the knife closed. From that point on I didn't want the knife and quit carrying it. Someday I will send it back to them. I have heard they eventually fixed this issue in their manufacturing process but it was never publicized by benchmade that there was even a problem to begin with. Many people blamed this on the omega spring but from what I could see it was a problem with the construction of the blade where the blade and the lockbar meet. Maybe I'm just lazy but I just don't want to deal with sending this thing back to Oregon to possibly have it come back with the same defect. As I have heard is often the case. Anyway ever since then I have been leary of benchmsde quality. I have also experienced bad grinds and blade play with some of the others. The spydercos have been absolutely perfect out of the box for half the price.i have one with a back lock and one with a liner lock and trust each one completely. I.have lingering doubts in my mind about the benchmade axis lock.

Any way, the spydies just scream use me which I do every day with alot of satisfaction and no lingering doubts.
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i’ve carried benchmades pretty much exclusively since i was given one of the first 710’s as a gift right around the turn of the century, the 710 was the only knife i used for 15 or 16 years until i started buying more. i own around 2 dozen benchmades now, about half of which have the axis lock, & i’ve never had an issue with the lock failing to do its job properly. i know that’s not a vey large sample size but it’s enough for me to have faith in their product not letting me down.

as far as spydercos go, i own a few, but honestly i’m not a fan of the overly tall blades that the spyder hole gives most of their models. nothing wrong with them, just not really my thing
 
There was a time when a man went to the blacksmith and told him what he wanted in a tool because he, the customer, knew exactly what he needed — it mostly likely was a part of his livelihood and he simply needed it to work.

In today’s society, where it’s few and far between for those that rely on a knife, we now get manufacturers pushing their wares on us, many of them adding ‘ornaments’ to get the sale. Gotta give Spyderco credit for listening to their customers and for most of their designs being simple tools that work. Personally I don’t care what it looks like as long as it works.

“The height of cultivation runs to simplicity.
Halfway cultivation runs to ornamentation.”
— Bruce Lee
 
I purchase, own, collect, carry, and use Spydercos and Benchmades. They are both great knife companies with tons of options. I happen to have a preference, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying knives from both companies.
 
Maybe I’m strange, hell I know I am, but, Spyderco and Benchmade are not what I think of when I hear “working man’s knife”. When I hear working man’s knife, I am more inclined to think like eveled eveled . I think of knives such as all the different versions and flavors of the Buck 110 &112. To me, I think of a working man’s knife as something that is time tested, durable, easily replaced if necessary, and budget conscious.
 
I have a few Spyderco's. I especially like the Military, but my EDC is my Benchmade Taggedout. That knife is hard to beat as a daily carry.
 
I own both, carry both, am fond of both; and I think both are suited just fine for hard use and work. What sets Spyderco apart to me, and what I think makes them such a beloved company around here, is Sal and Eric Glesser. They clearly have a passion for the hobby and putting out knives that they think we as enthusiasts want to see.
 
nigol said:
I own Benchmades and I own Spydercos. Benchmades are attractive and, feel great in the hand, are built out of excellent materials and are strangely addictive. But....my Spydercos are always the ones I end up carrying and USING.....alot. The Benchmades sit in my top drawer. Think that tells the tale.
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After using both, I prefer Benchmade over Spyderco, but much prefer Hinderer over both.
 
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nigol said:
My very first benchmade was a mini adamas that I received as a gift. At first I was so thrilled with this knife. Felt better in the hand than any knife I have ever held. Looked super cool with o.d. green and flat earth and the cruwear cut like an absolute beast. Was all good until I seen a you tube vid about lock failure on this model. Sure enough, I very gently tapped the spine of the blade on my steel toe boot and the knife closed. From that point on I didn't want the knife and quit carrying it. Someday I will send it back to them. I have heard they eventually fixed this issue in their manufacturing process but it was never publicized by benchmade that there was even a problem to begin with. Many people blamed this on the omega spring but from what I could see it was a problem with the construction of the blade where the blade and the lockbar meet. Maybe I'm just lazy but I just don't want to deal with sending this thing back to Oregon to possibly have it come back with the same defect. As I have heard is often the case. Anyway ever since then I have been leary of benchmsde quality. I have also experienced bad grinds and blade play with some of the others. The spydercos have been absolutely perfect out of the box for half the price.i have one with a back lock and one with a liner lock and trust each one completely. I.have lingering doubts in my mind about the benchmade axis lock.

Any way, the spydies just scream use me which I do every day with alot of satisfaction and no lingering doubts.
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Fair enough. Well, you know where to go if you want to sell off those Benchmades.😃
 
nigol said:
Nope. Not into drama. Just sharing my thoughts based on real world use.
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I love how any disagreement or differing opinion is just labeled as "drama" on this forum. As those differences in opinion arnt a huge reason why this forum exists int he first place.
 
Two great companies with great knives
Even if personably I prefer my Spydercos, the 940, Bugout and griptilians - just to name a few - are fantastics

My work knives are a GB2 and a Griptilian and both are great users
 
Dr Rez said:
I love how any disagreement or differing opinion is just labeled as "drama" on this forum. As those differences in opinion arnt a huge reason why this forum exists int he first place.
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Guy
jmh33 said:
The real question here is.
What is a “Working Man”???
🤔😂😂😂🤔
Retired since 2016!! 😉
John 😁
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Context in this case is any man ( or person I guess) who uses a knife at work. Congrats on your retirement!
 
Wil lRogers said:
I have several Spyderco knives and like them a lot. They're very ergonomic. But a knife with a big hole in the middle of the blade can never look as cool as a solid blade. Actually, ZT knives look cooler than either Spyderco or Benchmade, but they're usually a bit too big for EDC.
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ZT0450 is great for EDC
 
I own and use both and rotate them pretty equally depending on what I'm doing for that day and also just for variety. I do have my favorites including Spyderco PM2s and BM 940. Like previous posters I also have CRKs, Demkos, and Hinderers that I mix in. It's great to have so many choices and I really don't see one as better than the other for general use. Now for working knife and mainly outdoor duty including yardwork I'll pick a fixed blade.
 
I have minimal interest in either company as both predominantly offer folders which I don’t use much, but I prefer Spyderco’s fixed blade designs over Benchmade’s, overall. Especially the Spyderco Bushcrafter in O1. I don’t own one and have no desire to get one, but I like the design over Benchmade’s 162 Bushcrafter.

Apart from fixed blades, from the examples of folders I’ve handled I prefer Benchmade’s Griptillian grip design over the typical Spyderco grip. Feels thicker and more rounded.

In general though, neither company piques my interest much.
 
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