Spyderhawk was short lived .Why?

R

R.Taylor

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Oct 15, 2005
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The C77 Spyderhawk appears only in a 2003 Spydrco catalog .
Any reason for it not being a regular production model for more than that year?
I realize they may have been sold later than 2003 ,but they don't appear in the later catalogs.
Did they have a problem with tip breakage?
any input appreciated.
 
The usual reason, poor sales. That is about the only reason any "in house" designed Spyderco is withdrawn from the market. Why it sold poorly is another matter. I cannot recall ever hearing any complaints about tip breakage, so I don' think it was that, or any other QC related issue. It just seem that, for whatever reason, the primary market for hawkbills favors the all stainless version of the Harpy. The Merlin and the G-10 Harpy both were discontinued. While I would tend to think FRN would be more suitable for the environment where these knives are most often used, the sales figures do show otherwise.
 
It was a large, kind of specialized knife. It was created as a self-defense piece at the request of the same distributor that originally comissioned the Matriarch. It offered utility function that the Civilian and Matriarch lack.

It did get a special run in blue in addition to the standard model.
 
Carlos & Deacon I am not arguing with you guys in the least bit because I think both of you make great points. But I will add my 2 cents because I do think there is a bit more than meets the eye here concerning the C-77 Spyderhawk. I do indeed think that the C-77 Spyderhawk is a victim of either bad timing and/or bad marketing. Because just look at the cult popularity it has achieved here in the last year or so. The knife just didn't get enough exposure period.

It was only by accident that I found out about it 3 years ago. I ran into one by accident at a knife & gun show. With all of the Martial Arts and self defense enthusiasts here on these Forums you know there was a target market out there that for what ever reason just wasn't aimed for. The brother is right you can't just put it in one of their "hand out" catalogs and expect the knife to take off.

I have been looking through some back issues of knife magazines I've had for a while and during that time period I could only find one mention of the SE Spyderhawk and absolutely no mention of the PE version. I guess what I'm saying is that I think all of you guys are both part right on this one. But then again it isn't the only Spyderco that had a belated take off of popularity>> i.e. the Shabaria, C-46 Bob Lum, G-10 Harpy ect. Just like the old Joni Mitchel song says>> "You Don't Know What You Got Till It's gone". But hopefully the Superhawk will fill some major voids :cool:
 
JD, sometimes it appears you mistake collectors willing to pay premiums for rare knives as a "take off in popularity". The fact that some rare ones languish in mediocrity price wise for months to years and then suddenly take off in ebay sales doesn't mean every knife wielder in the country is vieing to purchase it. More likely is that the collective market suddenly realizes that the brick/mortar and e-store supply has dried up and they better get one now. My two cents.
 
Zen I got an idea. ON the old CBS 60 minutes there used to be a slot called "POINT>> CounterPoint". In which an ultra Liberal Chana Alexander and the Ultra Conservative John J. Kilpatrick would go after each other's throats like Barnabas & Angelique did on the old Dark Shadows show :D . Yes Zen you and I are going to do the new rendition of Point>> CounterPOINT on the new Spyderco cable network :rolleyes:

OK Zen are you telling me that the terrible lack of exposure that the Spyderhawk got had nothing to do with it's late take off :confused: . Are you telling me that the gross lack of advertisement, lack of write ups in the major knife magazines and it's short tenure had nothing to do with it be overlooked the first go around :confused:

I respectfully submit to you Sir that if the likes of Michael Janich, Bram Frank, Jerry Van Cook or any of the well respected knife gurus would have even done one review in one of the big knife magazines with the Spyderhawk it would have been a whole new ballgame. CASE & POINT. In the fall of 04 Micheal Janich did a great review on the Cold Steel ARC ANGEL. That knife took off like a 757 out of Kennedy Airport. I know that for a fact because at that time I was in cahoots with a guy who was working for CS at that time. He told me that one article really made the sales take off on that blade.

I just know in my gut that had the Spyderhawk just had a little bit of media encouragement it would have been a whole different scenerio. But now back to our new TV show we are going to do :D :D All in fun my good man< All in fun>>:cool: :rolleyes: :D
 
I can't speak directly for Sal, but it may be that the knife fell partially into the marketing black hole that the Civilian and Matriach dwelled in. These special pieces were deliberately kept low profile.

Another thing to consider is the failure of the Spyderhawk sprint run (PE blue) which eventually went into liquidation (I believe). Given that the original knife run was special ordered for non-US distribution, that market failure would likely lead to no further manufacturing runs just for the general market, and I don't think that the foreign distributor ever ordered more.

Also a personal impression from talking to Sal back then, was that it wasn't really a full production model. it was a special order, with some released to the US as a favor to the hawkbill collector, and a market test to see if it had wider appeal. The collector's market likes them, but the collectors market is not and never will be large enough to justify production of an FRN model with its larger manufacturing runs. The Superhawk may suit this market better, the same way we hope the Caly III will keep the collector happy, without needing the volume sales required by FRN models. And of course collectors tend to prefer fancyscales and locks to frn.
 
Isn't the spyderhawk just a new blade in the Endura handle? Very little up front design costs.

Even if the knife was pushed more in marketing, Hawkbills suffer from some basic design problems as an every day carry knife. Most people won't put up with these problems. Other firms have tried and failed with similar designs, for example the Cammilus, Emerson and Microtech hawks are no longer available. The Emerson and Microtech hawks got good press and the Cammilus got some also. The Harpy/Merlin being smaller is actually a better design. In addition, for self-defense purposes, the spyderhawk was over the 3" minimum length of many jurisdictions, unlike the Harpy. Try and exaplain to a cop that the spyderhawk isn't a weapon given its size and evil looks.

The spyderhawk's current popularity is based upon collector fever, not a true market for a full production run.
 
Counterpoint JD...your points are pure speculation. Had Hitler concentrated on Moscow instead of splitting his force to seize the southern oilfields, perhaps WWII would have been different. We will never know as it never happened. Brownshoe's point about similar blade styles is worth consideration. ;)
 
Popularity on the Spyderco forums doesn't always equal popularity with the average (dare I say, less edge-ucated) ELU, which is what it takes for good sales. The Calypso Jr. is much more popular on the forums than it is with the rest of the world. Despite that fact that most people here buy far more knives that the average ELU, they have the numbers. I suspect that hawkbill bladed knife sales are tiny compared to "regular" blades. I regularly see Spydercos for sale in gun stores, hiking stores, etc., but I've never seen a Harpy in any of them. Maybe on the coast that's different.

People that like hawkbill bladed knives should start an education program. Give as many people as you can a knife of that style (the Byrd line should make that more affordable) and explain to them how useful it is for everyday chores. Of course I find that most people I give a quality knife to go back to carrying nothing or the cheap POS they carreid before.:shrug:
 
Education can't change the fact that hawkbills are not convenient for cutting apples and whittling. :) What spyderco should do is bring out a two blade Harpy. It should have a locking hawkbill and a 2-3" spear point for delicate work. Now that would appeal to a wide variety of people and it would be unique since nobody has yet to make one.
 
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