Spyderhawk...What Happened?

J

John_0917

Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
3,384
I recently bought a Tasman Salt, I've become a big fan of S/hawkbill blades, they provide tremendous cutting power for their size. My big complaint about the Tasman is that it is kind of small. I like to carry a knife as a backup to my pistol and to aid in weapon retention, but also want it to be usable as a utility tool. I own a Matriarch but rarely carry it because it really is good for precisely one thing and won't stand up to daily use...

Anyway, I know there used to be the Spyderhawk, I understand it was made in both VG10 and H1 when it was in production and was roughly the size of the Emerson Super Karambit (3.5" or so). I know it was discontinued and searches on it turn up little more than pictures, even the auction site only yields a single used one right now. Why did it go by the wayside? I have moderately hands, but not huge, hands and feel like the Tasman is borderline too small, the Spyderhawk seems like it would be perfect. Am I missing something here? Was that market (for hawkbills) just too specialized to support more than a couple models?
 
Outside of a few models, Spyderco doesn't seem to keep designs around too long. Their motto should be "For a limited time only".
 
What stays and what goes is determined by sales. Since it is gone (again) I'd say they didn't sell fast enough to be viable. Not too surprising, as hawkbills are great at the things they do well, but they are too specialized to be an all purpose blade. Frankly, I wasn't sure we were even going to talk Sal into doing an H-1 SpyderHawk, and it was originally discussed as a Sprint Run. It stayed in the lineup for more years than I expected it to. I had mine on pre-order a couple of weeks before they were released just to make sure I didn't miss out.
 
minimize said:
Outside of a few models, Spyderco doesn't seem to keep designs around too long. Their motto should be "For a limited time only".
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If you look at the number of models Spyderco brings out it is a lot more understandable. In 2004 ten years ago, the Paramilitary1 came out. That was C81. Today they are around C182 with the Dice. That is 100~ production models in 10 years, not including Sprint Runs, Dealer Exclusives, fixed blades, automatics, LadyBug/ManBug/Jesters, as well as all the older models that have been updated like the Endura, Delica, Police, etc etc.

Naturally people don't buy every knife that comes out, so Spyderco will drop models that see poor sales. It's an unfortunate reality but with all the models that Spyderco releases, there are going to be some good designs that people only find out about after they are discontinued. I know I feel that way about the Captain, Khukuri, Barong, and a few others.
 
minimize said:
Outside of a few models, Spyderco doesn't seem to keep designs around too long. Their motto should be "For a limited time only".
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Hehe, this guy...

You start a business and produce/sell products that doesnt sell. Make sure the more obscure ones that are loss leaders stay in your inventory ok? Till then, sit down.
 
Stays Sharp said:
Hehe, this guy...

You start a business and produce/sell products that doesnt sell. Make sure the more obscure ones that are loss leaders stay in your inventory ok? Till then, sit down.
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Lol your salty tears are delicious. Dry your eyes fella. Its gonna be OK. Sorry you saw my comment as a knock. It wasn't. You'll be OK.
 
minimize said:
Lol your salty tears are delicious. Dry your eyes fella. Its gonna be OK. Sorry you saw my comment as a knock. It wasn't. You'll be OK.
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"Wah wah I cant stop crying. I cant take it."

Your comforting comment restores my faith in this world. Thank you.
 
Just be patient, i waited for my spyderhawk for a long time. It popped up in the exchange for a reasonable price and i jumped on it. Instantly rit dyed it purple and it was worth the wait. Now im waiting for an aquasalt se with yellow handles.... one day il find one...
 
John_0917 said:
Anyway, I know there used to be the Spyderhawk, I understand it was made in both VG10 and H1 when it was in production and was roughly the size of the Emerson Super Karambit (3.5" or so). I know it was discontinued and searches on it turn up little more than pictures, even the auction site only yields a single used one right now. Why did it go by the wayside? I have moderately hands, but not huge, hands and feel like the Tasman is borderline too small, the Spyderhawk seems like it would be perfect. Am I missing something here? Was that market (for hawkbills) just too specialized to support more than a couple models?
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Something like that. Spyderco puts a lot of ideas into production. The ones that sell well stay in the lineup, the ones that don't, don't. The Spyderhawk didn't. I don't know why, it may have been "too specialized" or that most hawkbill users want a more compact knife, but if Spyderco stopped making it, then it's a good bet that it was a poor seller.
 
Stays Sharp said:
"Wah wah I cant stop crying. I cant take it."

Your comforting comment restores my faith in this world. Thank you.
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Haha! Thanks for the remake on what I just wrote to you. Advice since you clearly need it.. Don't take the internet so seriously. Clearly I'm a spydie fan. Maybe you should try to be happy instead of cynical. I know its hard. Stockton's finest.
 
minimize said:
Haha! Thanks for the remake on what I just wrote to you. Advice since you clearly need it.. Don't take the internet so seriously. Clearly I'm a spydie fan. Maybe you should try to be happy instead of cynical. I know its hard. Stockton's finest.
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Hahahahaha, hopefuly you arent too daft to see that it was pure sarcasm, in the same tone of your original post. Lets continue to start out posts with an LOL to show lightheartedness eh ;)

You give yourself way too much credit. As easy as it was to misinterpret your cynical post that offered nothing constructive, my original response to you can also be looked at in two ways. A good hint is how I started by saying "hehe this guy". It's not that serious and actually looked to your post as an ignorant joke but one that needed rebuttal.

BTW, I just moved to Stockton 9 months ago to finish my education at UOP... Your assumption that Im from this hole is another tell on how clueless you are. At worst, we are both guilty of assuming. Nothing more.
 
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:offended: :victorious: :offended:
Easy there tough guys!
Just talking about discontinued spydercos here.
 
FDE said:
:offended: :victorious: :offended:
Easy there tough guys!
Just talking about discontinued spydercos here.
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I like the Ronin and am sad that its gone. I heard a replacement is coming, but its gonna be almost identical to the YoII according to people who have seen the proto. I wish it was nice and understated like the original.

Stay Sharp, I love you. When you're on the east coast I'll buy you a slice of pie.
 
yablanowitz said:
What stays and what goes is determined by sales. Since it is gone (again) I'd say they didn't sell fast enough to be viable. Not too surprising, as hawkbills are great at the things they do well, but they are too specialized to be an all purpose blade. Frankly, I wasn't sure we were even going to talk Sal into doing an H-1 SpyderHawk, and it was originally discussed as a Sprint Run. It stayed in the lineup for more years than I expected it to. I had mine on pre-order a couple of weeks before they were released just to make sure I didn't miss out.
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I think you're right for the most part YAB and I thought about the same thing myself. But I do believe that they sold many more of the H-1 Salt Series Spyderhawk than they did the VG-10 version which in a way baffles the hell out of me. I have a user VG-10 Spyderedge and Blue plain edged Spyderhawk models and use them on occasion and love them a lot. I also have the H-1 versions as well. But on the other hand I truly do use Hawkbills as companion blades whereas many blade users have them for self defense, novelty or collector driven reasons.

Now I do think at some point we'll see the Spyderhawk return as a Sprint >> because when "Clovisc" over at the Spyderco.com forum suggested that the Spyderhawk be made with H-1 blade steel Spyderco liked the idea and went for it> the model caught fire immediately for a couple of years and did much better than the VG-10, 2003 version did for several different reasons. Because maybe by being made as a hard use, utility blade like most H-1 Salt Series blades are it was more easily marketed in that sector and made it much easier to appeal to everyday users and it was a box office hit for a year or two.

I think that the original 2003, VG-10 version was the product of poor timing and to some degree poor marketing. I remember when I got my first one around early 2004 it was a really hard model to get your hands on. I gave up getting one from a dealer and ended up getting both of mine on Ebay. Many great Spyderco models were victims of poor market timing and a good example of that was the original C-54 big Calypso. There were so many super selling models during that time period that the C-54 just flat out got overlooked and overshadowed during that time. I think that the first run of the Spyderhawk was truly in the same dilema>> because it certainly was one suberb Hawkbill blade and most people I know that own the VG-10 or H-1 models both love the hell out of them>> and when they now become available people have no trouble trading them or selling them.

But Hawkbills are not for everybody>> just like Spyderedged blades you either really love them or you don't for the most part. But again I think we'll see the Spyderhawk return at some point either in a new blade steel or back in a Sprint by popular demand just like when it returned in H-1. I would love to see it return in a Supersteel.
 
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Thank you to those who actually wrote about the topic at hand...it's too bad it didn't sell well.

For those who haven't experienced the cutting power of the hawkbill with the SpyderEdge serrations, let's just say I think you could probably dismember a body with one!
 
John_0917 said:
Thank you to those who actually wrote about the topic at hand...it's too bad it didn't sell well.

For those who haven't experienced the cutting power of the hawkbill with the SpyderEdge serrations, let's just say I think you could probably dismember a body with one!
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Like I've told many people about Hawkbill blades (especially Spyderco's) they are really good at certain types of pull cutting and dealing with cordage, straps, twine and any other fibrous materials that are just plain hard to cut.

Just the other night I went out to our garden and harvested a few Dutch Flathead Cabbages and used my SE, H-1 Spyderhawk>> it was like going through them with a laser. Two of my friends that were out there with me were so impressed that they wanted to know where they could get such a great blade>> but when I told them how much it would costs them they quickly said they couldn't afford it. But they were extremely envious none the less.

Hawkbills are a dream when cutting through cardboard and cardboard that is put together with duct tape or any other rugged tape for that matter. I've impressed a lot of people doing that type of cutting jobs and I will never be without a Hawkbill blade as a companion to my main EDC and at this time my main EDC is a Spyderco C-60 Ayoob, G-10 Sprint model. That blade along with a SE Harpy is a hell of a pair.
 
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