superficial spyderco dilemma

williamsld8 said:
so everybody talks about how great spyderco knives are,and most people here talk about the ones they own and how great they are. I personally don't own one and was considering buying one to find out if I would like them as well. This has been delayed so far because of the fact that I can't get over how hideous they are IMO. Now I guess it's like cars or horse s or women,what one man finds gorgeous another sees a pile of trash. But is it foolish to skip out on owning/using a particular tool that could be of such great quality,simply because you can't come to terms with it's apearance?
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If you own only one spyderco then without doubt it should be a military.

They come in many flavors too, so if you wanted you could have one for each hand :D

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Their big in person too ;)

S90V and CF is a nice combo I'm just glad to have one.
 
Yeah, the military is weird like that...... it becomes the incredible shrinking knife when in your pocket.
 
williamsld8 said:
with the exception, yes i do find them all hideous. and the only one i wouldnt consider hideous would be the tenacious. something about the tenacious is pretty on par with the size and shape and all that design what-have-you. but i honestly really dont like holes in my blades. never have. and not sure if thats something i can look past. and although it has its strong points, flat grinds are not exactly my favorite. so all in all the most appealing (to me) of all the spyderco's already has two hits before i even try it, on top of the fact that i still dont care for its looks next to some of my favorites. but if i were to try one, it would have to be the tenacious. anybody have a tenacious fine edge they would like to share their opinions on?

@mmcc100: so do you now like them more than your benchmades? or are you just saying that now they are on the same level, where as before you held them to a really low standard?
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That's funny, I was going to recommend the Tenacious based on its appearances. I find the Tenacious looks much better than MANY other higher quality spydies. It's also a great bang for your buck workhorse.

I think it's just how the spyderhole doesn't cause a huge hump like other blades. The little hump it has flows with the lines of the knife nicely. That said, I also love the ones that others find ugly.

I feel like the Delica, Endura, and Caly 3 designs aren't visually appealing to me because they all get very thin in the handle, right before the blade, and then the blade is really wide right there, because of the spyderhole.

Here is a Large Wayne Goddard which I find fits the pretty bill perfectly. Harder to find, though
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Other Spydies that you might find attractive.
Native? I love how this one flows. It also carries like a tiny knife, yet grips like a large knife.
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Manix? Pretty much looks like a larger Native...

Centofante 3 or 4? The 4 has a wharncliffe blade which I prefer in this design. Here's the 3.
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knifenut1013 said:
Yeah, the military is weird like that...... it becomes the incredible shrinking knife when in your pocket.
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Does it get big again when removed from pocket? If so, then Spyderco has done the ideal alchemy! Small when you need it small, big when it counts. Reminds me of an early Honda Accord that was tiny on the outside and spacious inside. I recall thinking, "How do they DO that??"
 
Yep, out the pocket it sports 4in of hardened steel :) like its happy to see you ;)
 
i had the original impression of the spyderco`s that the op had, more or less . though in looking for a new edc i kept running into the name spyderco. anyway, i ended up trying a tenacious. price was right, wasnt too awful turned off by the blade shape. g-10 handles and for $30. its a fantastic knife value for the money. and I got bit hard by the spyder. ive had the tenacious for less than 2 months and now have a persistance, endura 4 blue(gotta love that blue handle and what a grippy texture!!) and best for last a Stretch zdp blue (again, must be in a blue faze) so far i really am diggin the flat grinds though have a few other spyders id love to have also that are more saber style. i have gone in the course of a couple months from seeing them as ugly ducklings to seeing them as beautiful examples of knife design. definatly letting my spyderco faze run its course.
 
I agree. It is a marvellous weight and ease of carry for its size. Another remarkable design is the Kiwi-it somehow manages to magically increase handle length by 1/3 when open, yet when closed it's tiny. I feel that the knife that best represents Spyderco and what they do best is the FRN Stretch, myself. It's very well done and a refined design.

With regards to the hole issue, I seem to recall a BM in M4 with the hole (thiink it was an 806) breaking at the hole. M4 is not a brittle steel either. I also think I saw a Mili fractured at the hole here, but no idea about the circumstances.

If you pry with the blade, then it will snap at the hole if the pivot doesn't bust open first. It is, IMO, a small risk in an unlikely circumstance to pay for a quick, easy and comfortable opening. Of more concern is the added breadth it adds to the knife when carried in the pocket.
 
wongKI said:
With regards to the hole issue, I seem to recall a BM in M4 with the hole (thiink it was an 806) breaking at the hole. M4 is not a brittle steel either. I also think I saw a Mili fractured at the hole here, but no idea about the circumstances.
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To be fair, I think that that was an aftermarket heat treating issue. I may be wrong though.
 
I think you're right on the BM, now that I recall. A pity-an M4 806 is a great knife.
 
I'll admit that I pry with my knives - pretty routinely. The reason I don't buy a lot of Spydrerco's is most have a relatively fine tip -which I know i would break prying/gouging. But even a serial knife abuser like me would have one hell of a time putting enough torque into almost any folder blade to break or bend it up near the pivot.. I'm not particularly proud of this - but in 50 plus years of daily knife use - I've broken a few knives -this isn't how they fail. I'm a lot harder on my knives than most and am not even slightly concerned about a Spyderco breaking or bending up near the pivot end - there's nothing I'm going to use the knife for that would cause a failure there.
 
audiopile said:
I'll admit that I pry with my knives - pretty routinely. The reason I don't buy a lot of Spydrerco's is most have a relatively fine tip -which I know i would break prying/gouging. But even a serial knife abuser like me would have one hell of a time putting enough torque into almost any folder blade to break or bend it up near the pivot.. I'm not particularly proud of this - but in 50 plus years of daily knife use - I've broken a few knives -this isn't how they fail. I'm a lot harder on my knives than most and am not even slightly concerned about a Spyderco breaking or bending up near the pivot end - there's nothing I'm going to use the knife for that would cause a failure there.
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Wow, a serial knife pryer! :eek: That's cool in a strange kinda way. Too bad you can't wear a video camera like these survival show guys and record yourself screwing up knives or borderline screwing 'em up by prying up patio blocks and other stuff. You'd be a big hit on YouTube and might make some decent residuals off the Google Adsense program. Not to mention people sending you cool knives to pry stuff up with.

On a more serious side, I agree, with the exception of a few models, Spyderco tips have to be on your mind when doing anything but straight on cutting tasks. :)
 
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I too find a lot of their designs unattractive. The hump to accommodate the opening hole really bothers me on a lot of them. For example, I think the Stretch is hideous:

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But I think the Lum is gorgeous. I can't wait for this Carbon Fiber model to be released:

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Sorry to hear that.

Rather than avoiding Spydy's, you might consider a different brand of envelopes.

Did you ever get the envelope open? If so, how? Meat cleaver? Blow torch? S&W Specops?
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It's all that mail the NRA sends me. Wears my blades out.

I've had a soft spot for Spyderco knives for a few years now. Slim and strong, my Police, an older Ayoob knife or the waved Endura are part of the rotation. They disappear in a pocket.

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I can't believe that you find all Spydercos ugly. But, if you really do, then no you should not buy one.
 
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