$tarmate, what's up with the price?

MSRP was over $160.00 in 98 and 99.(IIRC)

as for gas, not sure but it seems like it was at least 1.50 around here.
 
Out of curiosity, what was retail price for Millie in '98? I can't find that info anywhere.
 
I just received my Starmate from Howe's this morning. What a beautiful knife. Here are some pics and my initial comments:

1. The build quality is excellent. The attention to detail is incredible. We should regard this for what it is -- a semi-custom knife.

2. Phillips screws on the clip? Seriously? 1996 called and wants its screws back! :rolleyes:

3. The blade geometry and grind is fantastic - as good as the original, and more refined in many ways. The grind/polish marks are all very smooth and buttery. The thickness of the blade and the sophistication of the distal taper is really impressive.

4. The attention to detail in the liner lock is impressive. Look at the pictures below. The entire liner has been polished to a sheen, and the concave lock face gives the action a solid feel unlike any other lock.

5. I wish it came with a deep carry clip...

6. The design of the blade's tang is interesting. There is a little goiter that sticks out of the knife when the blade is closed. This is the section that rests against the stop pin when open. It almost looks like a little bitty flipper tab...but not big enough...

7. The action is silky smooth. The detents are positive, but not too strong (not like the Terzuola slipit at all). No play, wiggle, or vibrations anywhere - the tolerances are very tight.

I'm a happy camper!
TedP


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Thanks for sharing the first pics ive seen out on the production Starmate. Very nice indeed.
 
Guys, I'm looking forward to more starmate pics in the coming days. But in honor of good taste, let's start a new thread for reviews and pics as the thread title question has been thoroughly discussed and even supplemented with pics already.
 
FCM415 said:
Guys, I'm looking forward to more starmate pics in the coming days. But in honor of good taste, let's start a new thread for reviews and pics as the thread title question has been thoroughly discussed and even supplemented with pics already.
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me.
 
Didn't feel like reading all the post but I believe I remember in a certain video interview with sal he stated that the value of the dollar in comparison to the currency of Japan is much less than what it used to be. Now is it just that that is why the price is higher than some would prefer but more than likely a combination of many factors. He is in the business for making money. Not to rob us blind but it needs to be worth while to manufacture the product otherwise why would they? I'd also like to mention that many here own crk blades. Are the twice the quality in every aspect? Just something to consider. I love the design and I look forward to acquiring one when i have the funds saved up. Lets be happy it's still a sweet new spydie ;)
 
at GPK both the Starmate and Szabo folder (more raw material, LS carbon fiber, probably more expensive steel) are exactly the same, so my guess is most of it has to do with country of origin.
 
I was absolutely thrilled to get mine, but I have a few concerns about the one I got... Would any fellow owners of this knife mind sharing a little input?

This is a fantastically well built and designed tool, I love how it looks and feels, but I noticed two concerning things: one, it doesn't seem to slice so much as snag and tear badly, where my other Spydies melt through anything like it's hot butter. I realize that's not a big deal for most who would just strop or lightly sharpen the thing, but I'm not experienced enough with that to be willing to sharpen any knife worth more than $20-$30 just yet, and it just plain doesn't seem right to be missing that usual Spyderco attention to detail and awesome factory sharpness.

But my bigger concern is this odd unfinished spot right behind the heel of the blade. Was it supposed to be left like this? The polished finish is beautiful everywhere else, but this one dull, gouged spot is an eyesore and really looks like it's not supposed to be there. Anyone else who got a Starmate, was that bit smooth and polished like the rest of the knife on yours, or was this part left untouched intentionally for some reason I can't discern? I'm not sure if this is a warranty issue or just something I should ignore. My apologies for the awful cellphone pictures.

O66jB.jpg

x9lRs.jpg


Would you guys recommend I send this in, or just suck it up and deal with it? Apart from that, everything about the knife is phenomenal. Buttery smooth action, perfect lockup, centering, detent, etc. I don't mind waiting to get it back, if this is actually considered a "defect." I guess I'm just wanting to know if it actually counts as one.
 
That area is quite noticeable does look inconsistent with the overall finish. I really don't know what to tell you... contact Spyderco?

Wait and see what others say... sorry I can't give ya much help.
 
SpydieFox - I just received mine the other day also. I'm as happy with mine as Phillipstead (above is). I think this is my new favorite Spyderco and it has been in my pocket since receiving it - and I think it will stay there (except when being used) for some time to come.
The blade on the knife I received was hair shaving/paper slicing sharp along the full length of the edge. Perhaps there is a slight burr remaining on the edge of your knife?
As for the rough spot at the base of the blade, mine looks almost exactly like that also - a byproduct of forming the blade template I would guess. I thought it a bit out of character for this fine of a knife. I tried finding other pictures of the knife and found a video review by one of the knife dealers (and Blade Forums member). Though the reviewer did not talk about the "rough" spot, I'm pretty sure I did see it when he was handling the knife. My take is that since it is only cosmetic (IMHO - but possibly a spot for stress risers if abusing the knife?) and kind of out of the way, it may have been left rough to to keep production costs down (maybe it's in a spot that is hard to finish in a reasonable amount of time without a specific tool?) Anyway, I don't think that it is a problem except for looks. I'm planning on wrapping some abrasive paper around a small round file or dowel and carefully cleaning it up. I would be interested to know what the folks Spyderco's thoughts is on this. Thanks. Mike

Phillipstead - I was amused by the Phillips head screws also. My take/guess is that since the clip can be oriented in four different positions (I moved mine to tip up carry immediately after opening the box, slicing paper and shaving arm hair), more people are familiar with and have Phillips head bits than Allen or Torqz bits. The small Phillips head screw heads can be a bit easier to deform if one is not careful or the screws are hard to remove. Moving the clip went fine for me.
 
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As far as sharpening goes, you really need to learn. If you can buy a starmate, you can buy a wicked edge. It sounds like it's been sharpened to a toothy edge. In my experience, I've found that I can't rely on a perfect factory edge all of the time. I've found this over a broad spectrum of companies.
 
SpydieFox - mine has the exact same spot on the heel of the blade. I didn't notice it until you pointed it out. Odd...but it doesn't detract from the overall experience for me.

The blade geometry is something I'm going to have to work on. The stock is pretty thick at the spine - and it is hollow ground. It isn't meant to be a razor - it is meant to be a working knife, IMHO.

TedP
 
SpydieFox said:
I was absolutely thrilled to get mine, but I have a few concerns about the one I got... Would any fellow owners of this knife mind sharing a little input?

This is a fantastically well built and designed tool, I love how it looks and feels, but I noticed two concerning things: one, it doesn't seem to slice so much as snag and tear badly, where my other Spydies melt through anything like it's hot butter. I realize that's not a big deal for most who would just strop or lightly sharpen the thing, but I'm not experienced enough with that to be willing to sharpen any knife worth more than $20-$30 just yet, and it just plain doesn't seem right to be missing that usual Spyderco attention to detail and awesome factory sharpness.

But my bigger concern is this odd unfinished spot right behind the heel of the blade. Was it supposed to be left like this? The polished finish is beautiful everywhere else, but this one dull, gouged spot is an eyesore and really looks like it's not supposed to be there. Anyone else who got a Starmate, was that bit smooth and polished like the rest of the knife on yours, or was this part left untouched intentionally for some reason I can't discern? I'm not sure if this is a warranty issue or just something I should ignore. My apologies for the awful cellphone pictures.

O66jB.jpg

x9lRs.jpg


Would you guys recommend I send this in, or just suck it up and deal with it? Apart from that, everything about the knife is phenomenal. Buttery smooth action, perfect lockup, centering, detent, etc. I don't mind waiting to get it back, if this is actually considered a "defect." I guess I'm just wanting to know if it actually counts as one.
Click to expand...
I've seen this before on other Spydercos. Completely unacceptable. That had better not be within spec. Atrocious.
 
Nullity - I did send them an email, but didn't provide any photos at the time, this was the result: "Many of our knives are not buffed or polished in the thumb hole or between the start of the blade and the finger choil but without looking at the knife I cannot determine if it’s a warranty issue or not."

Mike157 - Thanks for the observations! If I'm not the only one who's noticed it, then it's probably not a warranty issue. If it's not a defect, then it won't bother me. I just felt that, like Nullity said, it looked pretty inconsistent with the rest of the knife. I'd like to hear the final word from someone over at Spyderco myself, but if not, I'll be satisfied with what it is. It's still a beautiful knife, no doubts about that.

duro - You got me there. I'm learning a bit at a time by practicing on beater knives, but I still hesitate to do anything drastic with one of the pricier pieces in my collection... I haven't really felt the need to shell out for high quality sharpening equipment yet, since most of my day to day use goes into easily replaceable high value/low cost folders that I don't mind "experimenting" on. I guess I'd better start looking into it. Thanks for the insight on the toothy edge. I had to look it up, admittedly, and it makes sense. Not necessarily a bad thing either, seems like it depends on what kind of use you have in mind? I had a Para 2 like that. I thought it was dull when I first got it. I learned the hard way while feeling up the edge that it was EXCELLENT at cutting more substantial materials, like skin. Oops.

Edit:

bobg2, Phillipsted - Thanks for letting me know! Now that I'm sure I didn't just get a fluke defect, I'm not too worried about it.
 
SpydieFox, it seems like a big investment, but it will pay off in the long run. It's nice being able to put a nice sharp edge on all of your knives, regardless of how expensive they are. If not the wicked edge, you have the edge pro, and even paper wheels, which RichardJ is an advocate of.
 
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