They Got It Right The First Time

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
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Well I know many of you all here haven't been Spyderco fans for very long. Many of you haven't even been Spyder-addicted for even 5 years yet :D
But there are a lot of you serious Spyderco users and collectors who know very well what I'm about to talk about. That being many of the old school Spyders were not only classics from a design standpoint but were also folders and fixed blades that are still very coveted to this very day. That's because they pretty much perfected them the first time around.

In other words Spyderco got a lot of these models right the first time or the first go-around with near perfect handle designs and blade designs which are still coveted to this day. One model that just stands head and shoulders even over many new Spyders and many great blades on the open market period. That one model I speak of is the TEMPERANCE 1 fixed blade model which is one of the very few fixed blade Spyders that was available in plain edge and Spyderedge both. And both units are truly very unique and very useful from several standpoints.

Some of the old school folders that I feel were perfect from day one include the legendary JD Smith model along with the ergonomically perfect Dodo model. And don't forget the timeless C-36 Military model. The C-36 Military is such a stalwart model that they even use that model to introduce all of the newer blade steels and supersteels with.

In other words there are some of the great old school models that they just simply got right the first time around. OH I'm not saying that with a newer/better blade steel that some of them couldn't be made better>> but with the TEMP 1 fixed blade model I'll probably be using it ten years from now as much as I like it. So what Spyderco models do you all feel that they got them right the first time?
 
ahhhh.... the Military.... my favorite Spyderco... and my favorite knife... I have been carrying one for most of the last twenty years...

with my Millie - I am the master of my domain (pharmacy) - cardboard hides in terror, zip-ties scream in vain...
 
The Paramilitary 2!

:D I kid! I kid!

This isn't about what you asked but made me think about it for some reason. The models like the JD Smith that are designed by other makers...Are they made exactly as the maker has designed? Or does Spyderco take the basic design and add their Spyderco flair and the lock they choose? Just curious how that works if anyone knows.
 
For me it's the Endura/Delica. They've been updated obviously, but I really like the 1st Gen models.

The overall Military profile has been untouched, and it's still perfect in my mind!
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
The Paramilitary 2!

:D I kid! I kid!

This isn't about what you asked but made me think about it for some reason. The models like the JD Smith that are designed by other makers...Are they made exactly as the maker has designed? Or does Spyderco take the basic design and add their Spyderco flair and the lock they choose? Just curious how that works if anyone knows.
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I hear what you're saying concerning the collaboration models and I'm sure that Spyderco puts their ideal modifications into most of those collaboration models. Irrespective of that they still "GOT IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME" especially when talking about the JD Smith model in particular. I would be hard pressed to name a new Spyderco model that has a handle which would be better or even as good for that matter as the original JD Smith model.

But it's a very interesting point you make and one I'm sure that Spyderco themselves even thinks about.
 
When I think Spyderco "old school", I think all steel lockbacks like the Executive, Co-Pilot, and Spur, as I loved those models. I think Spyderco got them right and would love to see them brought back:thumbup:

I know that's not exactly what you asked, as none of those models had different generations, but they were great models!
 
Gayle Bradley 1. What a great knife.
The only change I would have liked would be to make it bigger. 1/4" to blade and handle.
 
flipe8 said:
When I think Spyderco "old school", I think all steel lockbacks like the Executive, Co-Pilot, and Spur, as I loved those models. I think Spyderco got them right and would love to see them brought back:thumbup:

I know that's not exactly what you asked, as none of those models had different generations, but they were great models!
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You are one of the very few people I've chatted with in the past 5 years that is even aware of the SPUR model. I truly think it was one of Spyderco's very best small folders of all time. I would love to see a SPUR model with supersteel blade of some type. The others you mentioned were also some great old school models but that SPUR model was truly something special IMO.

Another gem from that time period was the C-50 Centofante. As well as the original ROOKIE model.
 
The original Lava is awesome and the fact that it ever came back as a sprint is kind of surprising, I never knew people cared that much about it. I don't carry it often enough.

With that said, it would be interesting to see some short runs of original models, like the Yojimbo 1. Not many people have a frame of reference for these and the ability to try one out would be nice, plus all the collectors would have something unique to preorder and impatiently wait for.
 
CapitalizedLiving said:
The original Lava is awesome and the fact that it ever came back as a sprint is kind of surprising, I never knew people cared that much about it. I don't carry it often enough.

With that said, it would be interesting to see some short runs of original models, like the Yojimbo 1. Not many people have a frame of reference for these and the ability to try one out would be nice, plus all the collectors would have something unique to preorder and impatiently wait for.
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Interesting that you mention the LAVA model. It's just one of several of Spyderco's great small folders. That model and the Dodo are probably Spyderco's two most versatile small folders that they have ever made IMO. The SPUR model also that I mentioned earlier was certainly ahead of it's time when they released it.

I don't know of any other knife company that has so many extremely versatile small folders in their line up. If you like small folders you might also take a look at the Cricket and Salsa models as well. They not only got all those models right the first time I would go as far as to say that any of those would make excellent Sprint Runs as well. Most of the newer Spyderco fans are not even aware of many of the past models that have truly become classics to most Spyderco fans.
 
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I think the first generation Centofante (pictured below with the green insert) was pretty much perfect:

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What I'm impressed by is the way Spyderco "gets it right the first time" - they prototype it, carry it and use it for months or a year, do test manufacturing runs to make sure they can produce it, etc. Only when they think they have a very good knife, that they can produce in quantity and at quality, does it get released. Lots of comments here about the waits for new model releases - but that's the reward for waiting.
 
brancron said:
I think the first generation Centofante (pictured below with the green insert) was pretty much perfect:
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I too love those mid to late 90s Centofante models. The C-25 which is the one you have shown us is a great, dependable EDC folder from Spyderco's great collaboration line up from that era. Personally I like it's big brother the C-50 a bit better. That particular Spyderco model along with the C-50 I mentioned are both out of the ATS-34 era which produced some of Spyderco's most sought after collector pieces. At that time Spyderco used ATS-34 as one of their more premium blade steels.

I petitioned Sal a couple of years ago to do a Sprint Run of the C-50 ( or the C-25) and he said that all of the tooling and hardware that you would need for a Sprint Run have all been disposed of unfortunately. But any model from that era really brings back some really nice memories. They even did a version of the C-36 Military model in ATS-34 at one time>> but trying to find one of those is close to impossible unfortunately.
 
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