What Spyderco Made Me Realize?

Collecting Spyderco knives made me realize:

1) how diverse, creative & inventive their product line has been over the years;

2) how difficult it can be to discern the subtleties in the changes made within particular model lines; &

3) how difficult & expensive it can be to find examples of the models that I want to add to my collection.
 
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I have come to the conclusion that carbon and tool steels tend to be what I find the most interesting. I realized this from my kitchen knives. Once I got into Japanese knives/steels and started trying to maintain the edges, I realized that I liked the feedback of a carbon or tool steel on the stone much better than I did stainless. I also love how the knives age vs stainless and the natural patina that they take on and how the wood handles develop character with the blades.

If the knife that came wrapped in blue felt would have been a tool steel, I'm not sure that I would have sold it as I do like the wear of the titanium handles. Maybe one day they'll do a run with a tool steel. Until then, Spyderco keeps putting out great knives in really cool steels!
 
The genius of Spyderco is taking an old Manix, changing the lock, making it XL, and then offering it in a half dozen exotic steels.
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You just end up collecting steels in various models you like.

More to the point, they say the cost of the best knife for you is all the knives you buy to find it.

Of course timing is everything. If I had bought a ZDP189 Endura and a serrated H1 Pacific Salt 25 years ago, I might have skipped all the rest.
 
DeadboxHero said:
My question is, do some of you have a similar journey in trying out other aspects of knives but coming back to the cutting performance side?
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I had been sharpening knives for half a century--but not very well. About the time I had decided to up my sharpening game, I ended up with a Spyderco because of some specific features I was looking for. It wasn't long before I figured out that Spyderco and its customers are really big on using a variety of steels. The tool steels really struck my fancy, as I like making things out of metal, and I like using tool steels. Stainless and chromium aren't my cuppa tea. With my interest piqued, I had to sample some of Spyderco's other offerings. After a while I learned what I like and most of the time it's Spyderco. Once in a while I get out one of my other brands, but it usually goes back in the drawer rather quickly. Most of the time those big fat clunky knives are like cutting sashimi with a rolling pin. Earlier this year I bought one of those other brands' knives, the most I've ever spent on a knife. It's very cool. Out of the box it was disappointing. After I rubbed my rocks on it, it was nice--but the knife wasn't everything I look for.

My knives might get called upon to strip wire, cut wire, shave copper, carve plastic, open mail, or slice sushi. Usually it's not all on the same day. Nevertheless, the knife has to be able to perform these tasks or it will quickly become a resident in the Drawer of Forgotten Knives.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Spyderco made me realize that what I care about the most when it comes to knives is the steel and cutting performance.

Back in 2017, I finally got to try out a very famous titanium frame lock; it was incredible.

The packaging and fit and finish were astonishing, It was a wonderful experience unboxing it.

I can still remember sitting in my car and unwrapping the famed blue felt micro fiber that the knife was carefully wrapped.

Over the several months I had it, unfortunately
I felt it wasn't something that made me "tick".

To me, it felt more like a token object more than a performance cutter. The experience for me never got as exhilarating as the unboxing with use and sharpening.

It felt like buying an expensive car that's stunning to look at and makes you proud to own it, but I did not necessarily enjoy "driving it" and their wasn't a community of drivers to discuss the nuances of "driving it"

This made me realize I wasn't paying for the features that made me personally the happiest with how I personally enjoy the knives.

I ended up selling that knife and bought a CPM M4 Spyderco Military BladeHQ exclusive.

I put a 15 dps edge on it and all was right in my universe, I felt extreme satisfaction with the use, sharpening and cutting performance.

I learned a lot about myself.

Zooming out, I think part of the enjoyment of the knife hobby is exploring things then finding a way to customize that experience to our own preferences that naturally end up developing themselves.


My question is, do some of you have a similar journey in trying out other aspects of knives but coming back to the cutting performance side?


I suppose we should leave out the names of the other brands out of respect.
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I had a similar experience.

When I was very new to knives, I wanted thick overbuilt knives that "couldn't" be broken. I quickly learned they're terrible to use for cutting.

I never liked the way spyderco knives looked, but after using them I couldn't argue with their performance. After learning more about proper heat treatments and edge geometry, I was sold. I pretty much only buy spyderco folders now, with few exceptions.

I prefer to carry fixed blades whenever I can, but if I can't, then I've usually got a spyderco in my pocket.
 
It happened to me too. I was carrying a nice knife for years. A benchmade that I thought was "the best" and sure it was a nice knife. But between the steel, thick blade and ht it just never cut good. I had a nice knife that cut like a not so nice knife. So on a search for the performance I always hoped I wouldve got from first nice knife I got a 15v pm2 and a k390 delica. The combo of actually ergonomic handles, with high performance steels and thin slicey blades. Yes sir I was hooked. Ive got a few more spydercos now. All thin blades and good tool steels. I thoroughly enjoy the bad butt cutting performance and its funny what I originally thought I cared about was wood handle slabs and a cool lock like an axis lock. I now greatly prefer seeing that wharncliff tool steel coming out to work in a plastic handle with backlock.

Im not a spyderco junky per se. If other brands would offer high wear tool steels with great HTs and ergonomic handles I would support them too. But so far im not seeing much...and thin! Over time I began to think my pm2 was too thick. I prefer my endelas. I just reground my pm2 and am thoroughly enjoying it this week. The tips maybe a tad thinner than my delica. I sliced cherry tomatoes yesterday and carrots today with it and it cuts so effortlessly
 
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I used SAKs for years and never really carried a knife with a pocket clip. Took my kids to get some beach attire at Big 5 late 90s and bought my fist knife with clip, A Smith & Wesson taticool blade. Bought a few more over the years (all Big 5 in store) but never really carried them much over the SAKs. Fast forward to 2016 ish… I dove into Buck, Kershaw, ZT, And Benchmade. I was hooked but Spyderco never appealed to me. I was in the “their ugly “ crowd!

I finally tried a Manix 2 G10 S110V and fell in love, especially wearing gloves. I bought a GB1 next (thought the carbon fiber looked cool) and couldn’t believe the quality coming out of Taiwan. I never participated in social media but found myself browsing this and Spyderco factory forums. Reading post from Sal about the history of Spyderco and how he handled himself on the forums, I was thoroughly impressed. Once I started using Spyderco knives daily, I realized that ergonomics were spot on , even for my XL-XXL sized hands. Also the FFG blades cut heavy cardboard with less effort! Another realization was the round hole opening, genius! Because of my hand size a lot of knives I like didn’t “fit” well because of difficulty with other styles of deployment.

Now years later as I’m buying more higher end and venturing into the custom world, Spyderco is one of the last larger manufacturers I still buy regularly!
 
DeadboxHero said:
Spyderco made me realize that what I care about the most when it comes to knives is the steel and cutting performance.
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It was the same thing for me. Some of the models weren't the best looking but I discovered that they felt good in use and they worked well. Spyderco models, mostly PM2 and Manix 2, have displaced almost every other knife from my using rotation.
 
35 years ago I got my first one (still works great), and have carried at least one every single day since. I am a huge fan of the company and the range of models they produce. Fantastic company and knives!
 
That's the beauty of Spyderco, no one else offers nearly the variety of steel options. If you find a design you like and if it's one of the better sellers like a PM2, Military, Manix etc. and you want steel that can take abuse or super edge holding sooner or later that has been or will be an option for you. Not only that but the price point is really good, just look at what Benchmade charges for s30v folders..........I like some of their knives and I've spent way more on knives than what they charge but a production but $210 for a grivory handled elmax blade at 59RC, or $190 for a grivory handled s30v folder....hard pass.

I still say the Manix/PM2 is almost the perfect knife for most pocket knife uses, and you can get it in super steels for under $200. Also thank goodness for the salt line, finally knives that have handles that are actually designed for some grip. The last few years trend of slippery polished G10, micarta, aluminum, and titanium handles on folders is a functional nightmare. So popular you'd think knife companies were getting kick backs from ER's stitching people up from accidental cuts....

Not that I can't appreciate a knife that's focused more on perfect fit/finish etc. like say a CRK, but until very recently when they finally offered magnacut at best you could only get them in moderate steels with fairly soft heat treating. My knives are not fashion statements so if you want to charge more than $150 for a knife in 2025, it better bring premium materials. When I can buy a magnacut salt PM2 for under $170 delivered.....the bar is high.
 
Because of Spyderco, I have been able to try a variety of different steels. It's especially nice to be able to do so in a package I'm familiar with, such as the UKPK or the Native 5. For the longest time I was stuck on S110V and thought it was the best fit for my uses. While it may or may not be, I've recently picked up a UKPK in LC200N, and I have to say I really like the edge I get on that. The huge bump in toughness with LC200N is nice, too, because sometimes I do things with my knives that I know I shouldn't, but it's the tool I have on me. The fact that I don't have to get used to a new form factor to try out a different steel is pretty cool in my books. The UKPK is kind of becoming my 'mule' folder. Try out the steel on the UKPK and if I really like it I can buy it in other models later. The UKPK is a brilliant little folder, though, so I'm okay if I just end up with a collection of UKPKs, too.
I've also learned that as nice as a titanium handle looks when new, a plastic handle is actually just fine and will look like new for longer. I've grown to appreciate that.
 
Spyderco knives are great cutters. But framelock folders can be great cutters too. I don't understand how a locking mechanism is correlated to cutting performance. I have several regular Hinderer XM-18s that are everything but good cutters. But I also have a a reground skinny XM-18 and a factory hollow skinny Eklipse that easily out-slice most knives I have, including some Spyderco models.
 
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