What Spyderco Made Me Realize?

[Dagoth_Blur]

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.

This is honestly how I have been feeling with your 15v para 3. I have it at 15dps w/ a convexed edge and it still hasn't dulled after 2 months of daily use. In addition it has to be the smoothest most drop shut knife that isn't an axis lock. The k390 stretch is similar for me...it's relatively inexpensive but has about as much performance as one could ask for. Makes you want to use them.

 

[Grip]

That ergonomics and function have a beauty all their own.

 

[Tree Climber]

I do think that certain people come to Spyderco because of the variety of steels and the quality of their heat treating. I'm one of them.
Spyderco's design style and ergonomics are justifiably polarizing subjective qualifiers. Spyderco seems to spend less time on making knives aesthetically pleasing in favor of making them functionally so, which I prefer. I'm one of those who is more attracted to steels and blades than flashy handles (for me). I still drool over the fancy knives, but I couldn't bring myself to spend so much on them knowing knives like Spyderco's exist. I find enormous beauty in the execution of their functional design philosophy. They definitely stand out in a world of me-too design.
I came to Spyderco by trying knives from many similar popular US manufacturers and being most satisfied with Spyderco's combination of price, product quality and performance (after clicking with the strong design). Their consistently great finish quality and wide variety of interesting steels is why I became a Spyderco collector over anything else. Honestly, most of the similar US products I tried felt surprisingly inferior by comparison.

 

[Ironbut]

I have a two or three each of the PM2, Manix2, and Native5. Three completely different styles, and lock types; but they're all good cutters, and comfortable to use. That's what matters to me in a knife.

I've been carrying a knife every single day since I was about seven years old, (so seventy years), and I've picked up a few knives along the way. When it comes to actually using a knife, the only one that I'd pick over my three particular Spyderco models is the Buck 112.

 

[RustyIron]

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?

Very similar. I had quite a few knives over the years before becoming a Spyderco Fanboy. I liked them all, for reasons that probably wouldn't seem sensible today. One that stood out was a Benchmade with their Axis lock. It's nice. I had two, and that's what I liked to carry. Then one day I noticed that Spyderco made something that appeared similar. I threw down a stack of cash and walked away with a Manix 2 LW in S110V. That was the beginning of my education.

The first thing I learned is that the metal used in a blade really does make a difference. I was like a kid at Baskin-Robbins. I wanted to try all the flavors. And the geometry of the blade made huge difference, as well! Then I learned that Spyderco actually put thought and effort into their scales. They were BETTER! And they also used different locks that were ALL good. And of course there are different models and sizes that needed to be sampled.

Despite the seemingly infinite number of models, handles, steels, locks, and colors, I eventually learned what I like and what doesn't excite me. Getting to this point wasn't cheap. I had to buy quite a few knifes to learn what's best. That's ok. No one ever said that education was free. Now that I know what I like, I'm content and don't need to buy as much. For the last few months, with the exception of going out to dinner, the only knife I've been carrying is a Manix 2 LW in 15V.

 

[PeaceInOurTime]

Spyderco helped shape my general preferences. Highly corrosion resistant steels, good serrations, well thought-out ergonomics, and negative blade angle and tip placement are major factors when I'm considering a new knife.

After years of carrying cheap knives from big box stores, I discovered the world of high quality knives on various forums and YouTube around 2010. The wild pastel colors, crisp traction patterns in the FRN handles, and the crazy looking hole in the blade of the Enduras and Delicas really caught my attention to the brand.

The first higher quality knife I bought was a Byrd Cara Cara 2 in 2012. My eyes were opened. The ergonomics, grippy traction, sliciness, negative blade angle, four-way clip, weight, comfort in-pocket, and the thumb hole had me hooked. I was amazed how good a $20 knife could be, especially being a "knockoff" of an already reasonably priced model.

It took a few more years, but I eventually discovered (good) serrations. I challenged myself for the whole year of 2020 to only use serrated knives to give them a fair chance. In that year, I used a Byrd Hawkbill SE, Byrd Cara Cara Rescue SE, Ladybug Salt Hawkbill SE, ARK SE, and an Endura Wharncliffe SE. I've been hooked on serrations ever since, even adding my own serrations to PE knives with a dremel.

 

[Yadeadman]

I am in the same boat when it comes to Spyderco. The cutting performance and choice of steel is such a huge part of why I just keep coming back to them and why they are the vast majority of my collection. Add to that the fact that I find the opening hole the easiest to manipulate, and it means that I don't have to worry about a thumb stud being in the way when I go to sharpen my knives means very little frustration.

 

[co556guy]

I tend to agree with you, though there is an aspect of “purpose of blade” that goes along with it.

I’m not going to expect the same fine detail cutting from a fixed blade as I do a folder. Fixed blades, in my use, are more suited to either defensive work or outdoors stuff where I want to beat on it or expect it to do things that stress a knife. As such, I accept the trade of stock thickness vs absolute slicing.

With folders, I have found that I want something that’s stout enough for edc use (I always have a folder, not always a fixed blade (tried having both and it became annoying without much added utility in many situations), but an efficient cutter with an edge that will survive cardboard destruction and still easily sharpen my pencils and cut my lunch (not smash through it, like sushi rolls my wife makes me).

The nerd in me likes interesting carbon tool steels, especially high hardness ones. I really like how high harness knives sharpen for me. Probably a failure on me of burr removal, I’ll accept that.

The other part of me enjoys improving my skill of freehand sharpening and convex edges. Which is why thinner slicier folders kind of do it best for me. The potential is just more present. I’m not the best sharpener ever, not by a long shot, but I enjoy that part of the knife experience as well.

Which is why I like spyderco knives. Great grinds, interesting steels, good heat treats.