While I truely and honestly enjoy Spyderco, there's something that grinds my gears.

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

I think you're paying for the additional labor and QC on a G-10 knife versus, say, FRN. FRN is molded, which I assumes standardizes the process quite a bit. Also, the target market for G-10 alternatives to FRN knives (i.e. G-10 Delica) is probably a more discriminating customer, so I would guess Spyderco is employing some pricing segmentation here, which is a fancy marketing term to mean they think they can get a little more profit from those models. The profit margin on a first class airline seat versus a coach seat, for example.

In the end, most companies don't use simple cost plus pricing. Maybe Spyderco does or doesn't. But if they don't, they're in good company.

 

[MJF]

FRN molds are expensive, but once they're made, making a handle's relatively inexpensive. The same can't really be said about G10, as you have to shape each handle individually. The knives from the tenacious line use a relatively cheap steel (although still decent quality for a 30 dollar knife) and are made relatively inexpensively. The knives made in Golden though are made using premium G10 and generally pretty good steel. I don't think this is a matter of pricing segmentation, as Sal has said himself that he doesn't believe pricing based on what the market will bear is a good way to price his wares. I'd say it's more likely that the premium steels (S30V etc.) in combination with the high quality G10 and US labor rates is more behind the prices we see on the premium line than price segmentation. I could be wrong though.