Who loves the Spydie Lum

sharpenit said:
The Spyderco Lum is also notable because it's a case of westerners ripping off a Chinese design.
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"Ripping off", or paying homage to and sharing the fantastic design with the masses?

I am not sure I understand how it is a ripoff.
 
sharpenit said:
shilinfolder.jpg


The Spyderco Lum is the only spyderco that I can stand to look at, cuz the rest are so ugly. But I'd much rather have one of the originals, on which Lum based his design, the Shilin cutter shown above. This is a traditional Chinese design and this one was made in Taiwan. Also, The CAS Hanwei subsidiary, Rock Creek, makes several knives with similar leaf-shaped blades, including the Saguaro and the Kobuk, which are in the $60-$80 range. They are beautiful.

The Spyderco Lum is also notable because it's a case of westerners ripping off a Chinese design.

For a discussion of the Shilin cutter, see:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums...The-Shilin-Cutter-a-traditional-Chinese-knife
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Thanks for the links. Those Hanwei folder are reasonably priced alternatives to the leaf design, they look nice. But I'm happy with the spyderco Lum I have because the liner lock is very secure (no blade play at all) and of course the materials are great. I wonder how the Rock Creek lockback design is. IN any case, I would have gotten one if I hadn't seen the spyderco first.

The Shilin cutter I would have bought in a heartbeat :)
 
More often then not, my daily carry is still an original run Green Almite Lum Chinese. The VG-10 is still one of the best edge retaining steels I've encountered and the shape of Bob's design is insanely functional. It is not a fighting tool at all but as a tool for daily life function, it excels.
My 0.02 for what it's worth..
Doc
 
unit said:
"Ripping off", or paying homage to and sharing the fantastic design with the masses?

I am not sure I understand how it is a ripoff.
Click to expand...

My point is that when a Chinese knifemaker imitates a western design, there are people on this forum who spew bile at them. But here is a case of a western knifemaker, Spyderco, copying a Chinese design. And for the member who noted that Bob Lum is of Chinese descent, Lum was born in Astoria, Oregon, and unless Oregon was once a province of China, then he was as American as apple pie, even if he had Chinese DNA. Not only was Lum 100 percent American, but so is Spyderco, which is profiting by selling a knockoff of a Chinese design.

And if you want to argue that because Lum had Chinese DNA, he should be allowed to rip off a Chinese design, then you'd also have to accept that an American of French descent is entitled to copy the Opinel design, and an American of Scandinavian descent is entitled to rip off Falkniven designs.
 
RevDevil said:
Bob Lum was of Chinese descent, I'm not sure how it is a rip off. :confused:
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Lum was born in Astoria, Oregon, and unless Oregon was once a province of China, then he was as American as apple pie, even if he had Chinese DNA. Not only was Lum 100 percent American, but so is Spyderco, which is profiting by selling a knockoff of a Chinese design.
 
Spyderco has also made tributes/versions of a bunch of knives from a bunch of nationalities, as have other Western manufacturers for that matter. Ever heard of the "ethnic series"? I myself own the Spyderco Zulu, designed by Jens Anso. So I don't know what's so weird that they have a version of a Chinese knife. With the ethnic series, I don't know how you could ask Spyderco to be more up front about what they're doing. And I can't fathom what is wrong with what they're doing.
 
sharpenit said:
My point is that when a Chinese knifemaker imitates a western design, there are people on this forum who spew bile at them. But here is a case of a western knifemaker, Spyderco, copying a Chinese design. And for the member who noted that Bob Lum is of Chinese descent, Lum was born in Astoria, Oregon, and unless Oregon was once a province of China, then he was as American as apple pie, even if he had Chinese DNA. Not only was Lum 100 percent American, but so is Spyderco, which is profiting by selling a knockoff of a Chinese design.

And if you want to argue that because Lum had Chinese DNA, he should be allowed to rip off a Chinese design, then you'd also have to accept that an American of French descent is entitled to copy the Opinel design, and an American of Scandinavian descent is entitled to rip off Falkniven designs.
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There is a big difference between making an interpretation of a traditional blade and flat out copying another maker's work. The Spyderco Lum is a case of the first - taking a traditional design and modifying it so that while it pays homage to the style, it is also unique enough to be distinguishable. I doubt anyone has any serious issues with this sort of production, as no one can claim that they own the traditional design such as the bowie, puukko, etc. What grinds most peoples gears is when a company takes someone's design and copies it near exactly and passes it off as their own creation, which is what all the 'bile' is directed at. Look at the two pictures, the one you posted and a Spydie Lum. Is there a resemblance? Yes. Are they similar? Yes. They are both knives made to evoke the same style, but they are far from copies of each other.
 
sharpenit said:
..... is profiting by selling a knockoff of a Chinese design.
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Who EXACTLY is to credit for this design, and who EXACTLY is allowed to use it and profit from it? Who exactly should receive credit/royalties for the use of the design. (obviously "Chinese" fails/falls short)

Do you apply the same logic to designs similar to the Kukri, Balisong, Bowie, Tanto, Kris, Dirk, Puukko, etc.
 
I love my 2. Even bought a ZDP189 version for my brother.

6898729377_e5d6e5c7d3_o.jpg


Saying Bob Lum ripped-off a traditional Chinese knife pattern is nonsense. He was inspired by a traditional pattern and shared it with those of us who would never have known about it otherwise.
 
Knife Crazied said:
I want a green one? Are they hard to find? Also is the steel VG -10

Sent from Ash forum mobile
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The green ones are the first generation and harder to find. They're VG-10 blades. This one is from someone in the Collectors Club, #187, that I found on e-Bay several years ago. You might try in the Want To Buy forum.

Here's a bad pic, but it shows the old style box it came in.

2748323052_203481727a_o.jpg
 
Good luck! That's what I wanted, too. They seem to be harder to find than the Spydie edge.
 
I really want the Ti Lum Chinese, it was such a nice smaller folder. I had one, was strapped for money and I sold it. :(
 
Very cool. I just looked it up thanks. Fleabay has a PE one likes your for $190 :rolleyes:

Sent from Ash forum mobile
 
sharpenit said:
My point is that when a Chinese knifemaker imitates a western design, there are people on this forum who spew bile at them. But here is a case of a western knifemaker, Spyderco, copying a Chinese design. And for the member who noted that Bob Lum is of Chinese descent, Lum was born in Astoria, Oregon, and unless Oregon was once a province of China, then he was as American as apple pie, even if he had Chinese DNA. Not only was Lum 100 percent American, but so is Spyderco, which is profiting by selling a knockoff of a Chinese design.

And if you want to argue that because Lum had Chinese DNA, he should be allowed to rip off a Chinese design, then you'd also have to accept that an American of French descent is entitled to copy the Opinel design, and an American of Scandinavian descent is entitled to rip off Falkniven designs.
Click to expand...

As was posted prior to my reply, Chinese knock off knives are reverse engineered. There is nothing inspired, just blatant copy. Sometimes it also includes logo, which makes it worse than copy, for then it is counterfeit. When this occurs, Chinese companies and laws have no respect for US copyright. Please try to grasp the concept.
 
a useful shape, but thats one ugly knife. I only saw two on this page that I'd bother to own. So I guess my answer to the OP is-not me.
 
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