Why do people hate Spyderco?

I like them but I’d say most people are put off by the price of what they perceive they are getting. Which is on them for just never trying them. They feel great in hand and my delica/enduras were laser blades.

They see a plastic handle and most people don’t care at all about blade steels. Why buy a 100+ dollar spyderco when they can buy a 20 dollar walmart special that still cuts things. Same attitude people have with flashlights. “If it’s not something just crazy special about it then why spend extra money.”

Just some thoughts.
 
I've probably posted about some of this before but my love for Spyderco is tempered by a few issues.

First, lots of models do both the half-choil thing with a scale nub on the bottom and a pronounced thumb hump around the hole. Such things can force finger placement or at least restrict the range of possible hand interfaces. If it works for your hand, like it does for me on the Dragonfly, then great. If it doesn't, like it doesn't for me on most models, then those models will be awkward to use or off the table. Thankfully, at least some of those models have scale only in the bottom part of that half-choil so I can grind them off. (Pictured below is my modified Sage 5 which deletes that bit of scale, rounds over the thumb riser, chamfers the thumb hole, and crowns the spine.) Still, I'm in the minority as an amateur knife modder.

Second, and partially a matter of preference, is the prevalence of washers and/or actions that need to break in. I prefer knives with crisp detents and slick action. I want to put a finger or thumb in the hole and pop it out confidently with zero wrist involvement. (I also prefer to drop them closed but that could be a separate issue.) Yes, I understand that washers theoretically avoid getting grit stuck between bearings but that's just never really been an issue for me in the first place. Especially with dual-row bearings, I feel like strength or stability arguments are questionable. Of course, some of those same washer models I have from Spyderco also have blade play so I can't imagine such an argument holding water.

Case in point, I just picked up an Alcyone and the action out of the box is straight-up terrible. It's gritty and when flicked, it stops before locking into place. Sure, I could take it apart, clean it up, maybe polish the washers, and lubricate it but in a world of knives with awesome out-of-box action; that stinks. It's also worth mentioning that disassembly is frowned upon by Spyderco. (That and the refusal to ship internal parts could be their own issue.)

Third, the nub at the base of the blade bumps up into the access for many compression lock models. So if I depress the compression lock and drop the blade, that nub bumps into the finger that's depressing the lock-bar and either rebounds or just doesn't close properly. I've either got to employ extra steps to work around it when closing a knife or I've got to mod the knife to get rid of the obstruction. I'd greatly prefer if such knives were just designed to avoid that overlap or just switch to a button in that space.

Fourth, and also preference, is sharp or crisp Spydie holes. I get that you might want lots of catch for greasy situations or gloved hands but overall, I find it uncomfortable and tend to chamfer the holes myself.

Fifth is the G-10 upcharge. Seriously, why is the price difference between FRN and G10 on some models so large? In some cases, the price difference between the same model in FRN and G10 is enough to buy a whole knife with G10 or even Micarta scales. I don't mean to lean into the whole Chinese manufacturing issue but the example stands. Heck, you could use an example from one of the Chinese companies contracted to make knives for Spyderco. I suppose this could be extended to a lack of diverse scale options in general.

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Chronovore Chronovore very solid and well articulated points. I believe I find myself agreeing across the board, except points number 1 and 3 hit especially hard in the top slot, since design trumps everything else, things like materials and price for me. Point 4 is a close runner up for top slot.
 
Sure there is. Dislike is a preference of varying strengths against something, and hatred is complete intolerance of something. There are things that are perfectly reasonable to have zero tolerance for. Within the context of knives, I can't think of many things, but certain egregiously bad design elements (not saying any are or are not present on Spydercos) might qualify. Especially those that compromise user safety.
 
smith357 said:
I don't hate spyderco, I just don't like holes in my blades.
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It's an understandable thought. Might seem to weaken the blade, might seem like an easy place to catch dirt, or drag in a cut. Might just be ugly. But the round hole has become so essential to me on a folding knife for its unparalleled convenience, that there is no other opening mechanism I would prefer. I would hope anyone who has a negative reaction to Spyderco due to the opening hole takes an opportunity to give it a fair shot at least once, because it may surprise them.
 
David Mary said:
Chronovore Chronovore very solid and well articulated points. I believe I find myself agreeing across the board, except points number 1 and 3 hit especially hard in the top slot, since design trumps everything else, things like materials and price for me. Point 4 is a close runner up for top slot.
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I couldn't agree more about "design trumps everything else".

I'll choose a great design with a mediocre steel over a mediocre design with great steel every day of the week. Strange that.
 
Chronovore said:
Fifth is the G-10 upcharge. Seriously, why is the price difference between FRN and G10 on some models so large? In some cases, the price difference between the same model in FRN and G10 is enough to buy a whole knife with G10 or even Micarta scales.
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I think part of that one is that FRN tooling is a large up front cost that afterwards gets spread out over the life of the model. Each unit has relatively low production cost after the initial investment in tooling. G10 has to be shaped and machined individually every time. So more complicated handles will require more labor and machine time, which is not a cost that can be spread out over many knives, but a recurring set cost. FRN is a brilliant material, because for all its purported look and feel of cheapness, it is exceptionally tough and resistant to the elements, and quite grippy with Spyderco's bi-directional grip pattern.
 
David Mary said:
It's an understandable thought. Might seem to weaken the blade, might seem like an easy place to catch dirt, or drag in a cut. Might just be ugly. But the round hole has become so essential to me on a folding knife for its unparalleled convenience, that there is no other opening mechanism I would prefer. I would hope anyone who has a negative reaction to Spyderco due to the opening hole takes an opportunity to give it a fair shot at least once, because it may surprise them.
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This^^^
 
As someone who (years ago) used to think Spyderco made ugly knives, I was looking for a lower cost button lock knife tonight just as maybe an impulse purchase I was scrolling through dozens of designs, seeing a lot from Chinese makers and many just looking gimmicky or cheap and nothing really caught my attention until I stumbled upon the button up (Spydercos newer release that's pending) then thought, now finally a good looking knife. You can tell it was designed by someone that knows knives. A blade shape and handle that actually look like they were designed with a purpose. Perhaps I've handled and owned too many Spydercos that now I only see beauty in function now.
 
David Mary said:
It's an understandable thought. Might seem to weaken the blade, might seem like an easy place to catch dirt, or drag in a cut. Might just be ugly. But the round hole has become so essential to me on a folding knife for its unparalleled convenience, that there is no other opening mechanism I would prefer. I would hope anyone who has a negative reaction to Spyderco due to the opening hole takes an opportunity to give it a fair shot at least once, because it may surprise them.
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No, it's not about strength as such, It's the deployment, I prefer a thumb studs. I also prefer bronze washers over ball bearings, .45 over 9mm, and vanilla over chocolate. :)
 
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