Always willing to give an "Amen!" on this topic on any thread or forum!
I had an early Endura fully serrated and carried it to the Bahamas and to Honduras on diving trips, and almost daily for several years here at home and on US travel. It got to looking worse for wear with the "final straw" being that I broke the pocket clip one day when the knife "caught" on a metal shelf at a store I worked at part time. I bought another one identical to it to replace it and sold the "broken" one to a co-worker who carried it inside his pocket (where mine resides now any way). I talked to the co-worker a few years later and he was STILL carrying the "clipless" Endura!
I sold him the one I bought to replace it with then (so he ended up with BOTH my original Enduras) as I moved to more expensive, more "tactical" :jerkit: knives... That's funny because years later (and probably $2000 later) I'm "back" to Spydercos!
To me Spyderco knives "work" for me like Glock handguns "work".
I see parallels here:
They are first and foremost RELIABLE. While "reliability" might seem like a grandiose overstatement in the area of folding knives, I often tell my personal experience in 2013 of buying
three $200ish knives in about a month made by a VERY well respected company. The first had two screws fall out of the grip scales within 5 hours of me receiving it. I ordered a second knife but a different model of the same company to replace this while I sent the first for warranty work. The dealer personally checked the second and rush shipped it as I needed it for vacation. I then ordered a used knife off a board from a forum member made by the same company, but I wouldn't get it until after vacation. I carried the second knife on vacation but had to accept it was too large for me to comfortably carry for EDC. I noticed that ONE SCREW on the SECOND knife was now loose, but I tightened it up and put it back in the box in mint condition and gave it to a friend for his 50th birthday. He TOO has had problems with the screws now on this knife. I finally sold the third and went back (full-circle now!) to Spyderco. I have now bought 13 in 12 months and NOT ONE has had a problem, Everyone worked flawlessly right out of the box, and continues to work. Glock handguns work right out of the box-unlike the $1000 Kimber I bought which was never 100% reliable but stated IN THE MANUAL it needed to be "broken in" by firing at least 200-300 rounds :jerkit:
Secondly, they are relatively LIGHT for their size, and compared to other similar designs from competitors, especially when referring to the Enduras and Delicas. I tend to not think about this as much in handguns being a big guy but it IS an issue. I recall when I "upgraded" from carrying a SIG P228 to a SIG P229. The PAPER specs only show the P229 to be about 3 ounces heavier but that thing felt like a boat anchor. I was never happy with the P229 for off duty carry. Also I recently overseen a group of 12 deputies tasked with choosing between a SIG P226 and a Glock G22 for their new duty weapon. The G22 won out (but the results were tabled for now) but at least three deputies (2 female, 1 male) cited WEIGHT as a primary reason for their choice. This low weight allows me to carry TWO Spydercos that weigh as much as ONE "EDC" knife from several other companies...and I OFTEN do!
Third, I'd have to mention COST. I think that Spydercos are very good deals for the cost.
Finally, I HEAR the y have awesome CUSTOMER SERVICE-I've just not needed it! That's the way it should be. IF NEEDED the CS department will take care of you...it's just not needed as much! I am a certified Glock Armorer (having had the class twice) but I had to take one to a buddy a while back as I couldn't recall how to take a certain part out that had broken on a friends G26! They call it the "Maytag Repairman Syndrome" (based on the old commercials and ad campaigns) as you get lonely waiting for one to actually break! I'd cautiously compare this to Spyderco also (*knocking on wood* so I don't "jinx" myself)...
