How did you fall down the Spyder hole?

[NiallRiv]

The first I ever even heard of spyderco was when I was trying to find a high quality left handed knife for work. Cue the Lefty Military. It was going out of production right at my intro and I got it for 100 bucks, I forget where. I quickly realized I didnt need a pocket katana and got my first PM2 instead. But i think I could have stepped out then, but i heard about this little program spyderco was doing called "the Mule Team Project" My first blade was the K390, just by luck, and have been hooked on spydercos and any/all new steels ever since.

[Brock O Lee]

It's not a Spyder hole.It's a Spyder vortex.

That is a very accurate observation. :)

[kennethsime]

First things first: OP, I would be very careful with posts like this in the future. For-sale threads aren't allowed on this forum, and this post walks a very fine line between trying to generate discussion which praises the brand and trying to sell your remaining two LBKs. Now that that's out of the way...

I worked in a brick-and-mortar cutlery & barber-supply shop for a few years when I was in college. I got the job in the first place because I randomly drove by one day and stopped in to see if they had any of those Gerber para-frames in stock, then got into a discussion about why they didn't. We sold a lot of Benchmade (their sales policies make it (or used to make it) a lot easier for brick and mortar stores to sell them at a competitive price), and for awhile I was convinced that a Benchmade 940 was going to be my first "nice" pocket knife.

When Christmas rolled around, we got some new 4th-gen FFG Delicas/Enduras in the store, and something clicked; I loved the lightweight, high-quality materials, excellent fit & finish, and refined ergonomics. Suddenly I was walking around the store with one of our display models constantly; I even took one home on accident (don't tell my old boss!). I found the Spyderco forum; after much reading, talking with customers, and handling the Spydercos we had in the store, I settled on a ZDP-189 Stretch. Since then, I've never seriously considered a pocket knife from another manufacturer (save my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife), although the Benchmade 940 still catches my eye from time to time.

[ManBearPig]

I suppose this is a good thread for a first .

For this spyderholic, my "gateway knife" was the Sage 1. This was purchased lightly used from a gun show 4 years ago and I am now nearing(if i haven't already passed) thirty knives from this wonderful company. I think the main thing that attracted me to the Sage 1 had to be the ergos. As soon as I held it I was hooked. After the purchase, I did a little research on my new blade and discovered that a portion of the proceeds from the Sage goes to the National Alzheimer's Association. As my Mother had just recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, this gave the knife that much more sentimental value on top of it being my first Spyderco.

Thanks for listening to my spiel.



P.S. I look forward to the good nature'd ribbing associated with the length of time between my joining this forum and my first post. :spyder:

John

[Mygrainman]

First things first: OP, I would be very careful with posts like this in the future. For-sale threads aren't allowed on this forum, and this post walks a very fine line between trying to generate discussion which praises the brand and trying to sell your remaining two LBKs.

Thanks for your concern... I am aware of the no selling rule, and I respect it fully. My OP is first and foremost telling the story of why I am now a Spydie junkie. The search for information about my LBKs, both for my own knowledge and to determine their value is the reason I first came across this forum. This search is what led me "down the Spyder hole."
Thanks to Sal I now understand a little more about the packaging and the reasons behind leaving the words "Lady Bug" out. Other members like The Deacon have been helpful as well.
I'm still not ready to sell them though. More than gaining profit from them I'd like to see them get to a collector that will treasure them as much as I do. I don't want to put them on eBay, and have somebody buy them with a low bid, rip the package open and throw it away, and toss the knife in their tackle box. These might not be the Spydie score of a lifetime, but they mean a lot to me. They're my first. This is what I was I was conveying in my OP. Not a sales pitch. However I did go back and edit it slightly just in case.
I do have a question in regards to the rule... I have had interest via PM and I told em I would let them know if/when they were on eBay so they could bid. Would that be advisable or no? I've seen people help each other find knives for their collections by putting them in touch with others, but I'm not sure where to draw the line.

The last thing I want to do is cause trouble in this forum... Like many here (as seen in the 1,000,000th post contest essays) I find this forum a refreshing departure from the combative forums I've been on in the past...(NFL forums are the worst, and I love talking football ) I have issues with anxiety from a near death experience a few years ago, and I found solace in knife collecting and ultimately this forum... I've felt welcome from my first post(only a couple weeks ago), and I'd like to keep it that way.

Thanks again for the heads up and for sharing your story!
-Mygrainman

[Mygrainman]

P.S. I look forward to the good nature'd ribbing associated with the length of time between my joining this forum and my first post. :spyder:

John

On the contrary! I am honored that after 2 years of "lurking" you posted on a topic that I started. Welcome, and thanks for sharing!
don't wait 2 more years for your next post... I recommend checking out the 1,000,000 post contest where you can explain what the Spyderco forum means to you and win a prize :)

[bearfacedkiller]

I carried a Benchmade for about ten years and it was my only EDC pocket knife. I had my old stockmen, my old buck 110, a bunch of SAKs, a couple multitools and some fixed blades for hunting but this was my first high quality folder. I was happy with it and never really considered getting another knife. It had been gifted to me by a good friend from high school not long after we graduated. After many years had gone by we were hanging out once again after having both moved away and not seeing eachother very much and when I pulled it out he commented on how much he missed it and I regifted it back to him. Now for the first time in many years I was without a pocket knife and having relocated to Denver (and working in Golden) I decided to check out Spyderco. I picked myself up a Delica and a Para2 and the rest has been a knife hoarding blur.

[brick]

I've owned and used knives (mostly SAKs) probably since I was 8 when my dad gave me a Swiss Classic. I must have cut myself with that thing a dozen times. Stil have it. As an adult I never really thought much about my knives until I needed one, at which point I'd be rifling through my drawers looking for a cutting implement. I'm not sure why but a while back (year and a half ago maybe?) I realized that some smart people just carry a knife so that they can skip the running around step and get on with the cutting. That realization ultimately led to my thoroughly useful UKPK. At that point Spyderco was just a name but the knife was (still is) excellent. And I still remember chuckling at "Golden, Colorado U.S.A. Earth" because that's the kind of thing that amuses me. Whoever put that on the tang is my kind of person. At any rate, I followed the UKPK with a Pingo so that I would have something a little more office-friendly, and somehow I now own 7 Spyderco knives plus a Sharpmaker. It's a neat world to have fallen into.

[kennethsime]

I do have a question in regards to the rule... I have had interest via PM and I told em I would let them know if/when they were on eBay so they could bid. Would that be advisable or no? I've seen people help each other find knives for their collections by putting them in touch with others, but I'm not sure where to draw the line.

Just keep it all on PM and I don't think you'll have a problem, but I'm definitely not a mod. I would probably avoid talking about selling anything period unless it's in the past tense; I'm sure you understand that coming to a forum full of devout Spyderco collectors, and talking about how much you want to sell something to devout Spyderco collectors seems a lot like you're advertising them for sale.

Anyway, you've probably heard this a good number of times by now, but: welcome to the forum, enjoy your stay. :)

And I still remember chuckling at "Golden, Colorado U.S.A. Earth" because that's the kind of thing that amuses me. Whoever put that on the tang is my kind of person.

Check out this page. If memory serves, Spyderco started adding that to their Golden-produced blades when some of them started going to space.

[Mygrainman]

Don't help me I'm falling!

There are certainly different degrees of madness...and I'm now several clicks further from sanity... God help me the 2015 Spyderco product catalog came in the mail today :eek: I read every page like I was cramming for a test. I was actually doing O.K? until I got to page 57 the "Gentlemans Folder" section. I like the tactical and pure utilitarian knives as much as the next guy, but ever since I can remember, I've always loved the artistry and class that goes into a good Gents knife. The refined lines, sleek, dare I say sexy profile and one of my favorite design features... Bolsters. To save weight for the real operators out there, and to appeal to the "Mall Ninjas" that don't find bolsters to be "tacticool" enough, many designs have thrown the bolster out the window. There's also the fact that they are not really necessary when using modern materials, but they sure look good.
The first knife they show in the gents section, which also happens to be as good as in the mail for me, is the Centofante 3... and right below, on the same page is another beautiful design and future purchase (if I can ever afford it)the Firefly.

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As I stared at this page, minutes maybe hours went by(not really but...) the two images started to blur together and the knife that appeared was epic...
Frank Centofante was a visionary in knife design and he used bolsters in most of his designs (that Ive seen online anyway) but never on a Spyderco collaboration. I wonder why. I mean look at this beautiful Centofante original

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Thats how bolsters are done!(and you might find one like it for $1500+\- if you're very lucky)... not saying there aren't great bolstered Spydie's cause there definitely are, but there are maybe a half dozen in the entire 2015 lineup, not really their forte, and that's fine.
As is, the Centofante 3 is a 10/10 (this is why I'm buying one) I love the profile of the drop point blade, and the handles sort of curved coffin shape compliments it beautifully, and who doesn't love that chrome Spydie inlay... perfection! My imagined "page 57 hybrid" has the same design, but with a carbon fiber, or dark titanium bolster with the same grove running up towards the pivot tying the scale and bolster together...A guy can dream can't he?
So thanks to Spyderco still offering a full color comprehensive catalog, and included price list.. Instead of going the way of the "online only" policy, and "call today for current pricing" that most have adopted... I'm now significantly deeper down the Spyder Hole(or vortex as previously stated) and falling. But on the bright side I have great reading material for future G-2s.

-Extra credit if you understand the G-2 reference in the last sentence :D

[IN caver]

I had been carrying an EDC knife for a few years. I had several I rotated however, they were all inexpensive budget knives. I enjoyed my knives but had decided I would rather have at least one real quality knife with good or great steel and modern materials. That's when I started my research on line. I looked at many brands but was always drawn to the Spyderco knives.
Then I found the Spyderco forum and that made up my mind. Spyderco would be my next knife. I think what sealed the deal was seeing Sal interact with the members here.
My first Spyderco was a Manix2 lightweight followed by a Dragonfly2 and Salt1. Then I picked up a Para2 and a Bradley folder. So, my one good EDC folder has quickly become five and I plan to get more. I see a Domino in future :D

[SpyderEdgeForever]

For me it was when I was in my early teenage years. I had already been into knives and knife collecting, mainly the standards like Case, Old Timers, as well as things like the assorted knives from Smoky Mountain Knife Works and whatever good ones I could find at flea markets and garage sales. But I had not yet been "bitten" by the Spydie Bug =)

I attended an outdoor event and they had sound systems and speakers and I noticed one of the workers had a shiny steel clip attached to his pocket, and I thought "is that a knife?" I got up the courage to ask him about it, he was very friendly, and took out what I later realized was a Spyderco Police Model Clip-It. I soon became obsessed with getting one of these cool "Clip Its" and everyone I spoke with who knew I liked knives was like "wow that kid really wants one of those". To this day I do not have a Police model, I ought to get one someday :)

After that the next ones I saw for sale were the early model Enduras and Delicas.

[JD Spydo]

When I got my very first Spyderco folder back in the Spring of 1995 :eek: WoW!! it's been 20 years already :cool: I had been looking at quite a few premium fully serrated blades in various knife magazines and at shows but up till that time I had not owned a top quality serrated blade. I went to a gun show here in KC, MO USA and went to a knife dealer I had recently bought from and he recommended the Spyderco fully serrated, GIN-1 Mariner model with a stainless handle. It was so much better than any other serrated knife I had ever tried that I was immediately sold on Spyderco.

It wasn't long after that I got a few more of their models PE & SE both and one of the first models I got was a C-17 Catcherman. I was immediately in love with it and since then I've acrued about 6 more of them>> my fully serrated AUS-8 Catcherman is one of my most used Spyderco knives ever along with my Temperance 1 model I snagged back in 04.

The overall quality of their knives and their super customer service made me a life long customer/user/collector and afficionado of the blades with Spydie's logo on them.

[PcT]

My dad gave my the desire for EDC with the SAK's he carried as a sparky (electrition), and then with a bone handled fixed blade he gave me for outdoor missions and camping. Something we did every week growing up in The Lake District. I've been carrying Spyderco for so long it's hard to remember when I first picked up the C05 Standard. For a few years before that though, I used to nip into a local Fishing/outdoor shop on my way to/from school and ogle the models he had laid out behind the glass. There was a good selection but I was always drawn to Spyderco. He'd let us handle them too. Nice fella. I saw him recently and asked if he'd kept any Spydies when he sold the shop. He hadn't. The shop was called Field & Stream and its long gone. I miss it still. At some point in the late '90's I picked up the Standard from that very shop and that was that. It was a constant EDC for years, and while I picked up 5 or 6 more over the next 5/6 years, the Standard was, well, the standard. Fast forward to the present day, and the collection has had a steady growth rate. Largely due to the Internet and the access we have to the vast online resources, I'm soon to receive delivery of another couple of collectibles (a Lava Forum and a burgundy Horn sprint), taking my current tally up to 56 (I think...).
Living where I do it's hard to source collectibles. I've gotta be dedicated and willing to pay premium, which I am and do (but I guess that's the same for everyone hey). The UK doesn't have anywhere near the sort of shops that you guys do. We shop from a selection of 3 or 4, then we use private sales and occasionally dip into U.S. Imports. When you find that 'one' tho...well you all know what I mean! It's all worth it!

[Mygrainman]

I haven't really posted an update since I first fell in the Spyder Hole a little over a month ago... Unfortunately things have gotten much worse.

I had saved enough to get the Centofante that I wanted about a month ago, but before I ordered it I found an add for a "Delica Wave" on Craigslist for $40... It was a two hour round trip to check it out, so when I got there and realized it was a filthy and abused Endura4 Wave I bought it anyway so I didn't waste the trip. Luckily after completely taking it apart, cleaning and lubricating, and giving it a proper edge it came out as solid, and smooth as new... Surprisingly the only cosmetic issue was the worn black paint on the pocket clip... but I think it looks better unpainted like the rest of the metal parts anyway, so I polished it clean.
Once again I'm thinking "lucky me!" I found another diamond in the rough... not really... the whole experience just made my Spydie obsession worse, cause now I have witnessed first hand that you can beat the **** out of them(not that I ever would) and even the light weight FRN Spydies endure(no pun intended) and clean right up... So further down the Spyder hole I go.

Fast forward to last Saturday: I went Spyder hunting at the Rose City Gun&Knife show in Portland Oregon... once again with the Centofante3 at the top of my list. This was supposedly the biggest gun/knife show in the pacific NW. Portland is home to most of Spyderco's competition. Benchmade, Kershaw/ZT, Gerber, CRKT etc.. are all based there, and they were all well represented. As much as I like a good Kershaw, it wasn't going to give me my Spydie fix. Unfortunately there were only a handful of Spyderco's sparsely scattered one or two at a time amongst the hundreds of tables.
I was about 3/4 of the way down the last row, and about to give up when I noticed a couple red & black boxes barely showing in the corner of a crowded display case. One was a Tenacious, and the other the beautiful Dragonfly2 G10. Both were marked at $75 :eek:.. The guy said his prices were firm and he already marked them down to his wholesale prices. There was no way I was going for the Tenacious(you could just about get 2 for that price :confused: ) So my attention went to the Dragonfly. I wasn't sure if the price was good or not. I knew the FRN version was $65 at my local Big Box and a little cheaper online. I still needed my fix though, and I loved how such a small, light weight knife cold feel so solid and substantial in my hand. I didn't have much cash, but I had something much better when haggling at a gunshow... 1050 rounds of .22LR ammo... Done Deal the Dragonfly was mine :D I also picked up an older Cold Steel X2 for $10, and had a few of my knives sharpened at different tables.
Still the Centofante eludes me(for now) But I'm very happy with the Dragonfly... What a great knife. It wasn't until I got home and looked it up in the catalog price guide that I found out the $154.95 retail price, or ~$90 online. It's funny as limited as my budget is, I have been able to average a new Spydie every couple weeks since I fell in the hole/vortex early last month... and always at great deals. It's almost like they find me, not the other way around.
Anyway here's the latest family photo... In order of acquisition from left to right:
-3 Ladybug1's in extremely rare packaging marked only as LBK for the military(according to Sal they didn't like the ladybug name)
-Delica1 PE G-2 thin clip...
-Endura4 With Emerson Wave...
-Dragonfly2 G10 foliage green...

[JKW]

My gateway knife was a gift for someone else. My significant other decided to get serious about using the sailboat for long trips, shifting from overnights to week-long or more trips, and he made himself a harness system. When he started talking about the possibility of falling overboard and being dragged in his harness, I decided to get him a nice knife to keep attached to the harness. After much research, I got him the Atlantic Salt Yellow. Two or so years later, I have 11 Spydies of my own (including the Tusk, since I do the vast majority of the lines and rigging and love a good eye splice).

Not sure how that happened.

[JD Spydo]

Another strange aspect that lured me into the SPYDERS WEB was the unique ads I saw in several of the knife magazines back in the 90s. I was intriged at all of the fully serrated models they were advertising and some of the strangest but interesting ads I had ever seen were some of Spyderco's. One that really stood out to me was when they were advertising the Jot Khalsa model>> it showed Jot Singh Khalsa riding a magic carpet over the New York City skyline with all of the landmark buildings in the background. I liked that ad so much that I even got a full sized poster of that ad and I still own it. Also I had never seen a knife company with such unique marketing on all of their various models.

I had owned some Benchmade models before I ever got a Spyderco at all and I still own some of those early BM models but Spyderco's blade line up to me offered much more variety and they seemed to have a knife for just about everything you would need one for and they have even gotten better over the years. With unique designs like their Hawkbills, Reverse S blades along with their great collaborations are just simply more appealing than any other knife company out there IMO. I do have lot of respect for companies like Benchmade, Al Mar, Boker, Buck and to some extent I even like a few of Cold Steels products but no one on the planet can equal the overall quality and selection of the Great Spyder Factory IMO.

[glbpro]

I started out as a SOG guy - my first serious folder was one of their Vulcans. After that I got an Endura and the rest is history. I have a few Benchmades (710, Minigrip and the beautiful Volli) but apart from that my collection is all Spyderco. In particular I like the lightness of Spydercos and how they appreciate that people don't just carry a pocket knife! In addition I really don't like assisted knives so I'm very glad that the Glessers have not gone down that road.

I don't have that many Spydies because prices in Singapore are high due to shipping costs - for example a standard military has an MSRP of four hundred Singapore dollars, and the Taiwanese made models are even more expensive: the Chaparral stepped titanium for example is over nine hundred dollars MSRP! So you guys stateside should count yourselves very fortunate indeed

[JohnnyGeek]

I spotted a discontinued Spyderco Embassy auto on ebay (not sure how it got past the restricted item squad, but it did) and I thought it was one of the best looking knives I'd ever seen. I followed the auction but it went for a completely nutty $405. (and that was used)

I started scouring, and I found a place online that still had two left - one silver and one grey - so I bought them both. Now I've spent every evening for the last week looking online at other Spyderco's I plan to get.

[NeonPenguin]

Figured this was a good place for my first post. I had a cheap Buck knife that I left on a boat somewhere. I'd always liked the look of the Spyderco knives, so I tried to find a middle-of-the-road one. After very extensive research(picking the one I liked the look and price of) I ended up with a Tenacious. I've had it for a couple of months now. At first I felt it was a little too big for my pocket, but I've quickly forgotten about that. I'm just about to order a PM2, and I'm really excited about it!

Cheers
-JT