Low End Spyderco Knives

[NASA50]

Again, I was not trying to be arrogant nor trolling (I do not even know what that is) but I must be naive ... becuase I thought that this forum was maybe the right place for a person who carried a Spyderco knife for 32 years (on and off duty) to share his thoughts for Spyderco to hear ... it had nothing to do with the Chinese people, politics, Governments ... only a long time customers thoughts ... for consideration in Spyderco's Business Strategy.

When I go to the hardware store and see a bucket of knives (made in china) sitting on the counter selling for .99 cents a piece - it gives some of us a image (of a certain level of quality) ... I happen to know that Spyderco makes high quality of knives, but for that "naive" knife buyer ... they may not be able to initially distinguish a Spyderco made in China vs. the .99 Cent knives on the hardware store counter ...

I would simply prefer that Spyderco stay high-end and leave the low budget knives to someone else ... so I can buy any Spyderco without first having to figure out if it is a high-end knife vs. budget knife.

Thats was my only "agenda" ... not to try to offend anyone ...

But I have to admit, you guys did open my eyes to considering one of the offerings made in Taiwan, for I apparently mistakenly assumed that the location was (also) chosen for it low labor costs Vs. image of quality.

[NASA50]

Below is an image of one of the TERZUOLAs that I carried on and off duty for many years ...

Please note what was boldly engraved by Spyderco on the handle of the knife (U.S.A. Made). Apparently it was thought to be important to note this at one time....

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[Coastal]

This thread is making me want to buy a Chinese-made Spyderco, just to see what's wrong with them.

[Manixguy@1994]

It’s easier to be a customer than a manufacturer.

Well said , value produced Spyderco knives are great . I just wish linerlock models would have a offering of left hand versions . Regardless of that there is a lot to offer in these lines for just about anyone. MG2

[mreagan]

My Watu from Taiwan is actually my favorite knife (so far), and the best EDC for an office worker IMHO. And we should never level lump Taiwan and China together for a variety of reasons.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

The highest end Spyderco knives come from Taichung, period. Their quality control and tolerances meet or exceed the operations in Golden. Lumping the top echelon of Spyderco with the, by design, cheaper and more economical offerings from mainland China is rather ignorant. Please spend some time familiarizing yourself with the Spyderco catalogs over the last few years, read our reviews here on the forum, and perhaps even consider buying yourself something made from Taichung. The 99 cent hardware store analogy is completely off in this case. Welcome to the forum and cheers, Radioactive

[Sharp Guy]

Again, I was not trying to be arrogant nor trolling (I do not even know what that is) but I must be naive ... becuase I thought that this forum was maybe the right place for a person who carried a Spyderco knife for 32 years (on and off duty) to share his thoughts for Spyderco to hear ... it had nothing to do with the Chinese people, politics, Governments ... only a long time customers thoughts ... for consideration in Spyderco's Business Strategy.

When I go to the hardware store and see a bucket of knives (made in china) sitting on the counter selling for .99 cents a piece - it gives some of us a image (of a certain level of quality) ... I happen to know that Spyderco makes high quality of knives, but for that "naive" knife buyer ... they may not be able to initially distinguish a Spyderco made in China vs. the .99 Cent knives on the hardware store counter ...

I would simply prefer that Spyderco stay high-end and leave the low budget knives to someone else ... so I can buy any Spyderco without first having to figure out if it is a high-end knife vs. budget knife.

Thats was my only "agenda" ... not to try to offend anyone ...

But I have to admit, you guys did open my eyes to considering one of the offerings made in Taiwan, for I apparently mistakenly assumed that the location was (also) chosen for it low labor costs Vs. image of quality.

You're fine...maybe just a little misguided. There's nothing wrong with expressing your thoughts and what that other member said about this forum being like Facebook is complete BS. There's also nothing wrong about preferring to buy USA or Japan made models. There's something for everyone. I actually started out here only wanting the USA models. It wasn't long before I tried a Japanese made model and then a couple Taichung models. I've even tried one of their Chinese made models. I passed that one on but not because I didn't like the quality. It was actually great. I just had so many other models that I like better than I decided to move that one on. Currently I have a whole bunch of Spyderco designs made in Golden, Taichung, and Seki City. Most of the Taichung models I have are my favorite Spyderco models. I like and appreciate all the others too but the designs that are made in Taichung are more up my ally

Stick around please. It's a great group of people and, with Sal and gang participating, you'll really get to learn about who Spyderco is as a company. A lot of us buy knives from other manufacturers because we like a lot of variety but I think most of us here are Spyderco customers for life.

[sal]

Hi Coastal,

Welcome to our forum.

Hey Nasa,

Thanx for sticking round and responding. I don't think anyone here took offense. We are always interested in everyone's thoughts regarding our products and company.. We have a great group here. I think you will enjoy them.

Thanx much also for your service and for your long term interest and support. You will learn much about our company and our products here. We try to offer; performance, quality, variety and a wide range of pricing. You also might give our office a call and find out about our Opfocus program for Save & Serve personnel.

sal

[TkoK83Spy]

Always nice when threads turn out this way after a rough start. Well played by just about everybody!

[Stuart Ackerman]

I have carried a stainless scale Meadowlark for two weeks now, and my only complaint is that is a low hollowgrind... :)
But only when I was slicing cedar shingles.

Everything else from box cutting, fibre tape cutting, kindling splitting, veg and meat prep, and what-not...just fine!

[VooDooChild]

So theres right around 350 current production knives in spydercos catalog going off of unique sku codes.

Once again going off of unique sku codes, 51 of those are made in china.

So thats 15%. Frankly Im impressed they have so few china made knives in their catalog.

Also seems like new china models come out less frequently than new US/Japan/Taiwan models.

[NASA50]

Jeeze, was that a "hazing" ritual for new members that I just went through ????

Well, it must have had an effect, as the next time they are available, I intend to purchase the Chaparral Sun & Moon and/or Canis (yes, both made in Taiwan) under my OpsFocus plan ... any chance of getting the OpsFocus limit increased ?

... but I still wish Spyderco would leave the budget made in China knives to someone else ... and stay strictly high-end !

[Kevinim82]

Welcome to the forum NASA50.

I would give my two cents and say, Taichung; I am really amazed by the quality. If you fish and like a large folding knife the Caribbean is an amazing tool.

If you stay on this forum long enough someone will talk you into carrying a serrated edged blade to do everything.

You’ve posted a good question here, look the owner of this company has given you a thoughtful reply twice!

OpFocus program is Spyderco’s way saying thank you for helping our country’s military/police/first responder/medical
https://www.spyderco.com/resources/op-focus/

Thank you for serving our country.
-Kevin

[Bustedaw11]

I like how things are myself. I'm not gonna use my pm2 or manix 2 for hard jobs. I appreciate being able to grab my tenacious lw and getting a job done and not having to worry about beating up an expensive knife. I still get the satisfaction of using a spyderco to do the job.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the lower end knives. Like everything, they have thier place.

Keep up the great work Sal.

[GarageBoy]

Below is an image of one of the TERZUOLA that I carried on and off duty for many years ...

Please note what was boldly engraved by Spyderco on the handle of the knife (Made is U.S.A.). Apparently it was thought to be important to note this at one time....

If I remember correctly Spyderco didn't even have a US factory when that was made .

And they still mark their knives, Made in USA Golden Colorado Earth for their US knives

[ladybug93]

you should try a resilience just to see it. it's a serious knife. even with china and 8cr13mov both stamped on the blade, it's a very capable knife and that spyder means something. in my experience, spyderco's 8cr13mov is quite a bit better than kershaw's, for example.

i just used my astute (same steel and factory) to break down a bunch of boxes for recycling. i didn't count cuts, but it was more than enough to get me through a day of work or more and touched up in about five minutes.

if you're really dead set against trying a chinese spyderco, the taichung factory produces a lot of really great models. i have a squarehead, caribbean, spydiechef, and ikuchi from taichung and they all have amazing for and finish. the caribbean sits in a strange place somewhere between a work of art and a highly functional tool.

anyway, welcome to the forum and thank you for your service!

[araneae]

Spyderco doesn't make "low end" anywhere.

[SRT392HEMI]

The Tenacious was my gateway Spyderco, the one that started the love affair. I own more Golden models than any other, but that has more to do with the designs than geography. So I tend to have a Colorado made product in my pocket most days, but a few WE/Civivi knifes get some pocket time as well. High quality and affordable Chinese knives that punch well above their weight class.

[bjz]

Spyderco doesn't make "low end" anywhere.

This! Period.

[ykspydiefan]

Welcome to the forum NASA50,

I am still new to the forum and find the group forgets and moves on as fast as they correct information and misguided opinions. Lots of people here have written in a way that gets misinterpreted. The forum corrects and moves on. It's a real good group. Plenty of ways to share and get friendly constructive feedback too.

My first Spyderco was a Tenacious. It's 14 years old and still has enough life to last my kids kids. It's quality.

I'll repeat, as said above, there are no low end Spyderco knives.

I'm Canadian and the idea of USA only production is lost on me. What is not lost on me is the era of Globalization that we are currently living in. There must be products from 12 different countries in my home.

I could not do a buy Canadian made only ethic. Giving up Spyderco would be silly.

Shout out to North Arm Lynx.