What you don't like about spyderco knives?

[dsm]

Love the prompt, I think it's a really good question. I'd have a few dislikes, all of which I think have been mentioned in one way or another.

1) The lack of a truly competitive entry in the <$50 price bracket. This used to be where Spyderco really thumped the competition, especially if you expanded to <$100. Unfortunately, while I love the Seki City lock backs, I don't think, say, a standard Delica at $88 is a compelling deal. Similarly, the Chinese Spydercos (Tenacious, et al.) are too much for what you get compared to a brand like Civivi or other Chinese manufacturers. I still love the ergos of my Spydies more than other knives, but the overall value proposition here leaves a lot to be desired.

2) Thickness behind the edge. Perfect example is the Para 3, I think it's too stout for what it is. Would love to see Spyderco lean into the thinness of models like the Chaparral and Dragonfly more in their <3"-3.5" models.

3) The price increases of the last three-ish years. I know that all sectors have experienced this, but the price hikes have really dampened my enthusiasm to buy knives. I guess this is related to point 1 as well, but I really think $200 for a PM2 is a lot.

Overall, I love Spyderco, and especially their commitment to offering a variety of steels. I don't love sprint runs with low volume, but things like the M4 Manix LW, the K390 Seki lineup, and the introduction of production MagnaCut models really get me excited for the brand as a whole.

[Steeltoez83]

I wish there was more user feedback for the mule teams.

[Saucerito]

I almost exclusively carry Spyderco and one of my favorite features is the thumb hole. This hole, however, does tend to result in knives that are wider in the pocket than similar length knives from other manufacturers.

[vandelay]

I almost exclusively carry Spyderco and one of my favorite features is the thumb hole. This hole, however, does tend to result in knives that are wider in the pocket than similar length knives from other manufacturers.

I think they're intentionally designed with wide blades a lot of the time. The dragonfly, for example, could probably have the spine brought down 5mm without changing the hole size.
In some cases the blades are wide to add a tall thumb ramp (e.g. dragonfly). With some knives, it's just designed to be wide (e.g. lil' native).

[mongo1958]

Well? I guess the one thing I do not like about Spyderco is the vast variety of knives to choose from.
it makes choosing some what difficult, like a kid in a candy store not knowing where to start.
No, wait, that's a good thing.
Never mind.

[adub]

Artificial scarcity around sprint runs is the only thing I really dislike about Spyderco. I think it’s distasteful to know you have thousands of people who will want a given model and then deliberately make a handful of them.

[mokele]

I wish there was more user feedback for the mule teams.

Mule knives are well thought out. 2 minor things though...
1) guard tab. The knife is for cutting, not so for stabbing. This thing makes the last third of the edge useless in many cases, especially cutting things on board. However, as (I think it was Sal himself) somebody mentioned, it's easier to cut it off than build it if it's not there.
2) Thumb ramp. I wish it was a bit more shallow and had jimpings.

Also, I would love to have a bit larger Mule XL.
Like 4.5 inches.

I want to also stress that these are minor things, I love mules and I will never stop thanking Mr.Glesser for such unique gifts for the knife enthusiasts.

[apollo]

The only thing i can imagine i do not like about Spyderco is the ridiculous idea they have that colors of exclusives can not be used again for main production or in house sprints.
I am sorry but if you are not based in the US most exclusives are out of reach.
So its one thing to not be able to get most of them its an entire other thing we will never see those nice handle colors like forrest green on a normal sprint Manix for example…
Is it so hard to use the color but then with a different steel so the knife in question is not a copy of the exclusives? I mean all we have left is that strange burned orange and a grey or brown grey color. While there are so many amazing colors out there!
Please Sal drop that idea and give us colors in the main production or in house sprints.

[Wartstein]

....I mean all we have left is that strange burned orange .....

Don´t you dare badmouthing one of the nicest Spyderco-handle-colors... ..... (just kidding of course, my friend, but I actually really do like that burnt orange !!
AND really got lucky that it happens to be the "color code" for my favorite PE steels: REX45 and HAP40...)

[apollo]

....I mean all we have left is that strange burned orange .....

Don´t you dare badmouthing one of the nicest Spyderco-handle-colors... ..... (just kidding of course, my friend, but I actually really do like that burnt orange !!
AND really got lucky that it happens to be the "color code" for my favorite PE steels: REX45 and HAP40...)

Buddy that is one amazing picture!
And to make it more clear the Frn is fine but in my g10 Rex 45 Manix it drives me crazy… one day i like it the other day I totally hate it. I just can not make up my mind about that one. Depending on the light the g10 can turn in some kinda mix of orange and pink that pisses me off.

[Wartstein]

Buddy that is one amazing picture!
And to make it more clear the Frn is fine but in my g10 Rex 45 Manix it drives me crazy… one day i like it the other day I totally hate it. I just can not make up my mind about that one. Depending on the light the g10 can turn in some kinda mix of orange and pink that pisses me off.

Ok... so at least one tiny aspect then where we can agree on that FRN is advantageous over G10...

[apollo]

Buddy that is one amazing picture!
And to make it more clear the Frn is fine but in my g10 Rex 45 Manix it drives me crazy… one day i like it the other day I totally hate it. I just can not make up my mind about that one. Depending on the light the g10 can turn in some kinda mix of orange and pink that pisses me off.

Ok... so at least one tiny aspect then where we can agree on that FRN is advantageous over G10...

Frn is a great material for me the only trouble is that spyderco is killing of the liners and then offcourse i do not like the weight anymore.
Just got the pm3 lw from the meet as a gift. Amazing knife but the weight is so terrible for me.
So i trew it my in work rotation instead of my edc rotation. So basically it will get torture tested.

[DavidNM]

I dislike all of the compression locks. I have had 2 and I didn’t like either of them. Give me a nice backlock!

[tomsch1963]

I'm a huge Spyderco fan and carry one most days. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that the exclusives are very difficult to score. I guess that's the definition of exclusive but it can be an exercise in frustration to set your alarm, open every site that has them coming, only to miss out. On top of that seeing them on an auction site within hours with a large mark-up.
In any case I do hope that at least some of the great steels that come out on the exclusives, i.e., 15V will eventually show up on the regular releases.

[TTFulltimer]

Ask 100 people for an opinion and you will get 100 different opinions.

Likes
A knife for every one of those opinions
Many permutations and combinations from tiny to large
Steels others just do not have in a reasonable production knife
A long term stable product base company that prompts aftermarket accessories
Family business in the USA with some well chosen foreign collaborators.

Personal Likes
Leaf not Byrd shape
Liners
Scales on the liners (Because I can make my own to fit my hand and from my favorite material wood)
Back Lock
The Maple Chaparral is the shizits.
The Native 5 is the perfect size and shape.
Mule Team

Personal Dislikes
Any lock but Back Lock or Buried Liner Lock (CBBL and Bar Lock are just awkward and get in the way of grip. Compression lock is just waiting for a wrong twist angle to release. Frame lock just plain makes it ugly and uncomfortable on one side. Only one lock did not fail in testing Back Lock, broke the blade first.)
Linerless
Lightweight
And even worse Riveted Lightweight (Cannot clean and lube) However, I can fix it to screw in just a few minutes.

[Wartstein]

....

... Only one lock did not fail in testing Back Lock, broke the blade first.)
.....

The backlock is my favorite locktype, and I think it is a really strong one (that said: I think all lock types Spyderco does are more than strong enough)

I think though you are referring to this Blade HQ vid about lock strengthes, where the backlock gets tested at around minute 11:00 https://youtu.be/ERxHUXAFVs4?t=663

Sorry to say this, but actually an astonishingly bad design of that test: Look at the screenshot below, the noose around the handle is placed so that the lock bar just can`t move, so the lock actually can not give way to the tractive and so in the end the blade has to break (in other words: This is no lock strength test, since the lock itself gets blocked by the test design... )

[TTFulltimer]

....

... Only one lock did not fail in testing Back Lock, broke the blade first.)
.....

The backlock is my favorite locktype, and I think it is a really strong one (that said: I think all lock types Spyderco does are more than strong enough)

I think though you are referring to this Blade HQ vid about lock strengthes, where the backlock gets tested at around minute 11:00 https://youtu.be/ERxHUXAFVs4?t=663

Sorry to say this, but actually an astonishingly bad design of that test: Look at the screenshot below, the noose around the handle is placed so that the lock bar just can`t move, so the lock actually can not give way to the tractive and so in the end the blade has to break (in other words: This is no lock strength test, since the lock itself gets blocked by the test design... )

Sorry to say this but the cable is behind the pivot (that tiny little hole in the FRN) and if the scales deform at all the lock is actually being actuated by the cable to open. Draw your own free body diagram to see where the forces are being applied to the handle.

[Wartstein]

....

... Only one lock did not fail in testing Back Lock, broke the blade first.)
.....

The backlock is my favorite locktype, and I think it is a really strong one (that said: I think all lock types Spyderco does are more than strong enough)

I think though you are referring to this Blade HQ vid about lock strengthes, where the backlock gets tested at around minute 11:00 https://youtu.be/ERxHUXAFVs4?t=663

Sorry to say this, but actually an astonishingly bad design of that test: Look at the screenshot below, the noose around the handle is placed so that the lock bar just can`t move, so the lock actually can not give way to the tractive and so in the end the blade has to break (in other words: This is no lock strength test, since the lock itself gets blocked by the test design... )

...

Sorry to say this but the cable is behind the pivot (that tiny little hole in the FRN) and if the scales deform at all the lock is actually being actuated by the cable to open. Draw your own free body diagram to see where the forces are being applied to the handle.

Hmmm... you might have a point here!
Could be that after all I am astonishingly silly, and not the test design...

Still, I´ll have to think this through... after all unlike to all other locktypes with the backlock the test design DOES actually interfere with the actual lock activation mechanism, in whatever way

[James Y]

I care less about the 'brute strength' of a lock and more about its safety and reliability during use. Most of those 'lock strength' tests do not replicate the actual forces that any reasonable person would put on a pocketknife. If you plan to, then you need a fixed blade (or better yet, a crowbar).

I used a single slipjoint SAK as my only EDC pocketknife for over a decade, from the mid-'80s to the late '90s. I used that knife for every pocketknife task, and never had it close on me. And yet, that knife would have failed any 'lock test' 100% of the time.

Blade locks are a great additional safety device, but are no replacement for common sense and care in handling knives.

Jim

[Wartstein]

I care less about the 'brute strength' of a lock and more about its safety and reliability during use. Most of those 'lock strength' tests do not replicate the actual forces that any reasonable person would put on a pocketknife. If you plan to, then you need a fixed blade (or better yet, a crowbar).

I used a single slipjoint SAK as my only EDC pocketknife for over a decade, from the mid-'80s to the late '90s. I used that knife for every pocketknife task, and never had it close on me. And yet, that knife would have failed any 'lock test' 100% of the time.

Jim

Jim, you know that I am with you 100%.
My reply to TT Fulltimer was just out of theoretical / technical interest and has no practical value (for me).

Said if (quite often) before: From a practical point of view I find even any Spyderco linerlock easily strong enough, though one could argue that technically this is the "weakest" of the main locktypes they are using.