Spyderco Forums

Hi guys,

I'm seriously thinking about buying my first Spyderco and wanted to know why YOU like Spyderco knives. Even a "cheap" one like Delica is a pretty significant knife purchase for me, most of my knives are Kershaw or CRKT so I usually don't spend over $50 on a knife.

So, what convinced you to buy a Spyderco? What DON'T you like about them?

How Do jaypuck!
Simply stated: quality, bang for your buck, integrity, time proven products, customer-service, and last bit not least; the Spyderco folks are **** nice people.

Welcome to the forum jaypuck!

Like you I used to think anything over $50 for a knife was expensive. However, you get what you pay for, as the saying goes: and this certainly applies to Spyderco products. They may seem pricey at first but after you've owned, handled, and used one, you'll realize they're worth it.

What initially drew me to Spyderco was the huge variety steels they use. This, plus the designs and the quality, and the outstanding community here on the forum, keeps me a loyal customer.

I\m an older guy, with hands that don't work as well as they use to. The round hole opener is what brought me to Spyderco back in '03 as I found it much easier to use than any other opening system I'd tried. The quality of their knives, and the responsiveness of Sal Glesser, the company's founder, made sticking with Spyderco knives an easy decision and are the reason now own several hundred of them. Can't say there's anything I "don't like". I' have a strong preference for their midlock models over all other lock types and wish they made more of them, but understand that other lock types have strong followings too. I do miss the more elegant bolstered models that were made for them by Moki, but understand that times change and craftsmanship is among the skills that don't always flow from one generation to the next.

It's all in my Signature. In addition I will Add the Owner and founder Sal and the employees of Spyderco. I have had zero interaction with Eric but when I see him in the videos I feel he is a happy nice fellow I would like to meet one day.

I've never held a Spyderco and thought, "Man, this is a cheap piece of junk."

In other words, every single example I've owned has been of very high quality. I've held very expensive models from other makers that felt like $5 gas station throwaway knives.

The spydie hole and wire clip hooked me

I don't really know what to say here - I'll defer to the opinion of my hands.

My hands say "WE LOVE SPYDERCO"



(in short, ergonomics and comfort, especially during extended use)

Spyderco makes a knife for just about anyone. Different locks, slipjoints, handle size and shapes, thumb ramps, no thumbramp, bearings, washers, flippers, choils, no choils, you name it. One of my favourite things about Spyderco is all the steels they use! Cruwear being my fav!
Then, if you find a knife you like but perhaps don’t like the scale material or clip, or just want to make it more personalized there is a large aftermarket for Spydies too!
My biggest dislike would be wire clips. They dig in to my hand and move around too much. Others seem to love the wire clip however.

The round hole opener is better than any other system in every functional way. It leads to wider blade profiles in many cases, but that's never been a problem for me (and typically makes for better slicing.) I take thumb studs off of my non-Spyderco knives if I can come up with another way to open them. Flippers are OK, but the hole is still more versatile.

The fact that Spyderco's ergonomics, cutting angles and so forth are carefully thought out makes it hard for me to look elsewhere.

Spyderco also pioneered large-but-thin blades that are good slicers. There are other brands that make good slicers sometimes, too, but I can count on Spyderco to come out with grinds that are better than average.

The compression lock is also superior in every way to the cheap liner and framelocks that currently plague the industry. That said, Spyderco knows how to make good liner locks and frame locks too. It would be nice if Spyderco's amazing locks were easy to make cheaply, but the other things I love about a Spyderco compression lock knife are often missing from cheap liner lock knives anyhow.

Plenty of other companies are now using really nice steel, fancy handle materials and machining, and interesting patterns from rock-star designers. These things used to be pretty unique to Spyderco, but now everybody gets to play the game.

Other companies have now perfected the ball-bearing flipper to the point where a nearly flawless flipper is now a commodity item. That's a good thing for all of us, I think. It makes Spyderco's core competencies more important to my reasons for still buying their knives and watching the company's every move.

1. The Spyderhole is the best opening mechanism without question
2. Very ergonomic and useful knife designs
3. Reliable and durable knives - I've owned dozens of Spyderco knives and have never had to utilize their warranty/repair (I bought another knife brand recently and had to contact their warranty department twice in a 10-month period to replace the clip and then replace the locking spring mechanism which broke).
4. lots of innovation and new steels in knife designs I love

Steel selection, full flat grinds, spydie hole, and intentions behind design.

You see that bug in the logo ... you had better watch out for it ... it will bite you!!! ... and "oh no" just one Spyderco knife won't do. :D

I always passed over Spyderco as I was put off by their goofy/ugly appearance ... and much preferred and stayed to traditional looking knives. Finally broke down and gave one a try ... think it was the one hand opening that appealed to me and having a pocket clip. Lots of modern folders to go with but thought I liked the thumb hole better than the thumb stud and liked the thought of supporting local business.

Didn't take long and found I was liking that little Spyderco I had purchased but thought it a bit too small and purchased a second slightly bigger model (enter the "Delica 4").

Over the years I discovered how functional, lasting, and well thought out and made Spydercos are; and warmed up to the odd appearance (which I now find kinda' attractive and cool!). Also like what I have learned about the Spyderco company, the people, and how they operate and conduct their business.

Now about 20 years later ... lots of Spyderco has piled up here; there are 14 Delica 4, 4 Para Military 2, 2 Stretch 1 & 2, 2 Native 5. All are wonderful but to this day the Delica 4 has remained my favorite.

CG

I tried one because Spyderco was cheaper than the other guys for similar specs (well, they were, 15 years ago!). After that first one I just noticed they cut better, felt better, and carried better than everything else on the market.

Every once in awhile I buy something from another maker that the IKC is in a frenzy about, but I always come back to Spyderco. The company that Sal built just makes knives that I find enjoyable to own, safe to rely on, and more effective to use.

The Delica is a great knife but it took me 10 years and dozens of other knives to appreciate just how good it is. Some of the other Spydercos like the PM2 are a lot less subtle but no less impressive. Recently I've been exploring the Byrd lineup and I've come to believe that these budget knives are just as refined, although manufactured a little rougher around the edges.

jaypuck wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:04 pm

I usually don't spend over $50 on a knife

There's a lot of variation in disposable income in the world. Some people here could probably spend $100/week on knives without feeling it, but others might save for months for a $100 knife.

It think most people in the U.S. can afford to own one $100 knife. A Spyderco will last you the rest of your life, so that's like $1/year. But to own dozens of knives Spyderco's are pretty expensive.

They are different. Ergonomics seems to be #1 design criteria. They have wire clip, compression lock, laminated g10/cf, hole, frn pattern, steel choice.
My gripe is you cannot buy a new blade for $25 like bm and zt.

Wow, thanks for the responses and welcome, guys. I love that a lot of what you guys pointed out are what turned me off spyderco in the past and yet here you are praising them. I've never read about sal's design theory, but I like what I'm reading. I'll go ahead and get the one I've been eyeing, ya'll convinced me it's at least worth trying!

Great products, listens to customer feedback and requests, collaborates with enthusiasts/designers, direct communication with customers here on the forum. It's hard to ask much more from a company.

Because I trust the people who make them, they have proven to be dedicated to quality above all other factors.

I'd rather pay more and support a team of people who care about me as a consumer, versus less for a product that was made with profit being the only concern.

What do I not like about them? That I don't work there :P

Fish and hunt and there is no better way to open a knife on a rocking boat with a fish or fishing rod in one hand than Spyderco’s round hole..
Folders are safer than fixed blades on a boat....

Add the plethora of choice in styles and steels

Have other knives but Spyderco’s dominate my collection of knives I use

Start with a para 3 you will understand all