Saddened Over Lack of Spyderco Awareness in Society

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I hope none of you think I am joking because I am not. I love Spyderco Knives, and I sincerely wish there was a greater (positive) awareness of them in America and the world. I mean, there are already many websites that have them and stores that sell them, and there have been some used in movies, but, I wish more people understood how great they are, how top quality the steel and handle materials and designs of them are, and, I wish to see more books and periodicals devoted to discussing and teaching people about them.

I do not want to sound as if I am putting down people's interests, but honestly, I see alot of focus on things that appear to be nonsensical to me, and not enough focus on things such as Spyderco knives. I am thankful for the handful of good knife magazines that exist but there should be more. There ought to be more books such as an "Encyclopedia of Spyder Edges" or something like that, that has full color descriptions and detailed information about the Spyderco knives. What do you all think?

[jackknifeh]

I had never heard of Spyderco knives until I decided to buy one better knife than what I had used all my life. I knew of these brands or names: Case, Schrade/Old Timer, Buck, Gerber. I think I remember seeing a knife with the opening hole in a movie or something but I can't swear to that. I don't know why they aren't better known of but they sure are known about among anyone who even thinks about caring about knives. OTOH, maybe they are known about more but it was just me that hadn't heard of them. :)

Jack

[3rdGenRigger]

That and if someone who knows nothing about the materials/function of a knife wanders into a knife shop and sees a knife that's flashy looking and cheap, and for example a black FRN Spyderco like a Delica that's 3 times more expensive they'll likely go the cheap route. There's a reason that people who buy Spyderco knives tend to buy more than one...sometimes a lot more.

[Bill1170]

It is true. The unconventional appearance puts many off from trying Spyderco knives. Once one uses them, it's a different story. I love the "function first" ethos of Spyderco. The way I see it, it is okay that the whole world doesn't appreciate them. Those who are ready will appreciate Spydercos when they discover them.

[Evil D]

Eh, with that comes exclusivity, which some people pay big money for.

[jalcon]

I've noticed the same thing. My entire family hunts, has countless knives, guns. Never heard of Spyderco. Same with my coworkers. Many of them have edc knives and haven't heard if them. I'm like..what? How is that possible. Cold Steel and Benchmade seem to be what everyone considers - "the standard or best". Idk.

[Holland]

spyderco knives are expensive, and most of the models in the $50 zone look like there made out of cheap plastic material. whereas a buck knife is cheaper with high quality looking bolstered handles. People don't realize the benefits of the materials spyderco uses, and dont understand the concept of f&f. when ive showed non knife people at my construction job my knives, and tell them that there is zero bladeplay, they ask what i mean half the time haha.

[zhyla]

Most people don't care that much about knives. Nothing really wrong with that.

[gbelleh]

Para 2s are already hard enough to find as it is!

Yeah, we're a pretty small group. Most people really don't care much about knives. I used to be that way. I carried a cheap, dull Gerber for years, until I stumbled onto a Spyderco Tenacious. Then everything changed.

[eric m.]

I heard about them through word of mouth from a friend! We just have to speak out more! :D

[O,just,O]

The boys around these parts carry a knife for work purposes. They have a uniform of Wrangler pants worn up high, heeled riding boots, those red or blue pin stripe grazier shirts & an Akubra hat that is a pet. They wear a belt that doubles as a hobble set & on that belt is a knife pouch sown on in the horizontal left of centre. That pouch is made for Old Timer stockman type knives & that is what they have, because dad did & they fit the pouch.
It surprized me one day when one of these fella's pulled out a blunt Dragonfly & when I commented on it he told me that his Mr's has a pink Delica. He is the only bloke I have come across who carries a Spydie. One bloke had a Sharpmaker & some cheap knife so I gave him a Tenacious to get him started.
O.

[yablanowitz]

We tend to forget that Spyderco is not a large company. A week's production from Golden and all their contractors around the world put together would most likely fall short of a day's production for Victorinox. In terms of the total cutlery production of the world, Spyderco is a hobby shop.

We also tend to forget that in this day and age, the majority of the population has no real need for a knife in their day to day affairs. What little need they do have can be served by a $5 kitchen knife, and to that vast majority spending more than $10 on a knife is utter nonsense. They would much rather save their money for the latest iPhone so they can be cool.

[The Deacon]

I suspect there's only one knife company that might have "brand recognition" among the general public, and that's Ginsu. Even some of the folks who carry a "Swiss Army Knife" will get a blank look on their face if you mention Victorinox or Wenger.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Most people don't care that much about knives. Nothing really wrong with that.

I guess this is also part of my "beef" with this issue: Why are most people not interested in or don't care much about knives and edged tools/weapons? Is it the way our society is? Do you think people in the 1930s and before were more interested, or in the 1800s, or is this just the way most people are, except for those of us who are truly into them?

[wrdwrght]

Those who are ready will appreciate Spydercos when they discover them.

Just so.

[jalcon]

I guess this is also part of my "beef" with this issue: Why are most people not interested in or don't care much about knives and edged tools/weapons? Is it the way our society is? Do you think people in the 1930s and before were more interested, or in the 1800s, or is this just the way most people are, except for those of us who are truly into them?

Because the "do it yourself" working generation is dying. Gone are the days of 95% of people tinkering in their garage. Our society is wussifying as we speak, lol. As for weapons...I think firearms own that niche.

[TomAiello]

Because the "do it yourself" working generation is dying. Gone are the days of 95% of people tinkering in their garage.

I honestly think this is a big reason for many of the problems in our society.

90% of the adults I know (that includes me) can't do half the things that their parents could do.

My dad always seems to be able to fix anything, where I find myself resorting to finding that $.35 broken part for 5 bucks on ebay.

My wife constantly impresses me with her ability to sew clothes for the kids, cook every meal from scratch (seriously, when she makes french toast she starts by mixing up dough and baking bread for it). And that's working around her 60+ hr/week professional job (she's a doctor). I swear to god she's Mrs. Incredible.

I've often thought we needed to hand out a manual titled "the stuff your dad/mom could do" to everyone and make them learn to do all those things.

[phillipsted]

One of the cool things about Spyderco is that they seem to have really good placement in motion pictures and television programs. The list of Spydie Sightings on the forum here is pretty large - and this has a significant impact on brand recognition overall.

Still, it isn't on the same level as the soft drink and automobile product placements - these seem gratuitous and cheesy most of the time. Have you ever seen characters pick up a can of Coke in a movie and the label faces perfectly toward the camera? And on some cop shows, the only vehicles on the road appear to be Fords (or GMs)? You have to wonder how much Coke has to pay these guys for this exposure... :rolleyes:

TedP

[Syncharmony]

Because the "do it yourself" working generation is dying. Gone are the days of 95% of people tinkering in their garage. Our society is wussifying as we speak, lol. As for weapons...I think firearms own that niche.

I agree, but I also think that the internet has done a decent job of revitalizing it. The whole custom knife market is a perfect example since you have people who are starting in their garage with not much more than a grinder, some drills and sandpaper and turning out some pretty cool things. All that is possible due to the internet since they are then able to turn around and sell to a world-wide market place and eventually what starts as a small operation becomes something lucrative. It turns out that people love quality hand-made goods. Just look at a marketplace like etsy, it's a booming community for everything from clothes to jewelry and more, all supporting local craftspeople.

I think people want to tinker and people want to buy those tinkered goods. However, most people these days are raised to buy the cheapest and most easily produced goods available rather than shopping for something quality or just making it themselves. For example, sometimes we'll go to a local farm or farmers market to buy beef or eggs and when people find out that my girlfriend and I do this, they look at us like we're crazy for not just buying it from stop and shop. The idea of spending more time or effort to get something better is alien to a lot of people these days.

[bearfacedkiller]

I live 12 miles away from Golden. Awareness is pretty high! :)

Most people just don't seem to care about the quality of their knives or where they are made. It makes me cringe but most of my coworkers carry total crap. Knife lovers are a small group and we forget that. A swiss army knife, a leatherman or some mediocre quality folder is about the best I will usually see from the general public. Most people couldn't even tell you what steel their knife is made out of. Let us not forget that a lot of the general public will carry a knife around forever with the factory edge on it because they can't sharpen it. People know I can sharpen and they ask me to touch up knives sometimes. It blows my mind that someone can have a knife in their kitchen for years without sharpening it but it happens all the time. I try to educate people all the time but am again reminded that we are a small group.