Original Article below:
Warning! Long article and picture heavy.
This is my first attempt at a write-up of this kind. I want to spotlight the gem of a knife that the Spyderco C82 was. This really is not a review per-se since the D’Allara was reviewed and discussed plenty during its production and continues to be years after. Any comments or helpful feedback are welcome. I should not that any inaccuracies are mine, and mine alone.
It goes without saying but this is my absolute favorite knife (or really series of knives), and my only goal is to keep interest alive in this model. I am a Colorado native, and in living so close I visit the SFO whenever I can. I have always loved Spyderco knives and am very proud to have them here. As a veteran police officer I am also proud to patronize Spyderco, who has always treated first responders and the military with honor and respect. I have several friends who were officers around long enough ago that they bought Police knives (honest to goodness PIG models) from Mr. Glesser personally, in his first small shop, and even then he treated them well.
There are few knives in the Spyderco catalog, past or present, that have created so much positive interest, discussion, flat-out criticism, discontent and displeasure as the C82. The setting is just as important as the knife itself: The early 2000’s were a wonderful time for Spyderco design. We had more innovative designs, new knives and instant collectors than we really appreciated at the time (I believe). Knives such as the Salsa, Kiwi, Dodo, original Yojimbo, original Salt series, Jester, the two Balis…and a of course a little knife called Para Military all came out in the early 2000’s. Among these, in 2004, the Spyderco D’Allara was released. Initially it was released as a very special version featuring a detail of the World Trade Center towers, made out of WTC-recovered iron. I won’t discuss the World Trade Center knife too much here, information about the knife; its creation, materials, released numbers and the reason for its creation are well known and documented. I will say that I have seen some very proud owners of not only the WTC knife, but the accompanying plate of WTC iron from which the inserts were cut. This cutting was done by Joe Rodgers, of Rodgers Wire EDM Service in Arvada, Colorado from what I'm told. I don't know who or how these people recieved these plates, but that would also be something I would love to add to this collection someday. I have never seen one for sale, but seen then displayed at the WTC display at the SFO along with the larger WTC Iron there. I have heard they were given out to VIPs and the like.
The D’Allara was one of the first knives to feature the Spyderco-created ball bearing lock. Between the D’Allara and the Dodo knife, this new lock featured prominently in knife discussions and reviews at the time. The knife was heavily discussed when it was released. The first version was the rescue blade, which featured a rounded sheepfoot blade, fully serrated. This version went through several mold changes based on user and customer feedback. Initially, the bi-directional texturing (which is very similar to those still present on the Endura/Delica) covered the entire handle. Later generations featured an elongated concave oval in the center with less aggressive texturing. This was made to prevent the clip and handle from shredding a user’s pocket. I have only seen this first version with the full texture for sale a few time on the ‘bay but have never seen one in person (I would love to get my hands on one of these models, however, just to round out the collection). I believe by the time the drop point model was released this mold was no longer in use, thus not fully-texured DPs.
Changes were made to the handle dimensions along the way, including the cut-out for the ball-bearing lock and possibly the thickness of the handle scales themselves (although I don’t have a gen1 to measure so I can’t be sure of these). Many of these changes were specifically based on customer feedback. For a knife that was only produced for a few years, it solicited a large amount of feedback, both positive and negative. Many users said it was too big and wide to EDC. Some users lauded the ball-bearing lock as the strongest, easiest and most innovative knife lock ever created. This lock makes opening the knife smoother than any other lock I have ever felt. Others said it was impossible to use, not one-handed friendly and gimmicky. The sharpening choil in the drop point version’s blade was a major bone of contention for some users. There were not many aspects of these knives that someone either did not love or hate, and being the knife fans we are, both sides were discussed enthusiastically on the boards.
In his normal class act, Mr. Glesser openly asked for feedback on the knives several times on knife forums. In 2006 he started his own thread on the D’Allara asking specifically for feedback. He also detailed the multitude of changes previously mentioned, saying in part:
“The D'Allara mold has been modified 4 times, the clip tooling has been changed 3 times, the skeletonized liner has been changed twice, The blade has been modified 3 times......expensive modifications, all in an effort to develop the design concept to its most refined optimum performance level.” (Posted by Mr. Glesser in BF in 2006). Interestingly, the rescue models do not have a Spydie :spyder: on the blade, not even the WTC. The drop point does. I do not know the reason for this. There are a few other examples of Spyderco knives w/o the Spydie, but they are few.
The rescue blade was then accompanied with a beautiful drop point blade model in 2006. This drop point model had the same handle, and featured a very nice swedge along the top of the blade. The blade shape's drop point and curve is very reminiscent of many of the very early Spyderco models. It was offered in both PE and CE, although I have never seen a CE model in real life. For as long as I have been tracking them, I have never seen one for sale on the ‘bay either, and only one or two for sale or for trade on the boards. I don't know if they were even less popular sellers, or lower production numbers or people just are not selling them.
The rescue blade model (C82SBK) was produced from 2004-2006, and the DP blade (both PE and CE) C82PBK2/C82PSBK2 from 2006-2007. The initial MSRP was right around $80 for the rescue and $90 for the DP ($110 in 2007). I would gladly pay full retail for any of these now . I have watched these sell on the forums and the ‘bay for years now and seen them sell for as little as $60, all the way to several hundred (not including the WTC model). It seems to go with the mood of the times much more than the actual condition of the knife but current conditions seem to put a fair price for an excellent specimen with box at around $100-$150.
Although many loved the design, they were ultimately discontinued after only a few years of production. The World Trade Center version was only sold for two years as well (2004-2005) and sold for $225 (from what I’m told, I missed this run). After this, the WTC molds were destroyed but the leftover knives were kept in storage. In 2014 a group of WTC was made available again to the public for $400 (Where my WTC came from). For years, the WTC knife was my grail. They popped up on the ‘bay once in a while, but I have seen them sell for as much as $800 there and I was just not willing to pay that. I always promised myself that if I ever had the chance I would grab one for a reasonable price, and that happened in 2014. I could not be happier with this knife. As the pictures below will illustrate, the WTC knife is beautiful, and much more refined than the standard model. The blade steel was CPM S30V and made in Golden. The handle was a custom designed spider web mold, which I still find the most beautiful Spyderco handle I’ve ever seen. In the pictures below you can see the subtle differences between the WTC and the standard knife. The WTC knife has different serrations since it was made in Golden not Japan as the VG-10 SBK version was. The hardware also has a slightly different finish, which is particularly noticeable in the clip-screw, which is a matte-black compared to the shinier black of the Japanese model. All in all the WTC is more refined, and the love and care put into its design and assembly is noticeable. I would love to get my hands on another and have multiples (like many fans here do...I believe Deacon has three?) but the cost has always kept me back.
Fans of the D’Allara have celebrated it for being a “folding fixed-blade” knife. The blade, when opened and locked by the ball bearing meets solidly with the steel liners/backspacer and really did give the feeling that you were holding a fixed blade knife. The fullness and 3D shape of the handle fills your hand, and gives great grip and purchase for the knife’s intended use, particularly the rescue version. The complaints that the knife was too wide and thick have always made me scratch my head. My Assist is thicker than the C82, but the intended function of these knives is what drives this. Rescue knives are meant to be tough and hard. Often the user is wearing gloves, and needs to saw a lot of material rather than make precise cuts.
Although these knives were short-lived, they created much innovation and CQI from Spyderco. I suspect (but this is only my opinion) that Mr. Glesser was very fond of this model, and did everything he could to keep it relevant and sell well. Mr. Glesser has stated many times in various forums that he intends to revisit the knife one day when production schedules allow it. The sun never seems to set on a Spyderco model or idea either. We have seen the C01 come back in a sprint. We have seen Mr. Glesser’s 25+ year idea come to fruition in the functional but beautiful C06. The ball-bearing lock proved to be the parent idea of the caged ball-bearing lock which is now employed on several models including the hugely popular Manix line. It is because of this that I have hope that one day we will see the C82 revisited, and that is my true intention of this article. Although it may spark renewed interest (and make it harder for me to grab another one...or two off the forums or the ‘bay like I’d like to :D) I am still glad to spotlight this knife and keep the interest alive.
So if you like what you see, make your opinion known and ask Sal to find a way to get one of these lovelies back out. I'd be happy to test drive one and abuse it.
