Spyderco Forums

You are tasked with creating a knife to honor Sal Glesser- what design would you come up with?

I like this idea. Would this be for a birthday gift for Sal?

As for designs, I'd probably lean toward something Stretch-like, but with a modified blade (as found on the last model at the bottom of tap78's list, below). Maybe add the refined back-lock from the Native5. For blade steel, I'd go with ZDP-189, Super Blue, or even 52100. For handle material, I'd say zirconium bolsters, titanium liners, and African Snakewood scales.

tap78 wrote:I did once a comparison of a different blade shape for stretch...Thats my prototypes created in photoshop...original photo credited to GARY (http://www.garysdigitalphotography.com)

Wow, that sheepsfoot blade on the top 5 above is amazing. I would love to see that blade in a production Spyderco.

The Caly 4

The Spyderco Worker II.

To this day it's a design with a lot of potential.
A new and improved version with different bladesteel, maybe a little bit larger, fine tuned ergo's and a fancy handle material. Ti bolsters with ironwood/burl or something :)

Stuart Ackerman wrote:The Caly 4

I like the sound of that. For Sal it has to be a backlock. I wonder what a wharnie Caly 3 would be like with bolsters

Military 2 with a refined shorter handle and tip up/down carry holes.Let's not forget the blade steel: K390 of course.Sal deserves the best.

I like the blade styles of 2,3,4 from the bottom as they are classic Sal styles. Take a blade like that at 3.5" and put it in a Native 5 frame and handle.

Or, a PM4, 3.5" drop point blade like 4 from the bottom. Make the scales out of CTec or some modern interesting material.

Another idea would be a Manbug 2. It should have bolsters, dark gray or dark indigo blue G10 scales, and a 2.4" blade in the same Manbug style. The ultimate pocket knife.

I'd do just what he does and ask for his input.

Jazz wrote:I'd do just what he does and ask for his input.

Sounds like a good plan. He does a great job of honoring himself and his company everyday with his designs and the way he conducts himself.

I would have to go with a design that completely and totally replicates the Titanium Chaparral, which I personally feel is Sal's greatest design and one which I could not improve upon. A great little knife all around and a tribute to the designer himself. Also my personal choice in a pocketknife.

Pm2. Full ti frame lock, fluted scales, blade shape like the stretch, S110V steel.

Stuart Ackerman wrote:The Caly 4

+1
Caly 3.5 blade, stretch handle slightly contoured, low riding wire clip = almost perfection

I'd check with Eric. I'm sure Sal gets an extra smile whenever he sees Eric's designer mark on a Spyderco. Especially one designed specifically for him.

Caly 3.5 –– with all of Sal's (unspoken) favorite materials –– might do the trick too.

bh49 wrote:

Stuart Ackerman wrote:The Caly 4

+1
Caly 3.5 blade, stretch handle slightly contoured, low riding wire clip = almost perfection

I like this a lot, along with many of the other ideas!

Military might be another great platform, which I have often seen Sal mention...



I can't help but think of how Sal is a modest man from what I can tell (having never met him), though, and may not ever ask for such a thing...

To me, every knife that has ever graced the Spyderco line-up has been in honor of Mr. Sal Glesser! :spyder:

I think I'd go personal, figuring if he wanted it, he'd have made it already. So I'd probably go with a mule of some sort, and try to make some really cool 1 off scales, ( I stress the "try" only made 4 so far...getting better..) but if it were to be a production knife, it would have to be the ULTIMATE Spydie so it would be very much like the Nirvana, but I'd have to think of some way to make it better..that would be the hard part.

I'm pretty sure the manbug was designed as his pet project, although now that i think about it, it doesn't have his signature.

My pick would by a caly 3 and chaparral type cross. A three inch blade with the awesome ergos of the caly 3, but the thinner grind and pin-style backlock of the chaparral. Maybe in something in a natural handle material like ebony or cocobolo, and s35vn

araneae wrote:I'm pretty sure the manbug was designed as his pet project, although now that i think about it, it doesn't have his signature.

I'm not really sure when the Manbug was designed, only been a spyder nut for about 3 years, but I thought I saw somewhere on this forum that Sal didn't put a makers mark on his designs until Eric also started designing...it was assumed Sals unless a collaboration until that point.