Favorite Pre-2005 Spyderco Model?

[Archimedes]

The Military of course.

I was a big fan of the Lil Temp back in the day. It was such a cool knife and such a departure in design from so many knives I had grown up with like the Buck 110. It just was all function. I still carry my SE Lil Temp.

[JD Spydo]

I'm going to go with the J D Smith, but am also cheating a little because the 2009 G10 sprint is my very favorite, I do like the micarta also though.

Farnorthdan: That's an excellent pick from the "GOLDEN ERA of Spyders ( 1998-2003). The JD Smith is probably the very first elegant Spyder I was ever exposed to in the late 90s. It's been in my all time JD's Top 10 for many years now.

Euphorbioid: The C-34 Jess Horn is truly one of the older of the OLD SCHOOL Spyders. Jess Horn's collaborations probably had a lot to do with the transition that Spyderco had during the late 90s/early 2000s. great pick!

KungFu: The Divers Probe is one model that even a lot of avid Spyderco collectors don't even know much about. I've only ever seen one in person and I've only ever known one friend that owned one. That model has the potential of being one of Spyderco's rarest collector pieces.

Jabba359: The Q model is a really interesting pick from many different perspectives. Mainly because there were so many variations of that model. I doubt if there is any other Spyder that has that many variants. The solid blade Q models are also some of the rarest Spyders out there.

AbleDog: You've really hit one very close to my own heart The C-50 Centofante is one of my all time favorites as well because it reminds me of the Boguszewski Spike model. Of all the Spyders I would like to see in a Sprint run it ranks in the top 3. But I was told that all the tooling for that model was eliminated long ago. For that reason it's going to be one of the hardest of the OLD School Spyders to get your hands on.

Spydernut: The STARMATE never was a personal favorite of mine per se but it is a big favorite among many of the long term forum members. Bob Terzuola like Jess Horn sure made Spyderco what they are today.

Clovisc: You and I tend to agree on a lot of models. It was your very timely suggestion that helped to give birth to the H-1 Spyderhawk>> and for that we are all very grateful. But your pick of the big C-54 Calypso model is huge. It is also one of my all time JD's Top 10. That knife was a megabeast in Spyderedge especially. Sure wish I could get my hands on one in SE.

Paladin: The Grey Caly Jr. was the very first Caly Jr. I ever owned. I didn't think it could be topped until I got the Burgundy Caly jr. with ZDP-189. But the Grey unit is very highly sought after to this day.

Mastiff: You also voted for the Caly Jr. That knife really baffles me because I thought for sure it would be one of their permanent models like the POLICE, ENDURA, DELICA ect. And as wanted as that knife is I can't understand why it didn't become a permanent model :confused:

EVIL D: You picked the D'Allara which I believe is one of their very best Spyderedged models of all time. Probably only the stainless RESCUE model is one of the few I like better. I'm surprised we haven't seen a Sprint Run of the D'Allara.

Archimedes: Oh yes my friend I remember the days when you were the ambassador of the Lil TEMPERANCE model :cool: And if they ever bring back the LIL T I hope that they don't change a thing. Because that was truly one model that they definitely got right the very first time. The Lil T is without a doubt Spyderco's "Pit Bull" folder. It was especially mean in Spyderedge :cool:

Great input guys but we haven't even scratched the surface yet. There are still many models we haven't yet touched on. But what a great start!!!

[flipe8]

I've been giving this a bit of thought, as there are a couple pre-2005 models I really like, but am gonna go with the C32 Spur. The size and blade shape just do it for me. I carried one for years and wish I still had it.

[Xplorer]

The Stretch (for one example) is a knife I still enjoy carrying today, and after all this time I don't ever see that changing.

I've been buying spyderco knives since I got my first Delica and my first Endura way back in 1991. But, I have been much more closely focused on Spyderco and everything Spyderco does in the past 10 years than I was in the beginning. JD Spydo, I'm curious...it seems from your subject question that there's something I'm missing...what is the significance of 2005 as your cut-off point?

Chad

[IG-88]

For me the greatest are:

C22 Walker CF
C15 Terzuola
C46 Bob Lum Ti
C55 Starmate
C41 Native Root Bear

And the single liner CF versions (Cricket CF, Harpy CF, Delica CF, Dragonfly CF, Police CF, Civilian CF)

[bh49]

In this order

C83 Persian
Jester
Shabaria
Dodo
ATR
Adventura
Worker
Centofante3
K04
Santoku
Paring knife

[NoFair]

I forgot 2 I use a lot; Lil'Temp (PE S60V) and FFG CE Catcherman.

[JD Spydo]

I've been giving this a bit of thought, as there are a couple pre-2005 models I really like, but am gonna go with the C32 Spur. The size and blade shape just do it for me. I carried one for years and wish I still had it.

That's a great selection "flipe8" because I've said many times that the SPUR model was a great design that literally got lost in the shuffle. I bet if they were to bring it back now it would sell very well. When you consider all of Spyderco's great small folders I do believe that the SPUR at least in my humble opinion would easily be in the Top 10 ( JD's for sure).

There were a lot of great models during that time period that just didn't get the exposure that the POLICE, ENDURA, DELICA and many of your other main line models got. I could name off at least 8 of them that got looked over just like the SPUR did unfortunately. It got lost in the shuffle in a similar manner as the C-54 big CALYPSO model did

That SPUR model is getting to be one of the hardest to find for collectors too. There was one Spyderco model that was like a second cousin to the SPUR and that is the MOUSE model.

[AlwaysTomboy]

Add my vote for the Calypso Jr. That was my first Spyderco and it got me hooked both on Spyderco and the Calypso/Caly product line. Navigator is near the top of my list, too. I liked the aesthetics of the it as soon as I saw it, but I didn't get around to actually getting one until after they'd been discontinued a few years. Totally one of my favs, though.

[Qcrazy]

Okay JD I'll jump in. I don't know what it is that draws me to these vintage Spydies too, other than maybe they were so new and so different than anything I had seen or carried before. They seemed to talk to me and nest in my hand like Sal had made them just for me. I waded in with both feet and wallet be damned after holding a Harpy a friend had. We jumped in the car and drove over to the old Spyderco Outlet in the Applewood Shopping Center. Once there I picked out a closeout Meerkat at a great price. The phantom lock hooked me and sent me into a fetish for different. I grabbed everything out of the ordinary, Dodo, Yojimbo, Q, Poliwog, R, Navigator, Co-Pilot, then collaborations from Goddard, Viele, Horn, Wegner, Centofante and Walker. I also drifted into other manufacturers Kershaw for the Onion series for that snap you get when the assist throws that blade into place. CRKT for their oddities the Snap Lock, Snap Fire, and others.
As you can see I migrate more toward the smaller or different knives though that didn't keep me from collecting some of the larger ones. I carried a rescue for years on the job and was happy to have it on many occasions. Though once off the clock it was always a LBK.
I still grab some of the new knives that Spyderco makes. The ones I just can't let pass. I don't know if my interests have waned a bit or what's coming out is just not novel enough to spur my addiction, but my buying has slowed.
You know if you'd just added one more year to your parameter we'd have been able to add the Captain and Lava, another two of my favorites.

[Manixguy@1994]

Hello Joe , have to be my large Dyad and Mr. Merlin !

[JD Spydo]

Hello Joe , have to be my large Dyad and Mr. Merlin !

The larger C-44 Dyad has been on my personal JD's Top 10 for at least 8 to 10 years now. I've EDCed mine over the years several times and I still carry it on certain occasions. I've gotten so hooked on this M390 Military in the past year>> it's as though this C-36 Military is a completely new and different model all the way around. Yes M390 has become one of my very favorite blade steels for everyday usage.

Oh how I would love a C-44 Dyad, C-60 Ayoob, JD Smith and even a big C-54 Calypso all in M390 as well. If you're the same Manixguy that used to be here back in the old days then Brother I want to welcome you back :) .

Speaking of the Manix model I'm sort of surprised that someone hasn't chimed in with the first of the Manix models. I believe it was 05 or 06 when Eric Glesser dropped that great model on the main line up. The C-44 Dyad is truly a gem among old school Spyders.

[Manixguy@1994]

Yeah Joe it's the original Manix Guy , had to change everything a while back could not log on under old name . It's been awhile since I have been on the Forum good to see some old names . I have both of the first Manix knives and still carry them and always will they are bad pocket panzers . I tend to carry a PM2 CF S90 and my gifted lefty Military the most with the G10 Police a close second as primary .

[JD Spydo]

Yeah Joe it's the original Manix Guy , had to change everything a while back could not log on under old name . It's been awhile since I have been on the Forum good to see some old names . I have both of the first Manix knives and still carry them and always will they are bad pocket panzers . I tend to carry a PM2 CF S90 and my gifted lefty Military the most with the G10 Police a close second as primary .

Yeah I know what you mean>> because a couple of the old gang that came back couldn't remember their passwords and had to re-register is new names as well. Archimedes for instance used to be Worker#9 back in the good ol' days.

Also I'm very happy to hear that you still have Mr. Merlin :D That's just really cool :cool: I had a chance recently to snag one of the very rare VG-10 Merlin models and I passed it up like a fool :o

I wish they would bring back the Merlin and use it to introduce these new super blade steels just like they do with the C-36 Military model. I also hear you loud and clear on the original ATS-55, G-10 POLICE model. That truly was a great Pre-2005 model along with it's little brother we knew as the ROOKIE model. And I'm sort of surprised that no one has mentioned the ROOKIE much :confused:

But it's great to have you back my friend. Our old buddy Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Daywalker and some of the others have shown up after a long absence. But you got some catching up to do buddy so it's good to see you back :)

[JD Spydo]

I just noticed that there is one big void in this thread :confused: there is hardly no mention of the great fixed blade Spyders of that era. And there were a lot of them converge on the scene at that time. For my pal ZENHERETIC and our good Doctor Snubnose there was the original RONIN model. There was also the SPOT, PERRIN and the best one of all time in my humble opinion which is the original TEMPERANCE 1 model.

Spyderco has done so well over the years with their great fixed blades and that era is really the base in which they were successfully launched into the market place. Many of those older Spyderco fixed blade models set the stage for many of the recent, well loved models we have at this time on the main line up.

So what gives? Why are Spyderco's early fixed blades being overlooked :confused: ?

[MarcusH]

I love your GOLDEN AGE threads, Joe!
Even after a few months absence from the forums.

A lot of the great Spydies from the past were already mentioned. But two of my top 10 are missing, the Shabaria and the Zowada.
The second production variant of the Zowada is probably my most carried knife of the last five years. The last two years since retiring from knife collecting I carried the C56 in VG-10 almost exclusively with short interruptions for the Calypso jr. micarta.

old pic, probably well known. :)

[Blade and Flame]

C22 Michael Walker. I'd absolutely love to see a new version or sprint run in a PM steel. The size, blade shape, and light weight of the Michael Walker design is just great as an EDC. Give it a deep carry wire clip and it would be perfect.

[JD Spydo]

I love your GOLDEN AGE threads, Joe!
Even after a few months absence from the forums.

A lot of the great Spydies from the past were already mentioned. But two of my top 10 are missing, the Shabaria and the Zowada.
The second production variant of the Zowada is probably my most carried knife of the last five years. The last two years since retiring from knife collecting I carried the C56 in VG-10 almost exclusively with short interruptions for the Calypso jr. micarta.

Hey Brother Marcus!! :) Good to see you back again I haven't seen a pic of a Shabaria model in quite some time. And that ZOWADA is one that's been on my JD's Top 10 list for quite some time. It's another old school model that I feel got overlooked and under-appreciated. It's really getting tough to find any of the ZOWADA models at all much less to try to find one in VG-10. I too love those "spear point" blades a lot.

Yeah and that Micarta Caly Jr. is getting to be about as rare as "hen's tooth" as well. If they ever were to do a Sprint Run of the Caly Jr. then I wish they would do it with a Micarta or Carbon Fiber handle. Old School Spyders just can't be beat :cool: You and I both know it for sure

[bh49]

Great picture. Thank you for sharing.

[Halfneck]

Spyderco Jot Singh Khalsa

Lil Temperance

Chinook 1


Edit: Just want to add that I'd love to see Spyderco use that fishscale FRN pattern in more knives.