Comparison of Three Small Compression Lock Folders

[RamZar]

You now have a choice of three small Compression Lock folders all with 2.9"-3.0" blades of S30V and either G-10 or CF/G-10 scales.

• Para3 (USA): $119.97
• Sage5 (Taiwan): $137.97
• Lil Temperance3 (Japan): $191.97

Am I the only who thinks the price of Japanese made G-10 folders are out of whack?!

[paladin]

Probably one of those market dollar : yen conversion things...

[Nate]

I hate to criticise because I know about the formulas, fixed margins, etc, and know Spyderco does their best to control costs, but it's hard to swallow. Disappointing too, because I'm interested in the Temperance, not to mention the Ouroboros...

It gets even weirder when the Caly 3 sprint is going to come in a shade under $130. :confused:

The Kiwi 4 is another one that I think is a super little edc, but I didn't pick one up until they were disco'd and available for ~60% off msrp.

[farnorthdan]

Saw that over at GPK while grabbing the S110V UKPK, I wanted to grab the Lil' Temp at the same time but just couldn't stomach that $191 price, I'll probably grab one eventually though, maybe I'll get lucky on the secondary.

[vivi]

I'd still take the Lil Temp out of all those because I prefer its design.

[ZrowsN1s]

Perhaps it costs extra to ship s30V to seki? I have noticed they seem a little higher priced this year, there are a few models I politely won't name that would have been a yes had they been a little less expensive. I'm a big fan of seki and I'll pay what it costs to keep buying models from there, I'll just have to be a little more selective until my next pay raise. It should be said the seki FRN models are the best value in the catalog imho.

[Joris Mo]

It's a shame, especially if it will mean that the Lil' Temp will be off the market again soon..
I'll get it anyway but do have to get the cash together first.

btw, Imagine an FRN version of this one, I wouldn't mind! :D

[Evil D]

I'm pretty sure I just saw Sal comment about knives becoming more expensive from Japan when G10 is involved, I can't remember what we were talking about and I don't think he gave much of an explanation. It's a bummer. There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

[bearfacedkiller]

The D'Allara, Opus, Chinook4 and Qball have me priced out too... The Police4 is a good value though? :confused:

[SG89]

There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

Which models?

[Evil D]

There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

Which models?

I'm talking about models I would​ "sacrifice" to make room for a Golden made Lil Temp. There are a few, and I don't expect everyone to agree but basically I'd rather have a less expensive Golden made Lil Temp than these models. For example, the P'kal, or maybe pull back some production of the variants of the Native/Para 2+3/Manix 2+XL to make room for something new. I can't imagine the demand for a digicam Para 2 is as high as a new Temp would be if it were priced $80 less than we're seeing it priced in Japan.

[SG89]

There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

Which models?

I'm talking about models I would​ "sacrifice" to make room for a Golden made Lil Temp. There are a few, and I don't expect everyone to agree but basically I'd rather have a less expensive Golden made Lil Temp than these models. For example, the P'kal, or maybe pull back some production of the variants of the Native/Para 2+3/Manix 2+XL to make room for something new. I can't imagine the demand for a digicam Para 2 is as high as a new Temp would be if it were priced $80 less than we're seeing it priced in Japan.

I agree with the ceremonial sacrificing lol.

[demoncase]

You now have a choice of three small Compression Lock folders all with 2.9"-3.0" blades of S30V and either G-10 or CF/G-10 scales.

Am I the only who thinks the price of Japanese made G-10 folders are out of whack?!

Exchange rate
Materials costs (Higher in Japan)
Labour rate (Higher in Japan)

[Nate]

You now have a choice of three small Compression Lock folders all with 2.9"-3.0" blades of S30V and either G-10 or CF/G-10 scales.

Am I the only who thinks the price of Japanese made G-10 folders are out of whack?!

Exchange rate
Materials costs (Higher in Japan)
Labour rate (Higher in Japan)

But somehow none of these apply to the Caly 3 sprint from Moki? Not saying they aren't factors, but it seems like there must be other considerations.

[Liquid Cobra]

You now have a choice of three small Compression Lock folders all with 2.9"-3.0" blades of S30V and either G-10 or CF/G-10 scales.

Am I the only who thinks the price of Japanese made G-10 folders are out of whack?!

Exchange rate
Materials costs (Higher in Japan)
Labour rate (Higher in Japan)

But somehow none of these apply to the Caly 3 sprint from Moki? Not saying they aren't factors, but it seems like there must be other considerations.

Maybe the Caly 3 is cheaper because they have the tooling to make it still. The others are new models.

That's just a guess btw.

[Nate]

Maybe the Caly 3 is cheaper because they have the tooling to make it still. The others are new models.

That's just a guess btw.

Yeah, fair point, you're probably right. 50% higher street price still seems like a big jump, but I guess in the big picture even $200 isn't that much for a folder anymore. I just need to figure out how much I want that 'lil Temp... Will probably ultimately depend on whether I score one of the Calys.

[dplafoll]

There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

Which models?

I'm talking about models I would​ "sacrifice" to make room for a Golden made Lil Temp. There are a few, and I don't expect everyone to agree but basically I'd rather have a less expensive Golden made Lil Temp than these models. For example, the P'kal, or maybe pull back some production of the variants of the Native/Para 2+3/Manix 2+XL to make room for something new. I can't imagine the demand for a digicam Para 2 is as high as a new Temp would be if it were priced $80 less than we're seeing it priced in Japan.

I know I've seen where Sal has talked about not doing this in order to maintain relationships with makers, especially in Japan where honor is very important. I think it would essentially be a grave insult to a maker if Spyderco moved production of a model away from Seki or Moki, especially if it was just to decrease the cost. That is likely a very large part of why Moki models are being discontinued even with good demand (Caly3); they're not able to fulfill Spyderco's needs right now, but Sal isn't going to take the Caly somewhere else either.

[Evil D]

There are models coming out of Golden that I would rather see discontinued to make room for production than ship it to Japan for this much of a cost increase.

Which models?

I'm talking about models I would​ "sacrifice" to make room for a Golden made Lil Temp. There are a few, and I don't expect everyone to agree but basically I'd rather have a less expensive Golden made Lil Temp than these models. For example, the P'kal, or maybe pull back some production of the variants of the Native/Para 2+3/Manix 2+XL to make room for something new. I can't imagine the demand for a digicam Para 2 is as high as a new Temp would be if it were priced $80 less than we're seeing it priced in Japan.

I know I've seen where Sal has talked about not doing this in order to maintain relationships with makers, especially in Japan where honor is very important. I think it would essentially be a grave insult to a maker if Spyderco moved production of a model away from Seki or Moki, especially if it was just to decrease the cost. That is likely a very large part of why Moki models are being discontinued even with good demand (Caly3); they're not able to fulfill Spyderco's needs right now, but Sal isn't going to take the Caly somewhere else either.

I get that and I don't​ expect them to move production, but if things could have been sorted out logistically maybe it could have always been a Golden model.

I think it's irrelevant at this point. It's on my radar either way.

[RamZar]

My Chinook2 and ATR from 2006 were both made in Golden. Of course, the upcoming Chinook4 and ATR2 are new designs. On the other hand, my Native II from 2000 was made in Japan.

The prices of Japanese made Spydercos with G-10 and liners are just not competitive and it affects their unit sales.

The Japanese makers of Spyderco should stick to just making FRN models with Japanese steel because those models provide good value.

[MattM68]

I usually don't mind the foreign made knives because they usually cost less than a US model when using comparable materials. A knife like the Delica or Endura are great quality, and high value. But when the Lil Temp and the new ATR cost almost $200 each, it seems a little too expensive. I got my 204P Domino for $209. That's a titanium framelock on ball bearings with 204P for a similar price. With that being said, I'll probably end up with both those knives because I missed the first gen versions. Wish the G10 Japanese blades were cheaper though