Spyderco Forums

I found Spyderco in the early 2000's. It was Benchmade of all things that led me here.

I lived near a really nice, locally owned camping store at the time. I'd go in there frequently looking at general camping supplies.

Of course I'd always look at their knives. I'd glance at all the high dollar stuff like the $40 Smith & Wesson folders and think about how awesome they looked, and how I'd like to own one some day. I stuck to $10-20 Swiss Army Knives.

One day two display cases caught my eye. One was full of Surefire lights, and I was wondering why anyone would pay $200 for a flashlight. The other was full of Benchmades, and I wondered why anyone would pay $200 for a knife.

So of course I had to check them out. Asked the clerk if I could check out a Benchmade. So he comes over and I ask to see the 635 Mini-Skirmish.

The clerk handed it to me and I opened it, held it for about 3 seconds, then I gave it back and went home.

That was all it took. I was hooked. In those ~5 seconds I felt a night and day difference between what I held and what I owned. My gas station knives felt like toys in comparison.

So I go home and research knives on my PC. I still wasn't ready to shell out $200 for a knife, so I spent a long time researching Benchmades red class knives. I was considering a Pika or Monochrome as my new knife. They looked like a significant step up from my current knives, but had a price that was easier to swallow.

However, the Spyderco Delica was the #1 recommended knife on the discussion boards I visited, so I decided to try it out. After doing research comparing the Delica and the Pika, I was convinced the Delica 4 was better because the steel liners made it more rigid, and Spyderco seemed to be the "original."

Returning to the camping store, I ask the clerk for a Spyderco Delica, buy it and leave.

I ended up not liking the knife. The saber grind didn't cut as well as my swiss army knives which dissapointed me, and the handle was too small for me. I was unaware of the Endura at the time. I had purchased the Delica without ever touching it because I felt certain it was a sure thing with all the suggestions I got. Lesson learned.

Back to my PC for more research. What's a bigger Spyderco with better cutting geometry, I asked?

Which led me to a 440V Military.

Which sold me on the brand.

It was nearly the same weight as my Delica despite the size. It fit my hand perfectly. The full flat grind cut much better. The action was the smoothest I had ever experienced in a knife. The blade steel was remarkable at holding an edge, and surprisingly tough too. And the G10! I had never experienced G10 anything back then!

The rest is history. What's your story?

Something similar and at the same time different.
I also was already knife infected and carried SAK for a long time. One day I decided that I want Leatherman and went to target to buy. I bought one and saw Gerbers on clearance. I didn't buy it to save money, but got seriously hooked. Started researching cutlery steels and found BladeForums. Bought Emerson Traveler and figure out that I will need to sharpen it, so I got Sharpmaker. That was 2005. S30V was super hot and expensive, except Spyderco Native, so it was only logical to buy. You have an idea on what happened after..........

Originally it was the Walmart Native that caught my attention. I carried that for a while and then shelved it. Then later (oddly enough) it was also Benchmade that brought me back because I was looking at a Minigrip that had he round hole and it reminded me of my Native, then I ended up with a Delica, then a Sage, then a Caly 3, and it was down hill from there.

You two are bringing back memories of my Wal-Mart Native.

Interesting thing about that knife is I sanded down the handle to resemble the shape they used with the Native 4 and 5, more rounded behind the second finger groove.

I always wondered if someone at Spyderco happened to see the pictures of it I posted here and if that had any influence on the Natives we have today.

I'm going to have to find my pictures of that and my old 440V Military. Every thread is better with pictures :D

A Paramilitary (the original) showed up in my mailbox. My brother had sent it to me. I was no stranger to the knife world, but this was my first Spyderco. It has seen a lot of use, with a couple regrinds with a belt sander.

Since then I have picked up a couple more Spydercos. Well, maybe more than a couple.

My uncle got me a tenacious for Christmas in 2008, so I was 12. I cut the heck outta my thumb with it. Then I bought a endura and the rest is history.

In the mid 90’s before the internet, I had to rely on Smokey Mt Knife Works catalogs. I knew Spyderco was all the rage having a pocket clip and hole to open the knife. SMKW always was sold out of Spyderco’s as you had to call them to place an order. I knew someone who scored two ladybugs and he was generous enough to give me one. Wish I still had that blue ladybug now.

I’ve very new to Spyderco, just a couple years in. I always carried a cheap SOG or Kershaw, and one day at work my coworker showed me his Tenacious that he had bought from Sal many years ago at a knife show in Alaska. Ever since I held the Tenacious, and thought how ingenious it was to have a hole to open the blade with, it was all downhill from their. My first was the Manix 2, and many more after that now. Spyderco just offers way more then any other manufacturer out their, hands down. A little something for everyone if you will.

Early 90's. My uncle bought two Delica clipits from a arms dealer friend and i reluctantly bought one off him. :) He thought it was time to put my Buck 110 and Schrade LB7's behind me and get on the new decade :D

After carrying a Benchmade 330 that I received as a gift for over a decade I picked up a Dragonfly and it dominated my pocket for years. I had well over a dozen knives of varying size and quality and probably only bought one per year, usually using a camping trip as an excuse. That was until I went to a knife shop on vacation and held a Sage1... After that the mailman and I became great friends :) I thought I had it bad then, but joining this forum escalated things greatly!

Vivi wrote:I found Spyderco in the early 2000's. It was Benchmade of all things that led me here.

One day two display cases caught my eye. One was full of Surefire lights

That's very interesting Vivi because you definitely have some parallels as to what drew me to Spyderco. It was all the way back to about 1994 and I was really getting into knives like I never had done before. I actually had a knife collection going all the way back to my 20s ( and I'm 63 now :rolleyes: ). And I myself had a couple of Benchmade knives before I ever got my first Spyder.

But I had noticed some Spyderco advertisements in BLADE and Tactical Knives magazines which I was subscribed to both of them at that time. I was told by a good buddy of mine if I wanted a premium serrated blade that Spyderco was the "Creme-de-le Creme" of all the serrated knives on the market. I also got ahold of one of Spyderco's catalogs and get interested.

However it wasn't until the Spring of 1995 when I finally pulled the trigger and got a Stainless Handled, GIN-1 Mariner model in Spyderedge. It was soon after that when I got a JD Smith and a few other Spyderco models. The Catcherman really won my heart as being a great hard use, utility, do-everything knife and as a result I own 8 of them at this time. My favorite being the full Spyderedged AUS-8 version of the Catcherman.

But the overwhelming quality and great service I got from Spyderco really sold me and the rest is history as you said

I received a Gen 1 SE Delica as a gift in the 90's, which replaced the 80's Al Mar Talon I'd been pocket carrying. The belt clip was no less revolutionary as the Spydie hole.

The Delica has thousands of sea miles under its belt, including countless trips to and fro across the Molokai channel. The Falcon Talon rode in my tool belt for over 30 yr. Still have both.

I was into wrist watches and watched the youtube channel The Urban Gentry. And one of his unboxings he showed a knife that Epic Snuggle Bunny gave him. It was a Spyderco Sage 1. I thought man, thats a cool looking knife. Then I found out about spydercos, then I found out about sprint spydercos. Now I have like 15 Spydercos. Lol. I love them all. I feel like I have too many to use and evaluate at the time. Spyderco puts out way too many for me to keep up.

I was in a local gun store and saw a beautiful Viele model back in the 90's. I had to have it. However, those scales were very slippery and there was not even a hint of a guard. That was the sharpest knife from the factory I had ever seen, too. One day, not long after I bought it I was using it and my hand slipped and my finger found that sharp blade. So, I packed it up, went back to that store and traded it in for a Benchmade. I was happy with Benchmade and bought a few, but the steel was run soft. I was in a city that had a 3 inch blade length law and Benchmade knives strive for that ridiculous blade handle ratio. I started carrying a Kershaw Leek in my pocket but the thing kept opening on me. I started looking for something the same size and found the Spyderco Caly3 and that was it. That knife is the same size as a Leek and a better knife. So, I started looking for replacements for my Mini Griptilian because the handle was too small for my XXL hands and I looked again to Spyderco and found the Delica. The first time I picked up a Delica my hand said, "Aahhh!" It was perfect. I have not used nor bought a Benchmade since, except for a cheap Lone Wolf in N680 I use for salt water. Spyderco is my brand, no doubt. It is like Spyderco designs knives just for me the fit so well in my hand.

An angel came to me in a dream, he blasted the most beautiful brass trumpet I had ever seen. It was glorious. The sound was so loud I thought my ear drums would explode. When he stopped all I could hear was ringing. Then clear as day I heard the names Sal & Eric Glesser whispered in a soothing angelic voice.

Seriously thou, YouTube. Drove over to GPKNIVES and looked at them. They tried to convince me to buy a PM2 but the beautiful blue of the translucent Manix 2 lightweight called to me. One week later I was back to buy the PM2 as well.

My first purchase was the Sharpmaker. Shortly after was a Tenacious. (1st Spyderco Knife)

My dad told me a story about a knife used by the USAF to cut lines of cargo that had failed to release out of the back of a plane. I figured a knife by that company would probably be good enough for me! lol.

Work. I was (and still am) apt to crawl around old, some really really old, timber roof structures checking for defects and needed an extra hand or two, using a SAK whilst holding on, trying to not let it fold on my fingers as I dug around into centuries old oak.

I ordered a little B***r fixed blade but it was crap. Realising I should probably read the reviews BEFORE ordering, those I read sang the praises of an odd looking, one hand opening folder that was waaay too much money for someone used to Victorinox and Opinel. I bought that sabre ground Delica anyway and was blown away by its quality & functionality. I still carry it everyday.

For me, it was watching a Nutnfancy video on youtube. He was reviewing an orange dragonfly...
A week later, I was the owner of an orange vg-10 dragonfly!! (1st Spyderco)

Some two years ago, I thought I lost a knife I carried for almost 20 years, Gerber Mini Covert. Decided to research my next knife.

I spent more time than I care to admit, watching YouTube, looking over the forums, reading reviews. All to buy my next knife. It came down to two knives - PM2 and BM 940. PM2 DLC S30V won the contest. I was floored when I first got it and opened it. It was almost like kissing a girl for the first time :D . I did eventually did get the BM 940 I wanted. But it hasn't changed anything. :spyder: still rules my world.