How can we get more women interested in Spyderco knives?

[Doc Dan]

My wife says better colors is what she wants...peach, teal, etc. she likes simple and no bling. She also says small size is important because of women’s fashions, small purses, and small hands.

Update: my wife said she wishes someone had told her about rust proof steels and their benefits. Less care is attractive to her though she is not going into salt water.

She likes the yellow, orange, colors. Black is ok. Colors like teal, peach, etc. are better.

[steelcity16]

My wife says better colors is what she wants...peach, teal, etc. she likes simple and no bling. She also says small size is important because of women’s fashions, small purses, and small hands.

Update: my wife said she wishes someone had told her about rust proof steels and their benefits. Less care is attractive to her though she is not going into salt water.

She likes the yellow, orange, colors. Black is ok. Colors like teal, peach, etc. are better.

Agreed! This teal Dragonfly was perfect. I hope to see some Pink, Lavender, Peach, etc Dragonflies in the future with rust proof H1 and LC200N or other nearly rust proof steels.

[Doc Dan]

My wife says better colors is what she wants...peach, teal, etc. she likes simple and no bling. She also says small size is important because of women’s fashions, small purses, and small hands.

Update: my wife said she wishes someone had told her about rust proof steels and their benefits. Less care is attractive to her though she is not going into salt water.

She likes the yellow, orange, colors. Black is ok. Colors like teal, peach, etc. are better.

Agreed! This teal Dragonfly was perfect. I hope to see some Pink, Lavender, Peach, etc Dragonflies in the future with rust proof H1 and LC200N or other nearly rust proof steels.

Yeah, I think lavender, teal, peach, and etc colors with H1 and LC200N steel marketed as requiring less care is a missed marketing opportunity for Spyderco. My wife is also adamant that the Dragonfly and other small baclock knives are the best choices, overall.

[JuPaul]

My wife says better colors is what she wants...peach, teal, etc. she likes simple and no bling. She also says small size is important because of women’s fashions, small purses, and small hands.

Update: my wife said she wishes someone had told her about rust proof steels and their benefits. Less care is attractive to her though she is not going into salt water.

She likes the yellow, orange, colors. Black is ok. Colors like teal, peach, etc. are better.

Agreed! This teal Dragonfly was perfect. I hope to see some Pink, Lavender, Peach, etc Dragonflies in the future with rust proof H1 and LC200N or other nearly rust proof steels.

Yeah, I think lavender, teal, peach, and etc colors with H1 and LC200N steel marketed as requiring less care is a missed marketing opportunity for Spyderco. My wife is also adamant that the Dragonfly and other small baclock knives are the best choices, overall.

Yes to all of the above. Backlocks are awesome- they're easy to reach with smaller hands and they don't tear up your thumb nail like liner locks. Plus someone with small hands can reach it even on a longer knife. I have one BM knife - the green 940 - and while the axis lock might be sweet on a shorter handle, it's awkward for me to reach. So I keep it as a gift for my son someday.

As for size, small and medium knives are perfect, and I like the lw versions best because they're usually not as bulky. I think lots of women do like medium or even large knives if we can reach the locks/spydie hole/thumb stud, etc, but they just don't fit in most of our clothes (as others have noted). If I need a bigger knife for something, it ends up without a clip in my back pocket or jacket pocket. Or I just carry a smallish fixed blade on my belt.

[C99c]

Update: my wife said she wishes someone had told her about rust proof steels and their benefits. Less care is attractive to her though she is not going into salt water.

She likes the yellow, orange, colors. Black is ok. Colors like teal, peach, etc. are better.

My wife's knife preferences for the last decade have centered around two words: purple and Delica. She just doesn't care about any other knives.

The only other models I've seen pique her interest have been a couple of the yellow Salt knives and that was just a quickly passing admiration.

In my opinion Spyderco offers a ton of good knives that are attractive to female users. Pick a size, pick a color and enjoy. No different than males.

[JD Spydo]

Spyderco historically has made a few models with PINK handles. Pink historically being a color that women seem to like I'm sure that Spyderco had that in mind when they made those Pink handled models.

The last two girlfriends I had both seemed to prefer Swiss Army Knives over anything in my Spyderco collection with two exceptions. One girlfriend wanted my older Spyderco MOUSE model and would never shut up until I finally gave it to her :rolleyes: :D No it didn't have a pink handle but she seemed to think that really small blade appealed to her.

The other girlfriend I offered at least 3 different Spyderco models to her but we ended up getting her a top notch, Victorinox Swiss Army Knife with 5 blades and tools on it. Victorinox has so many SAK models I find it virtually impossible to keep track of most of them. However this particular lady did like the pink handled Spyders I had at the time but she ultimately chose the SAK because she thought it will fulfill her needs for a pocketknife.

BOTTOM LINE: I would say that handle color, blade size and any other novelties that women tend to like would be the key to opening that market up. Because as far as I know Spyderco hasn't really target marketed the "women's" sector of the market with any real fervor. But that could change really quickly in today's environment.

[redhawk44357]

Tried to get my wife to carry a knife. Even offered a small Q to her to put in her purse. No dice, she afraid she will cut herself. Oh well, maybe my grandson in a few years.

[Doc Dan]

Tried to get my wife to carry a knife. Even offered a small Q to her to put in her purse. No dice, she afraid she will cut herself. Oh well, maybe my grandson in a few years.

Once other women start talking about how useful a small knife is she will begin to think it over. It takes most people a long time to shift paradigms.
A tiny Ladybug in a friendly color might be the place to start one day.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

A good Spyderco lockback and intentional advertising in women’s magazines and on women’s forums would eventually bring an increase in sales to women.

That is a very good point, as well as others that people posted to this topic. While I do not read these women's magazines, I would like to see more advertisements and articles in them with descriptions and text about Spyderco knives and their value and use.

[anycal]

We are all individuals, and we are into different things, regardless of sex.

I equipped my wife with a gray HAP40 Delica, as well as a flashlight. Both permanent residents in her backpack she takes to work and other places. If I didn't 'push' it on her, she wouldn't have those two EDC items. The knife sees use maybe three times during a normal month?

I encourage her to clip it in her pocket when hiking and camping - camping, she whips that thing out all the time. I do this so she gets more used to it, more familiar with it. You know for that time when she will have to cut me... I mean, cut me loose, or something like that... Bonus, it is my backup knife, in a way.

[bearrowland]

My wife loves my Bug, but then again she's a Vic Classic fan too.

[JuPaul]

I was looking through my little collection and thinking more about this question, and it occurred to me I forgot about one of my favorite "budget" spydie knives: the Alcyone. I think this model might appeal to lots of women. In my mind, it's a lot like a Tenacious, but in a size much better suited for my smaller hands and needs. It has a liner lock - which normally annoy me since they tear up my thumb nail - but this one has a big cutout to access the lock so I can get the whole side of my thumb onto the lock without touching my nail. It fits wonderfully in my hand, but still has most of the features people love about the Tenacious. And it's a nice denim blue g-10. Just a suggestion as another dragonfly/delica/native alternative in the mid-size range.

[Doc Dan]

I was looking through my little collection and thinking more about this question, and it occurred to me I forgot about one of my favorite "budget" spydie knives: the Alcyone. I think this model might appeal to lots of women. In my mind, it's a lot like a Tenacious, but in a size much better suited for my smaller hands and needs. It has a liner lock - which normally annoy me since they tear up my thumb nail - but this one has a big cutout to access the lock so I can get the whole side of my thumb onto the lock without touching my nail. It fits wonderfully in my hand, but still has most of the features people love about the Tenacious. And it's a nice denim blue g-10. Just a suggestion as another dragonfly/delica/native alternative in the mid-size range.

There is a rumor that the Delica was originally designed as a woman friendly knife.

[JuPaul]

I was looking through my little collection and thinking more about this question, and it occurred to me I forgot about one of my favorite "budget" spydie knives: the Alcyone. I think this model might appeal to lots of women. In my mind, it's a lot like a Tenacious, but in a size much better suited for my smaller hands and needs. It has a liner lock - which normally annoy me since they tear up my thumb nail - but this one has a big cutout to access the lock so I can get the whole side of my thumb onto the lock without touching my nail. It fits wonderfully in my hand, but still has most of the features people love about the Tenacious. And it's a nice denim blue g-10. Just a suggestion as another dragonfly/delica/native alternative in the mid-size range.

There is a rumor that the Delica was originally designed as a woman friendly knife.

I'd believe that. If I had to pick only one spyderco to keep, it'd probably be one of my Delicas.

[eddiebob]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. My wife is a country girl from Tennessee so growing up she was around guns and knives all the time. When she saw one of my Spydercos she said where's mine? She keeps a yellow H1 Ladybug in here purse and an orange Dragonfly in her truck. Our twin girls both had plenty of exposure to knives growing up. They both carry Protech autos and I have to watch them and my knives real close when they come visit. Exposure at an early age is an excellent way to encourage enjoyment later in life.

[Tucson Tom]

Guys like things like knives. Girls, not so much. I am OK with that. I am OK if girls are different than guys -- I think it is just fine. So I don't see any need to sweeten the waters for the ladies. Let the chips fall where they will. As for the ladies who do like Spyderco knives, more power to them, that's fine too.

[Wartstein]

I was looking through my little collection and thinking more about this question, and it occurred to me I forgot about one of my favorite "budget" spydie knives: the Alcyone. I think this model might appeal to lots of women. In my mind, it's a lot like a Tenacious, but in a size much better suited for my smaller hands and needs. It has a liner lock - which normally annoy me since they tear up my thumb nail - but this one has a big cutout to access the lock so I can get the whole side of my thumb onto the lock without touching my nail. It fits wonderfully in my hand, but still has most of the features people love about the Tenacious. And it's a nice denim blue g-10. Just a suggestion as another dragonfly/delica/native alternative in the mid-size range.

There is a rumor that the Delica was originally designed as a woman friendly knife.

Might be, but in fact I think especially the Delica is not (only) a small-hands-knife. Other than Native, Para 3 and so on, which are knives that force larger hands to choke up on the choil for a good four finger grip, the Delicas long handle offers enough space even for bigger hands. Might be a bit narrow though. I personally like it ( and way over Native, Para 3...) with my L to XL hands.
A "maximum edge length Delica" (which I proposed already one or two times) could even be one of my favorite folders :Delica handle, but blade with no Ricasso (like on the Centofante) and blade lengthened so it fills all of the handle when the knife os closed.

[Doc Dan]

I was looking through my little collection and thinking more about this question, and it occurred to me I forgot about one of my favorite "budget" spydie knives: the Alcyone. I think this model might appeal to lots of women. In my mind, it's a lot like a Tenacious, but in a size much better suited for my smaller hands and needs. It has a liner lock - which normally annoy me since they tear up my thumb nail - but this one has a big cutout to access the lock so I can get the whole side of my thumb onto the lock without touching my nail. It fits wonderfully in my hand, but still has most of the features people love about the Tenacious. And it's a nice denim blue g-10. Just a suggestion as another dragonfly/delica/native alternative in the mid-size range.

There is a rumor that the Delica was originally designed as a woman friendly knife.

Might be, but in fact I think especially the Delica is not (only) a small-hands-knife. Other than Native, Para 3 and so on, which are knives that force larger hands to choke up on the choil for a good four finger grip, the Delicas long handle offers enough space even for bigger hands. Might be a bit narrow though. I personally like it ( and way over Native, Para 3...) with my L to XL hands.
A "maximum edge length Delica" (which I proposed already one or two times) could even be one of my favorite folders :Delica handle, but blade with no Ricasso (like on the Centofante) and blade lengthened so it fills all of the handle when the knife os closed.

Yeah, the Delica is a great knife and it fits my bug mitt pretty well. I prefer it to the Native, P3, and others. Truth to tell, I might like it better than the Caly. :eek:

[standy99]

Gave the misses a Byrd the first present I ever got her. She goes on surveys camping for days or weeks across Northern Australia a lot being a scientist. Told her never lend it to anyone. Look after it.
She loves the fact that most guys she works with ask to borrow it and she gets them to let her cut whatever they need cut and they get pissed that they can’t use it. Being a ex butcher I make sure it’s as sharp as before every survey she takes it on.
Been together 11 years and she’s carried it everyday in every hand bag she has ever had.

She could take any Spyderco I own but still chooses her Byrd
One of the early black full metal handle ones.

[rabbitanarchy14]

i would say mostly colors too. like this. pvd pink blade and purple handle.