SCORE!!!

[Squirrelcop]

I've been lurking here for a few years now. Even went so far as to create an account a year or so ago but like most forums I rarely if ever do more than read and lurk today I had an experience relating to spyderco knives that I decided I wanted to share. As is to be expected I couldn't recall my password and had to reregister this evening.

Been carrying one of two spyderco knives since 1988. The first was a spyder edge endura. I paid $38 for it and was not making much money in those days as a full time reserve officer in small city, It was a bit of an extravagant expense that I had to sacrifice a bit to make.

That knife was stolen after I set it down to dry after washing it a few years later after I left working in law enforcement.

I did things with that knife that it should never have been subjected to and it just took the abuse with no damage and asked for more. I often cut 3/16 and 1/4 inch wire rope with it. The other workers couldnt believe it for a while and then started asking to see it happen. I found out who stole it but I needed that job so I had to let it go.

A short time later I was gifted a combo edged endura by a sympathetic and better off roommate who had just come into some money. I was grateful as I really missed that knife. I have carried that second knife everyday since and will never intentionally get rid of it. I also refrained from abusing it and found better cable cutters. I have always loved this gift but must also admit that I missed the full spyder edge I also never let it away from my person or allowed someone else to use it.

Over 25 years have passed since I was given that second endura and it has been in my pocket since. But...I always missed my spyder edged version. I have moved up in my income greatly since those early years, but being frugal and having a great knife in my pocket already I only occasionally seriously considered trying to replace my original. Every time I did something else came up and I just have never found one with the full spyder edge and the urge was strong.

Well today I went to a gunshow with a guy I have known since we were on the police dept together and on the ride that story of my first endura came up as I was showing him a Byrd hawkbill got I week ago along with a dragonfly with spyder edge. I bought the dragonfly and and a ladybug on the bladehq bundle sale along with the Byrd because I figured I would use the dragonfly as a moneyclip since my work has made it clear (to the point of threatening to fire me if they caught me with my with my endura clipped to my pocket again. I work in a hospital in a field full of really uptight folks that can't understand that a knife is just a tool. I still carry my endura everyday, they just don't know where and don't ask. Besides the dragonfly couldn't possibly scare anyone and is proving to be useful in my setting). Anyway, my buddy harassed me for being pretty bummed about it when it I lost my original knife and did so again today when I showed him these new blades. No problem for me as I reminded him of at least two benchmades that he has obsessed over losing while mowing his rather large back yard. He has been out there more than once with a metal detector over the years but has never found them. All in good fun.

So anyway we are looking at all the typical stuff you see at a gunshow, not really looking for anything, but just seeing what's there and BS'ing when he starts getting interested in some obscure doodad and talking to the vendor.

After a bit I wander away without adult supervision and come across a table where there are eight or nine spyderco boxes. They were all closed and there were a few people at the table so it took me a couple minutes to get to the boxes. During this time I see a sign next to the boxes that says $35 each. At first I figured it was the sign for some of the other junk on his table until I realize it says for the spyderco's. Alright, fine. Ithought to myself, these will be some fakes and I'm wasting my time, then the guy in front of me opens one of the boxes and I see it's an endura. I don't walk away, but ain't ready to think they are real. So I get up to the table and open one of the boxes and out comes a delica plain edge zome. I start looking it over for some indication that it's a copy and after a minute or two decide it's not a copy. Well, cool, not what I want, but maybe I'll get it anyway. I go thru the rest of boxes and I find a tenacious and a plain edge endura zome as well as a delica zome in plain edge but nothing else of interest..Oh well....didn't expect to find one anyway.

About that time the vendor asks if I'm looking for anything special, just doing what a salesman should do. I tell him I'm looking for a serrated edged endura. He looks at me and says no. he had one but he's holding it for a guy. About then he seems to realize that he has another possible opportunity for a sale and bends down and pulls out a spyderco box and asks if this is what I am looking for? I opened the box and there it was. An endura 4 in spyder edge in black frn. As close as I was ever gonna get to my long gone frn pre metal pocket clip knife. I looked it over real hard and could find no reason to think it was a fake. I looked the box over, the enclosed paperwork, everything. I don't know much but I could find nothing to make me think I was looking at a fake. **** at that point I figured even if it was it didn't matter I wasn't gonna get it cuz he was waiting on the other guy to come get it. So about that time I start putting it back in the plastic and the guy says if I want it I can have it, since he was tired of waiting on the other guy. I said Sold so quickly I'm not actually sure he finished his sentence. I handed him the money and walked away ecstatic to have one in my possession again. Sorry other guy. Really, I am. But no way was I not gonna strike while the opportunity was in front of me. I would have paid a lot more so $35 was icing on the cake.

I went and found my buddy and told him what I had found. He was not all that impressed but was truly happy for me. As we stood there enjoying my find the vendor my buddy was still talking to says "wow, nice buy! Where did you find that." I told him and what the guy had and he says he "has to many spyderco's now, but ****, nice price!! A couple minutes later I started hearing the delica and endura zome's calling to me so I went back just in time to grab them from the table before they were gotten by someone else. By the time I was finishing paying the vendor my buddy was talking to comes walking up and he ended up buying the remaining tenacious and another delica.

yeah, I know punctuation and grammar are important but I am sitting here six hours later and am still just in awe of my good fortune today and still just as excited as I was when I handed him my money.

Again, sorry other guy, but I promise to treat it as a users edc knife and always remember to hope you find the one you were really looking for. I don't think this one was it tho, or you would have taken it when you could have. So in summary, today I replaced a tool that was important to me and that I missed for a very long time and will probably gift the two zome's to someone else. All for $35 a piece. If you read all the way thru this thanks for your endulgence. Squirrelcop

[legOFwhat?]

So YOU'RE the guy! jk :P

Congrats on the score!

[GiftedMisfit]

Really cool read, nice find.

[benben]

Great read and congratulations, love stories like these! I recently went into a LGS, just walking around, slid on over to the used pistol counter and was like "WHAT IS THAT DOING IN HERE??" I now own a HK USP Custom Combat with a OD green frame with a Jet Funnel Magwell! Happy day! :D

[prndltech]

Great story. I’m glad you got it!

[Cycletroll]

Nice grab! Thanks for sharing your history with the Endura. It's one of my favorites too)

[sal]

Hi Squirrelcop,

Welcome to our forum and thanx for sharing your story.

sal

[koenigsegg]

Great story would love to see some pictures of some of your knives

[Mr Blonde]

That's a cool story, thanks for sharing it - and enjoy the knives!

[Squirrelcop]

Until recently I only had the one endura that I have carried since somewhere around 94. And a tenacious that I picked up on a work trip that required a bunch of flying and I wasn't gonna lose my favorite knife, and other than a few disposables that I keep around for the really ugly stuff my only edc, so I decided to buy a junker when I got to my destination. I happened on a tenacious and bought it as the price was right. I like it but it's heavier than I am used too. In the last year or two have been lurking around here A couple weeks ago I saw some of the bundles from Bhq mentioned and decided toto get the lady bug and dragonfly bundle and a Byrd for my dad This forum costs me money. I thought about replacing my original then but chose not too. I am a technophobe so pics will be spotty but I will try. Not a great one but here it is. Laying on some old 1911 holsters at a gunshow. Not that you can tell that in the pic. Squirrelcop.

[bearrowland]

Great story and welcome aboard!

[koenigsegg]

What a great story and a great deal. Thanks for posting pics and I hope you enjoy your time on the forum

[standy99]

I found a Pacific Salt in my boat I had lost for 2-3 years and replaced.
It had fallen in a seat post hole, went to move the seats a few weeks ago for a extra person and pulled the cap someone had put on when they had moved the seat years ago. Score.!

Chuffed even if it was mine to begin with.....

[Mini2white]

Great story and congratulations. I enjoy hunting for the knife but that feeling when you finally find one is fantastic.