As a fan, it's sad Spyderco isn't adressing the slysz bowie problem.

[nerdlock]

Folks piling on the OP, not a good showing for the forum.

Everyone is entitled to their free speech and the OP is entitled to his. Please don't rain on his parade. I've seen other threads with way worse 'tone' than this one. There are a lot of WANT THIS and WANT THAT threads and the amazing thing is that Sal responds to a majority of them with courtesy and kindness. And the man himself has already responded to the OP with his usual gentlemanly restraint. I'd have expected forum members to follow in his example...

Another point is like I said earlier, OP isn't the only one who wants this knife back - if you go thru the knife reviewers on youtube, knife groups on facebook, even here, one of the top, if not the top most requested disco'd knife is the Slysz Bowie. I definitely want this return too. So definitely it isn't just a 'need of one'. A return of the Bowie certainly won't make everyone happy, but I'm pretty certain it will make A HUGE NUMBER of Spydie fans happy.

Peace! :)

[aicolainen]

The OP seems well versed in the English language, but I know with myself, english not being my first language, that I sometimes struggle to find the right words and well, yeah.. things get lost in translation.

My point is, the OPs wording was not well chosen, I agree. But neither was the initial responses.

And I agree with some of the replies that believe it might return. Production and product planning often has long horizons, so bringing back a product that wasn't initially part of the roadmap, would probably have a very long lead time even without COVID

[nerdlock]

The OP seems well versed in the English language, but I know with myself, english not being my first language, that I sometimes struggle to find the right words and well, yeah.. things get lost in translation.

I do struggle with this too. :D Doesn't help that being online, without visual contexts of the 'tone' or 'meaning' behind our words, exacerbates matters. Problems of english being not the primary language eh?

[Sumdumguy]

As an aside, it would be HILARIOUS to see the scalpers' dreams get set on fire with a re run. Haha.

The scramble to sell them all would be intense and the price would plummet.

But, I would still prefer a bigger one, my hand just doesn't fit the originals grip. I felt like one of those ladies back in the day, packing their size 7 feet, into a size 4 shoe. Sad clown!

[GarageBoy]

Yes Spyderco should just never discontinue anything, lest someone who wanted something didn't get it

[StuntZombie]

I'm not sure I see the problem. A knife gets discontinued, the price tends to go up due to the scarcity of the model. Its utilitarian value eventually gets replaced by its value as a collectible. That's how it goes.

I would be curious to see how another run of the Slysz bowie would sell. The price would certainly be higher, because overall costs of production have gone up, and Spyderco is surely going to use a higher end steel in the next run. It might not end up being much cheaper than some of the discontinued ones being sold on the secondary market now. I have a feeling you'd be seeing a lot of "I was in until I saw the price!" posts.

[nerdlock]

I'm pretty certain that those who are asking for a rerun of/or another Bowie have already considered an increased acquisition cost of the knife; just like they are wanting a Bowie now means that they have understood how much a Bowie cost when it originally was in retail, so much so that they are unwilling to pay exorbitant pricing for one in the secondary market because of the extreme price disparity, especially when the knife was in "used" condition.

I remember during the middle of last year, the average Bowie value on the secondary market was about $350-400, then as the year ended, it rose to about $450-550 (based on Facebook knife trading groups and reddit). Now I see even used ones going for $600-700++. Ridiculous.

But certainly not as ridonkulous as this:

[Cscottsss]

Like others have said, try the Chef.

[MotoBro]

Personally I’m not a huge fan of titanium frame lock knives and I have a Chris Reeve small Sebenza 21 (the “holy grail” of frame locks). I just don’t find them as fun to use as a Spyderco compression lock or Benchmade Axis lock. That being said, I definitely understand the feeling of FOMO when it comes to discontinued knives. I really want an original Spyderco Rubicon but I don’t want to pay a “scalper” way over retail for one. And of course there’s the River’s Edge Cutlery Para 3 that eludes me, and probably always will. I just can’t justify paying $600+ for a Para 3 (the last one that went up on eBay sold for $750).

[RAHComanche]

"Some of our models are in very high demand. We're building them as fast as we can without compromising quality. Knife makers take a long time to train to make models like the Bowie.....Sal"

Does this mean you are hiring?! :)

[bearfacedkiller]

Never understood the hype for this model. It seems pretty far from the best knife ever. I think scarcity fueled the demand. Shabazz did his review not long before it got discontinued so the hype hit right as the supply dried up.

I disliked the blade shape, the clip position related to the lock bar relief, the ergos due to the lock bar relief location and the weak detent. The price was just too high for me to accept those issues.

I think it is interesting that people pay so much for it now since the main complaint when it was released was that it was too expensive. I think it was around $280 but I cannot remember exactly. With all the price increases since then it would likely be somewhere around $350. That’s a pass from me.

[bearfacedkiller]

Also keep in mind that doing another run might make many happy but it will also make many unhappy. Collectors are a big part of the market for these higher end knives so their wishes carry weight too. For this reason it would probably come back as a sprint with some changes to preserve the value of the originals.

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
-John Lydgate

[aicolainen]

Like others have said, try the Chef.

they are hardly very similar, beyond the designer and some design elements.

I have the chef, and I've made good use of it, but I have since acquired other knife that I feel perform better in the same role, and it might be that I sell it, even if though I still like it for what it is.
At the same time, I would still consider the SB if re-released. I didn't see any use for it when it was in regular production, and I'm still not at the point where I can't wait for it to be re-released, but my needs has evolved to the point where it's worth consideration if one day it is.

[Sharp Guy]

Can't limit this to just one knife to make just one person happy..

Lets bring back all Spydercos with Ridiculous / Outrageous / Skyrocketing prices on the secondary markets so everyone is happy..

Spyderco Tuff.. Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1(getting up there).. Spyderco Gayle Bradley Air.. Spyderco Burch Chubby.. Spyderco Sage 2.. Spyderco Sage 3.. Spydeco Sage 4.. Spyderco Red 4V Shaman.. Spyderco Jade M4 Shaman.. Rivers Edge Cutlery CTS 204P Para 3(seriously..$500 for a Para 3??).. Spyderco 10V K2.. Spyderco Rubicon(Seen the prices on those lately?).. Spyderco Mamba.. Spyderco C67P R.. Spyderco Southard.. Spyderco Laci Szabo.. Spyderco Euroedge.. Spyderco Tighe Stick.. Spyderco Ulize.. Spyderco Rock lobster

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one..

This is what I was thinking too

[Sharp Guy]

Never understood the hype for this model. It seems pretty far from the best knife ever. I think scarcity fueled the demand. Shabazz did his review not long before it got discontinued so the hype hit right as the supply dried up.

I disliked the blade shape, the clip position related to the lock bar relief, the ergos due to the lock bar relief location and the weak detent. The price was just too high for me to accept those issues.

I think it is interesting that people pay so much for it now since the main complaint when it was released was that it was too expensive. I think it was around $280 but I cannot remember exactly. With all the price increases since then it would likely be somewhere around $350. That’s a pass from me.

I never understood the hype for this one either. Yeah it's a nice knife but it wasn't for me. I actually prefer the Sage 2

The OP says the whole Slysz Bowie "problem" put a stain on Spyderco's reputation? What? They discontinued a model because they felt it was necessary for whatever reason. They're in demand now due to the internet hype. If I was a collector I'd be happy I had one. I'd also be unhappy if they brought them back and lowered the value of the one in my collection. Same is true for other long discontinued models.

Stating that the Slysz Bowie being discontinued is somehow a "problem" that put a stain on Spyderco's reputation is a bit ridiculous IMO. Kind of feels like the OP is trying to pressure Spyderco into bringing the Slysz Bowie back

[standy99]

Some like it some don’t.

Give me a GB1 over any knife Spyderco makes now or in the past.

Funny as a mate and I at work bought a junction as they were being discontinued and a third guy at work won’t pay full price (only ones he can find online are full regular price) for one even though he wants one bad. Expects to pay what we payed and thinks he’s hard done by.

But to answer the real question. If you want something that is sold out you have to pay market price. Not only in knives in anything.

[elena86]

I was smart enough to purchase 2 Bowies but I want a Slysz Skinny so bad ! It would be a better user IMO.

[bearfacedkiller]

Can't limit this to just one knife to make just one person happy..

Lets bring back all Spydercos with Ridiculous / Outrageous / Skyrocketing prices on the secondary markets so everyone is happy..

Spyderco Tuff..

This should get a sprint run. :D

[bearfacedkiller]

Stating that the Slysz Bowie being discontinued is somehow a "problem" that put a stain on Spyderco's reputation is a bit ridiculous IMO. Kind of feels like the OP is trying to pressure Spyderco into bringing the Slysz Bowie back

The OP does appear to be using inflammatory language and hyperbole to get what he wants.

What does this have to do with Benchmade and political divisiveness?

There are more great knives out there than any of us can possibly own. Just move on to the next shiny object. It’s just a knife. That’s how I look at it. I missed out on knives that I wish I had purchased. Life goes on and the wheel in the sky keeps on turning. :D

[aicolainen]

Also keep in mind that doing another run might make many happy but it will also make many unhappy. Collectors are a big part of the market for these higher end knives so their wishes carry weight too.

Honestly, in many cases, I couldn't care less.
If you collect regular (modern) production items, that's a risk you need to account for.
Besides, a new production run would probably include some adjustments / CQI or steel change even if it's a sprint or not, so the OG would probably still maintain some of it's interest as a collectible.
It's not uncommon that some products just seem to undeservedly underperform first time around, be it bad timing, failed marketing or whatever, and with all the work that goes in to bringing a product to market, I think it's only fair to give some products a second chance if the forecast for success has improved significantly.

I wouldn't say it's OK to do it on a regular basis, especially not for older designs that have an established value on the secondary.