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

[StuntZombie]

If you stick around here long enough, you'll see there are threads popping up all the time with people asking Spyderco to bring back certain models. So no, the Slysz Bowie is nothing special in that regard. It's just one of many discontinued models that's gained a forum following. Unfortunately, forum followings don't always translate into actual sales, and I'm sure Spyderco is aware of that.

Today we're giving excuses to scalpers, trying to handwave the popularity of one of Spyderco greatest marvel and being over defensive about one of the most puzzling choice Spyderco ever made (which is saying something).

I'm sure there are plenty that would disagree with you about it being Spyderco's greatest marvel. I don't know why you're so puzzled by the fact it was discontinued. It's an expensive model to make, due to materials and machining, and being a collaboration model, it means costs are even higher due to the fact the designer also needs to get paid. When a model's sales dip too far, it doesn't make sense to keep it in the lineup. Happens all the time. It's part of business.

As far as scalpers go, people are allowed to put items they've bought up for sale at whatever price they want. It doesn't necessarily mean that they'll actually get that much money for it.

So yeah, I'm doubling on what I said in my first post, as a fan I'm really not ok with Spyderco letting scalpers or greedy mf getting away with SB current situation. It's a stain on Spyderco's reputation to me and I really hope that it will change in a near future with a re-release and a straight communication around it.

This mentality is what I take issue with. The Slysz Bowie has been discontinued for going on 4 years now. It only makes sense that after that much time, its collectibility would increase. With increased collectibility comes higher prices. That's how it goes. And people will continue to get higher prices as long as collectors are willing to pay the premium. How do you come to the conclusion that it somehow tarnishes Spyderco's reputation that one of their discontinued models goes for higher prices now than it did when it was still being made? Are you implying that Spyderco is keeping it out of production to keep the aftermarket prices high? That's some gold medal level mental gymnastics there.

Seems to me, if you really want one bad enough, you'd be able to find one for sale on a forum. It likely won't cost much more than a new one would run you.

[JRinFL]

This thread has legs.

My view is the the OP, and others, are really angry at scalpers/opportunists and not so much at Spyderco. However, it is true that only Spyderco can change the current dynamic by producing more, since the other parties are not going to change. That said, I don’t think it is Spydercos responsibility to do anything that is not in their interest. It was discontinued for a reason or reasons and if those have not changed, they should not bring it back. They did not set out to produce a limited number, the limited number came about due to lack of sales.

[Larry_Mott]

Shame on Chevrolet not to make the '68 Camaro. I didn't have the money to buy one back then (i was just 7 years old) but with the prices they demand today from ruthless scalpers i think it is long overdue that Chevrolet make a re-run..

[spoonrobot]

This thread has legs.

My view is the the OP, and others, are really angry at scalpers/opportunists and not so much at Spyderco. However, it is true that only Spyderco can change the current dynamic by producing more, since the other parties are not going to change. That said, I don’t think it is Spydercos responsibility to do anything that is not in their interest. It was discontinued for a reason or reasons and if those have not changed, they should not bring it back. They did not set out to produce a limited number, the limited number came about due to lack of sales.

I don't think so. There is significant exposure in attempting to influence the secondary market, to almost no benefit to the company. How would one even figure out the appropriate production run for such an item? Too low and the situation is the same, too high and the company or it's distributors and dealers lose a ton of money. No enthusiasts went out of their way to buy the K2 when it was on massive clearance, nor did they when the foliage JD Smith was being closed out. Those knives had very poor demand and who was left holding the final run for sale probably lost money. Does it matter to the small number of people who want a C186Ti that the next production run sells out at $450 while also dropping the price of the first run back down to $600? IMO this concept is attempting to meet unreasonable expectations.

The most recent Dodo run appears to have increased the price of the prior runs while also increasing the price of that run itself. Would the C186Ti be similar? What secondary market price is acceptable?

The current dynamic is changed by:

1.) The understanding that not every single knife will be available all the time at the exact price you want to pay.
2.) Do not buy knives at prices you feel are inflated.

[Menipo]

I'm starting to get tired of all those people who can't swallow that their favourite ones aren't getting as much attention as the SB and feel the need to make people remember they exist. I know weirdos who swear by drinking fresh pig blood out of corpses, that doesn't make it popular.

[...]

I don't remember the forum being that petty m, childish (posting "troll" insults or baby crap pictures, for real ?) or people being that protective over Spyderco, especially people with probably a quarter of my Spyderco collection. Back then, we used to give crap to Spyderco for not letting us open and maintain our stuff without voiding the warranty (and it changed) and gave even more crap to the few weirdos defending that choice.

[...]

For the rest, keep going at it until there is only three ultra protective fan left, brushing eachothers pubic hairs while they stare at the five Spyderco they bought used.

This mentality is what I take issue with.

If this a good example of what this forum used to be in the past, I am delighted with the way it has evolved to be what it is today.

[StuntZombie]

I'm starting to get tired of all those people who can't swallow that their favourite ones aren't getting as much attention as the SB and feel the need to make people remember they exist. I know weirdos who swear by drinking fresh pig blood out of corpses, that doesn't make it popular.

[...]

I don't remember the forum being that petty m, childish (posting "troll" insults or baby crap pictures, for real ?) or people being that protective over Spyderco, especially people with probably a quarter of my Spyderco collection. Back then, we used to give crap to Spyderco for not letting us open and maintain our stuff without voiding the warranty (and it changed) and gave even more crap to the few weirdos defending that choice.

[...]

For the rest, keep going at it until there is only three ultra protective fan left, brushing eachothers pubic hairs while they stare at the five Spyderco they bought used.

This mentality is what I take issue with.

If this a good example of what this forum used to be in the past, I am delighted with the way it has evolved to be what it is today.

Agree with you there. I just couldn't think of a "shiny" way of responding.

[Pancake]

Man, I don't know.
This is really one of those thing that I can't really wrap my head around.
If the model sell well, Spyderco is going to keep it in the line up.
Gayle Bradley 2 was introduced in like 2016, and it is still in 2021 catalogue. I guess the sales are ok enough to keep it.
Slysz Bowie was introduced in 2014 and discontinued in 2018. I guess the sales were not that good. Still, it was a long time in production.
Look at it from a company standpoint, they discontinued it once, what are the odds that now, after a few years, the sales would be soo much better comparing to the past?

And, one last thing. Other have said, the model after discontining was not that expensive. It was still around or below MSRP. Secondary market drove the prize for some reason to the sky.
Do you know what you should do. Ignore it. It is not a painting from van Gogh, it is a production knife. People who are buying from these flippers are continuing to support this kind of practice.

And, last question, if they put Slysz Bowie to production again, would you pay like 400€ for it?
Lamnia has listed price for 380€, but that was way back when, so the price nowadays would be higher.

[Xformer]

Man, I don't know.
This is really one of those thing that I can't really wrap my head around.
If the model sell well, Spyderco is going to keep it in the line up.
Gayle Bradley 2 was introduced in like 2016, and it is still in 2021 catalogue. I guess the sales are ok enough to keep it.
Slysz Bowie was introduced in 2014 and discontinued in 2018. I guess the sales were not that good. Still, it was a long time in production.
Look at it from a company standpoint, they discontinued it once, what are the odds that now, after a few years, the sales would be soo much better comparing to the past?

And, one last thing. Other have said, the model after discontining was not that expensive. It was still around or below MSRP. Secondary market drove the prize for some reason to the sky.
Do you know what you should do. Ignore it. It is not a painting from van Gogh, it is a production knife. People who are buying from these flippers are continuing to support this kind of practice.

And, last question, if they put Slysz Bowie to production again, would you pay like 400€ for it?

The Slysz Bowie was sold at 280€ in Europe back then and in my opinion, that was part of the appeal. Getting a Spyderco alternative to a Sebenza (sort of) at half the price, with stellar design, good look and very good fit and finish.

What would justify the price jump to 400 euros, with everything being equal ? Kind of a questionable move imo, unless they update the knife a little (better steal, removing the backspacer...).

Unfortunately, forum followings don't always translate into actual sales, and I'm sure Spyderco is aware of that.

If you really believe Spyderco is using hard data metric for all of their choices man do I have a shiny bridge to sell you. If anything, there's one of those knife company that priorize their own vision over market trends the most, for better or worse.

I've always been aware forum's hype is own things, except we're not speaking about a vocal minority here. It's clear the Slysz Bowie is one of those knife with a huge following. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. When 1000$ offers fly by in a matter of weeks during months, that's your sign there's something special happening.

While it's hard to give an hard estimate, I would bet my two next salaries with you or anyone else that a re-release of the Slysz Bowie would be a *EDITED - TazKristi* home run sales wise.

[Naperville]

Shame on Chevrolet not to make the '68 Camaro. I didn't have the money to buy one back then (i was just 7 years old) but with the prices they demand today from ruthless scalpers i think it is long overdue that Chevrolet make a re-run..

Did you know that GM and Ford make hundreds if not thousands of parts for the 68 model sports cars?

I think from GM and Ford you can order almost a complete car, and the steel would even be zinc coated.

EDIT:

They were making the bodies with zinc coatings within the last 10 years, now other shops are doing it. I saw an ad for a 68 Mustang with a Dynacorn body selling for $30,000.

Get one today!
http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/19 ... -fastback/

[Cricket Bite]

I have never understood why people get upset at a company for not making what they want. IMHO Spyderco is one of the most reputable companies out there and I feel they walk the most difficult line (with success) between making money and making customers happy. As many of others have mentioned here just making another run is not just as easy as it sounds. I am sure there are a ton of factors involved. Spyderco seems to be producing at full capacity these days with many projects waiting in the wings for production. If Spyderco wanted to make another run of these how much would it take away from another project and how much margin would they make compared to what they are giving up. All this only to combat the collectors market. The collectors market having super inflated prices on discontinued models is also fantastic for Spyderco’s reputation. If people missed out on getting a knife that they wanted it is not up to Spyderco to produce more just to placate them. That is life. I am on pins and needles for the Shaman Z. I did not want a Shaman when the Cruwear version came out. I might not get the Z version when it comes out due to demand. But if I don’t then I move on but in no way would any of this be Spyderco’s fault. But if I do want one bad enough I will pay what I need to on the after market or live without.

[Naperville]

I have never understood why people get upset at a company for not making what they want. IMHO Spyderco is one of the most reputable companies out there and I feel they walk the most difficult line (with success) between making money and making customers happy. As many of others have mentioned here just making another run is not just as easy as it sounds. I am sure there are a ton of factors involved. Spyderco seems to be producing at full capacity these days with many projects waiting in the wings for production. If Spyderco wanted to make another run of these how much would it take away from another project and how much margin would they make compared to what they are giving up. All this only to combat the collectors market. The collectors market having super inflated prices on discontinued models is also fantastic for Spyderco’s reputation. If people missed out on getting a knife that they wanted it is not up to Spyderco to produce more just to placate them. That is life. I am on pins and needles for the Shaman Z. I did not want a Shaman when the Cruwear version came out. I might not get the Z version when it comes out due to demand. But if I don’t then I move on but in no way would any of this be Spyderco’s fault. But if I do want one bad enough I will pay what I need to on the after market or live without.

Previous post notwithstanding, I agree with that for the most part. But sometimes companies (Ford and GM) do authorize the manufacture or make the parts themselves. They aren't doing it out of love for collectors, they do it because it makes them money.

[Pancake]

The Slysz Bowie was sold at 280€ in Europe back then and in my opinion, that was part of the appeal. Getting a Spyderco alternative to a Sebenza (sort of) at half the price, with stellar design, good look and very good fit and finish.

What would justify the price jump to 400 euros, with everything being equal ? Kind of a questionable move imo, unless they update the knife a little (better steal, removing the backspacer...).

Ok, it was 280, but it was back in 2014-2015.
Every year the prices get raised, so in 2021 the price would be higher.
So, would you pay 370 € for it? Or even more?

[Wright.88]

Man, I don't know.
This is really one of those thing that I can't really wrap my head around.
If the model sell well, Spyderco is going to keep it in the line up.
Gayle Bradley 2 was introduced in like 2016, and it is still in 2021 catalogue. I guess the sales are ok enough to keep it.
Slysz Bowie was introduced in 2014 and discontinued in 2018. I guess the sales were not that good. Still, it was a long time in production.
Look at it from a company standpoint, they discontinued it once, what are the odds that now, after a few years, the sales would be soo much better comparing to the past?

And, one last thing. Other have said, the model after discontining was not that expensive. It was still around or below MSRP. Secondary market drove the prize for some reason to the sky.
Do you know what you should do. Ignore it. It is not a painting from van Gogh, it is a production knife. People who are buying from these flippers are continuing to support this kind of practice.

And, last question, if they put Slysz Bowie to production again, would you pay like 400€ for it?

The Slysz Bowie was sold at 280€ in Europe back then and in my opinion, that was part of the appeal. Getting a Spyderco alternative to a Sebenza (sort of) at half the price, with stellar design, good look and very good fit and finish.

What would justify the price jump to 400 euros, with everything being equal ? Kind of a questionable move imo, unless they update the knife a little (better steal, removing the backspacer...).

Unfortunately, forum followings don't always translate into actual sales, and I'm sure Spyderco is aware of that.

If you really believe Spyderco is using hard data metric for all of their choices man do I have a shiny bridge to sell you. If anything, there's one of those knife company that priorize their own vision over market trends the most, for better or worse.

I've always been aware forum's hype is own things, except we're not speaking about a vocal minority here. It's clear the Slysz Bowie is one of those knife with a huge following. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. When 1000$ offers fly by in a matter of weeks during months, that's your sign there's something special happening.

While it's hard to give an hard estimate, I would bet my two next salaries with you or anyone else that a re-release of the Slysz Bowie would be a *EDITED* home run sales wise.

MSRP of the Slysz Bowie was $500 when it was discontinued in 2017. It was sold in the US for 40% off MSRP ($300) which was MAP at the time. Now MAP is 30% off. So instead of being sold for $300 it would be $350 today (if it's MSRP was exactly the same). But Spyderco has had several MSRP increases since then, especially with the Taichung models. It was also discontinued, at least in part, because it was expensive to produce, so Spyderco may have needed to especially increase its MSRP. I wouldn't be at all surprised for MSRP to be over $600, easily, which would put it at $420 with MAP. A large Sebenza retails for $450..

I'm not saying the SB wouldn't sell at that price, obviously they're selling for well over that now, but that is largely due to the increased demand with no new product being produced. I honestly wouldn't be surprised for it to sell really well for the first run (if it was re-produced as a regular production) and eventually be discontinued again due to price.

[JMM]

[TenGrainBread]

Man, that cheese would go great with a nice glass of...

[Bile Bob]

It's a stain on Spyderco's reputation to me and I really hope that it will change in a near future with a re-release and a straight communication around it.

I'd be willing to bet everyone on this forum has missed out on knives they wanted at one time or another due to various reasons.

But we don't come here trashing Spyderco over it..

The SB was in production for several years and you had plenty of time to buy one= your fault, not Spydercos, not anyone else's, you.

Spyderco post yearly discontinued threads. The SB was on it= your fault, not Spydercos, not anyone else's, you.

Yes this thread and your posts have made it clear.. its all about the you. The self entitlement issues are strong with this one.

[Rp5]

Man, I don't know.
This is really one of those thing that I can't really wrap my head around.
If the model sell well, Spyderco is going to keep it in the line up.
Gayle Bradley 2 was introduced in like 2016, and it is still in 2021 catalogue. I guess the sales are ok enough to keep it.
Slysz Bowie was introduced in 2014 and discontinued in 2018. I guess the sales were not that good.

This is a somewhat simplistic theory for comprehending what can be a tremendously complicated manufacturing process. Both were made in Taiwan, but different blade materials, different handle materials, probably different suppliers / costs. Anything could influence the decision to pull a specific model - rising input costs, supplier problems, substitute products (comparable market equivalents), profit margin, key personnel loss, contracts with collaborators, and most importantly - opportunity cost. There's a lot that goes into it, and simply saying "this one is still being produced, that one isn't" doesn't mean the demand for one is better than the demand for the other.

That said, I agree with the other points that Sypderco is not responsible to make something just because aftermarket prices are high. As I said, there's a lot that goes into manufacturing, and for the model to be worth it, Spyderco may need to charge higher prices 3 years later. May not be much different from the aftermarket. I'd love to see a Sprint run just so fanatics can get an opportunity, but it's not necessarily something I'd buy.

[JRinFL]

The fact that Spyderco could change the situation by making another run is not changed by other good arguments as to why they should or should not do so.

For the record, I passed when it was released and when it was discontinued. I have no financial or emotional investment in this situation.

[GarageBoy]

You can't even blame this one on scalpers - they were available to whomever wanted one for years - then it got axed, and then everyone decided they needed one and were willing to pay large sums for it

At least with Spyderco, there's a chance for it to come back (good luck with other manufacturers, I'd still love to get some early 2000s Benchmades, but that's definitely not happening)

Stuff gets discontinued, new stuff comes out

I don't go tell Fujifilm that their announcement yesterday that they are discontinuing one of my favorite films that it is egg on their face - won't get anything done

[nerdlock]

At least with Spyderco, there's a chance for it to come back (good luck with other manufacturers, I'd still love to get some early 2000s Benchmades, but that's definitely not happening)

100%! *crossing fingers* :spyder: :spyder: :spyder: