Re-reading this thread, I’m struck by what is going to become a rarer thing, namely, G10 on Seki-City Spydies. The reason, as Sal have been saying for a while, is cost, which is higher in Japan than is FRN.
While cost-avoidance is wholly understandable, I, for one, will lament G10’s “passing”, and not only because I prefer G10 over FRN, as good as the latter is and as good as Spyderco patterns it.
I lament it because Sal and Eric have lost a tool for prototyping their designs and testing the market for them before committing to making very expensive FRN molds.
Consider the Seki-City Spydies in this needed pic:
Above (L to R) are the Civilian, Police4, Ulize, D’Allara3, SuperLeaf, Captain, Lil’Temp3, Poliwog, and DragonFly2.
Imagine what we might not have seen here without G10 (and I am not including Moki G10 models)…
I worry that new designs from Seki-City may be stifled. True, the Endela and Rock Jumper flew straight to FRN, without benefit of a G10 net, so to speak. But, now, the D’Allara3, which did premiere in G10, is languishing because its BBL has been found to want better access and, I guess, this complaint (which also is my only knock against this superb model) has made Spyderco’s commitment to FRN molds problematical.
While pondering this—Seki-City’s—loss of distinction, I wonder if anyone else laments the use of American and European steels in Japanese knives. Surely, Spyderco has not plumbed Japan’s well-established steel-industry for all that can be used in knife-making.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no purist. I love K390 in my Police4 and S30V in my D’Allara3 and Lil’Temp3. But those steels appeared unbeckoned by the likes of us; they were Glesser calculations.
Now, we’ve begun demanding the latest shiny American/European steel in each and every Seki-City model for which there are FRN molds.
In all the glee of getting what we (the Royal “we”) want, are we lessening the distinction that has set Seki-City apart, such that fewer Japanese-made models and steels are on the horizon?