Federal Agencies Issuing Spyderco Knives

[Jim Malone]

https://www.parttarget.com/Spyderco-Inc_nsn-parts.html

This is a website showin all NSN numbers assigned to Spyderco. Nato troops can order Spyderco knives by using this NSN number.

I just think Spyderco is discreet about these things. Next time in a plane i'm going to look not only for unusual bulges in the right side but also pocket clips....

[bearrowland]

I've worked in uniform of one sort of the other since the mid 90's and I can't imagine any agency actually spending budget money on any quality gear for their people. Typically you get stuck with lowest bid junk. If you want good gear you have to buy it yourself. The Autonomy and the rescue swimmers are the only exception I've ever heard of.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

I've worked in uniform of one sort of the other since the mid 90's and I can't imagine any agency actually spending budget money on any quality gear for their people. Typically you get stuck with lowest bid junk. If you want good gear you have to buy it yourself. The Autonomy and the rescue swimmers are the only exception I've ever heard of.

So incredibly true! As a longtime, sometime federal employee, this is spot on!

[Pokey]

Word on the street is the Pochi is standard issue for Delta Force.

Can neither be confirmed nor denied, though…

I read on the Internet that the Toad was issued about 20 years ago.

[Michael Janich]

Hey, All:

The only Spyderco knife that has been approved for official issue under a government contract is the original Pacific Salt Black Blade with a PlainEdge, which is included in survival kits or U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

The Jumpmaster was developed in cooperation with an officer who was commanding a U.S. Army Jumpmaster unit. Unfortunately, it achieved its final form after that officer had moved to his next duty station. Although Jumpmaster knives were definitely bought and used in their intended role, the model never received an NSN for official issue.

The original Autonomy ran a similar course in its development. Although it is definitely in use with USCG rescue swimmers, it does not have a formal purchase contract with the government.

Spyderco has a GSA contract and works actively with U.S. government purchasing programs, so many of our knives are purchased by government entities and are in service with units worldwide; however, purchasing through government channels and having an NSN on a specific model are two different things.

Stay safe,

Mike

[NASA50]

Thank You Mr. Janich, et al,

This is exactly the type of information that I hoped to learn from being on the forum.

I appreciate the time that you took to respond and to share the interesting information.

Best Regards,

NASA 50

[PaloArt]

Great topic NASA50, really some interesting information provided by Mr. Janich and other forum members! Good stuff.

[DEAtheknife]

Only today about 4 hours ago, I was gifted a Spyderco DEA Special Agent knife.
This thing will slice open a kilo before you can sniffle.

[Michael Janich]

Dear DEAtheknife:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[apollo]

Word on the street is the Pochi is standard issue for Delta Force.

Can neither be confirmed nor denied, though…

LOL!

Rumour has it, Wayne Enterprises purchases thousands of dollars worth of product a year from Spyderco. As the story goes, they’ve been known to buy dozens of Warrior Hawks in a single transaction but their favorite model is the all black Military Model.

Only thousands? A bunch of you guys buy more in a year then that if you ask me....

[JoviAl]

Only today about 4 hours ago, I was gifted a Spyderco DEA Special Agent knife.
This thing will slice open a kilo before you can sniffle.

I’d love to see a pic if you have one - I’ve never seen one of those

[cody6268]

https://www.parttarget.com/Spyderco-Inc_nsn-parts.html

This is a website showin all NSN numbers assigned to Spyderco. Nato troops can order Spyderco knives by using this NSN number.

I just think Spyderco is discreet about these things. Next time in a plane i'm going to look not only for unusual bulges in the right side but also pocket clips....

Noticed this in the information for the Pacific Salt

No.of BLADES:1 lock back 3.82 inch long: closed LENGTH:4.935, color:black, rockwell HARDNESS:60-62 at edge, lock STRENGTH:50 lbs, reversable pocket clip, lanyard hole

Is testing the lock a requirement then?

[aicolainen]

One thing to note is that issued gear isn’t always necessarily the “best” or most useful. Typically an issued article is a direct result of the contracting process. I know many people who were issued a knife by a competitor company yet that knife never saw any use because it was replaced in the pocket by something more useful…

Something to keep in mind.

I spent some years in a special unit of the military, and the way it worked around here was like this:
1. You get all the basic gear that military personnel gets
2. You get a basic package with higher quality gear that all special units get (this basically makes every item from the first line redundant)
3. You get some issued gear that is specific for your role/specialization (in my case this "package" included a fixed blade knife. In my specialization we used knives for more bushcraft-ish tasks and there was no tactical application in mind. Hence we got quite cheap but decently OK knives. This was years before I got interested in knives, so I don't remember exactly what model it was, but it was from one of the common Swedish brands, i.e. Mora, Hultafors or Bahco).
4. In addition to the above, my unit had a quite comfortable slice in our budget dedicated to acquire additional equipment more suitable or required for our specific service.

If we needed better knives, it would probably make most sense to acquire them as a process under item 4, as a direct purchase to my unit. As you go higher on that list (lower number), the volume increases logarithmically, the acquisition process gets increasingly formal and complicated and the acquired item is less and less likely to be optimally suited to your specific needs because it has to satisfy a wider and wider range of preferences and requirements among those eligible to have one issued.

It should come as no surprise that this way of handing out equipment results in a silly amount of equipment and lots of redundancy, but I guess the logistics of it is easier to manage.

[Louie34]

Dept of Justice FBI S30V- Salt Lake regional office. Picture isn't the greatest. The other photos were to large of a file to attach.

[Michael Janich]

Dear Louie34:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike