What you don't like about spyderco knives?

[Bolster]

I don't like the wire clips because they're kinda fragile. When you snag them on something and they get bent up it kicks the knife out of your pocket until you find an aftermarket replacement.

Ah, yes, understood. When that happens to me, they get a session in my workbench vise and a pair of smooth jaw pliers, until they're back in fighting trim. I've never had to replace one.

The calypso/Caly series is the most excellent pattern of designs in the category of folding locking edc knives. But they’ve been very highly limited in production for too long.

Well. That is true.

[The Mastiff]

There is nothing that I don't like after 30 years of Spyderco use except it's tough to get some of the models. I mean really tough. They can be gone in minutes it seems to me. No complaints about the knives, designs, production quality or steels selection and heat treat. Spyderco leads the industry in the things important to me.

[standy99]

What I don’t like I don’t buy…easy.

Plenty of do likes left so that’s a bonus.

That’s the beauty of Spyderco they make a knife from $50 to $500+ in all shapes, sizes, colours, steels and materials.
There is a knife there for a lot of people…

[PaloArt]

I love Spyderco, out of all Modern Cutlery companies I am solely collecting just Spydies but of course I do have some dislikes where I think Spyderco could improve as part of CQI:

Overbuilt in cases where it is not exactly needed
Squeak, Para3 for examples would benefit from thinner blade stock and grind (Squeak 2mm and Para3 3.2) - we can see that 3mm comp lock is doable on fantastic example of Sage LW.

Inconsistent Quality control on Japanese models - wonky inconsistent edge bevels, lock rock (stopped using my delica and Endura in ZDP, could be remediated by the same solution that is used on Chaparral with internal stop pin).

On the other hand I love and Enjoy models I have in my humble collection - all are users with wear and tear but functioning perfectly apart from mentioned Para3 M4 which is too thick and Endura\Delica where lock rocking can become little bit dangerous when doing some finer controlled cutting in your hands and now lock rocks\pops and you end up cutting yourself.

I see arguments from time to time - you don`t like you should not buy... There are no issues with my Spydercos and You are just nitpicking as this is a tool and small details like this don`t matter... Non centered knives are ok and you are just a sissy to complain... What do you intend such knife to use for, heh?... COME ON, I think it is good to have these threads so Sal, Eric and their team know what is sometimes bothering us as their loyal customers and so they can update through CQI later on. This kind of feedback can be quite helpful and historically helped Spyderco to update their models. They are one of few companies in knife world actually reading this and acting accordingly. What is wrong with wanting to have best quality for asking price and why not to help the company to improve sharing constructive "criticism" by stating what you dislike eventually.

[Araignee]

I see arguments from time to time - you don`t like you should not buy... There are no issues with my Spydercos and You are just nitpicking as this is a tool and small details like this don`t matter... Non centered knives are ok and you are just a sissy to complain... What do you intend such knife to use for, heh?... COME ON, I think it is good to have these threads so Sal, Eric and their team know what is sometimes bothering us as their loyal customers and so they can update through CQI later on. This kind of feedback can be quite helpful and historically helped Spyderco to update their models. They are one of few companies in knife world actually reading this and acting accordingly. What is wrong with wanting to have best quality for asking price and why not to help the company to improve sharing constructive "criticism" by stating what you dislike eventually.

100% agreed. Constructive criticisms are what help a company - and an industry as a whole - improve their products, increase customer satisfaction and achieve better sales.

And Spyderco is obviously aware of this, willing to listen to us ; so let's take advantage of this opportunity which benefits us all, instead of settling down.

[Albatross]

What I don't like is the same as what I do like, ironically. The amount of choice Spyderco offers is both good and bad. Variety is the spice of life, but too much can make it hard to be content with what you have.

[olywa]

My dislikes for any particular model(s) are easily forgiven when I consider the huge variety of models I am an enthusiastic fan of. The only thing that really sticks in my craw are the free-spinning backspacers in some models (you know who you are) that make disassembly a pain.

[James Y]

Wire clips.

Except on my UKPK Salt. I like it on that particular model.

Jim

What, really? I love wire clips. They're sturdy and nearly disappear from view. Why don't you like?

Sorry, late reply.

On the couple other knives that have wire clips besides my UKPK Salt (Meerkat, Dragonfly) they are uncomfortable in my hand, and I don't like the way they clip onto the pocket. They're also not as solid as the regular clips.

But as I mentioned, I like the wire clip on my UKPK Salt. It just seems right, and it's positioned more comfortably than on the others.

Jim

[Naperville]

What don't I like about Spyderco Knives?

I'm very easy to please. All that I demand from anyone or any corporation is not to hurt me, rip me off or backstab me. That's pretty much it. If you don't do that to me, and you deliver what you promise in writing, verbally on a handshake, you are gold to me. I don't make any other demands.

Thus, Spyderco has never disappointed me. Every time that I take my Spyderco knives out and look them over I am pleased.

Easy.

[Manixguy@1994]

I am happy with every model , as long as I do my homework hard to be disappointed. My only beef is quantities of the sprint runs . The quantities is definitely not meeting the demand creating a huge void . I rarely get involved anymore , becoming a waste of time , alerts here and dealers rarely are productive. MG2

[Bk.Obamah]

There is a lot to like. The Heat Treat, the Ergos, the Opening Hole, the level of consistency. I love SpyderCo’s.

My only gripe are the Pocket clips in general and the Lanyard tubes on certain models.

[vandelay]

Something I remembered recently: mirror polished pocket clips. I don't really want a clip that attracts a lot of attention and they look out of place on a lot of knives. For example, the para 3 maxamet has a satin stonewash blade finish but a mirror polished clip.

[Cl1ff]

I can't think of anything I don't like about knives that is specific to Spyderco, but there are some things I would like to see Spyderco do.
The biggest thing for me has already been expressed here and that is thinner geometry on some knives.
I think the Performance Delica is already a step toward that direction, but I hope just the beginning. I would like to see some harder steels with good strength and stability like Rex45 taken to around 0.010 inches behind the edge on a "performance" model (high performance relative to other Spydercos because I think we can agree most of them are definitely high performance for most people).
This includes fixed blades and serrations too
It also seems like there is a lot of convenience in sharpening knives with thin geometry. I could be misunderstanding, but if it is easier, quicker, more forgiving to sharpen, and increases the longevity of an edge in several ways, I think that's a huge advantage and attractive feature of thinner geometry. I get the impression that some people see it only in a sense that they can already cut anything they need just fine with "normal" geometry, but aren't thinking of these other characteristics.

Anyway, I think geometry should get as much focus as steels have been because they work together.
I guess BBB has corrupted me!

Oddly, I've also become curious if there are any advantages to rather hard steels with thick geometry, for the optimum strength and toughness in certain kinds of edges that will see a lot of abuse, but thats for another topic.

[vandelay]

I can't think of anything I don't like about knives that is specific to Spyderco, but there are some things I would like to see Spyderco do.
The biggest thing for me has already been expressed here and that is thinner geometry on some knives.
I think the Performance Delica is already a step toward that direction, but I hope just the beginning. I would like to see some harder steels with good strength and stability like Rex45 taken to around 0.010 inches behind the edge on a "performance" model (high performance relative to other Spydercos because I think we can agree most of them are definitely high performance for most people).
This includes fixed blades and serrations too
It also seems like there is a lot of convenience in sharpening knives with thin geometry. I could be misunderstanding, but if it is easier, quicker, more forgiving to sharpen, and increases the longevity of an edge in several ways, I think that's a huge advantage and attractive feature of thinner geometry. I get the impression that some people see it only in a sense that they can already cut anything they need just fine with "normal" geometry, but aren't thinking of these other characteristics.

Anyway, I think geometry should get as much focus as steels have been because they work together.
I guess BBB has corrupted me!

Oddly, I've also become curious if there are any advantages to rather hard steels with thick geometry, for the optimum strength and toughness in certain kinds of edges that will see a lot of abuse, but thats for another topic.

Huh I haven't thought about it much, but my kitchen knives sharpen really quickly compared to my utility knives. I supposed it's just that there's not much metal to take off from their super thin edges.
That's a nice advantage.

I wonder if the average spyderco customer actually sharpens their knives though.

[Cl1ff]

It also seems like there is a lot of convenience in sharpening knives with thin geometry. I could be misunderstanding, but if it is easier, quicker, more forgiving to sharpen, and increases the longevity of an edge in several ways, I think that's a huge advantage and attractive feature of thinner geometry.
I guess BBB has corrupted me!

Huh I haven't thought about it much, but my kitchen knives sharpen really quickly compared to my utility knives. I supposed it's just that there's not much metal to take off from their super thin edges.
That's a nice advantage.

I wonder if the average spyderco customer actually sharpens their knives though.

Thats a good point and, actually, is one thing I think thinner geometries are good for.
Even if the edge is dull by our standards, thin knives will require less force to separate materials. If paired with hard steels that are strong and stable at the edge, they will just get less dull over long periods of time.
In my experience, Spy27 and CPM15V have just been blunting rather rolling or chipping. I think this less minor deformation (up to a point when talking strength over toughness), coupled with an edge that abrades less, means it just takes longer for the apex to wear into a thicker geometry near the very apex.
I think, according to my understanding at least, that is where the most significant increase in performance lies with thinner geometries and steels which support it for the '"average knife user".

I brought this post from BBB up in another thread today, but I think it illustrates some of this well and is also relevant here.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80749&p=1674245#p1674245

Also, just to clarify, I don't mean anything extremely thin or that every knife is too thick. That Military was probably just right for the guy using it and the right geometry for the model. I only think some models, or even a new model, could be a little thinner.
I like to chase performance, but I don't always keep my knives perfectly sharp and sometimes find uses that will abrade any edge past acceptable sharpness quickly and then still need my knife to cut reasonably well, so I happen to be in the right position to appreciate a lot of the different performance advantages these things bring that different kinds of users will appreciate. That gives some insight into one of the reasons I often like serrations too.

[vandelay]

It also seems like there is a lot of convenience in sharpening knives with thin geometry. I could be misunderstanding, but if it is easier, quicker, more forgiving to sharpen, and increases the longevity of an edge in several ways, I think that's a huge advantage and attractive feature of thinner geometry.
I guess BBB has corrupted me!

Huh I haven't thought about it much, but my kitchen knives sharpen really quickly compared to my utility knives. I supposed it's just that there's not much metal to take off from their super thin edges.
That's a nice advantage.

I wonder if the average spyderco customer actually sharpens their knives though.

Thats a good point and, actually, is one thing I think thinner geometries are good for.
Even if the edge is dull by our standards, thin knives will require less force to separate materials. If paired with hard steels that are strong and stable at the edge, they will just get less dull over long periods of time.
In my experience, Spy27 and CPM15V have just been blunting rather rolling or chipping. I think this less minor deformation (up to a point when talking strength over toughness), coupled with an edge that abrades less, means it just takes longer for the apex to wear into a thicker geometry near the very apex.
I think, according to my understanding at least, that is where the most significant increase in performance lies with thinner geometries and steels which support it for the '"average knife user".

I brought this post from BBB up in another thread today, but I think it illustrates some of this well and is also relevant here.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80749&p=1674245#p1674245

I'm surprised to see 15V listed there. I've seen a little bit of microchipping, personally. It's barely detectable but I'm pretty careful with my good knives.

K390 is the best steel I've tried for thin edges. I have a pretty accute angle on my dragonfly wharncliffe and it just blunted in the few times where I cut into something I shouldn't have. No chipping. Still stayed fairly sharp.
S35VN has been decent for me too. Magnacut seems promising. I haven't done anything abusive to my magnacut paring knife yet, so I'll see there.

Also, just to clarify, I don't mean anything extremely thin or that every knife is too thick. That Military was probably just right for the guy using it and the right geometry for the model. I only think some models, or even a new model, could be a little thinner.
I like to chase performance, but I don't always keep my knives perfectly sharp and sometimes find uses that will abrade any edge past acceptable sharpness quickly and then still need my knife to cut reasonably well, so I happen to be in the right position to appreciate a lot of the different performance advantages these things bring that different kinds of users will appreciate. That gives some into one of the reasons I often like serrations too.

Yeah, required thickness depends on blade size and purpose.
In terms of spine thickness, there are some chonkers, like the manix, where the spine thickness seems about right.
On the other hand, there are plenty of models like the lil' native where the thickness doesn't make sense.
I don't think excessive spine thickness really adds meaningful strength to the blade. If you use a lil' native as a pry bar, the the thin tip is going to be the part that breaks off.

In terms of behind the edge thickness, I'm not really sure. The only knife where it seemed a little excessive was the rockjumper. It's hard to say how much thinner most of my knives could be before they start to chip.

[Wandering_About]

Not enough CPM 15V in the lineup!!

But on a more serious note: I would like them to be thinner behind the edge, especially on the USA models which all seem to come in around .025" behind the edge. Anything under .020" would be good, .015" would make me a very happy edge junkie indeed. Not likely to happen, but a man can dream, right?

[BeggarSo]

#1. Dislike the Ricassos where the blade has not been ground all the way back I have had this on several models thankfully I can correct that but honestly it should not be a thing to begin with in my book.

#2. I really dislike the way Sprint runs are handled and some exclusives as well.

That's it other than that it is all love and yes I even love the Sprints I just think the marketing leaves a great deal to be desired.

Thinking about this I do not believe it is possible for Spyderco to really make a profit on Sprints but does wind up stoking the fires for interest in their products otherwise why would they do it? Hmm perhaps because they do not lose money at least and they stay true to their unique model of running steels others do not even dream of?

Ha how many times I have seen other companies run the same steels after Spyderco.

[Haunted House]

I love Spyderco, they get so much right. But if I had to nitpick:

•On the knives I carry often- about every 6-8 months or so, I have to remove the clip and straighten it back out because it bent out. A deeper clip would be nice too.

•I really, REALLY wish they would make course and fine CBN or Diamond rods for the sharpmaker. In this age of “super steels”, it’s a bit of a head scratcher that they don’t offer course/medium/fine in diamond or CBN.

•I don’t particularly care for the compression lock. It’s fine, I just prefer back locks, button locks and axis type locks.

•I feel like they’re lacking when it comes to fixed blades, specifically bushcraft/camping/hunting type fixed blades.

•I’d love to see them utilize button lock flipper designs, like the Pro-tech Malibu.
I think that lock is the future (though in fairness, push buttons are relatively new, and while Chinese makers may be cranking them out, I know if spyderco is going to make one they’ll take their time to get it perfect).

And… mmm… that’s about it. Oh, one more thing- more Cruwear!

[electro-static]

I will mirror what many have said, lock rock on the seki models.

I will disagree with another common criticism: I don’t really mind the grinds on the seki spydercos because on in my experience they are amongst spyderco’s thinnest behind the edge and cut better for me than many USA or Taichung models.

I would like to see some of the USA knives come out in versions with either hollow grinds or thinner blade stock, that would be really cool.

It would also be really neat to see a some more designs that are skinny and low profile in the pocket.

All these are really just wish lists and nit picking though. Spyderco does produce my favorite knife designs with my favorite Steels heat treated exceptionally well.