There are 3 knives that I am totally convinced that could have a big resurgence if they just bring them back with the right handle material. If the Great Spyder Factory would bring back the JD Smith, The big C-54 Calypso and the legendary SPYDERHAWK all with G-10 handles ( and maybe a few other subtle modifications) you would see the sales explode. Here are 3 very well designed knives that just never got an even break because of handle material and bad timing. :spyder:
I don't talk to too many Spyder-heads that disagree with me on this observation. If any of the 3 of these knives had G-10 handles, a belt or neck sheath ( factory edition of course) and palladium logo like the one on the Vesuvius you couldn't make them fast enough. Ok Spyder-heads I want your input NOW!!!! :spyder:
The one piece I feel is conspicuously absent from the Spyderco line is an MBC-rated hawkbill. The Spyderhawk reissued in G-10 would be a wonderful addition to the line and a must-have for me.
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Hannibal
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"I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace and public shaming. My own never bothered me except for the inconvenience of being incarcerated, but you may lack perspective."
Well JD, I'm a lot less convinced that any of those would sell well enough to displace something else from the lineup in order to resurect it. Ok, a few hundred to colectors. Perhaps a hundred more of each to dyed-in-the-wool fans of that model. But beyond that? Very "iffy". Now I love the JD Smith, but I can't see G10 making it any more appealing that the lined micarta was. On the other hand, add double bolsters and wood scales and the "biker" crowd just "might" get the message that they're looking at a 110 on steroids. But even that's would be a real gamble, 110 fans are about as loyal as they come. The C54, maybe, trimming the blade by an eighth of an inch or so to broaden the market might increase it's chances of success as a "user". Beyond collectors, not sure what the market for a large G10 hawkbill would be. SD?
Well Deacon I feel much better now. I think maybe we are supposed to disagree :D . You know it's almost like the sun rising in the east or water going over the edge of Niagara Falls. Deacon and I are supposed to disagree :D Well most of the time anytime anyway. Peace my friend :spyder:
The G-10 handles with the Palladium Spydie Logo and quite possibly a run with Black Boron Carbide coated blades would be quite a novelty not only for hard core Spyder-heads but a head turner for the MBC crowd like Hannibal Lecter. I am really convinced that all these hidden classics need is a boost from a different direction.
We gotta do this just to prove Deacon wrong :D THIS CAN BE DONE WITH SUCCESS :spyder:
No my friend it is the most friendly of disagreements for sure :spyder: Maybe we ought to do a Miller Lite Beer commercial you think :D
No I think you would be a lot of fun to go fishing with some day. :spyder: But the G-10 handles would make a difference. Probably more than anything is what I said about the timing of the release of these models.
You know what I mean there too. The timing issue has probably more to say with these models than what we realize. Because look at all of the Spyders that once they were discontinued have now become "cult classics" more or less. Hence the Lil Temperance. It is now about the most envied blade here on the Forum of late. You could add the Zowada, Rookie, G-10 Harpy and a host of others. And I can't tell you how many of my friends are now raving over the JD Smith. And just a year ago I couldn't hardly give one away. Maybe our disagreement gap ain't that wide after all :cool: :spyder:
It really isn't JD. I concur that "timing" is one of the two major factors in a model's success or failure. I just add that it goes hand in glove with dealer reluctance to carry more than X number of models of a given brand. So a "new" offering has to push something else out of the way to get considered. I just feel sometimes that our small communiity here does not really reflect the tastes of the general public and lacks the influence to guide those tastes.
As for the fishing, sounds great. Fresh water or salt? :D
Make it linerless (like the Wegner Mouse) and I'll get one in a heartbeat. But I still drool over a FRN Navigator with a LED light in the handles :D
OTOH, what about a G-10 Delica?
The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.
MIchael I am right with you on the liner debate. That's one reason I idolize the Massad Ayoob so much is because of it's double liner. I had 2 Spyderco Renegades and the one with the liner is the one that I ended up with as an EDC. I think that the liners add some strength and bolster the overall rigidity of the folder.
The only knife in the Spyderco line up that I think that stands out without a liner is the Lil Temperance. They architected that knife in a way to where it seems like a rock without one. What a marvel. They could try to bring the older JD Smith back with a liner and then do the serrated ones without one. I'll bet people would gravitate towards the one with a liner. By the way how is the JDSPYDOHAWK doing these days :D :spyder:
[quote="The Deacon"]Now I love the JD Smith, but I can't see G10 making it any more appealing that the lined micarta was. On the other hand, add double bolsters and wood scales and the "biker" crowd just "might" get the message that they're looking at a 110 on steroids. QUOTE]
A brass bolstered JD Smith with wood scales is just what I've been wanting.
I don't really see how the G-10 would be more appealing than the micarta on this model either.
If the large Calypso would come out again, I'd get one this time around.
But keep it classy, like Micarta again or SS. In G10 it would be 'just another' Military to me.
I think that a lot of you guys are not really thinking this through. I was not trying to say that the G-10 handles by themselves would be the "silver bullet" as far as a marketing ploy to facilitate faster sales. I went on to say that other modifications would also go hand in hand with making the blades more appealing. I will go on to say that these blades would have been more appealing with totally different hardware throughout the entire knife. It is my belief that there was nothing fundamentally ever wrong with the knives and I think that a little "fine tuning" would really put these particular blades in a better light.
Like Deacon Said about the JD Smith: He put it in the same light as the classic of all classics "The BUCK 110". I totally agree with Deacon with that assessment. That knife is so well designed that I am just beside myself as to why that model in particular didn't become a classic. The 4 of them I have are PERMANENT fixtures in my collection. You can also say that blade belongs in my Thread "You have to handle and use some Spyders" which is still running on page #2. If you ever handle the JD Smith you can't help but fall in love with it. I am simply saying that for all intents and purposes these knives were masterpieces and for what ever fluke they were a victim of I firmly believe that they deserve a second chance. Now if you all have suggestions other than the handle materials I would love to hear those suggestions expounded on. This is not an "I know more than you know" thread. It is a "Let's see if we can improve and bring this knife back" thread.
:spyder:
