Are We Witnessing The Death Knell of K390 In Production Folders?

[Michael Janich]

Hey, All:

Thanks for a great discussion. I think it highlights several things, all of which have been mentioned. However, for clarity, I'd like to summarize and expand upon them to bring us back full circle.

1. Spyderco is the only company using K390 to any substantial degree in production knives. As such, we're also responsible for educating the entire knife market on its value. That takes a lot of effort and time.
2. The K390 models that have been discontinued were basically Wharncliffes. As the "instigator" of Wharncliffes at Spyderco, they are near and dear to my heart and I love them. When I educate customers on the advantages of Wharnies at trade shows, they get it and often embrace them. Some folks, however, are determined not to "get it," so K390 Wharnies... and other Wharnies (like byrds), have been discontinued.
3. Discontinuing K390 Wharncliffes is more a reflection on the market acceptance of Wharncliffes than K390. We shouldn't confuse the two.
4. K390 is a great tool steel, but it's not for everyone.
5. The Internet and the ability to share ideas with broad audiences accelerates the natural timelines of things. People expect things to happen sooner and therefore offer judgment sooner as well.

Personally, I love K390's toughness and believe it is ideally suited to my beloved Wharnies. That's why I switched from a Delica 4 Wharncliffe as my back-pocket utility knife to a K390 Wharncliffe. I'll likely buy more while I can...

Stay safe,

Mike

[WilliamMunny]

Personally I would not mind a K390 Wharncliffe for my wood shop. The blade shape and toughness could make a nice knife to make “adjustments” in my wood projects.

But I just got a Para 3 Maxamet so I am done spending for a bit.

[ZrowsN1s]

...........
Personally, I love K390's toughness and believe it is ideally suited to my beloved Wharnies. That's why I switched from a Delica 4 Wharncliffe as my back-pocket utility knife to a K390 Wharncliffe. I'll likely buy more while I can...
............

On this we agree.
.....................

Disappointed the larger public doesn't see the value of Wharncliffes, in particular with K390 Wharncliffes. But grateful to Spyderco for trying to edge-u-cate them, and for giving us the opportunity to pick up some K390 Wharncliffes while the getting was good. Much like with H-1 I picked up a few more K390 Wharncliffes as spares.

[Bemo]

The irony is there's a plethora of Wharnie-ish knives hitting the market from other manufacturers. Of course many are more of a Seax/reverse tanto blade shape than a Wharnie. I hope Spyderco is just biding their time to reintroduce some.

[TimButterfield]

Given the title and context of this thread, I thought I would post this as a reminder. It's from near the end of the Knives 2023 (43rd Edition) book. As they were willing to pay for the advertisement, it seems K390 was still at least some priority at that time. Otherwise, some other steel or knife family might have had the focus instead.

[weeping minora]

Regarding the wharnie blade shape. I very much like the shape on the Delica. But in looking at the other Seki Wharnie blades in the Endela and Endura sizes.... yuck. Those definitely are aesthetically a miss for me.

Definitely something off to my eye(s) as well. I figured it must be that negative blade angle.

[ladybug93]

i love the way the endura wc blade looks. i just haven't purchased one because i feel like it's less useful than a standard endura, which i also don't have. i was hoping for a pacific salt wc and asked for one a handful of times, but that dream is definitely shot now.

[Skywalker]

Well, I'm still a ways away from re-creating that ad pic, but I did receive my second K390 pickup from the discontinued sales. I'm still not 100% sold on wharncliffes vs the usual Spyderco leaf shapes but I've been enjoying my S30V wharnie Delica, and the prices were good, so...

Need to eventually get a regular profile K390 Delica and Endela as well. Guess I've got at least another year

[Bolster]

As for wharncliffe blades not being popular & discontinued, I can’t help but wonder if they had this spine shape- would it be more appealing to more customers/potential customers? Personally speaking, I don’t mind the round/curved spine of the current wharncliffe blade, but I think this looks MUCH cooler. It also takes up less space in the pocket when closed, weighs less and.. just looks more badass and aggressive in general

I sometimes ridicule (in my mind, not out loud! I try to have some social manners...) people who buy knives based heavily on their ideas of aesthetics. BUT...I think you guys have a valid point, here. The curve of the Spyder wharnies are not terribly attractive, especially closed, where they look excessively tall. I think you're right...I think a reverse tanto might just sell, where the puffin-bird-beak wharnies are less likely to visually excite. Note how there are virtually no negative comments about the look of the Yojimbo's blade shape. Like it or not, the looks of a knife do affect its sales. This is the sort of thing a little consumer research would sort out in short order.

[VandymanG]

Would love more options with blades that have finger choils. Especially blades that are 2.5” - 3”s long. Maybe Little Native, Native or PM3. Guessing this hasn’t happened due to the metal being harder to grind?

And yes I’m aware an exclusive has been done but I’m not a fan of the business practices of the company it was done for. That and some companies have the worst web sites ever, especially when it comes to phones.

[JSumm]

As for wharncliffe blades not being popular & discontinued, I can’t help but wonder if they had this spine shape- would it be more appealing to more customers/potential customers? Personally speaking, I don’t mind the round/curved spine of the current wharncliffe blade, but I think this looks MUCH cooler. It also takes up less space in the pocket when closed, weighs less and.. just looks more badass and aggressive in general

I sometimes ridicule (in my mind, not out loud! I try to have some social manners...) people who buy knives based heavily on their ideas of aesthetics. BUT...I think you guys have a valid point, here. The curve of the Spyder wharnies are not terribly attractive, especially closed, where they look excessively tall. I think you're right...I think a reverse tanto might just sell, where the puffin-bird-beak wharnies are less likely to visually excite. Note how there are virtually no negative comments about the look of the Yojimbo's blade shape. Like it or not, the looks of a knife do affect its sales. This is the sort of thing a little consumer research would sort out in short order.

Yes!! I think the look of the Wharncliffes may be a part of their downfall. Like it or not, outside of the brand fanatics, looks play a role. How much is to be determined, but there are some very nice looking Wharncliffes out there in the market. And I agree on the Yojimbo. I find it's blade very attractive in its own unique way. Though not a true Wharncliffe, take a look at the Smock. One of the best looking blades Spyderco makes in my opinion.

[ladybug93]

i think the wc looks better than the standard shape.

[TkoK83Spy]

For anybody interested, it looks like BBS has the K390 PM2 and Para 3 in Ranger Green G10 available, the prices aren't quite as outrageous as some of their other knives either. Only a slight markup.

[TimButterfield]

I wonder how a wharncliffe would do if it had a slight belly. I'm thinking of something like the CRK Insingo blade, which is often preferred over their other blade styles. Would that slight belly allow the blade to sit a little more into the handle when closed? If so, that lower closed profile may make it more attractive to some.

[TkoK83Spy]

I wonder how a wharncliffe would do if it had a slight belly. I'm thinking of something like the CRK Insingo blade, which is often preferred over their other blade styles. Would that slight belly allow the blade to sit a little more into the handle when closed? If so, that lower closed profile may make it more attractive to some.

That's my favorite blade design right there, and yes it sits much lower, very pocket friendly. I have both a Large and Small CRK with the Insingo design. The only Spyderco I can think of off the top if my head with a comparable blade is the Paysan.

[Danke]

How about these 2?

[Danke]

Rock Lobster is a personal favourite but you can't get it anymore.

[kontei]

I had luck... my German knives online dealer reserved me a Delica 4 wharncliffe k390. Should arrive in some days. :)

[Cl1ff]

The Wharncliffe Paramilitary 2 is Spyderco’s best “in house” one, in my opinion.
At least, as a shape for your general use EDC. The Yojimbo family is obviously a bit more specialized and the delica style is extremely versatile in function.

The wharny PM2 is just right, though.

However, I can’t really think of a Spyderco wharny that dislike.
I enjoy all of the sizes too.

Other blade shapes I think are similar include the Sheepsfoot Caribbean and the Clipitool Rescue. Both have more rounded tips, but the rest of the blades are like the wharny PM2 and very functional (I would prefer their tips to be like the Wharny PM2, but I understand that those particular designs are meant to not accidentally stab anything).
In all three of the knives, the blades do not make the closed knife “too wide”, at least relative to what they would be with a Delica 4 style wharncliffe.

My Caribbean and Clipitool are also both serrated. I really want Cutlery Shoppe to try a run of satin serrated XHP wharncliffe PM2s, even if it has to be smaller than the others.
Even better if the Military 2 can see similar variations.
Their exclusives seem to do fairly well.

The Watu and Chokwe are a bit of an anomaly, but I actually like that shape about as much as the PM2. I just think the overall knife and handle might be as polarizing a shape as the delica style wharny, despite not really having the same problem with closed blade height.
I hope there’ll be a future for some form of that design.

It’s kinda turned into a discussion of wharncliffes, sheepsfoots, et al.

[kontei]

Well I lasted 21 seconds. Between the ambient noise and the camera not being focused that was enough to form an opinion.

You are right about the ambience and the focus. But on the other hand you cannot expect a professionall video which is provided for free.