Straight Forward Comments About Spyderco's From Another Forum

[Pokey]

On the Badger & Blade shaving forum, (badgerandblade.com,) there's a sub-forum called," What Is Your EDC Knife?" One forum member, BradWorld, hadn't been posting pictures of his EDC's for a while because he was carrying his new favorite, a Para Military 2 with S110V, and thought it would be redundant to post over and over about it.

Here is his quote, posted with his permission, from the B&B forum:

"You may have noticed that I’m not posting as much here lately. It’s because I have been using this Blurple PM2 in S110V nearly continuously since purchasing it. It is an amazing knife. Absolutely the perfect large EDC folder. That is saying a lot for me. When I got to this sub forum, I was squarely opposed to the whole Spyderco aesthetic. And my perception of their construction and performance potential was quite low. I was in the process of collecting my first Benchmade knives, among other stuff. And a few fellows on here recommended I try Spyderco. I resisted for a little while. Then bought a Delica 4… just for yucks. Just to satisfy the curiosity. And I was instantly shocked by how often I grabbed for that Seiki City gem as I was leaving the house. A couple of other Spydies followed that were incrementally better than the last. Until I got this PM2. This one was absolute perfection. And my Benchmades sit in my knife roll, while this PM2 gets the action. And on days where I need a smaller, lighter carry, the PM3 LW gets the call. I still think the BMs are artistically and mechanically superior in every way. And they look way nicer too. But for every day utility and function, the Spydercos are the choice. They sit in the pocket better, and they just keep cutting. The blades are ridiculously sharp right out of the box, which can’t be said for BM. And the grinds are just so highly efficient for mundane every day cutting tasks. So, thanks to all those enablers that prodded me unwillingly into the world of Spyderco! "

[akapennypincher]

So Shaving people discuss knives, not big deal.

[GT99]

Funny that seem to be a VERY common theme, it was for me, hated the look of spyderco and was a benchamde guy (still great knives) got my first spyderco (smock) loved it and got a Shaman a week later, still thought the PM2 was kinda ugly but eventually got one and wow, great knife and totally get the hype, I have 7 Benchmade that get little to no pocket time and I have about 9 Spyderco now all this year, will have a couple more if the black friday sales are any good.

I hear it over and over again about people like me, thought spyderco was ugly and then you get one and something clicks, the ergos the quality everything, next thing you know you love the look, **** my favorites now are the spyderco wharncliffes and most think they are ugly, but man are they perfect users

[kennbr34]

I've always been a function over form kind of guy. I remember talking to a friend about Spyderco and saying that I thought they just looked goofy. But once he started talking about things like the blade geometry and steel composition, rather than how centered or strong the lock up was, I knew we appreciated the same things in a knife: Cutting performance.

I guess for the longest time I just thought the weird triangle shaped blade was nothing but an aesthetic choice.

[Manifestgtr]

When I first started getting into pocket knives, I had always seen Spyderco as a “tactical” brand (probably because of the PM2)…and that whole ethos has always irked me, particularly among civilians, so it kept me away…

Then I started seeing models in these interesting steels. Then I became aware of the design philosophy of ergonomics over aesthetics which is something I MASSIVELY agree with when it comes to tools. So I bought a dragonfly…minimum investment. Then I bought a para 3 lw to try something bigger. A little while later I found out about the sage 5 lw “cult”, bought one and that was it. As of 2023, Spydercos outnumber every other brand I own at least 2:1 and I’m practically eating my own fingers in anticipation of the upcoming sage 5 lw in maxamet.

[aicolainen]

If my memory serves me right, I've never disliked Spydercos for their esthetics.
I can vaguely remember around 8 years back when my interest in knives was gaining traction, I browsed many knife stores and to someone very fresh in the game the Spydercos had a very distinctive look. I was more intrigued by it than put off, but I also didn't understand it, so it was hard to make a choice and pick one. I have to agree with @Manifestgtr that my initial impression was that of a tactical/self defense oriented approach, but I also sensed a Japanese vibe in the design language and my initial assumption was that it was a Japanese brand. So yeah.. intrigued and confused sums it up my first impressions quite well.
The first quality brand, dedicated folding knife I bought around that time was a HK branded Benchmade, but it wasn't for any other reason than my impatience to get started, local availability and a reasonable price. After reading lots of reviews and doing as proper research as possible without any prior experience I made my first deliberate purchase. A bulk buy from the US that included 3 Spyderco folding knives, a sharp maker, 1 Benchmade and 1 CRK. A pretty offensive "first" knife order, but also goes to show that my confidence in Spyderco was established very early on. And it has remained.
When you try evaluate matter that you don't fully understand, you can't always explain why you come to the conclusions you do, but there was something about the Spydercos made me feel like they were designed by knife users rather than graphical artists and marketing departments.

[vivi]

I got into nice knives by visiting a local camping store back in the early 2000's. I'd stop by for stuff like sleeping bags, swiss army knives, flashlights etc., and eventually noticed the prominent Benchmade display they had.

Not convinced any knife was worth $200-300, I asked to handle a few of them. I remember really liking the way the full sized Rukus and Skirmish felt in my hand, and handling them I instantly felt the difference between them and my $10 tactical folders & Buck 110's.

Instead of making an impulse buy I went home and did some research. Everyone steered me away from the big and expensive BM's and told me to buy a Spyderco Delica.

My genius self went back in, found their Spyderco selection, and bought a saber ground Delica 4 without asking to handle it or see other Spydercos.

Hated it due to the thick saber grind and small handle and almost got turned off the brand completely. Decided to give them another chance and asked for recommendations of a full sized folder. Bought the S60V Military next and that was what got me hooked. The size to weight ratio made my Buck 110's feel like dinosaurs.

I eventually picked up a few Benchmades like the 425 Resistor, a Skirmish and a 710, but none of them worked as well as my Spydercos for me so they didn't stick around. More of a function over fashion guy and while BM's are certainly functional, Spyderco seemed to out more emphasis on ergonomics, cutting ability etc. than BM did at the time.

[Albertaboyscott]

I admit that it took me about 10yrs to warm up to spyderco. Now they are pretty much all I buy.

[kobold]

I admit that it took me about 10yrs to warm up to spyderco. Now they are pretty much all I buy.

^Me too.

When I first started looking at knives and I saw Spydercos I thought I am not ready for them, I wanted to experience "normal knives" (mora, condor, chinesium) before going into some kind of esoteric radicalism of the knife world. :-)

Today my folders are mostly Spydercos, but have about as many Vic SAKs of all kinds and also a lot of fixed blades, half of them are Bark Rivers and finally, a few CRKs. That's my knife diet. The SAKs and the Spydercos are carried the most.

[spydergoat]

I didn't need to warm up to spyderco since the first nice folder I bought was an Endura FFG. It came sharp as **** and cut so better than the cheap knives I had used. The thumb hole was great and the FRN handle never slipped. Bought a Delica after that and was hooked.

[Striple765Rider]

I’ve always loved the look of Spyderco’s and have been a fan of them since the early 90’s. My problem was that I had a long stretch of my young adulthood in the late 90’s and early 2000’s that I was broke as a joke so the only knives I had were Walmart kershaws and the like. I think I was around 26-27 when I finally got my first Spydie, a Delica with combo edge and saber grind. I still have that little heavily worn knife (the pocket clip is **** near silver now) to this day. I think it was a few years later before I got my next one which was also my first “big boy” Spyderco, a Manix 2. It wasn’t until just the last year or two that I really started my collection of them and started buying several a year (****, I bought three just this week).
But to me I’ve always liked the looks of them and the Spydie hole and I love that they’re REAL genuine knife guys running it. They’re always trying out new, exotic steels and grinds. Not just the same mainstream crap over and over like everybody else. And even with their recent price increases they’re still a HUGE bargain when compared to the greedy pieces of crap at benchmade. If all you knew was benchmade you’d think M4 and S90V were the top of the chain in super ultra rare exotic steels. Don’t get me wrong they’re great steels and I’m a big fan of M4 but I’m the land of Spyderco they’re just the norm and can be found in almost every model they make.

[Araignee]

I still think the BMs are artistically and mechanically superior in every way.

Artistically superior ? That doesn't even make sense.

Mechanically superior ? I don't know, I keep reading about omega ring failures. This screams inferiority to me.

[Striple765Rider]

I still think the BMs are artistically and mechanically superior in every way.

Artistically superior ? That doesn't even make sense.

Mechanically superior ? I don't know, I keep reading about omega ring failures. This screams inferiority to me.

I think he meant like looks and design. I disagree but that’s just my opinion and taste though. I think most benchmades look too blocky and chunky and I don’t like their grinds on most models. But again that’s just my opinion. **** I’m sure there’s people out there (my crazy no taste having wife for one ) that don’t think 911’s are one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

[Pokey]

Thirty years ago I had a coworker that was ordering a couple of Endura's. At that point in time I had never carried a knife, but I thought the Endura was a bit big for what I would use it for, so I bought a couple of Delica's. (I still have them.)

At the sake of sounding like a broken record, the design was and still is, perfect for ease of carry. (the clip) The Round Hole made it simple to open with one hand while my other arm was wrapped around an antenna positioner, or while in the bucket of a cherry picker with a coworker. Clipping it to your pocket without a lot of drama or effort was simple, where it was ready for the next time you needed it. The ergonomics made it very easy to use.

Fast forward a number of years and I've now got a pallet full of Spyderco's that outnumber other brands 3 4 to 1. I've pretty much stayed with the models that follow the original design, nothing too exotic looking, or anything that would raise eyebrows in public. (ok, I've got a Bombshell ) Now days it's all the different steel that Spyderco uses that catches my fancy.

[standy99]

Being a fisherman it was H1 Salts that converted me to Spyderco in the early 90s

Steels kept me buying.

Mules have me addicted.

[Araignee]

I think he meant like looks and design.

Well, in the very next sentence he proceeded to write :

And they look way nicer too.

Which is where he supposedly opined on the design
Very confusing.

[Striple765Rider]

I think he meant like looks and design.

Well, in the very next sentence he proceeded to write :

And they look way nicer too.

Which is where he supposedly opined on the design
Very confusing.

[standy99]

I think he meant like looks and design.

Well, in the very next sentence he proceeded to write :

And they look way nicer too.

Which is where he supposedly opined on the design
Very confusing.

He’s only just seen the light but still in BM fanboy mode.

[ladybug93]

if spydercos were more readily available in brick and mortars, they would be more popular. my first spyderco was a ladybug i saw in a store and wanted desperately. i thought it was so cool. granted, we didn't have internet like we do now, but when i started growing bigger and wanted a bigger knife, i still gravitated toward what was available. it was a long time before i would come back to spyderco and that's at least partially because i never saw them anywhere in person. benchmade can be found in a lot of places where spyderco can not, and they have a reputation of being good for use by military service members. really, if spyderco would get into the bx/px/nex, their popularity would grow tremendously.

[Hatuletoh]

That's funny. I immediately loved the look of the first Spyderco knife I saw--a Tenacious in a Walmart, of all places--sitting on a shelf next to a bunch of boring looking Buck, Camillus, and no-name discount knives. I could see just by looking at the picture of the Tenacious on the box that it was thoughtfully designed. I liked the look of the Spyderco aesthetic the moment I saw it, and as time had gone on, I've come to appreciate the more uncoventional designs best of all. Tell me a Civilian isn't beautifully ugly, like an alligator or an old Willeys model jeep. And now, some years later, I have an extremely satisfying collection of Spydercos, and smaller but also extremely satisfying collections of ZTs, Microtechs, Kizers, Kershaws, Pro-Techs, Bokers and all manner of miscellaneous other brands and custom one-offs of varying quality. More knives than any one person "needs." But I still do not own single Benchmade. No offense to any BM fans, but for the price I'd rather have another Spyderco. Or maybe a couple Spydercos, given what most BM models cost.