Why I like Spyderco

[BrokenArrow]

I only own a few spydercos. A couple of PM2, Yojimbo2 and a couple of mules. The mules with the spyderco G10 scales and the PM2 fit my hand like a glove. In addition to that, when I first joined the forum I had some questions and Sal answered them himself. I didn't know who he was at the time but after some research I soon learned.....he's the man.
Then my second question was answered my Michael Janich.....the man's right hand man.

Now that tells me that these guys care about their customers. Keep it up fellows.

Why do you like Spyderco?

[Sharp Guy]

Something for everyone

[Manixguy@1994]

Something for everyone

Best three words that can be said about Spyderco. Dan

[Vamais]

From my experience, Spyderco has the best metallurgy and ergonomics. Spyderco designs are well-balanced, where each part of the design works synergistically with other design elements to create a tool that performs very well. Spyderco is also at the leading edge of materials research for blade steels, which I appreciate.

[Drubieg]

Business philosophy, backlocks, and spyderedges

[Mushroom]

Integrity and innovation.

[mikey177]

The Spydiehole works better for my elderly hands than either thumbstuds or flipper tabs.

Plus, I love their hip and trendy scale colors

[jwbnyc]

Hear hear!

[anycal]

Knives are a necessity in my life, kitchen and EDC. Why Spyderco? Quality, variety, and this forum transformed it into a hobby for me. It has been an educational and fun ride.

[Paul Ardbeg]

Innovative, excellent heat treatment, very knowledgeable about metallurgy, thinking outside of the box from a design perspective, customer oriented, the forum, wide variety of steels, superb designs that will stand the test of time and last but not least the great folks that are Spyderco.

[Albertaboyscott]

Variety, functionality and the fact that the company seems to care about people are big factors that keep me coming back.

[jdw]

Like a lot of folks, my first two Spydies were the Delica and Dragonfly in SE. They were amazingly unique at the time and incredibly utilitarian. Many Spydies later I eventually found this forum and quickly figured out that I didn’t know nearly as much about knives as I thought I did. Sal’s interaction with the forumites and the knowledge of the members of this community spoke volumes about the integrity of the company and the knowledgeable loyalty of its customers. I have gained volumes of knowledge from members of this forum community, many who have moved on, but my respect for Sal, his incredible designs, and the business model that he created from force of will has my undying respect and gratitude.

[WilliamMunny]

Simple, good knives, great people.

[SchoonerBum]

The commitment to making quality knives for those of us who get dunked in salt water on a regular basis.

Ergonomics.

Also the forum community and the dialogue that the company keeps up with their customers here. It’s really remarkable.

[kobold]

Great steels in great designs.

[RustyIron]

Spydie Holes and Spydie Humps. That's what I've come to want in a knife. Sometimes I see a knife that looks interesting, but then I realize it has neither hump nor hole, so I quickly loose interest.

If that was all, I'd probably only have two or three Spydercos. But Sal keeps whipping them out in all these different materials: K390, Cruwear, REX45, Magnacut, and all the plain vanilla ones. It's like going to the fancy ice cream parlor--you want to keep coming back and eventually taste all the different flavors.

[Mat_ski]

Spydie Holes and Spydie Humps. That's what I've come to want in a knife. Sometimes I see a knife that looks interesting, but then I realize it has neither hump nor hole, so I quickly loose interest.

If that was all, I'd probably only have two or three Spydercos. But Sal keeps whipping them out in all these different materials: K390, Cruwear, REX45, Magnacut, and all the plain vanilla ones. It's like going to the fancy ice cream parlor--you want to keep coming back and eventually taste all the different flavors.

I think this perfectly sums up all the reasons for me.

[zuludelta]

The first & most foundational reason that I like Spyderco is because they make good knives, solid bombproof cutting tools I can rely on day after day on the job, and every other context where I need a cutting tool on my person. Everything I like about Spyderco is rooted in this premise.

Beyond that, I am also a Spyderco fan because of their genuine commitment to improving their product and their processes based on user experiences. When I posted my review of the original Lil' Temperance 3 a few years ago, I mentioned a number of issues I encountered in using the knife. Within a couple of hours of the posting, Sal was in the thread, giving insight as to how the issues may have arisen, providing comments, and just constructively engaging with myself and the other users in the thread. I learned a lot just from that thread.

Fast forward two years later and I get an email... from none other than Sal himself! He wanted to send me an early production specimen of the upcoming Lil' Temperance 3 Lightweight for testing & evaluation. In his words, he wanted me to "beat the [heck] out of it" (knowing that I put my work knife through its paces every day), and to let him know how it held up to actual real-world use, before Spyderco brought the model to the market.

It meant a lot to me that Sal Glesser valued my opinion & experience: I'm not an engineer, not an industrial designer, not a knifemaker, not a YouTube personality who can swing sales with a positive video, I'm just a guy who uses a folding knife every day at his warehouse job. And yet Sal remembered that I had written about my experience with the original Lil' Temperance 3 two years prior, and he wanted to know what I thought of the model's newest iteration. I'll never, ever forget that and I will always be appreciative of it.

And when it came to actually sending the knife for testing, Gail (Spyderco co-founder & Sal's spouse) made sure that it got past Customs (the CBSA has very inconsistent interpretation & application of rules regarding the transit of locking folders across the Canadian border), and she was just so pleasant in her emails.

I guess this all ties into the third reason for my liking Spyderco: the sense of community. I like how the forum is a space where we can leave contentious issues at the door & just discuss knives and knife-adjacent topics, and I like how members and moderators (shout out to Michael Janich & TazKristi) are eager to share their knowledge & provide advice & suggestions & encouragement.

[Blerv]

I’m a huge fan of the weird and the underdog. Granted, Spyderco is no underdog but their push to constantly think outside the box is refreshing. They also seem to meet a lot of artists half-way to allow them to see some very high quality production runs.

Outside that, Sal and Eric, Mike J and Kristy…just outstanding people.

[benben]

Spydie Holes and Spydie Humps. That's what I've come to want in a knife. Sometimes I see a knife that looks interesting, but then I realize it has neither hump nor hole, so I quickly loose interest.

If that was all, I'd probably only have two or three Spydercos. But Sal keeps whipping them out in all these different materials: K390, Cruwear, REX45, Magnacut, and all the plain vanilla ones. It's like going to the fancy ice cream parlor--you want to keep coming back and eventually taste all the different flavors.

Pretty much sums it up for me! I’ve been on the fence many times with manufacturers like CRK, Hinderer, and Spartan, and I have absolutely no doubt these are wonderful knives, I just can’t get away from the thumb hole! And Sal’s almost endless choices in steel selection doesn’t hurt either!


*** I will have a Hinderer Skinny flipper one day when the right one comes along…