Where is Sal?

[apollo]

What i am going to say needs to be seen in the most respectful and positive way possible way.
The problem with Family companies is they can grown to enormous giants under its founder but once the founder steps aside and the next generation takes over many of them go in decline and regrettably some of them even vanish.

Now in the case of Spyderco i think the company is safe from this thanks to Eric.
But we need to face the fact that besides Eric being a wonderful person and an amazing knife designer he is not Sal. Eric is from what i have noticed more a worker then a talker so i do not see him sitting on the forum connecting with the fans as much as Sal does. So we need to except that that little change will happen one day. (Hopefully that change is decades away)
I do not believe our words will be unheard but yeah they will carry less of an impact probably.

I am certain the opposite has happened here. Sal was comfortable with the company being 50 to 60 people, doing business on the scale it was in the 1990s. Eric is more ambitious and has been the driving force of the expansion.

I hope that all is well with Sal and Gail and they are enjoying some time away.

That can indeed be the true i just did not know that. But just to be clear i was not talking about spyderco in that specific part of my message as i was talking about family companies in general.

For example regrettably i have seen many people loose there jobs over the years because off such situations.
Even just recently VanHool a big family buss company off 2800 people and with around 80 years off historie that sold worldwide even to the US that is located just a few miles from me closed down due to the kids of the founder not having the skills to manage the company as they’re dad did.

That is why i find we are extremely lucky to have Eric.
And by the way i am also hoping Sal is just on a well deserved vacation.

[SSD_777]

Sal is 81 years old. I hope all is well and he's enjoying retirement and not thinking about this forum or the company.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

It is also very cool how sal and others can make prototypes like say a Magnacut Endura as long as they have the materials and tools.

[wrdwrght]

I imagine, and certainly hope, Sal is wherever he and Gail want to be.

Eric, meantime, has had his hand reliably on Spyderco’s tiller for the past several years.

But, we need (to be ready, at least) to let Sal exit this forum without all the regret we want to heap on him.

Sal and Gail have done their bit, and then some. Those Spydies in our pockets are respectful—and pertinent—remembrances.

So, too, are all Sal’s lessons shared, if only we can remember to practice them.

[cabfrank]

You are absolutely right, however, I will indeed feel regret, probably irrationally so.

[mokele]

I just hope to hear he is doing well and pass my best wishes

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Sal if you see this know we all love you as our own family and thank you, sir.

[James Y]

He's probably having a wonderful time in Hawaii, or wherever they've chosen to enjoy a well-deserved vacation.

Jim

[Doc Dan]

Yeah, he's probably sailing, but may be diving, too.

[cabfrank]

He is online, browsing the forum.

[cjk]

On the first day of blade show (a couple of months ago), I had an early bird pass. There was nothing I really needed to buy, so after entering early, I went over to the the Spyderco booth and was fortunate enough to get to chit chat with Sal for around 15 minutes. During that chat, he mentioned that he hadn't been on the forum for a couple of months.

[kennethsime]

On the first day of blade show (a couple of months ago), I had an early bird pass. There was nothing I really needed to buy, so after entering early, I went over to the the Spyderco booth and was fortunate enough to get to chit chat with Sal for around 15 minutes. During that chat, he mentioned that he hadn't been on the forum for a couple of months.

It does seem to come in waves.

My favorite thing on the forum is logging in and seeing "Sal" as the latest poster in 5-6 threads, knowing he's been busy.

[Fine Swine]

He has too much character to actually do this, but it would be hilarious if he spent his time trolling other brands' forums and chat rooms.

[Danke]

[Synov]

Found him

► Show Spoiler

[Tristan_david2001]

Epic posting ^

[MrGibson]

Synov—that’s pure genius.

[Danke]

Found him

[sal]

Hi Doc,

Thanx fer askin'. And thanx to the rest of you for all of your comments. I'm OK. We had a lot of personal issues as well as business issues that kept us pretty busy. "Life is a problem to solve". We recently hired an assistant for us (Gail, Peter, Roque and me) that will also help in time management.

To be honest, I've thought about the forum quite a bit and missed you all. It does take blocks of time if I am going to be transparent and share the thoughts in question. Trying to balance time between all areas of a life is tricky, for sure. I'm sure many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. Also, I'm convinced that as you get older, the earth turns faster so there is less time.

sal

[JustinTime]

So great to see you back Sal!