Gateway Spyderco?

[CDEP]

PARA3 LW BD1N

After decades of Buck 110/112, and not even thinking about the possibility of other knives, I bought a RAT and a couple of CIVIVI budget models. Nice stuff, but didn't impress this Buck Boy as being in the same league as a tool. Finally, curiosity about the weird-looking "Spider Knives" got the best of me, and I chose the PARA3 to see what the Comp Lock was all about.

Took it out of the box, slow rolled the blade out, and adjusted it to my grip.

I literally said, out loud, "oh sh*t".

Of course it looks like this! It *has* to look like this. Form follows function - like Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Leo Fender! This guy Sal and his son Eric are geniuses! It all made sense in a matter of seconds, and that weird little sucker was suddenly the most beautiful knife I'd ever held.

The ergos hooked me before I even used it to separate matter. Once that happened I was a full flat convert. A Native 5 followed soon after, and the ergos were even better for my hand. The most perfect tool I've ever used.

Fortunately, I have no other expensive hobbies...

[Aladinsane]

I was hooked by the Walmart Native.

The story goes, I passed the knife case one day and noticed the opening hole on a Native and asked to see it. From the first time handling one it just made all the sense in the world. I had never really liked thumb studs and this was immediately an improvement for me. I bought one on the spot, in plain edge for about $30.

Then as I do with everything I go home and start researching the brand. The website showed the Native with the Bug logo on the blade and "Golden Colorado, USA Earth" and mine had neither, and then I noticed that it cost more than twice as much anywhere else that sold it so I started getting paranoid that Walmart was selling fakes or at the least a lower quality version so I returned it and went to Bass Pro Shop and bought another one for something like $85, this time in SE because the explanation of "infinite cutting edges" of serrations on the website sounded intriguing and I had never even seen a serrated pocket knife before.

I carried it until it was so dull that it did more snagging than cutting and then I had no idea how to sharpen it and then I fell into disliking serrations like most people do. I wish I had bought a Sharpmaker all the way back then.

Then probably 5 years later I got a plain old saber grind Delica and that rekindled the interest in the brand and that was the knife that I joined the forum for, because until then I thought all Spydercos were made in Golden, so once again I thought I had bought a fake. My first post here was asking if it was legit. So you could say either of these were my gateway models.

Great story. I wish I had one of those “unbranded” Spydercos, I wonder if people pursue them to add to their collection?

[Aladinsane]

PARA3 LW BD1N

After decades of Buck 110/112, and not even thinking about the possibility of other knives, I bought a RAT and a couple of CIVIVI budget models. Nice stuff, but didn't impress this Buck Boy as being in the same league as a tool. Finally, curiosity about the weird-looking "Spider Knives" got the best of me, and I chose the PARA3 to see what the Comp Lock was all about.

Took it out of the box, slow rolled the blade out, and adjusted it to my grip.

I literally said, out loud, "oh sh*t".

Of course it looks like this! It *has* to look like this. Form follows function - like Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Leo Fender! This guy Sal and his son Eric are geniuses! It all made sense in a matter of seconds, and that weird little sucker was suddenly the most beautiful knife I'd ever held.

The ergos hooked me before I even used it to separate matter. Once that happened I was a full flat convert. A Native 5 followed soon after, and the ergos were even better for my hand. The most perfect tool I've ever used.

Fortunately, I have no other expensive hobbies...

Oh yeah, I agree about Spyderco ergonomics. The only other knives I’ve used that compare are my Scandinavian made fixed blade knives.

[Evil D]

I was hooked by the Walmart Native.

The story goes, I passed the knife case one day and noticed the opening hole on a Native and asked to see it. From the first time handling one it just made all the sense in the world. I had never really liked thumb studs and this was immediately an improvement for me. I bought one on the spot, in plain edge for about $30.

Then as I do with everything I go home and start researching the brand. The website showed the Native with the Bug logo on the blade and "Golden Colorado, USA Earth" and mine had neither, and then I noticed that it cost more than twice as much anywhere else that sold it so I started getting paranoid that Walmart was selling fakes or at the least a lower quality version so I returned it and went to Bass Pro Shop and bought another one for something like $85, this time in SE because the explanation of "infinite cutting edges" of serrations on the website sounded intriguing and I had never even seen a serrated pocket knife before.

I carried it until it was so dull that it did more snagging than cutting and then I had no idea how to sharpen it and then I fell into disliking serrations like most people do. I wish I had bought a Sharpmaker all the way back then.

Then probably 5 years later I got a plain old saber grind Delica and that rekindled the interest in the brand and that was the knife that I joined the forum for, because until then I thought all Spydercos were made in Golden, so once again I thought I had bought a fake. My first post here was asking if it was legit. So you could say either of these were my gateway models.

Great story. I wish I had one of those “unbranded” Spydercos, I wonder if people pursue them to add to their collection?

I think so, if I collected Natives I would want one. They're a significant part of Spyderco history and of the Native's history.

[CDEP]

I was hooked by the Walmart Native.

The story goes, I passed the knife case one day and noticed the opening hole on a Native and asked to see it. From the first time handling one it just made all the sense in the world. I had never really liked thumb studs and this was immediately an improvement for me. I bought one on the spot, in plain edge for about $30.

Then as I do with everything I go home and start researching the brand. The website showed the Native with the Bug logo on the blade and "Golden Colorado, USA Earth" and mine had neither, and then I noticed that it cost more than twice as much anywhere else that sold it so I started getting paranoid that Walmart was selling fakes or at the least a lower quality version so I returned it and went to Bass Pro Shop and bought another one for something like $85, this time in SE because the explanation of "infinite cutting edges" of serrations on the website sounded intriguing and I had never even seen a serrated pocket knife before.

I carried it until it was so dull that it did more snagging than cutting and then I had no idea how to sharpen it and then I fell into disliking serrations like most people do. I wish I had bought a Sharpmaker all the way back then.

Then probably 5 years later I got a plain old saber grind Delica and that rekindled the interest in the brand and that was the knife that I joined the forum for, because until then I thought all Spydercos were made in Golden, so once again I thought I had bought a fake. My first post here was asking if it was legit. So you could say either of these were my gateway models.

Great story. I wish I had one of those “unbranded” Spydercos, I wonder if people pursue them to add to their collection?

I think so, if I collected Natives I would want one. They're a significant part of Spyderco history and of the Native's history.

I do collect Natives, and just grabbed a BRK from eBay. It is inferior in every way to the Spyderco-built models that followed, but interesting to see and consider in the evolution of such an iconic model. So glad @sal didn't let it go and continued to develop it.

[The True North]

Endura.

[Kadesuth]

My first Spyderco was a Meerkat in V-Toku2.

It was actually the knife that got me into collecting knives. My wife and I had just started dating at the time, we took a trip down to Tennessee with her family and dropped by SMKW just to see what they had. It was the first one I picked up out of the case, and I immediately loved the ergonomics and the design. I still carry it regularly!

[Aladinsane]

My first Spyderco was a Meerkat in V-Toku2.

It was actually the knife that got me into collecting knives. My wife and I had just started dating at the time, we took a trip down to Tennessee with her family and dropped by SMKW just to see what they had. It was the first one I picked up out of the case, and I immediately loved the ergonomics and the design. I still carry it regularly!

Meerkat! Very good to start off with! Here’s mine: