2025 Factory Seconds Sale

[8th_Note]

Haha I figured those pics would generate some interest! I even sent that picture to my wife with something like ‘hey guess what we picked up’ lol


But NO unfortunately we did not come home all those, that would be insane! I’ve got kids to feed! And we NEVER buy to resell. But getting to sort out what we wanted was so much fun. The finding and the sorting was a really enjoyable process. And it gave us a really great opportunity to get some of these more special/desireable knives into the hands of some true Spydie fans.


Here is a more realistic photo after we whittled it down a LOT more, and not including those knives in the upper right hand corner…





After all is said and done, here is our final haul:



15 in total. 5 are my sons (he had been saving up for an entire year for this one day), 5 are mine and the other 5 are gifts for coworkers and family.


HARD decisions had to be made to keep it reasonable, but we were quite happy to see some of the more special ones find new homes with people who really appreciated them.


We finally made it home after a long (but great) couple of days. We’ve got a lot of unpacking to do, but I will be doing a whole writeup of our experience, including some observations and intersting stories.


An absolutely HUGE shoutout to the entire Spyderco crew, who put their heart and soul into this event to make it such a wonderful experience for all of us. Their help and generosity were completely off the charts and we are in complete gratitude, and I can say the same for some of the incredible members of this forum as well. Just wonderful people all the way around - feeling very blessed right now!

How did you narrow that down, almost like abandoning your children. Haha. Some great picks.

It was extremely difficult. Both the Military 2 in 15V and the pink/black Yojimbo were on the ‘list’ I had, but the hardest part of the entire day was busting out the calculator before heading to the register, and then the clock is ticking and you have to get home for dinner.


I probably picked up and opened at least 100 Military 2s in 15V, maybe more. Literally, there must have been hundreds there. After a while I started wondering just why they were all there. I mean, some had rough action, and others were plenty off-centered, but some seemed absolutely stellar. At all times throughout the day, I had about 10 M2s in my basket, to sort and find one I liked best…





What gave me the willpower to release it was the fact that the one I was closing in on ended up saying to me ‘I don’t have a strong detent…’ over and over. On a knife that long, a secure blade is paramount, and I had sort of neglected that thought throughout the day.

And…if the supply was any indication, it would not surprise me at all if we still see a boatload of them next year. There were SO many.


Regarding the pink Yojimbo, there were also equal numbers of them…I mean hundreds. You’ll see in some of the other pictures I will post up, just about every single case of knives at any given time had at least 1 of each, and usually more. I saw on avg about 2-3 15V Military 2s in each case, and about 2 pink Yojimbos. I only saw 1-2 pink Yojumbos.


Nearly every single Yojimbo had a case of lock stick, and some were pretty bad. Sticky blades on some, and sticky locks on nearly all. If I had to be honest though, I bet both of those issues would probably self correct over time.

Since there were also hundreds, I figure if I still feel the same way about them next year, there will be plenty to choose from.

Others were much harder. There was a crucarta PM2 with an action to die for, it was so, so good. There were a LOT of crucartas that had great action - they stand out to me as one of the most consistent Golden models, and that seems to hold true in the Seconds dept as well. Another was that bumblebee PM2 Salt in the picture that had a better action than even my handpicked one riding in my pocket that very moment, but sanity prevailed, despite outstanding prices, regarding buying duplicate knives on a limited budget. But for $100 and $115, respectively, one could not find better blades on the planet.


Another really hard one was the Caly 3.5. Yes, we had not only one, but 2, in our cart near the end of the day. One was found by a guy next to me and just randomly asked me if I wanted it, the other was found by my son. But these were ‘open box’ I believe so the pricing for just one knife would have put quite a dent in the budget, so we had to let those go. I would have LOVED one, but all is well. I will stick probably pick one up in the future. A very elegant knife and, as some have remarked, very ‘Spyderco’.


Another one was the $74 left-handed Military I found. Actually found about 3 of them, and almost ended keeping the one with the best action, but even that one was pretty stiff and had to let it go. Nice to know that they can be found. Another was the Vallotton, which I wouldn’t think I would see there, but my son found it. Would haved loved that one too, but another open box so it was still very pricey (to me) and had moderately heavy lock stick.


I have so many pictures, for those of you that weren’t able to attend I’d really like it to feel like you were there. Hopefully some of you can make it out, which would be wonderful.

Some fun stuff ahead…






host animated gif images

I've never been to a 2nds sale, so this is a question I'm just asking. I'm not implying anything or casting judgement. Just an honest question:

Is it considered kosher to walk around all day with 100 knives in your basket that you know you won't buy all of? Wouldn't this prevent someone else from getting a particular knife that they wanted?

[sal]

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/202 ... o.2057006/

[Stuart Ackerman]

Just curious...

Were there any Second Serratas?

[WilliamMunny]

Haha I figured those pics would generate some interest! I even sent that picture to my wife with something like ‘hey guess what we picked up’ lol


But NO unfortunately we did not come home all those, that would be insane! I’ve got kids to feed! And we NEVER buy to resell. But getting to sort out what we wanted was so much fun. The finding and the sorting was a really enjoyable process. And it gave us a really great opportunity to get some of these more special/desireable knives into the hands of some true Spydie fans.


Here is a more realistic photo after we whittled it down a LOT more, and not including those knives in the upper right hand corner…





After all is said and done, here is our final haul:



15 in total. 5 are my sons (he had been saving up for an entire year for this one day), 5 are mine and the other 5 are gifts for coworkers and family.


HARD decisions had to be made to keep it reasonable, but we were quite happy to see some of the more special ones find new homes with people who really appreciated them.


We finally made it home after a long (but great) couple of days. We’ve got a lot of unpacking to do, but I will be doing a whole writeup of our experience, including some observations and intersting stories.


An absolutely HUGE shoutout to the entire Spyderco crew, who put their heart and soul into this event to make it such a wonderful experience for all of us. Their help and generosity were completely off the charts and we are in complete gratitude, and I can say the same for some of the incredible members of this forum as well. Just wonderful people all the way around - feeling very blessed right now!

How did you narrow that down, almost like abandoning your children. Haha. Some great picks.

It was extremely difficult. Both the Military 2 in 15V and the pink/black Yojimbo were on the ‘list’ I had, but the hardest part of the entire day was busting out the calculator before heading to the register, and then the clock is ticking and you have to get home for dinner.


I probably picked up and opened at least 100 Military 2s in 15V, maybe more. Literally, there must have been hundreds there. After a while I started wondering just why they were all there. I mean, some had rough action, and others were plenty off-centered, but some seemed absolutely stellar. At all times throughout the day, I had about 10 M2s in my basket, to sort and find one I liked best…





What gave me the willpower to release it was the fact that the one I was closing in on ended up saying to me ‘I don’t have a strong detent…’ over and over. On a knife that long, a secure blade is paramount, and I had sort of neglected that thought throughout the day.

And…if the supply was any indication, it would not surprise me at all if we still see a boatload of them next year. There were SO many.


Regarding the pink Yojimbo, there were also equal numbers of them…I mean hundreds. You’ll see in some of the other pictures I will post up, just about every single case of knives at any given time had at least 1 of each, and usually more. I saw on avg about 2-3 15V Military 2s in each case, and about 2 pink Yojimbos. I only saw 1-2 pink Yojumbos.


Nearly every single Yojimbo had a case of lock stick, and some were pretty bad. Sticky blades on some, and sticky locks on nearly all. If I had to be honest though, I bet both of those issues would probably self correct over time.

Since there were also hundreds, I figure if I still feel the same way about them next year, there will be plenty to choose from.

Others were much harder. There was a crucarta PM2 with an action to die for, it was so, so good. There were a LOT of crucartas that had great action - they stand out to me as one of the most consistent Golden models, and that seems to hold true in the Seconds dept as well. Another was that bumblebee PM2 Salt in the picture that had a better action than even my handpicked one riding in my pocket that very moment, but sanity prevailed, despite outstanding prices, regarding buying duplicate knives on a limited budget. But for $100 and $115, respectively, one could not find better blades on the planet.


Another really hard one was the Caly 3.5. Yes, we had not only one, but 2, in our cart near the end of the day. One was found by a guy next to me and just randomly asked me if I wanted it, the other was found by my son. But these were ‘open box’ I believe so the pricing for just one knife would have put quite a dent in the budget, so we had to let those go. I would have LOVED one, but all is well. I will stick probably pick one up in the future. A very elegant knife and, as some have remarked, very ‘Spyderco’.


Another one was the $74 left-handed Military I found. Actually found about 3 of them, and almost ended keeping the one with the best action, but even that one was pretty stiff and had to let it go. Nice to know that they can be found. Another was the Vallotton, which I wouldn’t think I would see there, but my son found it. Would haved loved that one too, but another open box so it was still very pricey (to me) and had moderately heavy lock stick.


I have so many pictures, for those of you that weren’t able to attend I’d really like it to feel like you were there. Hopefully some of you can make it out, which would be wonderful.

Some fun stuff ahead…






host animated gif images

I love seeing the pictures and hearing the awesome stories, it truly does feel like I am there a bit. It’s a 1700 drive/flight for me. Plus I one son going into college this year and one to shortly follow. So while I would love to go it would be a $4k+ endeavor (flight, food, car, knives) for me which the Mrs would not be too found. But told my wife, mandatory retirement is in 9 years, kids will be out of college and I will do it then.

It’s funny you mentioned the crucarta PM2, it absolutely has the best action of any Spyderco I have. I would have definitely jumped on a Military just to try it out, not to mention a G-10 Native 5, 10V Shaman and so on. Good to hear they have so many, it means you will have a ton to pick from next year.

Thanks again!

Sal, great video, they did an amazing job with it.

[TkoK83Spy]

@8th_Note

I also wonder that myself. If 20 people are walking around with a haul like that, how much is left on the tables for everyone else!?

Guys that have attended multiple years, is there a typical or average amounts of knives folks are carrying around in their basket, or some kind of unspoken limit? I'm sure it varies with every person.

[Pokey]

[quote=8th_Note post_id=1859261

I've never been to a 2nds sale, so this is a question I'm just asking. I'm not implying anything or casting judgement. Just an honest question:

Is it considered kosher to walk around all day with 100 knives in your basket that you know you won't buy all of? Wouldn't this prevent someone else from getting a particular knife that they wanted?
[/quote]

In years past employees have asked me to throw one model or another back or head to the sorting table. I hadn’t realized that the model was in demand so I had picked up a few. I picked a good one and put the others back.

Now what I do is pick up a few then when I get to the end of the row I’m on I’ll stop, pick one from the bunch, and set the others free.

The other side of the coin when walking around with a bunch is they’re kept out of circulation and get tossed back later in the day when people just walking in the door might pick one up.

Yesterday I was leaving a little after 3 pm when I saw Red Leader and his son sifting through their catch. There were still a lot of people lined up waiting to come in, so someone already in the Event Center or coming in the door had a chance to give his throw-backs a home.

It all depends on how much you’re willing to spend, when you get there and how long you’re going to stay.

On the other side of another coin, I want to thank Red Leader for not throwing his back sooner. You probably saved me some money.

[Pokey]

@8th_Note

I also wonder that myself. If 20 people are walking around with a haul like that, how much is left on the tables for everyone else!?

Guys that have attended multiple years, is there a typical or average amounts of knives folks are carrying around in their basket, or some kind of unspoken limit? I'm sure it varies with every person.

To answer your first question, there has to be thousands of knives on the tables.

[Red Leader]

All,

Good questions raised. Honestly I never thought about it like that (holding onto knives in a way that would prevent others from getting them) but it will give me something to be aware of next year.

So typically, they hand you a shopping basket as you enter, with the expectation that if you find something interesting, you would simply put it in your basket for sorting. If you check out each knife at length, it might hamper others trying to get around you or check out the same tray, so you put it in your basket and keep moving.


The other thing is that usually the first group in gets the best chance to find something really special that is sitting in the trays, at least. Spyderco knows this, so I have heard they will occasionally hold back on some special items and release them into the wild later in the day, to give folks coming in later waves a chance to get something cool. So, in one sense, you are contributing to that by releasing stuff that you are ‘discarding’ a bit later, putting some interesting knives back out into circulation for the later waves.


It is hard to appreciate is the scale of the event - I heard one estimate at 60k knives. That is a LOT of knives, and if I thought my basket was contributing to some sort of shortage, I absolutely would not let it get that full.


Another thing is how fast your basket fills up. That giant haul on the ground? That was after about 1.5 hrs lol…and that was our second sort of the day around lunchtime. You basket can get like that extremely quick, especially when you find a ton of a particular model you were looking for and want to try to find the one you like the best. Most of that haul (85%+) got discarded and went back on the floor. We did that sorting several times.


When you have your haul spread out like that in a very open area, you get a TON of people walking by checking it out, and it provided some amazing opportunities to hand knives to folks who had been looking for a certain model, which was really the highlight of the day - getting to see the jubilation from someone you were able to find a knife for. That was absolutely the best part. That happened to us multiple times, and I will be sharing those stories.

In addition, it is sort of built into the operation - Spyderco has placed tables all around the outside perimeter of the event room - these are know as ‘sorting tables’, where you sort out your haul when your basket gets too full, and on the orher side of the tables (against the wall) Spyderco employees come and take all your discards and put them back into trays and put them back out in circulation. This cyclical pattern sort of ensures that people coming later will find some interesting stuff that is put back into the floor.

Here is what the sorting tables looked like…


[



host avif images online

[8th_Note]

All,

Good questions raised. Honestly I never thought about it like that (holding onto knives in a way that would prevent others from getting them) but it will give me something to be aware of next year.

So typically, they hand you a shopping basket as you enter, with the expectation that if you find something interesting, you would simply put it in your basket for sorting. If you check out each knife at length, it might hamper others trying to get around you or check out the same tray, so you put it in your basket and keep moving.


The other thing is that usually the first group in gets the best chance to find something really special that is sitting in the trays, at least. Spyderco knows this, so I have heard they will occasionally hold back on some special items and release them into the wild later in the day, to give folks coming in later waves a chance to get something cool. So, in one sense, you are contributing to that by releasing stuff that you are ‘discarding’ a bit later, putting some interesting knives back out into circulation for the later waves.


It is hard to appreciate is the scale of the event - I heard one estimate at 60k knives. That is a LOT of knives, and if I thought my basket was contributing to some sort of shortage, I absolutely would not let it get that full.


Another thing is how fast your basket fills up. That giant haul on the ground? That was after about 1.5 hrs lol…and that was our second sort of the day around lunchtime. You basket can get like that extremely quick, especially when you find a ton of a particular model you were looking for and want to try to find the one you like the best. Most of that haul (85%+) got discarded and went back on the floor. We did that sorting several times.


When you have your haul spread out like that in a very open area, you get a TON of people walking by checking it out, and it provided some amazing opportunities to hand knives to folks who had been looking for a certain model, whoch was really the highlight of the day - getting to see the jubilation from someone you were able to find a knife for. That was absolutely the best part. That happened to us multiple times, and I will be sharing those stories.

In addition, it is sort of built into the operation - Spyderco has placed tables all around the outside perimeter of the event room - these are know as ‘sorting tables’, where you sort out your haul when your basket gets too full, and on the orher side of the tables (against the wall) Spyderco employees come and take all your discards and put them back into trays and put them back out in circulation. This cyclical pattern sort of ensures that people coming later will find some interesting stuff that is put back into the floor.

Here is what the sorting tables looked like…


[



host avif images online

Thank you for the thorough explanation. That makes a lot of sense. It sounds like the grabbing, sorting, returning is the way it's designed to work.

[Bstueve]

Stuart Ackerman
I did not see any more serrata’s this year. I got one a few years ago. Most beautiful knife I’ve ever got for $60. Had a guy at church make me a sheath for it since fixed seconds don’t have sheaths.

[WilliamMunny]

All,

Good questions raised. Honestly I never thought about it like that (holding onto knives in a way that would prevent others from getting them) but it will give me something to be aware of next year.

So typically, they hand you a shopping basket as you enter, with the expectation that if you find something interesting, you would simply put it in your basket for sorting. If you check out each knife at length, it might hamper others trying to get around you or check out the same tray, so you put it in your basket and keep moving.


The other thing is that usually the first group in gets the best chance to find something really special that is sitting in the trays, at least. Spyderco knows this, so I have heard they will occasionally hold back on some special items and release them into the wild later in the day, to give folks coming in later waves a chance to get something cool. So, in one sense, you are contributing to that by releasing stuff that you are ‘discarding’ a bit later, putting some interesting knives back out into circulation for the later waves.


It is hard to appreciate is the scale of the event - I heard one estimate at 60k knives. That is a LOT of knives, and if I thought my basket was contributing to some sort of shortage, I absolutely would not let it get that full.


Another thing is how fast your basket fills up. That giant haul on the ground? That was after about 1.5 hrs lol…and that was our second sort of the day around lunchtime. You basket can get like that extremely quick, especially when you find a ton of a particular model you were looking for and want to try to find the one you like the best. Most of that haul (85%+) got discarded and went back on the floor. We did that sorting several times.


When you have your haul spread out like that in a very open area, you get a TON of people walking by checking it out, and it provided some amazing opportunities to hand knives to folks who had been looking for a certain model, whoch was really the highlight of the day - getting to see the jubilation from someone you were able to find a knife for. That was absolutely the best part. That happened to us multiple times, and I will be sharing those stories.

In addition, it is sort of built into the operation - Spyderco has placed tables all around the outside perimeter of the event room - these are know as ‘sorting tables’, where you sort out your haul when your basket gets too full, and on the orher side of the tables (against the wall) Spyderco employees come and take all your discards and put them back into trays and put them back out in circulation. This cyclical pattern sort of ensures that people coming later will find some interesting stuff that is put back into the floor.

Here is what the sorting tables looked like…


[



host avif images online

Sounds like it’s exactly how it should work. I am so jealous, hope the Kapara, PM2 REX76 and Military Salt came home with you! I don’t know how you can pick, but leaving there, knowing there is another year always helps.

[Red Leader]

All,

Good questions raised. Honestly I never thought about it like that (holding onto knives in a way that would prevent others from getting them) but it will give me something to be aware of next year.

So typically, they hand you a shopping basket as you enter, with the expectation that if you find something interesting, you would simply put it in your basket for sorting. If you check out each knife at length, it might hamper others trying to get around you or check out the same tray, so you put it in your basket and keep moving.


The other thing is that usually the first group in gets the best chance to find something really special that is sitting in the trays, at least. Spyderco knows this, so I have heard they will occasionally hold back on some special items and release them into the wild later in the day, to give folks coming in later waves a chance to get something cool. So, in one sense, you are contributing to that by releasing stuff that you are ‘discarding’ a bit later, putting some interesting knives back out into circulation for the later waves.


It is hard to appreciate is the scale of the event - I heard one estimate at 60k knives. That is a LOT of knives, and if I thought my basket was contributing to some sort of shortage, I absolutely would not let it get that full.


Another thing is how fast your basket fills up. That giant haul on the ground? That was after about 1.5 hrs lol…and that was our second sort of the day around lunchtime. You basket can get like that extremely quick, especially when you find a ton of a particular model you were looking for and want to try to find the one you like the best. Most of that haul (85%+) got discarded and went back on the floor. We did that sorting several times.


When you have your haul spread out like that in a very open area, you get a TON of people walking by checking it out, and it provided some amazing opportunities to hand knives to folks who had been looking for a certain model, whoch was really the highlight of the day - getting to see the jubilation from someone you were able to find a knife for. That was absolutely the best part. That happened to us multiple times, and I will be sharing those stories.

In addition, it is sort of built into the operation - Spyderco has placed tables all around the outside perimeter of the event room - these are know as ‘sorting tables’, where you sort out your haul when your basket gets too full, and on the orher side of the tables (against the wall) Spyderco employees come and take all your discards and put them back into trays and put them back out in circulation. This cyclical pattern sort of ensures that people coming later will find some interesting stuff that is put back into the floor.

Here is what the sorting tables looked like…


[



host avif images online

Sounds like it’s exactly how it should work. I am so jealous, hope the Kapara, PM2 REX76 and Military Salt came home with you! I don’t know how you can pick, but leaving there, knowing there is another year always helps.
IMG_0202.jpeg

None of those ones came home with us. I know crazy right!? Those are all premier knives. A Kapara was one of the last ones cut from my son’s list of keepers. Saw quite a few Kapara’s, but only a couple of the Military 2 Salts and PM2 Rex 76s. Military 2 15V knives were growing on trees.


There was this interesting phenomenon that I noticed and also experienced - the more plentiful a knife, the less interesting it became, especially for the premium knives, which was super fascinating. After a while the Kaparas were like ‘meh’ and so were the Essenza’s. I know I know. They totally didn’t deserve that vibe, but part of the rush of finding that rare or interesting exclusive was knowing that you might not see one again. After you keep finding more and more and more…your perspective changes on it a little. Crazy stuff. It’s like it isn’t reality. It’s like you have to fight that feeling.

[yablanowitz]

The Kapara was the first knife one of the crew handed me when I got to the tables. I guess he didn't know me. I glanced at it and handed it back, then started looking for something interesting. I grabbed one of the pink and black Yojimbos because I heard someone in the store say they wanted one, forgot who, then forgot it was in the basket and checked out with it. Same thing happened with the Slym. I don't do the "grab a bunch and pick the best" bit. Once it hits the basket it goes home with me unless my bank account says "Thou shalt not". It has always blown my mind that people will be so picky when they're getting that much discount.

The sale was a blast, the "Visit to the Mothership" theme was fun, and it was great seeing the friends I only get to see there. I'm not very outgoing, and crowds wear me out quickly, but I really do love seeing you all. I do wish I'd gotten one of those snazzy second sale stickers, but no such luck. Maybe next year.

[TkoK83Spy]

Nick! Where you at, what was your haul this year?!

[Red Leader]

I don't do the "grab a bunch and pick the best" bit. Once it hits the basket it goes home with me unless my bank account says "Thou shalt not". It has always blown my mind that people will be so picky when they're getting that much discount.

You are what I aspire to - much more selective, and knowing exactly what I’m looking for. I admire that.

That said, I am relatively new to this whole thing, so getting my hands on a lot of knives has been part of the fun, as well as sorting though to find something I really gel with. However, I fully acknowledge that this is probably the less mature/actualized mindset when it comes to these things.


One thing we saw a lot of was the horse trading, where people would intentionially pick up pieces they knew were desireable and other people want, but have no interest in it themselves, in order to use for trading with someone for something they do want. I am neutral on that. We didn’t really do that - only things that seemed interesting to us for the most part. It also doesn’t bother me too much. Everyone seems to be having a good time and its all in good fun.


The one time we did any sort of trading was when my son found a Slym and it seemed like everyone wanted it. But it led to an amazing experience where he traded it to a guy who had found a Techno 3, which was literally one of the knives on his shirt, and this other fellow was ecstatic to get the Slym. It was a win-win, and some of the Spyderco guys were there to celebrate. The highlight of the day for me.

[Red Leader]

Nick! Where you at, what was your haul this year?!

Nick was in front of us in line, and I’ll let him share…but we were very impressed with what he found, some amazing stuff for sure.

A lot of folks come from out of town, so it makes sense thay their hauls would be impressive, juice worth the squeeze, etc.

[RustyIron]

It is hard to appreciate is the scale of the event - I heard one estimate at 60k knives.

Shazam! That's a lot of defects. Of course I don't know what would be the expected yield loss out of a knife factory, or the total number of knives produced. Even so, that's a lot of cash laying on the table. I often wondered why Spyderco doesn't do an online seconds sale, but dumping that number of less-expensive knives into the market could very well disrupt sales for legitimate top-tier retailers. Whatever, it's far too complicated for someone at my pay grade. Thanks everyone for posting the pics. It looks like there were some nice knives to be had.

[yablanowitz]

I don't do the "grab a bunch and pick the best" bit. Once it hits the basket it goes home with me unless my bank account says "Thou shalt not". It has always blown my mind that people will be so picky when they're getting that much discount.

You are what I aspire to - much more selective, and knowing exactly what I’m looking for. I admire that.

That said, I am relatively new to this whole thing, so getting my hands on a lot of knives has been part of the fun, as well as sorting though to find something I really gel with.

To be fair, I've been going to these for quite a while, and the scale of the event was a lot smaller when I started. I think this was my eighteenth, not counting OpFocus sales.

[Mr Blonde]

It looked like it was a blast, so much fun! Thanks for sharing the photos and experiences!

[Mr Blonde]

To be fair, I've been going to these for quite a while, and the scale of the event was a lot smaller when I started. I think this was my eighteenth, not counting OpFocus sales.

Oh yes, for sure. I went to one around 2010 I think, and it was just a line inside the atrium in the old part of the building when I got there in the morning.