I've been randomly looking at websites and came across what looks to be a C01 spyderco worker without its normal seki-japan stamp on the tang but instead it says sakai? is this the same as G.sakai the knifemaker. and does this pre-date spyderco knives made in seki japan or is it a clone or a japanese only release
thanks
Sakai stamped on c01 worker?
Hi Genius.
When Spyderco first began making our knives, we were working with a maker in Seki-City named Sakai. Al Mar introduced us to this maker.
At the time, it was a common practice for Seki makers to make "Domestic Japanese versions" of the OEM designs they made for export customers. The Sakai version was made only for a short time and those in the US were shipped here by accident. Once the Clipit patent was issued and we came to know the maker better, the domestic version with the Sakai name was eliminated. We are still working with the same maker after 28 years.
sal
When Spyderco first began making our knives, we were working with a maker in Seki-City named Sakai. Al Mar introduced us to this maker.
At the time, it was a common practice for Seki makers to make "Domestic Japanese versions" of the OEM designs they made for export customers. The Sakai version was made only for a short time and those in the US were shipped here by accident. Once the Clipit patent was issued and we came to know the maker better, the domestic version with the Sakai name was eliminated. We are still working with the same maker after 28 years.
sal