I didn't sell them. I destroyed them, except for the few that I saw were safe to use. What is a safe knife? It is a knife designed so that you will not cut your fingers off when you use it. Spyderco knives are safe.
I kept a Camillus skinning knife my pa gave me, an Explorer (Solingen, a knife mostly for show; it's a gift from my German friend. It's safe.), a Boker ceramic knife for food, and the custom camping/survival knife designed and made for me about over 20 years ago by Paula Largin of Kelgin knives. My input into the design was a camping and survival knife, and I sent the outline drawing of my hand and its measurements.
Paula Largin chose the materials and she decided the design. It is a beautiful, tough, well designed knife. It has helped me at many campsites and bicycle tours. I will leave it to my daughter. You can see pictures of it at
http://bluestbluets.spaces.live.com/ on the left under my photo, down a bit, the collection called "funky knife."
Paula Largin (Kelgin)
length overall 9 1/2"
blade length 4 9/16"
cutting edge 4 9/16"
blade steel 440-C stainless
blade thickness 7/32"
handle length 4 1/2",
7/16" steel butt juts past handle end as hammer
handle material Oosik, fossilized walrus penile bone
weight 8 ounces 227g
Fossil Oosik: This is the penile bone of the walrus that has been buried for a long period of time and is mineralized. It has been buried for centuries and has absorbed minerals from the soil that have turned it varying colors from tan, orange, golden brown, and chocolate brown to even black; occasionally a blue or green color is also seen. This ivory is not truly fossilized in the sense that the ivory has been replaced with minerals/stone; it is really just beginning to become mineralized. It is in the earliest stages of fossilization and is just slightly harder than fresh ivory.
The 'Paula Largin" (I call it the Paula), a CoPilot, D'Allara Drop Point, D'Allara Rescue, and a Ladybug serrated sheep foot (in my small Otter box emergency kit), along with skinning knife and Leatherman Wave are my
working blades.
I use (order of use) the CoPilot, D'Allara Drop Point, and Paula. The CoPilot I carry city, town, and boondocks. The other two along with the Paula when bicycle touring and camping.
The Spydercos are working knives; of course the Ladybug and D'Allara Rescue are my emergency knives. I carry the Ladybug (the Otter box fits in a pocket; another small Otter box carries my first aid kit which fits in a pocket; when camping I carry a field medic kit with a couple of other blades, scalpels) and the D'Allara Drop Point for heavier work, and the Paula for heaviest; it replaces hatchet, hammer, and saw. I have discover two niches for two more Spydercos; I am saving the money for them and still searching and researching among Spydercos for them. The Camillus (suggest a Spyderco good for skinning, please.) will be retired soon and I need another big knife for jobs short of using the Paula. The last will be a fixed knife for use when the Paula is not really needed; it should be lighter, a plain blade. The D'Allara is a fine knife. The pair of them may be the best made by Spyderco, a fitting tribute to Officer D'Allara.
Forgive my long rant. It's my birthday; I have the right. You will see me more often here now. If you have ever seen a brown skin, white bearded old man on a red, white, and blue Serotta CSI, with front and rear panniers, you have seen me.
Thank you Spyderco for making good working knives, dependable, safe to use, and elegantly designed. Do I get backups in the mail of at least another Ladybug? I plan to buy soon another Ladybug, as companion to the CoPilot for daily carry. If you are reading this Spyderco bosses, you can send me a surprise.
I have come to depend so much on the CoPilot and D'Allaras so much that I also plan to buy backups. A company that makes good knives and remembers my birth date has a customer for life. Issue the D'Allaras again, if you haven't already. Keep them in stock. They are good knives for city and country. The Drop Point and CoPilot are good for daily carry; the Rescue handy to have on you for emergencies. I have used it to cut bandages and once to sever a seatbelt after an auto accident.
Here is what I need new, a knife a little lighter than the Paula, but a fixed, and a good skinning knife, probably another fixed.
And yea! I made it to 67 and can still do a century on a bicycle.
