thebestnoobcake wrote:All this talk is making me jealous...
me too. i would just like to see it, even from the outside or just a brief tour. for spyderholics its like mecca :p some one said they had old or dc'd models? why? for posterity or what? like one each delica since the begining? can you buy old models directly? like say something is "out of stock" or "dc'd" on the spy.com site...could you maybe have a chance to get one at sfo directly? :confused:
if so maybe i need to check the airfares to colorado :D :p
yeah thats a tough nut to crack... sorry to rub it in. but think about people in surounding states who would "have to travel a WHOLE hour or two" to go to the spyderco mecca! and i have no reason to go to colorada. no family or friends. i have some in cali but i dont like them much. :p
if i knew for a fact i could get a tour and meet sal and eric and taz and etc. or maybe see how a knife is made or maybe for the seconds sale is one thing but i couldnt see spending money on a hotel and airfare to go to sfo. as much as i would love to :) to just see it
The forumites should all just have a mid life crisis, buy caravans and camp out at Golden for a huge party. That would be an adventure! If that happened, I would seriously think about selling some stuff and flying over there just for kicks and a good story to tell my kids.
I used to NOT like thumbholes. Until I used one.
Just like I didn't like the look of Spyderco knives in general. Until I held one.
There are no factory tours, unfortunately. I would only make a special trip for the seconds sale, but did stop by when I was in Denver for business in December. I didn't meet any of the Glessers, but I did get to handle a bunch of knives that I had previously only seen in pictures. The prices are reasonable, a little more than you would pay online, but also without shipping costs. I didn't buy anything only because I was flying and I don't check baggage if I can possibly avoid it. As to discontinued models and such, I saw a chunk of the World Trade Center wreckage on display with the WTC model, and a display with every Native past and present (including a BRK, IIRC), but these were not for sale or handling. If you're in town and have a little extra time, there's absolutely no reason not to go. Unless you're just tired of having a man card .
No man can ask for greater gifts than wisdom and patience.
well, I did not get the chance to go. An issue with one of my projects came up before lunch while I was there and I had to get beck to fort collins ASAP. I will probably visit sometime soon though since I'm close enough. How do we find out when the next factory seconds sale takes place, is there an announcement made in the forums?
Aaron
come on everyone lets try and get Sal to bring back the Q!!!
markIVbigblock wrote:well, I did not get the chance to go. An issue with one of my projects came up before lunch while I was there and I had to get beck to fort collins ASAP. I will probably visit sometime soon though since I'm close enough. How do we find out when the next factory seconds sale takes place, is there an announcement made in the forums?
Aaron
Yes, someone from Spyderco, generally Kristi, posts it here a month or so prior to the sale. Last two years it has been held in early November, but was in the summertime for years before that, so can't say for certain when the next will be.
If you're gonna be in the area I'd say it's worth it to visit. But if you've gotta go out of your way (even a little bit) I'd say it's not worth it. I visited SFO back about '04 or so, when they were still operating out of that little strip mall. It was a joke. I'm from Virginia so I'm accustomed to stellar Spyderco dealers like New Graham Pharmacy and the like. SFO was a sick joke. Well, maybe just maybe I had my expectations set a little high, but it was (after all) the Factory outlet!! What a complete joke. It was like visiting Walmart's jewelry section compared to a "real" jewelry store. With SFO playing the part of Walmart. Seriously.
So yeah. If you're in Golden. Visit the place. But don't "swing" down from Portland and expect the trip to be "worth it", because it won't be. Cheers.
4077th wrote:If you're gonna be in the area I'd say it's worth it to visit. But if you've gotta go out of your way (even a little bit) I'd say it's not worth it. I visited SFO back about '04 or so, when they were still operating out of that little strip mall. It was a joke. I'm from Virginia so I'm accustomed to stellar Spyderco dealers like New Graham Pharmacy and the like. SFO was a sick joke. Well, maybe just maybe I had my expectations set a little high, but it was (after all) the Factory outlet!! What a complete joke. It was like visiting Walmart's jewelry section compared to a "real" jewelry store. With SFO playing the part of Walmart. Seriously.
So yeah. If you're in Golden. Visit the place. But don't "swing" down from Portland and expect the trip to be "worth it", because it won't be. Cheers.
I can understand your disappointment, but you may want to keep in mind that A LOT of things have changed in the past 6 years. Given the fact that SFO is not even remotely what it was then, I'm not sure your assessment is fair.
SFO is now inside our headquarters building and it is also a Spyderco museum of sorts. Gail and the SFO crew have worked very hard to make SFO more than just a store. It is, for a lot of people, an experience.
Kristi
There is nothing more important than this one day.
Yes it is worth it! I've made it a specific destination several times when in Colorado. Colorado is kind of a mecca, Spyderco, Stay Safe Media and Michael Janich. Nuff said.
The pictures that I have seen are very impressive. My understanding is the displays and history plus some of the time pieces would be worth it alone. Bumping into any Spyderco employee (including the sales people at SFO) would be an honor.
I don't know what people expect really. Sal probably doesn't have any Oompa Loompas or a chocolate river but neither does SOG (which is about 10 mins from my house).
Not to knock the formerly mentioned maker, but I've seen more impressive displays of their products at large knife stores. Still fun visiting a place where stuff happens. :)
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