Amsterdam Meet 2011 Report

Donut · #381

That thing is pretty. Not sure if it will work for me.

Judging by the length of the clip, probably near 3.5" blade.

Evil D · #382

Wow that silver twill carbon fiber is gorgeous! I'd like to see a whole knife handle done that way.

The Mentaculous · #383

Gorgeous! I love the file-work on the backspacer and the silver CF. Is that a blue anodized TI Liner-Lock? I like! This has got to cost a pretty penny. Still on my want-list now..a man can dream :D

Mr Blonde · #384

TBob wrote:Outstanding knife! How long is the blade on the Centofante Memory?

I'd guess a little over 3 inches.

Blerv · #385

LOVING that memory! What a wonderful gesture to a great man (and a helluva knife)!!

TBob · #386

Mr Blonde wrote:I'd guess a little over 3 inches.

Cool, thanks! I have to have one of these.

ChrisR · #387

Loving that Centrofante Memory - very classy indeed :D

Out of interest Wouter, did you get any shots of some of the knives together - especially the Squeak with other production knives? Would be interesting to see how they compare to something familiar :)

Mr Blonde · #388

ChrisR wrote:Loving that Centrofante Memory - very classy indeed :D

Out of interest Wouter, did you get any shots of some of the knives together - especially the Squeak with other production knives? Would be interesting to see how they compare to something familiar :)

In the weeks running up to the meet I actually tried that, but shooting two different knives didn't work well enough in my current lightbox setup. It couldn't get consistent good quality in the shots, the colors on one of the knives would become 'off' and it would have been a distraction in the photos. It´s something I´d try to work on for next time, I´ll probably need to change my lightbox for something like that.

I did use the red plastic bug in the various photos, on purpos, to have one fixed point to compare the relative size of the different knives.

Over the weekend, at the IWA show, I finally got some one-on-one time with the prototypes and I did informally compare the Squeak with my CF UKPK. The ´cockpit´ area on both knives is virtually the same, but the blade and handle on the Squeak are much shorter than my CF UKPK.

ChrisR · #389

Mr Blonde wrote:Over the weekend, at the IWA show, I finally got some one-on-one time with the prototypes and I did informally compare the Squeak with my CF UKPK. The ´cockpit´ area on both knives is virtually the same, but the blade and handle on the Squeak are much shorter than my CF UKPK.

Everything about the Squeak sounds perfect to me ... small enough not to draw attention to itself but big enough to be really useful as an EDC blade for opening packets or cutting string etc., which is at least 90% of the tasks I use my knives for. :) I don't think I have been this excited about a knife since the launch of the FRN UKPK :D

Do we have any idea when the launch is likely to be? I am guessing that, if the FRN molds have been made and the knife is in that advanced stage of development then it should be fairly soon? Or am I just getting too excited? :p

Sequimite · #390

Wouter,

To add to your comments on Frank Centofante's influence on Spyderco, I wanted to point out that the C34 collaboration was the first "double distal taper" and the first leaf blade iirc, two features that have become ubiquitous in the Spyderco lineup.

Axlis · #391

Thanks for taking the time to take such great pictures for us Wouter, looks like you had a great time.

Dotanuki · #392

Thanks for your time and effort Wouter, much appreciated by us Spyderholics, always look forward to this thread to inform my future purchases. It's like I was 'there' with you at Amsterdam. (one day...)

ChrisR · #393

Dotanuki wrote:Thanks for your time and effort Wouter, much appreciated by us Spyderholics, always look forward to this thread to inform my future purchases. It's like I was 'there' with you at Amsterdam. (one day...)

+1 ... yep - really appreciate your work Wouter - many thanks for such excellent images - they are so good it feels like you can reach out and touch them :)

VashHash · #394

I wish that centofante was limited production but I have a feeling it will be a sprint run if I can I will definitely get two I love silver carbon fiber

vito72 · #395

vashhash wrote:i wish that centofante was limited production but i have a feeling it will be a sprint run if i can i will definitely get two i love silver carbon fiber

+1

ninemm · #396

Just read through the whole thread. Wow! Some awesome knives. I would definitely lay down money for a Techno. I just bought a custom knife (no not from Marcin or Jens) that is similar in design. I also love the Carpenter. If a Para2 came in the fluted Ti I would be all over that as well. I was really hoping to catch some pics of the Southard flipper proto as that is one sweet looking knife. I realllly hope you make that one Spyderco! Thanks Mr.Blonde for all the pics and info.

Simple Man · #397

Yup, the Memory looks like a winner. Nice knife.

MCM · #398

My little list.......

South Fork
Puukko
Delica Damascus Sprint
Techno
Yojimbo 2
Vallotton Folder
Navaja
Ayoob Sprint
Chaparral CF

cosmo7809 · #399

Man... I say this every year but wow... This is going to be an expensive one!

I'd say the top on the list are the
Lum Tanto(Wowzaaa!)
Chaparral
D-Fly H1
Des Horn
Manbug
Squeak
Ahhh there it just too many!

Thanks to Mr. Blonde for all of the unbelievable pictures and coverage for the people who could not attend!

Also, love the Centofante "Memory" is quite the looker. Might have to pick one of those up too!

#400

Simsmac wrote:None in particular, it was just a question that popped into my head while I was browsing this thread. Thanks for the response. :)

Another question that comes to mind is this: what determines where a knife is manufactured? Specifically, I notice an influx of Taiwanese-made models in this thread, and I was wondering what decides whether a knife that uses S30V is produced in Taiwan or the US. I realize that there's probably a cost difference between production in the two countries (I assume Taiwan is cheaper), but why not just manufacture all the S30V knives in the cheaper country?

Hi Simsmac,

I think that Jabba probably hit the nail on the head. Some makers are better at some types of designs or materials. Some makers are better at higher volume designs. As we grow our US facility, we also have trading partners that we've been dealing with for many years (30+ in some cases) and long term, loyal partnerships are important to us.

The value of the money in each country also dictates some models. The strong Euro and Yen make models made in Europe and Japan more expensive so quality must be at it's best (Gambaru, Japanese for "best effort").

If cheaper was the only criterion, we would make all of our models in China as many in our industry do. It does have it's business advantages, but we feel that, for Spyderco, there are many other factors influencing our decisions.

Hope that helps.

sal