Spyderco: The Undisputed King Of Small Blades

[twinboysdad]

My new Pingo is a slicing DEMON. Did not think I would like it this much. Love the LBHB and my SS Dfly, and will definitely find a way to grab one of the 2 Lavas at my local shop

[JD Spydo]

My new Pingo is a slicing DEMON. Did not think I would like it this much. Love the LBHB and my SS Dfly, and will definitely find a way to grab one of the 2 Lavas at my local shop

That PINGO is one that appeals to me as well. I've never got to hold one or test drive one yet but I would like to. I also liked it big brother the Rock Lobster. It's a very interesting blade design>> it's sort of along the lines of a type of rescue knife. But with a sharp edge I can see that blade capable of a lot of uses.

Speaking of the Cricket again I will say this much about it>> I have one with a Carbon Fiber handle. It's one of the few stainless handled Spyders I don't like for a lot of reasons. BUt I do like it with a CF handle and I truly think I would like it with a Micarta handle as well. The FRN Crickets don't do it for me either. it has to be a bulky handle for me to want it.

[GoldenSpydie]

I love all Spydies...little or big, they're all superb!

Here is are some of mine that I guess would qualify as small.

(counter clockwise, starting at bottom)

440C Meerkat, Leafstorm, Squash Bone Kopa, C19 BT Jr., Michael Walker Lightweight, solid blade "Q," modified regular "Q," CF Dodo

[JD Spydo]

I love all Spydies...little or big, they're all superb!

Here is are some of mine that I guess would qualify as small.

(counter clockwise, starting at bottom)

440C Meerkat, Leafstorm, Squash Bone Kopa, C19 BT Jr., Michael Walker Lightweight, solid blade "Q," modified regular "Q," CF Dodo

Hey that's really cool that you got one of those Golden Colorado USA Earth made Meerkats with the 440C blade. You don't see them around much anymore. That truly has been a collector's piece for quite some time now. I wish they would have made all of that model in the Golden CO plant. You don't see those solid blade Q models much anymore either.

Hey I like all Spyders too>> but with this thread I was just emphasizing that they truly are unequaled in the area of small blades. They have taken small blades to another level like no other company has that I've seen. Great batch of Spyders you have there.

[bearfacedkiller]

My Cricket is a nishijin model and I like it. I would like to get a sante fe stone works edition one of these days.

[FCM415]

DFly's and LB's for me! Would like to try out the Jester, so looking forward to the navy blue.

[GoldenSpydie]

Hey that's really cool that you got one of those Golden Colorado USA Earth made Meerkats with the 440C blade. You don't see them around much anymore. That truly has been a collector's piece for quite some time now. I wish they would have made all of that model in the Golden CO plant. You don't see those solid blade Q models much anymore either.

Thanks. I overpaid to get that one, but it was worth it, as I've only ever seen one other USA Meerkat for sale. As you might know, my goal is to own every folding manual knife ever made in Golden.

A while ago I also got these three for a total of about $40. :D They don't have handles, but I'm thinking about making some scales for one or two and leaving the other as an example of the inner working of a Phantom Lock.

(Sorry for the totally rotten photo; it was raining and dark.)

Hey I like all Spyders too>> but with this thread I was just emphasizing that they truly are unequaled in the area of small blades. They have taken small blades to another level like no other company has that I've seen. Great batch of Spyders you have there.

You're totally right--they offer more (and better, of course) "LBKs" and keychain knives than any other company I know of. There are so many awesome folders under 3" in the Spyder lineup. :)

[bh49]

I'm not sure if the Burgundy Micarta Jester was the only super-small Spyder with a Micarta handle but I've not seen many of them.

Spyderco also made baby Goddard with micarta scales.

[LC Kid]

Hi Folks!


Talking small knives, I'm actually waiting for the upcoming Roadie. :)

[Tdog]

Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread. I would say "Spyderco is the Undisputed King of Production Knives." I only like the small ones, mid-sized, large, and fixed blade Spydies

[JD Spydo]

Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread. I would say "Spyderco is the Undisputed King of Production Knives." I only like the small ones, mid-sized, large, and fixed blade Spydies

You're not hijacking the thread at all "Tdog" :) I also like many of Spyderco's vast selection and I own many of their vast selection as well. But what I'm basically saying and there are a few folks that seem to agree with me that Spyderco has truly taken the concept of the small bladed knife to a whole new level. The Dodo for instance is completely different that what any other commercial knife company has ever done up till now.

Also they have one of the biggest selections of small blades to choose from. Many of the models I dearly adore are some of the past discontinued models that are no longer available except by online trading. One of the super small blades I haven't mentioned yet that is probably got the most collector appeal as well as an extremely functional gem is the Micarta C-39 Dyad Jr. They didn't make many of those and for those who are fortunate enough to own one you know what I'm speaking of.

But you're right in one sense because Spyderco is probably the best commercial cutlery company out there at this time. But don't lose sight of the fact that they rule in the small blade market period.

[Tdog]

And JD I would agree with you fully, that Spyderco does rule the small blade market. :spyder:

[SpaceInvader]

> That said, I don't know if they are "undisputed". On a literal level ...

I agree; another area of dispute would be, for lack of a better way of putting it, gents bling. Consider for example the AMK Osprey. It's a traditional folder that pushes no boundaries in blade or handle design. Handle options include stainless, micarta, pearl, abalone, stag and wood, so you can get as much bling as you want. As a company, AMK has more than a little old school cred, an intangible quality validated by the prices realized for its combat/military designs, e.g., the smatchet.

But here we concentrate on little knives, so to compare apples to apples in approximate size, let's compare Osprey to Jester:

Osprey
Blade steel: AUS-8A
Blade length: 1 5/8"
Length open: 4"
Length closed: 2 5/16"
Blade thickness: 3/32"

Jester
Blade steel: VG-10
Blade length: 1.93"
Length open: 4.37"
Length closed: 2.44"
Blade thickness: .08"

Commonly called keychain knives, if it's in your pocket on a ring with keys, you could discount most of the Osprey's bling options as impractical. But if you don't happen to carry it that way, you might like the Osprey's bling options as well as its traditional design. Thus, 'undisputed' might be a bit too sweeping a term, a lot of people like traditional designs and materials.

I considered both knives but for me the Jester's blade trumps the Osprey's bling options. I also favor Spydercos because they feature more of what you might call modern material bling, even though that has yet been fully realized in the Jester's handle in my view.

This topic draws out a person's favorite little knife, Spyderco or otherwise. Mine has changed over the years as follows:

Loveless city knife --> CRK Umfaan --> Jester

I should qualify this -- I prefer the last Jester sprint with liners and G-10 more than versions with FRN or micarta. I'll still pick up a couple of the next FRN sprint, but dream of a Jester with carbon fiber or titanium, that's my kind of bling.

-Rick

[Tdog]

> That said, I don't know if they are "undisputed". On a literal level ...

I agree; another area of dispute would be, for lack of a better way of putting it, gents bling. Consider for example the AMK Osprey. It's a traditional folder that pushes no boundaries in blade or handle design. Handle options include stainless, micarta, pearl, abalone, stag and wood, so you can get as much bling as you want. As a company, AMK has more than a little old school cred, an intangible quality validated by the prices realized for its combat/military designs, e.g., the smatchet.

But here we concentrate on little knives, so to compare apples to apples in approximate size, let's compare Osprey to Jester:

Osprey
Blade steel: AUS-8A
Blade length: 1 5/8"
Length open: 4"
Length closed: 2 5/16"
Blade thickness: 3/32"

Jester
Blade steel: VG-10
Blade length: 1.93"
Length open: 4.37"
Length closed: 2.44"
Blade thickness: .08"

Commonly called keychain knives, if it's in your pocket on a ring with keys, you could discount most of the Osprey's bling options as impractical. But if you don't happen to carry it that way, you might like the Osprey's bling options as well as its traditional design. Thus, 'undisputed' might be a bit too sweeping a term, a lot of people like traditional designs and materials.

I considered both knives but for me the Jester's blade trumps the Osprey's bling options. I also favor Spydercos because they feature more of what you might call modern material bling, even though that has yet been fully realized in the Jester's handle in my view.

This topic draws out a person's favorite little knife, Spyderco or otherwise. Mine has changed over the years as follows:

Loveless city knife --> CRK Umfaan --> Jester

I should qualify this -- I prefer the last Jester sprint with liners and G-10 more than versions with FRN or micarta. I'll still pick up a couple of the next FRN sprint, but dream of a Jester with carbon fiber or titanium, that's my kind of bling.

-Rick

Rick, I had almost forgotten my G-10 Jester, thank you for the reminder. Like classic and timeless music, Spyderco does masterful variations on a theme. Theirs is a symphony in steel.

[JD Spydo]

Spyderco also made baby Goddard with micarta scales.

Yeah I forgot about that baby Goddard. I had a few of those Goddards at one time and the ones I liked the best were the Gray VG-10 versions.

However it seems like there were some other Micarta handled small blade knives during that time. It seems strange that the only Jester with a Micarta handle was the one Burgundy model.

It seems like the VG-10 version of the fixed blade SPOT model had either a Micarta or Almite handle >> it's been so long since I owned a SPOT that I totally forgot the specs on it. I know that the plain steel version had an AUS-6 blade whereas the beefed up version with the Micarta handle had a VG-10 blade which to me makes it a "no brainer" of a choice. I never had an AUS-6 Spyder that I personally ever liked. But the SPOT is without a doubt the best small bladed fixed blade knife.

[GoldenSpydie]

> That said, I don't know if they are "undisputed". On a literal level ...

I agree; another area of dispute would be, for lack of a better way of putting it, gents bling. Consider for example the AMK Osprey. It's a traditional folder that pushes no boundaries in blade or handle design. Handle options include stainless, micarta, pearl, abalone, stag and wood, so you can get as much bling as you want. As a company, AMK has more than a little old school cred, an intangible quality validated by the prices realized for its combat/military designs, e.g., the smatchet.

But here we concentrate on little knives, so to compare apples to apples in approximate size, let's compare Osprey to Jester:

Osprey
Blade steel: AUS-8A
Blade length: 1 5/8"
Length open: 4"
Length closed: 2 5/16"
Blade thickness: 3/32"

Jester
Blade steel: VG-10
Blade length: 1.93"
Length open: 4.37"
Length closed: 2.44"
Blade thickness: .08"

Commonly called keychain knives, if it's in your pocket on a ring with keys, you could discount most of the Osprey's bling options as impractical. But if you don't happen to carry it that way, you might like the Osprey's bling options as well as its traditional design. Thus, 'undisputed' might be a bit too sweeping a term, a lot of people like traditional designs and materials.

I considered both knives but for me the Jester's blade trumps the Osprey's bling options. I also favor Spydercos because they feature more of what you might call modern material bling, even though that has yet been fully realized in the Jester's handle in my view.

This topic draws out a person's favorite little knife, Spyderco or otherwise. Mine has changed over the years as follows:

Loveless city knife --> CRK Umfaan --> Jester

I should qualify this -- I prefer the last Jester sprint with liners and G-10 more than versions with FRN or micarta. I'll still pick up a couple of the next FRN sprint, but dream of a Jester with carbon fiber or titanium, that's my kind of bling.

-Rick

Not a very fair comparison in my humble opinion.

Maybe it would be better to compare the Al Mar to a Kopa.

16 classy handle decorations if I remember correctly, which is twice as many as Al Mar offers in the Osprey. Or what about the C27 Jess Horn? One of the classiest knives ever made if you ask me, complete with a thumb depression (not a hole), bone handles, and plenty of "bling."

Now it is true that both of the above examples are discontinued, but they are still Spydercos. And as far as variety, Spyderco wins again. From the traditional C27, to the budget "Q," to the many variations of the Kopa, to the modern "tactical" reverse-S dodo, Spyderco has it covered. They even have slipjoints taken care of--Pingo, Spy-DK, UKPK, Squeak.

:spyder: :) :spyder:

[JD Spydo]

Not a very fair comparison in my humble opinion.

Maybe it would be better to compare the Al Mar to a Kopa.

16 classy handle decorations if I remember correctly, which is twice as many as Al Mar offers in the Osprey. Or what about the C27 Jess Horn? One of the classiest knives ever made if you ask me, complete with a thumb depression (not a hole), bone handles, and plenty of "bling."

Now it is true that both of the above examples are discontinued, but they are still Spydercos. And as far as variety, Spyderco wins again. From the traditional C27, to the budget "Q," to the many variations of the Kopa, to the modern "tactical" reverse-S dodo, Spyderco has it covered. They even have slipjoints taken care of--Pingo, Spy-DK, UKPK, Squeak.

:spyder: :) :spyder:

I must say "GoldenSpydie" you have made some excellent points and your comparison of Spyderco to Al Mar knives is not only interesting but a very succinct comparison needless to say. As many of you know I'm particularly a big fan of many of the past models. That's because many of the past models have paved the way for the great blades we have on the main line up today.

One point you really drive home is that there is a Spyderco small blade model not only for every cutting chore but one to fill anyone's EDC needs. The product evolution is very evident especially in the small blade sector. As much as I dearly love some of the full sized models like the Ayoob, Military, Dyad and Manix models. Even though they are my personal favorites I still can't overlook what Spyderco has done in the small blade sector of their marketing strategy. The Dodo, the Pingo, The Meerkat, Dyad Jr. and Cricket models are all unique and unequaled. Which is why I gave this thread the title I gave it. It speaks for itself and it is fact.

[twinboysdad]

[quote="JD Spydo"]That PINGO is one that appeals to me as well. I've never got to hold one or test drive one yet but I would like to. I also liked it big brother the Rock Lobster. It's a very interesting blade design>> it's sort of along the lines of a type of rescue knife. But with a sharp edge I can see that blade capable of a lot of uses. /QUOTE]

Keep in mind the Pingo has a slight belly, and the blade stock is pretty thick but tapers SUPER thin. Mine is sharp as a forked tongue woman. I really could see this knife getting supersized to a Delica footprint. I do wish it had the slightest more tip, but Anso NAILED it with the edge geometry

[phillipsted]

I will go on record as to proclaiming that I would bet that probably only one out of 50 Spyderheads even know that this one super classic ever even existed>> that model I'm speaking of is the SPUR. The SPUR is a small version of the classic PROGRIP. It's as though Spyderco themselves tried to hide it from everyone>> I do know that isn't the case but it does seem that way.

Just like the stainless handled RESCUE is a hidden classic among Spyderedged blades the SPUR is truly a hidden classic in the small blade sector.

I've owned a couple of them and deeply regret trading them. It was extremely handy for a small blade and very versatile.

You mean like this one? :) I agree, JD, these are some classic Spydies.





To be honest, though, I was never a huge fan of the steel scales - they get a bit heavy in my pocket for small knives, so pound-for-pound, I enjoy the micarta gentlemen's knives more. Like these guys:

[tlo14290]

I really get a lot of use out of my SB manbug, it or my dfly2 are always rattling around in my front pocket, even if something else is clipped on top...