Spyderco's Legendary "IN HOUSE" Blade Designs

[DM11]

The Military is my all time favorite followed by the Police. :)

[SpyderNut]

Great thread, JD :D. I honestly like them all; even some which aren't my favorite like the Spin are very high performance...just a bit funky.

It's easy to take for granted the in-house designs. Most of Sal's are subdued but so comfortable that they fly below the radar until you get them in your hand and realize the decisions were brilliant. Eric's are a bit wilder and polarizing but he's like 9 for 10 in my book.

Well said. :)

[Evil D]

I think the Calypso and on to the Caly family deserve a big nod. I feel like their basic ergonomic design can be seen in or has influenced so many other knives that they're almost the grandfathers of everything after them.

[senorsquare]

The Native 5 is probably my favorite EDC these days. That design has a lot going for it. Rock solid lock, a lightweight and compact package with superb ergonomics make this one fantastic blade. Getting this one in S110V is a huge bonus.

[JD Spydo]

I've recently downsized my collection and realized almost all my remaining blades are in-house designs. Kept two Millies (CruWear and 440V SE) and three Natives (S110V Forum, two 440V SEs) a CoPilot, Jester, and ClipiTool Bottle Opener. Only other ones are a Szabo, and pink Lum Chinese I carry during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I must say, the Natives and Millies are quite enough for my uses, and I could probably be fine in 95% of my EDC usage with just those two knives.

There are so many great IN HOUSE Spyderco blades from that "440V" era. I too have a 440V, SE Native and a couple of other 440V blades as well.

There is one collaboration that I do own and dearly love>> and if I didn't know better I would almost bet that it is an IN HOUSE design. I'm speaking of the Massad Ayoob, C-60 folder. There is something that screams IN HOUSE design about the Ayoob model>> to me it's one IN HOUSE design that might as well be considered one of their own in my opinion.

I wish the Ayoob had been made in 440V, 440V full SE that would be an amazing would be even more amazing! I wish they would bring back the Chinook in 440V as well, I regret selling my pair of Chinooks. That was back before I was into bigger bulkier knives and will definitely not find them for as cheap as I did originally. Although seeing the Chinook in 3V would be even better!

One area of in-house designs that has been neglected in this thread are the fixed blades though. Seriously, the Mule Team is one of Spyderco's most popular items/runs and no one has mentioned it yet! Those combined with the kitchen knives are all that I use in my food prep duties. Probably my most used knives and they haven't gotten one post yet. So here's one at least so they don't fly under the radar entirely :p

It's comforting and encouraging to know that I'm not alone liking the Ayoob, Chinook and virtually everything out of the 440V era of Spyders. Yes indeed the Mule Team has been overlooked up till now on this thread. I believe the Swick model is also IN HOUSE design as well.

The 440V era did indeed produce some very sought after classics. Personally I've always liked 440V (S60V) much better than S30V> just my opinion for what it's worth. But I base it on working with 440V bladed Spyders quite a lot.

I've said for years that probably the 2 most overlooked and under-appreciated Spyders have been the C-54 Big Calypso and the Renegade which are both IN HOUSE models. I am sort of disappointed however that I seem to be the only fan of the original Temperance 1 model. And I base that on years of actual hard usage in both the PE & SE blades in that model. The Temp 1 was truly the father of the Temp 2. If they would ever bring that model back in the H-1 Salt Series it would be a "blockbuster" without a doubt. Especially if they made it available in PE & SE both>> it was about the only premium, all purpose fixed blade that they made available in Spyderedge.

And let's not overlook the fact that all of the sharpening gear is IN HOUSE as well.

[Invective]

I've recently downsized my collection and realized almost all my remaining blades are in-house designs. Kept two Millies (CruWear and 440V SE) and three Natives (S110V Forum, two 440V SEs) a CoPilot, Jester, and ClipiTool Bottle Opener. Only other ones are a Szabo, and pink Lum Chinese I carry during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I must say, the Natives and Millies are quite enough for my uses, and I could probably be fine in 95% of my EDC usage with just those two knives.

There are so many great IN HOUSE Spyderco blades from that "440V" era. I too have a 440V, SE Native and a couple of other 440V blades as well.

There is one collaboration that I do own and dearly love>> and if I didn't know better I would almost bet that it is an IN HOUSE design. I'm speaking of the Massad Ayoob, C-60 folder. There is something that screams IN HOUSE design about the Ayoob model>> to me it's one IN HOUSE design that might as well be considered one of their own in my opinion.

I wish the Ayoob had been made in 440V, 440V full SE that would be an amazing would be even more amazing! I wish they would bring back the Chinook in 440V as well, I regret selling my pair of Chinooks. That was back before I was into bigger bulkier knives and will definitely not find them for as cheap as I did originally. Although seeing the Chinook in 3V would be even better!

One area of in-house designs that has been neglected in this thread are the fixed blades though. Seriously, the Mule Team is one of Spyderco's most popular items/runs and no one has mentioned it yet! Those combined with the kitchen knives are all that I use in my food prep duties. Probably my most used knives and they haven't gotten one post yet. So here's one at least so they don't fly under the radar entirely :p

It's comforting and encouraging to know that I'm not alone liking the Ayoob, Chinook and virtually everything out of the 440V era of Spyders. Yes indeed the Mule Team has been overlooked up till now on this thread. I believe the Swick model is also IN HOUSE design as well.

The 440V era did indeed produce some very sought after classics. Personally I've always liked 440V (S60V) much better than S30V> just my opinion for what it's worth. But I base it on working with 440V bladed Spyders quite a lot.

I've said for years that probably the 2 most overlooked and under-appreciated Spyders have been the C-54 Big Calypso and the Renegade which are both IN HOUSE models. I am sort of disappointed however that I seem to be the only fan of the original Temperance 1 model. And I base that on years of actual hard usage in both the PE & SE blades in that model. The Temp 1 was truly the father of the Temp 2. If they would ever bring that model back in the H-1 Salt Series it would be a "blockbuster" without a doubt. Especially if they made it available in PE & SE both>> it was about the only premium, all purpose fixed blade that they made available in Spyderedge.

And let's not overlook the fact that all of the sharpening gear is IN HOUSE as well.

I agree, 440V is a seriously underused steel, but when you have S90V and S110V in production knives it's easy to see why. But 440V is probably my favorite SE steel, outside of H1. There's a reason why I kept my 440V SE's when I was getting rid of the rest of my knives :D

I have never had a Renegade or a Blackhawk so I can't comment on them, they seem similar to the Native though so I would love to try them out! Can't say I like the Calypso/Caly Line however, the hump is just too uncomfortable for me haha.

And I also enjoy the Temperance 1, I have a PE and I use it as a kitchen knife but it is just too thick for me to truly use it as a dedicated kitchen knife. If it were 3 mm or even 2.5 I imagine I would like it even more. I do enjoy it as it is a great multi-use fixed blade and it is much easier to transport than the kitchen knives so I keep it in my bag for vacations/trips to places where I will need a good kitchen knife.

[bearfacedkiller]

I believe the Swick model is also IN HOUSE design as well.

I think Fred Perrin had a lot to do with the Swick.

Not sure if he was involved in the actual design of it or not but it is a lot like Perrin's La Griffe design and Sal and Fred have worked together a little bit.

[Gerard Breuker]

The in house designs are iconic modern pocket knives.

I always liked the almost forgotten Renegade and Blackhawk, would like to see a Sprint of these two classics.

Especially the Renegade is still an awesome design that in my completely biased opinion deserves a modernized comeback.

Hourglass pocket clip for tip up carry and maybe a bit deeper choil.

[tvenuto]

The Delica 4 was my first spydie and I think it's just an awesome all 'round EDC. The "R" is like an up-sized Delica, and everything I hoped the Stretch would be but isn't. The Manix XL fits my hand perfectly in every grip, and is my overall favorite Spyderco design. The PM2 needs no explanation.

[Doc Dan]

The Caly3, Delica, Manbug, and Paramilitary 2.

[Liquid Cobra]

Paramilitary 2.

It is almost cliche to talk about how awesome it is. But it's just that amazing. I love the Caly 3.5 and it would get my vote if the PM2 didn't exist. But it does, and I can't ignore it. I think a testament to how great the design is how it reaches so many people outside of Spydie fans and even non knife people. It's the Star Wars of the knife world. Not everyone is into sci-fi, but everyone's seen Star Wars.

[elena86]

Sal is a genius IMHO.His fingerprint is almost all over spydercos designs.IMO Caly family is quintessencial for the Spyderco idea of a knife.I am not crazy about Eric's designs.But with Dodo...well...that's another story.Dodo design gives me hope that Eric has what it takes to become a great designer himself.In time...
Southard collab is the most inspired IMO.I am looking forward for some more Spyderco-Brad Southard collabs.Maybe a mini-southard as in mini AWT.

[SpyderNut]

Good points all around.

What is also interesting to consider is that perhaps all of the Spyderco in-house designs (compliments mainly of Sal and Eric) are quite a ways off of the beaten path of being "typical" to many of the traditional knife designs. In other words, Sal had a vision for what a pocket knife should look like, how it should feel in the hand, and how it should cut. He also virtually pioneered the interest in higher end steels by making them available in many of the standard models. He broke away from the traditional paridigms of the knife world and came up with the revolutionary Worker model--featuring a strange hole in the blade that enabled one-hand opening/closing and pocket/belt clip to keep the knife close to hand. Thank God he wasn't afraid to show his work to the world. Otherwise, we might be using thumb-studs to open our blades and we may never know what it's like to clip our pocket knives to our pocket. We also might be talking about how "awesome 440C steel is" vs. 420A. :)

Cheers to you, Sal, for taking that first leap of faith in your work.

[phillipsted]

Everybody should have a favorite. For me, anything from the Caly family, each and everyone of their variants: from the original Calypso, the Caly Bros 3" & 3.5", the D'Fly and even the UKPK. It's actually pretty hard for me to choose any favorite among them. :D

Great topic, JD!

LC, I'm with you on this one. One of Sal and Eric's most iconic designs is what I call the "extended Caly family" - Calypso, Caly Jr., Caly 3 and 3.5, Urban, UKPK, DFly, Sage, Chaparral, T-Mag - and to a lesser extent the Native, Stretch, and even the Meerkat. You can see the lineage in almost all these knives.

TedP

[Screwdriver]

The Endura, for me is absolutely brilliant. Next would be the Military.

[anagarika]

In my limited experience of Endura, Resilience & Bradley, I like Endura best, then Bradley and last Resilience. A friend showed me his Tenacious & I like it better than Resilience.

All in all, they still way above other folders I have, ergonimically, especially the spyderhole!

[JD Spydo]

The Military is my all time favorite followed by the Police. :)

Man you struck a nerve there "DM11" :cool: But Brother you're spot on concerning the POLICE model. I think we see so much of the Police models that we all tend to overlook them and take them for granted. But let's put that in reverse>> ask anyone here who doesn't like the POLICE models and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like it a lot even.

My first SE Police model along with my very first Spyder which was a SE Mariner model were 2 Spyders I pretty much cut my Spydo Teeth on :D ; The POLICE model is not only great for first responders but is just a great and useful design period. In Spyderedge it is a super beast. During that early era you could get just about any Spyderco blade in SE but times have changed. And to me that's an IN HOUSE option if nothing else. Because who else other than Spyderco aggressively marketed a very nice serrated blade like they have over the years, So let's give them credit on that one too.