Spyderco Forums

I am a firm believer in the concept of "fruit form the poison tree" ethically, in karma, and legally. If the foundation of a business is disingenuous, namely gaining customers within the special operations community, and thus respectability amongst others via these untruths, then anything built upon that foundation is built on the same sand.

I have little doubt that many of Mr. Strider's initial sales that boosted his reputation were based upon "Helping a fellow Ranger", and that is something that I simply cannot abide despite not having served myself. Most of us don't get many chances to truly stand up for what is right in this world. I take my ability to deny Strider of my hard-earned dollars as one of those chances.

Some of you feel otherwise, and that is certainly your right. :)

psychophipps wrote:I am a firm believer in the concept of "fruit form the poison tree" ethically, in karma, and legally. If the foundation of a business is disingenuous, namely gaining customers within the special operations community, and thus respectability amongst others via these untruths, then anything built upon that foundation is built on the same sand.

I have little doubt that many of Mr. Strider's initial sales that boosted his reputation were based upon "Helping a fellow Ranger", and that is something that I simply cannot abide despite not having served myself. Most of us don't get many chances to truly stand up for what is right in this world. I take my ability to deny Strider of my hard-earned dollars as one of those chances.

Some of you feel otherwise, and that is certainly your right. :)

Very well said, very well said in deed. When I was in my early days in the Army, and still very wet behind the ears, I think the kind of marketing used by that company might have influenced me. Later, as I came into my own with regards to what I like and don't like in a knife (because I was using them both hard and routinely in the field), I began to see such marketing philosophy as hype and nothing more.

Personally, I believe a good design transcends marketing hype, and any 'real' operator, soldier, sailor, etc, etc, knows what they 'want' because they know what they 'need,' and what actually works for them in the field. Now, being far removed from my Army days as a young enlisted soldier, but still in need of 'tactical' type equipment for my job, I look at companies who throw down the 'tactical-special-ops' card in their marketing with a lot of skepticism, if not discount them completely.

One thing that I believe sets Spyderco apart from others is the core value of integrity, and that is in no small part why I am so very loyal to them.

The flip side of that coin is pity sales verses sales due to product. Mick could do anything to make a living ranger or not.

Perhaps I'm more skeptical of life but if a product matches it's claim and can support it's price I'll buy it. I won't buy something from a renown jerk if comparable knives are available. That said, if we knew the darkest secrets of every person business would come to a stand-still.

I'm not interested in a makers military experience, I'm interested in their knife making experience. Steels, ergonomics, and value. The blind comparison is the only fair one to me because it's not biased. I was actually more skeptical of Strider Knives until I saw Ankerson's vids.

Well maybe I won't say "blind". Tiger-striped blades do look a little goofy at the office IMHO. :)

Note: I also think we should separate past mistakes from ongoing ones. I don't know if resolve was made but while I could be angry as a prior shopper I have to forgive past mistakes at some point. Again, grudge tendancies will vary and I'm not current on politics/apologies.

Thanks very much to those who put in on the ZT stuff. I own plenty of Spyderco - one ZT ain't going to hurt the Spyderco bottom line. I might end up having to grab a 200 at some point - alot of their other models are assisted and a big no no where I live .

Armalite Native wrote:Thanks very much to those who put in on the ZT stuff. I own plenty of Spyderco - one ZT ain't going to hurt the Spyderco bottom line. I might end up having to grab a 200 at some point - alot of their other models are assisted and a big no no where I live .

I have just pulled the trigger on a ZT 200 and a ZT 301. These will tide me over until the TUFF escapes into the wild.

Mick and I have been chatting for the past few months. We're both very busy so more time is needed. Mick's a nice guy and I've always appreciated his approach to making knives.

sal

sal wrote:Mick and I have been chatting for the past few months. We're both very busy so more time is needed. Mick's a nice guy and I've always appreciated his approach to making knives.

sal

Well, so maybe that collab is gonna happen. It would be interesting to see what the results gonna be.

sal wrote:Mick and I have been chatting for the past few months. We're both very busy so more time is needed. Mick's a nice guy and I've always appreciated his approach to making knives.

sal

I'd be lying if I said this doesnt excite me.

chuck_roxas45 wrote:Well, so maybe that collab is gonna happen. It would be interesting to see what the results gonna be.

The result will be ......Something AWESOME! :D
I like that Sal doesn't try to please everyone, just as many as he can.

I'm a pure pragmatist. I don't own a Strider and I don't plan on buying one. Their designs don't fill any particular functional need for me. And at their price point, I'd rather have two or three Spydercos than one Strider. :cool:

TedP

I like how Sal always keeps an open mind, even if many of us here, inluding myself, don't always.

I have learned a lot from this man.

:)

5.56 wrote:I like how Sal always keeps an open mind, even if many of us here, inluding myself, don't always.

I have learned a lot from this man.

:)

Agreed. I've not been a big fan of Strider, mainly because some of the allegations about him hit kind of close to home. However, I've never met the man personally, and who knows, maybe his past is well in his past and he's a good guy like Sal has alluded to. One thing is for sure, I doubt Sal would lead his company to a collaboration that would reflect negatively on the values we see manifest in their business model. I wish I was a generous with grace as Sal is. God knows I am often in need of grace myself. :o

sal wrote:Mick and I have been chatting for the past few months. We're both very busy so more time is needed. Mick's a nice guy and I've always appreciated his approach to making knives.

sal

Even said from the big man himself, so guys dont judge a company that you have no interactions or experience with......Just because you "heard he was a bad guy". Dumb reason to not buy some badass knives.
Now I have plenty of spydercos and striders both and Ill have to say I cant pick one company over the other (hence my profile pic on all the forums Im on :D ) but they are both awesome companies with awesome employees and even better knives! So I would have to say I would definately be in for one. Although I dont see it happening since there is a price difference of about $300 on most models.... and idk where they would start with tooling, materials etc. But yes, I would buy one.

Sal I can guarantee some of these folks would change their minds after seeing what you two amazing knifemakers can come up with! :)


I cant say enough good things about either company..so

I would be disappointed to see Spyderco get in bed with Strider knives. To say anything else would be dishonest on my part. Fortunately, I don't find it the least bit offensive when people run their own companies however they see fit without considering my "feelings" on a subject, so I imagine I'd get over it :p . Unless Sal announces that Mick is the new VP for Spyderco, I'll probably just keep right on buying spydies for a long long time regardless of any collaborations I dislike. All I'll do in the event that Sal and Mick find the time to design a knife together is what I said I'd do a few pages ago on this thread... not buy it.

I think a collab of a Strider PT and a Spyderco would be great.

I have 2 Striders and about a dozen Spydercos.

I for one am very happy to read that Sal. I have tried out many knife brands and the ones I always come back to are Spyderco and Strider. You both make fantastic products and I can only imagine how great a collaboration model would be with you and Mick working together!

Might a collab look something like this

Thank you for weighing in Sal!

I think that people can learn and grow over time. Is it bad karma to provide forgiveness to those people that have, or bad karma to continue to condemn them?

Mick is older and wiser. He's been collaborating with other companies for quite some time now in addition to creating all of his own fantastic knives. If his designs didn't speak for themselves, some of the things he said in the beginning may have done in the company. That didn't happen.

Though his military career may have been short lived, I think his time as a knife maker will live on for quite some time. And deservedly so.

I look forward to any collaboration, and would just love to be a fly on the wall hearing these two great knife makers speak about design!

Mike

MikeZ wrote:Thank you for weighing in Sal!

I think that people can learn and grow over time. Is it bad karma to provide forgiveness to those people that have, or bad karma to continue to condemn them?

Mick is older and wiser. He's been collaborating with other companies for quite some time now in addition to creating all of his own fantastic knives. If his designs didn't speak for themselves, some of the things he said in the beginning may have done in the company. That didn't happen.

Though his military career may have been short lived, I think his time as a knife maker will live on for quite some time. And deservedly so.

I look forward to any collaboration, and would just love to be a fly on the wall hearing these two great knife makers speak about design!

Mike

Very well said Mike! Thanks, im Glad to see that others understand the same way as the rest of us guys with striders. You cant judge a book by its cover! :D Im happy to see not everyone is against all of this.....
It would definatley be a perfect knife if they make one.

Put me down for at LEAST one Striderco™. These are my two favorite companies as well as many others here. Just make it an SMF with a ROUND Spydie-Hole and dual gunner grips - with the integrated G-10 backspacer and everything!

Right now, Kershaw (ZT) is BANKING off collaborations with Rick Hinderer - whoever teams up with Strider (since Buck is no longer on that team) will pick up a lot of profit from that portion of the market. “High End” Production collaborations.