Intro and a Question

[crabhab]

I have been bitten by the Spyderco bug recently. I like the customer driven focus of Spyderco. Listening to knife knuts, clipiteers, first responders and coming out with lots of fresh designs and new materials appeals to me. I have purchased Natives twice in the past and appreciated the sharpness and S30V blade quality/value but, thought they looked weird and wondered why Spyderco was not offering assisted opening blades. I dabbled with the usual assisted opening blades and companies buying and selling knives.

After watching and reading so many positive reviews I bought a Tenacious and really liked the FFG/leaf blade shape and locking liner pillar construction. I gave Spyderco a second (third) look.


I have since bought many more Spyderco knives:

Delica FFG
Sage I (my all time favorite folder)
my third Native
Centofante III
Byrd Cara Cara FRN
Byrd Meadowlark II FFG
2 Bugs
Grasshopper

and I just got a Michael Walker ZDP 189 in yesterday!!

Some of my favorite knives have been traded for:

an incoming Native 4 CF, and a Blue Stretch ZDP 189.
an Endura C10PWH

I respectfully submit three small suggestions:

1. Make deep carry clips a knife accessory option for your standard lineup of knives> Military, P Military, Delica, Endura, Native etc. A Nice folded over piece of metal like my Gerber Fast Draw or super deep clips on the end like Buck Vantages.

2. Let customers buy replacement scales for their FRN delica/endura knives. these are often used in heavy duty EDC situations where a scale may need replacement but, the blade is OK. I have bought the parts kit but, would like a new set of scales. I suspect other Spyderco users would like this option as well.

3. Set up a collector accessory dept. where people could buy all of the packaging and accessories to make their knife collection complete. I suspect that many crazed spyderco fans would pay for correctly marked boxes and Edge-U-Cation letters.

I have a large collection of Buck Vantages and Buck sent me various knife boxes and labels for free to make my collection complete (I offered to pay!)
Some of my knives came in clam packs which suck. (some dealers show pictures of boxes then send CPs)


Thanks for making a great product!

[Creepo]

2. Let customers buy replacement scales for their FRN delica/endura knives. these are often used in heavy duty EDC situations where a scale may need replacement but, the blade is OK. I have bought the parts kit but, would like a new set of scales. I suspect other Spyderco users would like this option as well.

Hah! If you ever actually break FRN, let me know. :D
In my entire life I have seen only one! Only a single incident where someone managed the break FRN.
You know what happened to it?
It was run over by one of these:

:D
It's not your everyday plastic, technically it's not even a plastic, it's a hybrid material. It's a polymer strengthened with fiberglass. Basicly it's closer to G10 than any plastic.
Here's another thread on FRN: FRN Handles "how tough"

So personally I don't really see a need. As far as clips go, yea theyd be nice to have.
Packaging?
Meh, that's just trying to make knife collecting too easy. Besides all Spyderco's are dated nowadays so getting a new box for it would mean an incorrect date, which would be cheating in my book, certain generations of knives are different and hold different value to collectors.

PS: This post is not meant to be disrespective or aggressive in any way. I just found the thought of FRN breaking in "hard use" funny. :D

[crabhab]

I actually traded someone for a white scaled FRN Endura Sprint run that the PO had dyed. In the dying process I guess they boiled the handles too long. They look exactly like they should except the clip mounting screws are too short to reach the liners.

I can fix this by sanding down the back of the clip. In fact thats what I did and now I can carry the Endura tip up right hand carry.


I don't expect Spyderco to give away the scales just give people the option of buying new ones.

Please don't read this a s a rant I like Spyderco alot I am just offering three suggestions.

[Donut]

I wouldn't mind if I could send a knife back to Spyderco for a scale swap. Say maybe $20-$25, otherwise it would be worth more than half the going price for a delica.

[npueppke]

I messed up the scales on my stretch modding it. Actually if I had gone about it more carefully it would have ended up awesome but it ended up being a bit rough.

FRN is seriously tough stuff, those glass fibers in there are really abrasive. I should have used the proper tools for the job but it chipped the **** out of the knives I used to try to shave away at the FRN.

I think it would be brilliant to be able to buy replacement everything, but that's just not feasible.

I disagree about deep carry clips though. I don't really have a problem with deep carry clips per se, but they will inevitably be wire clips, which I can't stand. Also like having a bit of knife to grab on to, especially on a work knife.

[jackknifeh]

Hah! If you ever actually break FRN, let me know. :D
Let me tell you, in my entire life I have seen only one! Only a single incident where someone managed the break FRN.
You know what happened to it?
It was run over by one of these:

:D
It's not your everyday plastic, technically it's not even a plastic, it's a hybrid material. It's a polymer strengthened with fiberglass. Basicly it's closer to G10 than any plastic.
Here's another thread on FRN: FRN Handles "how tough"

So personally I don't really see a need. As far as clips go, yea theyd be nice to have.
Packaging?
Meh, that's just trying to make knife collecting too easy. Besides all Spyderco's are dated nowadays so getting a new box for it would mean an incorrect date, which would be cheating in my book, certain generations of knives are different and hold different value to collectors.

I'd like to be able to get replacement FRN scales just to change the color. I think the optional deep carry clip is a good idea from a customer aspect but not sure if Spyderco would make or loose money with it. It would give the customers a choice as I have seen it mentioned on this forum several times. Personally, I would rather a little of the handle stick out of my pocket so I would have something to grab onto. Any knife I've owned with a deep pocket clip I put a short lanyard on so that hangs out of my pocket. I understand deep carry from the aspect of concealment but I'm not concerned with that because the police officers in my area wouldn't know an illegal knife unless it was over 12" long. Even then if they stopped you because of it they would just want to know where they could get one. Knife crimes just aren't a problem where I live thank goodness. Actually I'm sure they are more educated about knives than I give them credit for but when I wanted to buy a 4" knife I called them and they didn't know if it was illegal based just on the blade length. Plus if I had to hide it from the cops I just wouldn't carry it and if a SD situation came up I would want all to know I had a knife so hopefully they would leave me alone. I probably wouldn't pull it out anyway. I've never been even close to a situation like that and hopefully never will be.


I liked your suggestions. I believe Spyderco folks will consider them and fill the desire if it will benefit the company. After all, if Spyderco (or any company) makes decisions that loose them money we wouldn't have Spyderco much longer which would be a bad thing.

Jack

[unit]

I actually traded someone for a white scaled FRN Endura Sprint run that the PO had dyed. In the dying process I guess they boiled the handles too long. They look exactly like they should except the clip mounting screws are too short to reach the liners. .

Ha Ha...I would bet you that the scales are not to blame and this is the result of the person that did the job putting it back together wrong!

The screws for the D-bolts are shorter than the clip screws...they used the longer clip screws to put the scales back on and left only the short screws for the clip.

I could be wrong...but...

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to share ideas!

[Creepo]

I'd like to be able to get replacement FRN scales just to change the color.

Yea it'd be cool and all to do this but the overall problem with replacement scales is that Spyderco doesn't want the ELU taking the knife apart, if he screws it up he will try and get Spyderco to fix it, if he loses parts, he might tell Spyderco it was missing a couple screws from the start. The reason behind the whole parts kit is basicly to provide parts to those who lost them while taking the knife apart, apparently it's not that rare. :rolleyes:

And this is just my personal preference: I like to have different editions of knives, from different periods with different materials and slightly different designs. It's what makes collecting fun! :)
Let's say you bought one of the sprint run pink Delicas, a couple years later Spyderco releases spare handles in different colors, now everyone can have a pink Delica which was before considered special and rare.
Cool? Not in my book.
Just my 0.02.

[jackknifeh]

Yea it'd be cool and all to do this but the overall problem with replacement scales is that Spyderco doesn't want the ELU taking the knife apart, if he screws it up he will try and get Spyderco to fix it, if he loses parts, he might tell Spyderco it was missing a couple screws from the start. The reason behind the whole parts kit is basicly to provide parts to those who lost them while taking the knife apart, apparently it's not that rare. :rolleyes:

And this is just my personal preference: I like to have different editions of knives, from different periods with different materials and slightly different designs. It's what makes collecting fun! :)
Let's say you bought one of the sprint run pink Delicas, a couple years later Spyderco releases spare handles in different colors, now everyone can have a pink Delica which was before considered special and rare.
Cool? Not in my book.
Just my 0.02.

Creepo,
Your first paragraph indicates there may be people who would try to get Spyderco to pay for their mistakes. :confused: Surely, not in this country! Just kidding of course. Your comments made a lot of sense.

Jack

[mrsteel]

The Michael Walker ZDP 189 is a sick knife... I'm a little jealous.

[The Deacon]

Never hurts to put ideas out here. Over the years, Sal has picked up on more than a few of them. On the other hand, no harm pointing out the possible pitfalls that may be associated with them.

Spyderco has never gone in much for accessory items, but the low rider clips, at least for the Delica 4 style clip that's shared by so many models, certainly sounds reasonable. Producing them for models like the Military that use less common clips might not be worth their while.

Far as scales go, as has been noted, Spyderco does discourage disassembly. They also have stated on more than one occasion that they have no desire to do customization work, so having them supply and mount the scales would be a hard sell as well.

Boxes sound simple, but collectors generally want the correct box for the knife, so new boxes would only work for the most recent models, for which the original box is more likely to exist. I also suspect that it might backfire, since legitimate boxes and paperwork could be obtained for counterfeit knives making them even harder to spot.

[dbcad]

Welcome Crabhab, the forum is a good place.

You should realize that Spyderco is a pretty small company. Their diversity in styles comes from a true desire from the top to make quality affordable knives, creativity and openmindedness in design, collabarations with building contractors and designers, many established a long time ago, and a real interest in hearing from the folks that purchase and use their products. Of course they want to make money too :)

I have to say I think this company's primary vision is creating good products. Making money is a priority but it shouldn't conflict with the primary goal of making a superior product for the price. Just my take, there is much I don't know. I know the knives are almost always terrific for the price.

For the reasons stated above stocking and manufacturing a lot spare parts might interfere with the primary goal.

Hang around for a while and you'll see. It took me some time,

Charlie

[crabhab]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I just got my NIB Stretch Blue knife wow!!!! I like the size and blade shape of the stretch. It reallly is the perfect length. A bit smaller than the Endura/Cara Cara and bigger than the Delica/Meadowlark. I could see carrying the Stretch when I need a Centofante III sized blade in a tougher EDC role.

My native CF is a great blade and a step up from the regular native. The only thing I am missing from the Native is a box. I think that the fit and finish of the Native CF is much better than my new Micheal Walker ZDP. Speaking of Micheal Walker ZDP I need to take a few pictures and get them up in there onw thread. I really like this knife, lightweight and a great cutting blade that is great for dropping in your pocket as an EDC blade in an office setting. The clip is really a hand hold when opening the knife.