Spyderco Forums

Has Spyderco ever produced a Military or Manix 2 in ZDP?

I cannot think of one of these models ever produced in ZDP 189, with that said, Why not. It is such a great steel, and they have produced these knives in so many other steels.

nope , neither have been produced in ZDP. ZDP is only found in japanese models.

razorsharp wrote:nope , neither have been produced in ZDP. ZDP is only found in japanese models.

+1

Unless Sal decides to make a limited number of Millies, Manixes, or even Para2s in Japan, you will never see ZDP-189 in a Golden-made model. I think that this is more feasible than Hitachi allowing any sizable amount of their "Super Secret Steel" out of their control. In general, Japanese companies are extremely protective or their products.

Wildernest Survivor wrote:+1

Unless Sal decides to make a limited number of Millies, Manixes, or even Para2s in Japan, you will never see ZDP-189 in a Golden-made model. I think that this is more feasible than Hitachi allowing any sizable amount of their "Super Secret Steel" out of their control. In general, Japanese companies are extremely protective or their products.

While there are a number of reasons for not putting foreign steel in a US made model, I'm not entirely sure your assumption is correct. William Henry offers knives with ZDP-189 and ZDP-189 cored Damascus blades and, AFAIK, they're built in the USA.

The only time I can remember Spyderco using a Japanese steel in a Golden CO USA made knife goes all the way back to the mid 90s. They did make some of the Renegades and Blackhawks with GIN-1 steel in those models. But they also made several of those same 2 models over in Japan as well.

I agree with these guys that you'll never see ZDP-189 steel in a Golden CO USA made Spyder. I just don't think it will happen at all.

However we've got some good steels here in the USA with Crucible and a couple of other companies.

The Deacon wrote:While there are a number of reasons for not putting foreign steel in a US made model, I'm not entirely sure your assumption is correct. William Henry offers knives with ZDP-189 and ZDP-189 cored Damascus blades and, AFAIK, they're built in the USA.

You are right about the William Henry knives - I was not aware of them. :o Thanks for the info. :) How many knives were made? William Henry is an exclusive, limited-production knife maker. Maybe they were able to get a small batch of the steel, or the blade-blanks were made in Japan, and the grinding and finishing was done in the US. I was being too general, which I should not be, and I thank you for the edge-u-cation. :) There are so many knowledgeable people on this forum.
If I remember correctly, when Zero Tolerance produced some ZDP-189 0350's it was because of the connections Kershaw's parent company, KAI had with Hitachi. I am sure that if any US company would be able to get enough ZDP-189 to make a production-run knife, it would be Spyderco. :spyder:
Over the past decade, I have done a lot of business importing from, and dealing with Japanese companies. As a general rule, they are very protective of their brands, patents, and corporate image - sometimes to the point of hampering business deals to could net them more money. One good example of this is streaming video - services like Hulu and Netflix are not widely accepted in Japan. Entertainment companies and rights-holders do not want to post their media catalogs on-line for a charge-per-view or subscription basis while they can gouge their most loyal customers on DVDs that have 60 mins. of programming for $100. It is like this in the music industry too: from copy-protected CD's that don't play on a computer, and incidentally on most car CD players, to byzantine promotion and production rules that make the average CD cost $40-$60. We don't know how lucky we have it here in the US.
Knowing how some Japanese companies treat their products, it would not surprise me if Hitachi did not let ZDP-189 be used widely outside of Japanese-made knives. This is such a potentially important topic, a whole new thread should be started just for this issue.

Until this last week, I thought that ZDP-189 was only used in Japanese-made models as well. Then I got an email flyer from a knife store (Knife Center?) and they were featuring the USA-built ZT 0350, which uses ZDP. So at least we know that ZDP is a possibility for use in US models.

The Deacon wrote:While there are a number of reasons for not putting foreign steel in a US made model, I'm not entirely sure your assumption is correct. William Henry offers knives with ZDP-189 and ZDP-189 cored Damascus blades and, AFAIK, they're built in the USA.

Kershaw also gets their hands on ZDP. Its not totally out of the question, but unlikely.

A Millie in ZDP would be a grand thing indeed! A Millie in Super Blue with blue G-10, ah boy, almost too awesome to even think about. Sorry, just thinking out loud! :p

I'll take a millie in M390...

Oh wait, I have one...

Yea it's quite possible the blades are imported semi-finished and then assembled locally.

I supposed if that was the case Spyderco could as well. The question though is why when local foundries have comparable products easier and cheaper to attain (given import costs).

I would really like the Manix 2 in ZDP. it is middle of the road in size, and not as big as the Mili. I would also think, it would carry a smaller price tag. I carry the FRN Caly Jr in ZDP, because it is ZDP and light weight. I consistently find myself needing a bigger blade on the farm, and would like something just a bit larger.

If ZDP is under foreign control, I guess I could settle for Cruwear. So far my tests with the Cruwear mule have been fantastic. I almost like it as much as ZDP.

They should put in an order for a steel "I" beam made of zdp-189.




Jk

Sht wrote:They should put in an order for a steel "I" beam made of zdp-189.




Jk

I do not understand the humor, what is funny about an I beam? Why would you need an I beam made of ZDP?