Spyderco Forums

I have owned a lot of folders in my day and will continue to purchase and own folders. Spyderco is my favorite - in part because of the hole. F&F are generally always very good but I just do not like (as well) knives with thumb studs or what have you. The Spyderco hole is just sleek and low-profile, plus it works great. One of my favorite knives is the Boker Anso 67 - but I had to put a hole in it like Jens Anso's original 67.

I notice that Jens Anso puts the holes in his stunning custom knives.

My question is: Did Jens Anso come up with the hole idea or did Spyderco?

I agree 100% I just don't like thumb studs now. I normally end up trading any folder i get that doesn't have a hole. I guess i have just become more comfortable with holes plus thumb studs tend to tear up my thumbs after awhile of opening and closing.

I believe spyderco coined the "hole" idea. :)

gdw wrote:My question is: Did Jens Anso come up with the hole idea or did Spyderco?

It was a Spyderco development, though they do license the use of the hole to specific custom makers such as Jens.

Hi Gdw & Seelow,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

As Jabba mentioned, Spyderco invented "Hole openers" with the first model going into production in 1981. Jens is a licenced custom maker.

sal

sal wrote:Hi Gdw & Seelow,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

As Jabba mentioned, Spyderco invented "Hole openers" with the first model going into production in 1981. Jens is a licenced custom maker.

sal

Hi sal
Is there a list of makers or by model of licensed spydie holes. Like others have said I can't do thumb studs anymore but I wouldn't want to buy a knife that was using it under the table.

Kingdom Armory Knives also uses the Spyderco trademark hole under license. So does Fred Perrin and Marcin Slysz.

Sht wrote:Is there a list of makers or by model of licensed spydie holes.

While I have yet to see an official list (and it has been requested before), Jossta was kind enough to supply us with a decent list of names (though this list hasn't been confirmed or denied by Spyderco AFAIK):

jossta wrote:Most reputable custom makers that use the hole are licensed (all that I've seen). Not sure if all of these are still licensed, but I don't think it's that hard and from what I've heard the charge is very minimal if you aren't churning out tons of knives a year.

Sacha Thiel
Tim Wegner
Jens Anso
Pat Crawford
Les George
Andre DeVilliers
Howard Viele
Jeremy Krammes
Shane Sibert
Bob Lum
Mark Terrell
Brad Southard
Deviant Knives
Mikkel Willumsen
Burchtree
Allen Elishewitz
Mick Strider
Steve Ryan
Charles Marlowe
AT Barr

And probably some others.

Yeah, I was just thinking about this today as I am trying out my first non-Spyderco - a Sebenza Insingo. MAN, does that thumb stud HURT!

I think my thumbs have been coddled all this time by the Spydie hole which takes a totally different approach.

Another thing I noticed is that when slicing through a large object (like a watermelon) where you need to use the entire blade, the thumb studs get caught in the material and starts ripping it, so you effectively need to adjust and use less of the blade so you don't run into the stud. On the Spydie, however, the hole causes no problem and you can use the entire blade.

Long live the hole!

Yes, cutting something with a thumb stud is a hassle. I often remove mine just for that purpose. I ran around for quite some time with the Boker 67 minus the thumb stud (super easy to open due to the detent design) and finally just added a big hole. No more thumb studs for me - for a number of reasons...cutting, snagging on pockets, etc.

Oh, and I love the Insigo design but would have to drill a hole in a $400 knife, and that would make me nervous. Kind of has a bit of a RL look to it - another Spyderco I love.

jabba359 wrote:While I have yet to see an official list (and it has been requested before), Jossta was kind enough to supply us with a decent list of names (though this list hasn't been confirmed or denied by Spyderco AFAIK):

I have also that Spyderco lisence

Pekka Tuominen

They used to run ads in the mid-to-late 1990s knife magazines that listed SpyderHole-using officially licensed custom knifemakers.

Pekka wrote:I have also that Spyderco lisence

Pekka Tuominen

I knew your name sounded familiar. :) I did a little research and rediscovered that Mr. Tuominen is the designer of the newly-released Spyderco Puukko (FB28). A beauty of a knife to be sure. Kudos to you, sir!