Things you'd like to see Spyderco make

Comeuppance · #1

I'm really interested to hear what you guys would like to see Spyderco make.

For example, I work retail, and I would love for Spyderco to make a folding boxcutter. They're such an essential tool to have in retail, and they're sold in so many places, but the build quality is dodgy even from otherwise reasonably respectable manufacturers. I'd love to see a folding utility knife with a compression lock, G10, and a repositionable pocket clip (for some reason, NONE of them have this. Left handed? Tough. Like tip-up? tough.)

I think it would be a hit for them. I can't be the only one annoyed by the terrible quality of most utility knives out there.

gbelleh · #2

A folding boxcutter, with compression lock, G-10, and a 4-way clip? Sounds like the Yojimbo 2.

Comeuppance · #3

Yeah, but a Yojimbo retails for $120+ and needs to be sharpened. A utility knife would probably be roughly $40 and have interchangable blades. I hate hate hate cleaning tape off of a knife, so I always carry a boxcutter in addition to my Endura Wave/Manix.

chuck_roxas45 · #4

Comeuppance wrote:Yeah, but a Yojimbo retails for $120+ and needs to be sharpened. A utility knife would probably be roughly $40 and have interchangable blades. I hate hate hate cleaning tape off of a knife, so I always carry a boxcutter in addition to my Endura Wave/Manix.

How you figure that? On a folding boxcutter, with compression lock, G-10, and a 4-way clip.

Bladekeeper · #5

A fixed tenacious and resilience would make a pair of seriously good tools taking the already brilliant knife to another level and I know I've said this on sprint dream etc (don't ask don't get :D ) a sprint hossom please sal .

Comeuppance · #6

chuck_roxas45 wrote:How you figure that? On a folding boxcutter, with compression lock, G-10, and a 4-way clip.

It's a guess, admittedly, but a boxcutter that cost much more than that would be a hard sell. Blade steel affects the price of a knife by quite a bit, and, in this case, there literally is no blade steel. The compression lock is a fantasy feature for me. There are linerlocks, backlocks, ratchet-locks, and even ball-bearing lock utility knives out there for less than $20, some even with G10 scales. None of them come close to the kind of fit and finish one would expect from Spyderco, though, so I figured twice that would be about right.

.357 mag · #7

I'd like to see a fixed blade endura and or stretch offered in VG-10 and H1

chuck_roxas45 · #8

Comeuppance wrote:It's a guess, admittedly, but a boxcutter that cost much more than that would be a hard sell. Blade steel affects the price of a knife by quite a bit, and, in this case, there literally is no blade steel. The compression lock is a fantasy feature for me. There are linerlocks, backlocks, ratchet-locks, and even ball-bearing lock utility knives out there for less than $20, some even with G10 scales. None of them come close to the kind of fit and finish one would expect from Spyderco, though, so I figured twice that would be about right.

Yep, if you're looking for the kind of fit and finish you can't find in other boxcutters, you'd probably be paying a lot more for the fit and finish you want. Cost is not just about materials, it's also tooling and manufacturing technology.

And even if it did hit your $40 price point, how many non-spydie nuts would buy a $40 box cutter?

Comeuppance · #9

chuck_roxas45 wrote:Yep, if you're looking for the kind of fit and finish you can't find in other boxcutters, you'd probably be paying a lot more for the fit and finish you want. Cost is not just about materials, it's also tooling and manufacturing technology.

And even if it did hit your $40 price point, how many non-spydie nuts would buy a $40 box cutter?

Given that I and most of my coworkers have spent at least that much over the years on poorly-made ones, probably quite a few people. It's a tool that millions use every day, and yet nobody makes one that's worth anything. I can't be the only one sorely disappointed with them, but that may be an unfair comparison to the Manix2 XL I also carry at work :P

chuck_roxas45 · #10

Comeuppance wrote:Given that I and most of my coworkers have spent at least that much over the years on poorly-made ones, probably quite a few people. It's a tool that millions use every day, and yet nobody makes one that's worth anything. I can't be the only one sorely disappointed with them, but that may be an unfair comparison to the Manix2 XL I also carry at work :P

Ok granting that, but it's Spyderco who would have to put their money on the line. How much does new tooling cost? How much in labor? How much in materials? We were trying to figure out what it would cost to make a new model here before and the figure was something in the range of $300,000 to $600,000. And that's just to break even.

Let's assume $300,000. They'd have to sell 7500 units just to break even on a low estimate of production cost. Who can guarantee sales of that many?

Comeuppance · #11

chuck_roxas45 wrote: Let's assume $300,000. They'd have to sell 7500 units just to break even on a low estimate of production cost. Who can guarantee sales of that many?

Brand loyalty, collecting, needing a well-made tool... That same question applies to any regular knife they put out. How can they guarantee making their money back when they put out a $450 MSRP fixed blade made with H-1? It's always a bit of a gamble, but I think there's a market for a high-quality folding boxcutter, and, moreso than that, I really really wish they made one UGH SPYDERCO TAKE MY MONEY

Comeuppance · #12

Besides, I'd bet more people are willing to spend $40 on a boxcutter than a knife, because most people don't know how to (or don't want to) sharpen a knife. It's easy and practical.

w3tnz · #13

So you want a premium product at a rock bottom price, I'd suggest a delica and learn to clean and sharpen a knife.

chuck_roxas45 · #14

Comeuppance wrote:Besides, I'd bet more people are willing to spend $40 on a boxcutter than a knife, because most people don't know how to (or don't want to) sharpen a knife. It's easy and practical.

Well, you never know. Sal is known for giving us crazy knife nuts what we want. Maybe you make an arrangement with him and gamble your money on a project which you think is a sure winner. Just because you're too lazy to clean and sharpen your knife, you want Spyderco to gamble several hundred grand. That's pretty darn selfish if you ask me.

Clip · #15

A laser. Maybe with a compression lock.

But seriously, a small Delica-sized fixed blade.

Comeuppance · #16

w3tnz wrote:So you want a premium product at a rock bottom price, I'd suggest a delica and learn to clean and sharpen a knife.

$40 is not rock-bottom for a boxcutter, heh. I know how to clean and sharpen a knife, but I hate hate hate cleaning tape residue off of knives. It's always nice to have a knife whose blade you aren't worried about chipping/breaking/dulling. Boxcutters fill that need perfectly, except for the universally poor build quality. If I break the tip off of a utility blade, I can replace the whole blade for less than a dollar.

chuck_roxas45 · #17

Comeuppance wrote:$40 is not rock-bottom for a boxcutter, heh. I know how to clean and sharpen a knife, but I hate hate hate cleaning tape residue off of knives. It's always nice to have a knife whose blade you aren't worried about chipping/breaking/dulling. Boxcutters fill that need perfectly, except for the universally poor build quality. If I break the tip off of a utility blade, I can replace the whole blade for less than a dollar.

It is a rock bottom price in view of what you are asking.

Clip · #18

I've used and abused this one for years. Ran $10, and only the paint and label show signs of its age. Its not folding, but I've found that makes those things needlessly complicated. They're like mousetraps.

Comeuppance · #19

Yeesh. I say I'd like to see a Spyderco boxcutter and I'm met with having to make cost justifications. I'm not proposing that Spyderco make this - it's just a fantasy.

Killjoys, the lot of yeh.

w3tnz · #20

$40 would be pretty rock bottom for a ground up built spyderco utility throw-away-blade knife if you ask me..

Comeuppance wrote: It's always nice to have a knife whose blade you aren't worried about chipping/breaking/dulling

You just defined my delica, I often cut tape and scrape sticky gunk with it, residue comes right off with some methylated sprits and when it gets dull I give it a couple of licks on the sharpmaker, takes about the same time and effort as replacing a blade, and you have a better knife.

The point is tho, whatever your preference, there would not be any substantial market for a premium box cutter, people who buy and use them exclusively generally don't give two hoots about knives. If you really had to have one you could probably drop a few hundred and commission a custom made item, but then all you really have is a pretty junk knife.

Sometimes fantasies are best left at that.