Spyderco Forums

Hello all,

New convert to Spyderco after recently leaving another maker. I already picked up a few and have a couple on order for my kids.

My wife will be in Taiwan for a week. Is there anything she can get me in Taiwan directly that would be any different or special than what we can just order online here in the USA?

Thanks in advance!

I've never heard of stuff sold only in Taiwan. I have heard about Japan-only models/variants.

Janisong?

Nothing you can't get here online, often cheaper.

Don't get your wife into trouble with local knife laws or airport security ...

Do they sell seconds somewhere?

ferider wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:18 am

Nothing you can't get here online, often cheaper.

Don't get your wife into trouble with local knife laws or airport security ...

That would be horrible. Dont know much about Taiwan "exclusives".. good luck.

zhyla wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:07 am

I've never heard of stuff sold only in Taiwan. I have heard about Japan-only models/variants.

I did not think about that. She is in Okinawa this week as well.

What could she get that is Japan only? Absolutely NOT looking to do anything against the law.

Can your wife ship it back to the States ?
Is the postage viable ?

NDWoods wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:50 pm

What could she get that is Japan only? Absolutely NOT looking to do anything against the law.

I'm not really much of a collector so I don't stay up on Japan-only models. Google will probably turn up some info. I'm not aware of any knife import restrictions but I would avoid anything automatic or balisong, just to be sure.

NDWoods wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:50 pm

zhyla wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:07 am

I've never heard of stuff sold only in Taiwan. I have heard about Japan-only models/variants.

I did not think about that. She is in Okinawa this week as well.

What could she get that is Japan only? Absolutely NOT looking to do anything against the law.

A beautiful necklace of pink pearls in Ginza :)

This would be an interesting topic for Sal to chime in on since I'm curious about whether Spyderco actually sells a lot of knives domestically in Japan or Taiwan, of if the majority of the knives manufactured in those markets are actually just exported and sold elsewhere.

Off topic, one thing I do know is that if you are into watches, there is a treasure trove of desirable models that are only available to the Japanese market...

If I recall correctly, Spyderco recently did a meetup with some Taiwanese retail sellers (a little bit like the Amsterdam meet), might be worth investigating where they are. Access to the factory is pretty restricted, from what I've heard.
Edit: here's a post where Sal mentions a local seller, Kathy at Ray Gua Hua.

Spydergirl88 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:11 am

Janisong?

This may very well be the answer. In some interpretations it can be considered a federally restricted item (a butterfly knife) but depending on your locale it may also be perfectly legal to own and/or carry.

It is also not for sale whatsoever within the United States.

Thank you all. I sent her the info on Ray Gua Hua for when she gets there next week. Time is running out on a Japan model though. She only has one day remaining in Okinawa.

Unrelated, but since I started this thread both knives came in for my kids. I also have a couple more on the way for me including the recent Dragonfly sprint. Off to a great start!

www.rghknives.com.tw. Ask about a discount if not given one...especially on knives made in Taiwan. Lots of knives, so fun to just look around.
Hope they have something you want. The Janisong is a great deal ... if it can get through Customs. They also usually have a few knives that have recently been discontinued.

I would call before going just to verify they are open. I've only seen them closed twice and unfortunately, both times I was taking guests with me. They'll be here again this year and are determined to get to rgh.

Hi NDWoods,

Welcome to our forum.

The Janisng is available in Taiwan, but illegal to import.

sal

timlara wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:01 am

This would be an interesting topic for Sal to chime in on since I'm curious about whether Spyderco actually sells a lot of knives domestically in Japan or Taiwan, of if the majority of the knives manufactured in those markets are actually just exported and sold elsewhere.

That would be interesting to find out. I lived in Taiwan for close to a decade, but that was a long time ago (I left there at the end of 1992). I don't know if there are many collectors in Taiwan, but TBH, I can't really imagine many people in Taiwan actually carrying Spydercos. At least when I was there, nobody I knew even carried a SAK besides me. I'm not saying nobody did, only as far as I knew, and from some of the exclamations of surprise when I would take out and use my SAK. There didn't seem to be much of an EDC knife culture there.

Jim

https://ebay.us/PJbwGc

https://ebay.us/76hYIA

:eek: