A Sal/Spyderco book?

[Liquid Cobra]

Sal, have you considered a reprint of The Spyderco Story or new book retelling how all this, Spyderco, came to be?

I’ve been listening to a lot of knife podcasts lately, specifically tales from Bob Terzuola and I realize that there is so much history new knife aficionados would want to hear or read about without the means to do so. In a recent podcast Bob told the story about the time he introduced you (sal) into the blade hall of fame (1999).

Personally I would love to read a book written by you Sal. There is a lot of knife history waiting to be shared and a large audience that wants to hear it.

Here is a retelling from blademag.com

Sal Glesser, the genius behind the Spyderco knife with the hole-in-the-blade, the pocket clip and the serrations that changed the way an industry looks at folding knives, has achieved an edged immortality of sorts by being elected to The Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame.

The leading vote getter in a vote by sitting members of the Cutlery Hall Of Fame, Glesser was inducted into the shrine this past June at the BLADE Show & International Cutlery Fair. The road to the Hall has been a long and winding one for the latest inductee.

Sal and his wife, Gail, launched Spyderco over 20 years ago in the back of a bread truck. Their first product was a serrated knife sharpener, and the Glessers made a living early on selling sharpeners and sharpening other people’s knives.

“We barely made the truck payment,” Sal recalls, “and we were living in the truck.”

Then, in 1981, he designed and produced the first Spyderco knife, the Worker, the initial piece with the familiar hole-in-the-blade for easy one-hand opening and a pocket clip. Next, in 1982, came the first serrated Spyderco knife, the Mariner. Despite the unique designs, the early- to mid-1980s were a struggle for Spyderco. But Sal plugged along, taking his sharpeners and knives to shows where people had a need for such things, demonstrating his sharpeners and his knives to whomever would watch.

It was at one such show that knifemaker Bob Terzuola set up at a table across from the Spyderco booth. In his speech introducing Glesser as the latest inductee into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame at the BLADE Show Awards Banquet, Terzuola recalled the experience as if it were yesterday.

“Sal was right across the aisle from me and, for three solid days, I was subjected to the Spyderco pitch—how to sharpen a knife on a ceramic sharpener,” Terzuola began. “Sal would grab some poor, unsuspecting character walking down the aisle and say, ‘Excuse me, sir. Do you have a knife in your pocket?’

“Sal would get out his jeweler’s loupe and look at the edge of the knife and say, ‘Boy, that’s not really very sharp’ and say, ‘Let me show you how this sharpener works,’ and he’d stand there and sharpen the knife.

“(Sal) had this pile of paper next to him and he’d pick up this slim piece of paper and he’d take that guy’s knife and slice it and cut it into neat little paper dolls and circles and triangles and all. The guy’s eyes would be wide and, in the meantime, other people would gather round. Sal sold a boatload of those sharpeners.

“By the end of the weekend on Sunday, I’m packing up and Sal’s packing up and he’s got this whole table full of knives, axes, even some rooster spurs used for cockfighting in Mexico,” Terzuola continued, “and he sharpened all these things and had them all on his table. I went over to him and introduced myself and said, ‘Sal, that really is a very impressive demonstration,’ and Sal said, ‘You know, the sharpener is really good. Otherwise I wouldn’t be selling it. But it doesn’t matter how sharp the knife is. I can (cut paper) with any knife on the table,’ and he proceeded to do it with kitchen knives and axes and chisels.

“And he said, ‘I can do it with the back of the knife,’ and turned the knife over and did it with the back of the knife. ‘I can even do it with another piece of paper,’ and he got a piece of paper and cut another piece of paper into little dolls and triangles. ‘You’ve got to keep your eye on the bouncing ball and know what you’re selling,’ Sal told me. ‘It’s when are you gonna cut paper, it’s not so much in the sharpening.”‘

Some time in the late 1980s, Spyderco knives began to capture the imagination of knife enthusiasts on a grand scale. Whether it was such landmark models as the Police, Endura and Delica; Spyderco’s introduction of what has become a long line of reproductions of handmade designs, the first of which was by Terzuola; its many Blade Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year Awards; its role in helping to pioneer hi-tech materials and designs; or a combination of factors, Spyderco’s knives took off and they are still barreling along out there in space.

Behind it all was Sal Glesser.

As Terzuola said, “His passion has always been for performance. He’s always told me, whether it’s in a car, or a knife, or in a person who is working for you, it’s performance that you’re looking for.

“But, more than that, Sal has always cared for the customer. And it’s a lesson that I learned over a long period of time that the customer, the person who buys (knives) and puts down his hard-earned money, expects in return integrity and expects a product that’s going to work and a company that’s going to back it up. And Sal has shown this in the way Spyderco works, in its success, in its performance, in its growth, and its innovations and its constant quality.”

Of course, it is not just Glesser’s knives but his complete vision of them—the responsible and proper use of them and their role in society—that makes him worthy of the Cutlery Hall Of Fame. His active support of the American Knife & Tool Institute, for which he was a winner of The Blade Magazine 1998 Publisher’s Award, is proof of that.

Welcome to the Cutlery Hall of Fame, Sal. You’ve earned it.

[Naperville]

A large format coffee table book with full page of text followed by a full or half page image a knife, or of hand drawings by artists/designers of the knives would be cool!

Maybe cover 20% to 25% of the knives offered, and include Spyderco history. Try to cover 75 pages with info. Make it a collectors item, and make it a coffee table book to be used by everyone interested in the art of knives.

[apollo]

I do not think Sal has the time to write a book.
That said they could hire someone to do that offcourse.
I would be most interested in the story’s behind particular models. Especially the Icons.
Military , endura/delica , Native , … and story’s about collabs like terzuola’s or schempp’s etnic series,…
Also info over the different factory’s would be nice.
And the book needs to be buyable worldwide offcourse.

[yablanowitz]

They should have included Sal's acceptance speech as well. "Uh...Thank you."

It would be a monumental task to compile such a history, most of which is currently recorded only in the memories of the Glessers, all of whom are very busy. I doubt any of them could spare the hundreds of hours it would take to relate all those memories to a chronicler.

[Unbrokenchain33]

In for coffee table book with photos and brief background stories

[Araignee]

I do not think Sal has the time to write a book.

Well, Sal probably has a lot of stuff on his plates, but he passed the management of the business onto Eric, didn't he ?

I too would love an in-depth, first-hand retelling of Spyderco's story, starting from the modest beginnings, touching upon the major design choices/iconic models, the collaborations, the daily work Gail/Eric/longtime employees, the relations with steelmakers and contractors (including the opportunities and issues of working with foreign suppliers in JP/ROC/PRC), etc.

Including historical pictures and sketches of protypes along the way, would be very nice.

[JD Spydo]

I got my hardback edition of the Spyderco Story by Kenneth Delavigne back in 2002 from a knife dealer who was going out of business. I got it for under $30 to the best of my memory. I've turned down some handsome offers for it and have no intention on selling it. I comb all the local thrift stores hoping at some point to get lucky and maybe snag another hard cover or soft cover version at some point. But The Spyderco Story is really getting hard to find now a days.

I'm 1000% for Spyderco doing a sequel or even another type of book about the company at some point.

[mikey177]

A Spyderco Story updated edition to coincide with the company's 50th anniversary would be cool.

A follow up book would also be great if it had a lot of Sal's talkin' stories and, as mentioned above, anecdotes about working with Spyderco's various partners.

[apollo]

I do not think Sal has the time to write a book.

Well, Sal probably has a lot of stuff on his plates, but he passed the management of the business onto Eric, didn't he ?

I too would love an in-depth, first-hand retelling of Spyderco's story, starting from the modest beginnings, touching upon the major design choices/iconic models, the collaborations, the daily work Gail/Eric/longtime employees, the relations with steelmakers and contractors (including the opportunities and issues of working with foreign suppliers in JP/ROC/PRC), etc.

Including historical pictures and sketches of protypes along the way, would be very nice.

Not so sure about that since Sal not so long ago said he still is in charge and has the final say in things so that does not sound like a man with allot of free time to me.

[sal]

The desire to do so is there. As mentioned, time to do so has been challenging. It's still on the "to do " list.

sal

[nerdlock]

Maybe Sal and Eric could hire a biographer of sorts, to assist in the writing down of the Spyderco story. That's how busy men of importance have their life stories written down for posterity. I bet the final book, if it ever gets written down, would be an important work of literature and a cornerstone in the knife world.

[Road Tripper]

I'd be interested in this. I'd love to hear whatever life stories Sal chooses to share. Having tried a few brands, I've largely settled on Spyderco because the knives just feel right to me (not all models, to be sure, but I have my favorites). I'd love to hear more about the design inspiration, process, and choices, understanding that some things may be proprietary and so need to remain private. For instance, I recall reading that the Native Chief was years in the making; what were those incremental changes? How is a lock chosen for a particular design? There are so many areas to explore.