Value folders

[Ngati Pom]

I’ve been on a buying streak over the last three months. In this time I have purchased two Value folders, Astute and UpTern, a Harrier2 in G10, and was gifted a Heinnie-Haines UKPK S30V drop point.
After receiving the latest, the UpTern, it struck me that fit/finish, materials etc. were pretty much indistinguishable between the Value and byrd lines and the standard Spyderco product.
The Value line to my mind is comparable even without the “for the price” rider.
I understand that this is due to investment that Sal, Eric and the team have put into training these manufacturers
in the Spyderco way. And it is paying off.
Spyderco took a risk with these two particular models and they have definitely raised the bar.
I’m looking forward to what comes next.

Also is the UpTern the first Value folder with a backlock, because it is a perfect example.

[skeeg11]

No complaints about any of the Chinese made Spyderco/Byrd folders I've bought. Quite frankly, build quality seems very good and worthy of the Spyderco label. Serrated 8Cr13MoV performance is surprisingly very very good IMHO. In PE I do have an affinity for higher wear resistance, tho. In the current economic clime I'm reluctant to purchase anything other than Salty, "slicey" MagnaCut folders; however, if an Astute came to pass in a better steel like S35N I wouldn't be able to open up my wallet fast enough. The upgrade might take it out of the "value line" but IMHO it would still be part of the high value line like my S35VN Resilience..

[apollo]

The value line is a very important block in the spyderco line up. Since not every person is willing to spend so much on a knife as us forum members. There for they are in away even more important to be as high quality as possible while keeping the price low. So that non knife people can see and feel the difference from the crap they got from a gas station for 5$.
In the end i think they make up a big part of spyderco's income because top line spydies on the other hand are not made to be top sellers.
Sometimes when i look at my Nirvana i doubt they even made money on them at all.
But if you look at how good the tenacious and the resilience is for that price they can only be home runs.

[Ngati Pom]

No complaints about any of the Chinese made Spyderco/Byrd folders I've bought. Quite frankly, build quality seems very good and worthy of the Spyderco label. Serrated 8Cr13MoV performance is surprisingly very very good IMHO. In PE I do have an affinity for higher wear resistance, tho. In the current economic clime I'm reluctant to purchase anything other than Salty, "slicey" MagnaCut folders; however, if an Astute came to pass in a better steel like S35N I wouldn't be able to open up my wallet fast enough. The upgrade might take it out of the "value line" but IMHO it would still be part of the high value line like my S35VN Resilience..

I agree, with everything you said here. 8Cr13’ in serrated form just keeps going. I really enjoy using it.
The Astute is worthy of a more wear resistant steel, if only to raise its profile.

[Ngati Pom]

The value line is a very important block in the spyderco line up. Since not every person is willing to spend so much on a knife as us forum members. There for they are in away even more important to be as high quality as possible while keeping the price low. So that non knife people can see and feel the difference from the crap they got from a gas station for 5$.
In the end i think they make up a big part of spyderco's income because top line spydies on the other hand are not made to be top sellers.
Sometimes when i look at my Nirvana i doubt they even made money on them at all.
But if you look at how good the tenacious and the resilience is for that price they can only be home runs.

Outside of the Delica and Military families, obviously.
The byrd/value line seem to be the harder use knives in the Spyderco line up. Which may be down to perceived value.
It’s not so hard to beat on a higher quality lower cost knife. Knowing it’s able to handle all you need it to.

[apollo]

The value line is a very important block in the spyderco line up. Since not every person is willing to spend so much on a knife as us forum members. There for they are in away even more important to be as high quality as possible while keeping the price low. So that non knife people can see and feel the difference from the crap they got from a gas station for 5$.
In the end i think they make up a big part of spyderco's income because top line spydies on the other hand are not made to be top sellers.
Sometimes when i look at my Nirvana i doubt they even made money on them at all.
But if you look at how good the tenacious and the resilience is for that price they can only be home runs.

Outside of the Delica and Military families, obviously.
The byrd/value line seem to be the harder use knives in the Spyderco line up. Which may be down to perceived value.
It’s not so hard to beat on a higher quality lower cost knife. Knowing it’s able to handle all you need it to.

I have no data offcourse but i do think the sales of the delica are not what they were in the past. The Delica back then had no competition of others spydie’s so i do think the delica’s sales went down a bit since the value line became a thing. ( it still has great sale numbers offcourse)
The pm2 is indeed a golden goose of the quality line but still i can not imagine that it really is THE best selling spyderco product there is , its way to expensive in my eyes for that. Unless you in the us are all secretly rich offcourse… but for every person buying a knife for 150+ i can only think there are multiple persons that would never spend that much because let’s face it they are not cheap if you think about it from a non knife addict point of view.

[JSumm]

It is no secret what I think of this model. One of my top favorite from Spyderco. Some of the best ergos with edge right up to the handle. One of Sal's best. I was very impressed with the build quality on this one. Value Line? You bet. Sal once mentioned it was from one of the better maker's from China and that is obvious when you handle this thing.

[Ranger_Ike]

I am constantly surprised at the quality of the “value line”. I need to add the Polestar to my collection, as well as the Resilience. I’ve also been thinking about the Ambitious as an alternative to the Lil Native that I can never bring myself to buy.

I feel like with the ever rising prices, the value line could become even more popular than it already is.

[Road Tripper]

I've had some interest in the Astute, but am wondering how it would be for sharpening with the edge so close to the handle (same concern with the Tenacious, etc). I use a Sharpmaker for touch-ups, and a KME system for full sharpening. Can anyone comment?

[apollo]

It is no secret what I think of this model. One of my top favorite from Spyderco. Some of the best ergos with edge right up to the handle. One of Sal's best. I was very impressed with the build quality on this one. Value Line? You bet. Sal once mentioned it was from one of the better maker's from China and that is obvious when you handle this thing.

Jeff did you buy an extra or did you dye the first one? Nice job by the way!

[JSumm]

Hey Apollo, I dyed my only one. I actually like the grey scales a lot, but I was wanting something in a maroon shade. And thanks!

[vivi]

I've been very pleased with mine. I bought a Tenacious the month they released and was very impressed with the build quality.

These days I own a few Resilience folders and I'm even happier with those. Love having the edge come back to the handle, and the ergonomics work exceptionally for my hand size.

8Cr is sufficient for my needs when it comes to edge retention. I've had good results squeaking out some extra edge holding by putting a low grit edge on 8Cr.

[Ranger_Ike]

I would love to see other color options in the value line. The Tenacious has some good options, but would love to see the others with some good choices. An OD Green FRN resilience would be awesome.

[Ngati Pom]

It is no secret what I think of this model. One of my top favorite from Spyderco. Some of the best ergos with edge right up to the handle. One of Sal's best. I was very impressed with the build quality on this one. Value Line? You bet. Sal once mentioned it was from one of the better maker's from China and that is obvious when you handle this thing.

The Polestar changed my thinking on a lot of things not least linerlock reliability.
Really like the dye job, is that clip Polestar specific or generic spyderco ?

[Ngati Pom]

I've had some interest in the Astute, but am wondering how it would be for sharpening with the edge so close to the handle (same concern with the Tenacious, etc). I use a Sharpmaker for touch-ups, and a KME system for full sharpening. Can anyone comment?

I use the Sharpmaker to maintain my Polestar and have had no problems.
For full sharpening I have a Hapstone V6 and I just take a little more care around the transition/choil area when using the more aggressive stones. But so far no problems.
Also I have been following Vivi’s advice around coarser edges for 8Cr’ and H1 and the edges are more durable.

[JSumm]

The Polestar changed my thinking on a lot of things not least linerlock reliability.
Really like the dye job, is that clip Polestar specific or generic spyderco ?

Thanks! The clip is a Lynch Clip. I believe it is generic for a number of value line models.

[Ngati Pom]

The Polestar changed my thinking on a lot of things not least linerlock reliability.
Really like the dye job, is that clip Polestar specific or generic spyderco ?

Thanks! The clip is a Lynch Clip. I believe it is generic for a number of value line models.

Thanks, I’ll look into that.

[CDEP]

The Polestar (and her little sister Alcyone) are the sweet spot of all the Value options I've sampled. I have them both, as well as the Ambitious/Persistence/Tenacious, and the Byrd Cara Cara 2 & Meadowlark 2. They are all good choices at their respective prices, but if you can spend up to the Polestar It is worth it. It's the one that feels like it's worth more than it costs.

When recommending a first Spydie to friends who aren't knife people I always go with the Persistence / Alcyone options (3" blade limit here in LA) for versatile EDC.

[Ngati Pom]

I have no data offcourse but i do think the sales of the delica are not what they were in the past. The Delica back then had no competition of others spydie’s so i do think the delica’s sales went down a bit since the value line became a thing. ( it still has great sale numbers offcourse)
The pm2 is indeed a golden goose of the quality line but still i can not imagine that it really is THE best selling spyderco product there is , its way to expensive in my eyes for that. Unless you in the us are all secretly rich offcourse… but for every person buying a knife for 150+ i can only think there are multiple persons that would never spend that much because let’s face it they are not cheap if you think about it from a non knife addict point of view.
[/quote]

I agree the Delica line has to lose out to some of the Value/byrd models. I prefer the Meadowlark because of the choil. The fact it is cheaper is the icing on the cake.

[Ngati Pom]

The Persistence was my first Spyderco, it’s a fantastic introduction to the company.