Spyderco Lies ?

[cutler34]

Well thats the inferred opinion from a news group reply.

Are the U.S. made Spyderco knives made in the Spyderco factory at Golden?

Are Spyderco knives made in Taiwan assembled in Japan and then marketed in the U.S.?

>"They

>really *do* very little except process >customs and drop ship stuff."



Sorry about that but since I haven't been to the factory I can't refute such outrageous claims.

Please help.





Regards

Ricki

info@outdooredge.com.au

Spyderco Club Member

[Carlos]

Most Spyderco knives are produced by high-quality makers in Japan, like G. Sakai, Moki, and others.

The US made knives are made in Golden, CO.

Spyderco tried having knives made in Solingen but that didn't pan out. They haven't tried Taiwan yet.

[sam the man..]

Hmmmm,
Ignorance can be a pain in you know where... Can't agree more with Carlos! <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> About 70% of Spyderco's products are manufactured in Japan. The rest are produced at their Golden plant! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Sam

have spydies will travel

[sal]

Hi Ricki. It is as Carlos and Samo said.

Someone is saying things that aren't true. Probably doesn't like Spyderco. With more than 50 patents and 45 employees, it would seem that we are doing something in Golden.

Design of all products and engineering of most products is done in Golden. Distribution to more than 40 countries is done from Golden. We make Native, Vesuvius, Military, Gunting, Starmate and Temperance Jr. in Golden

We also had one model made in Switzerland by HP Kloetzli. A good person and a good maker.

sal

[cutler34]

Thanks Everybody.Below is a copy of the last info he added.Seems he only lives 25 miles from the plant.

Just as an aside, the book is replete with misinformation- awash with it;
according to those that would know the history from living it. Just from my
own perspective, it is a puff piece for them; written by them, published as
a means to promote their association with Paladin- the MOD series and all
that.
We won't get into the background of Golden Manufacturing (I think there
were some name changes and such), or the history of it's association with
Spyderco, it's degree and amount of work done or the level of satisfaction
enjoyed by the principals.
Enjoy the pictures in the book- the photography was excellent.
I believe that the only knife blade made by GM was the Civilian- there was
an expensive machine necessary for the compound curve grind of the
serrations. I don't know how much of the rest of the knife was made there
or whether parts were imported; finished and assembled for that knife
model. Certainly there may have been others- and I think that they've
contracted with some other makers for specific models- that doesn't change
the fact that they are essentially an importer of asian knives.

&gt; I've
&gt; never been there but I've read accounts from others who have and it seems
&gt; they do make the US stamped knives there.I suggest you go down the 25 miles
&gt; and take a tour of the factory. This would confirm for us the facts.I hate
&gt; to think another manufacturer is lying to us.

I don't think it's there to go tour anymore- I don't see the sign when I
drive by. The office bldg. is just a brick box with cartons and computers-
some magazine covers framed on the walls-.......
Incidentally- I just came up with #36 of the first series of utility
knives- the model name escapes me- the little pointed one. Anyway- #36 of
the first run of 100 numbered as model samples to important industry
people- has a little scroll engraving on it.


Regards
Ricki
info@outdooredge.com.au
Spyderco Club Member

[Mancer]

Lol, who gives two cr@ps about where they're made?, I couldnt care less if lill green men on Mars are makin em, reason I get them is that they're good quailty, they're sharp and they do a damn fine job.
To the moron who said these things, to hell with you, if you can do a better job be my guest lill man.

Im not fond of pll who have nothing better to do than to stir, he doesnt know his @$$ from his elbow, who is he to make such ill informed comments?

Oh well you always get a few.

Seeya guys

MaNcEr

It's Time To Kick @$$ 'N Chew Bubble Gum

[sal]

Hi Ricki. Sounds like Chas sounding off on REC.knives. He's a close friend of a very disgruntled ex employee that's been trying to bad mouth Spyderco for the past 10+ years.

Most of what Chas says about Spyderco isn't true.

Samo has been to the factory, Chinook has been to the factory as have a number of Spyderco forum visitors. They must all be stupid and blind?

I've never bothered to argue with him because he's so far from the truth, I don't know where to begin. He also loves to argue and I don't have the time. &quot;Never argue with a fool, onlookers can't tell which is the fool&quot;.

sal

[cutler34]

Unfortunately alot of whats said on the net has many sides and yes you can't tell who's the fool.


Regards
Ricki
info@outdooredge.com.au
Spyderco Club Member

[chinook]

So many experts, so few credentials.

In August of 1999 I was fortunate to take a tour of the Golden, CO factory. The &quot;brick box&quot; is actually a sizable two story brick edifice which can be seen on the rise to the west of the highway where the Factory Outlet Store is located. It is pretty much a utilitarian facade and in fact I asked a couple of employees on break to direct me to the front door. Far from disgruntled they were pleasant and walked me to the front door.
The lobby was roomy and comfortable with, yes, framed magazine articles on the walls. Articles from trade and manufacturing mags with stories recognizing Spyderco's efforts and accomplishments. I met many employees, the only frowns I saw were from concentrating on detailed tasks. I met Frank Centofante actually working at a bench, finetuning one of his collaborations.
I had a Dragonfly that I had the two gentlemen in warranty/repair look at. They were anything butt unhappy as they went about their job, looking in endless parts bins and fiddling with your sick Spydies. In fact every employee or person there seemed relaxed, even when the engineer, sorry, I can't remember his name, came up with a handful of SpyderRench(first time I had seen anything of it) components and expressed a concern over some aspect of its manufacture.
The factory bay was not a beehive on the day I was there butt some grinding of blades was in progress with operator attending a machine that ground many blades at once. I then remet the employee that I had seen outside along with a couple others working with trays of Militarys in various stages of completion. They were working at belt sanders doing precision hand finishing on the blades and others doing the final fit of handle to backspacer. You can be assured that there is a good deal of handgrinding and finish sanding on these and the Starmate that had parts waiting for their turn at the bench. The speed and degree of finesse they showed as they radiused and beveled the G10 edges told me these were not daylaborers hired off the street.
Upstairs, more smiling faces as we poked our noses into the offices. I am terrible with names butt I remember the genuine friendly nature and informal work style evident in the factory. Sal was I believe getting ready for a trip(isn't he always?) butt he came out to the hall and demonstrated his lightning quick Military flick. I believe his name was Owen, came up with a plastic mockup of what I believe was to become the Gunting and Sal and he discussed it there in the hall.
Sal was the same person there as he is on the forum. You could sense his dedication to quality and his genuine concern for my input(precious little let me assure you) as a user of his products. He impressed me as one who would keep tabs and a short rein on anyone producing products with Spyderco's name on them.
The shipping bay was definitely a place of boxes and cartons, coming and going, with stacks and racks of Spydies in little black or white boxes inside bigger boxes.
I had a wonderful day there and came away with a good feeling for the company and its products and the people actually making the knives onsite and the ones ensuring quality of suppliers and contractors. Have no fear, Spyderco is doing a class act there in Golden.

I'd like to thank Sal and Daneel(my charming guide) for the opportunity. It capped a great vacation to the Rockies that year.

------
Disguised as a responsible adult
&gt;&lt;CHINOOK*&gt;

[sam the man..]

Dude,
Seeing is believing! <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> A plant tour last November confirmed it all. Since Spyderco is a leader in this very specialised field of producing high-tech cutlery, its no surprise if someone out there is going all out to smear Spyderco's good reputation.
The factor that had inspired me, is Spyderco's willingness to share their expertise with other knife manufacturers. This is obvious with the rapid advancement and progress in the US blade industry.
My personal thanks to Sal, Joyce and the entire Spyderco crew who hosted my visit and I hope to spread the good word about this little company and their warm and sincere crew in my part of the world! <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Sam

have spydies will travel

[cutler34]

I guess all I can do is dream of the day I get to visit the factory and meet Sal and the crew.Thanks for the great description Chinook.Almost like being there.

Regards
Ricki
info@outdooredge.com.au
Spyderco Club Member

[Clay Kesting]

This is why I stopped going to rec.knives a long time ago. A blowhard like this bloke would never be tolerated on a moderated forum but there he can say what he likes and not be called to account. Words come cheap, only by their actions can people truly be judged. In all my dealings with Sal and other Spyderco staff, their actions have been characterised by honesty, fairness and exceptional generosity.

Clay

Don't worry that the world might end tomorrow, in Australia it's tomorrow already.

[MWD]

Sal, James, Chinook ....
Sal, you made mention of the knives currently being manufactured in Golden, CO., but did not mention the Chinook! Isn't this beauty being produced in Golden as well? If I missed this one somewhere, sorry! But, I have 2 Chinooks on order now and was under the assumption that they were made in Golden, CO.!

Mark W. Douglas

[sal]

Hi MWD. Yes, we the Chinook here also, sorry, senior moment.

sal

[MWD]

THANKS SAL! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Mark W. Douglas

[The Stare]

Maybe this isn't the best place to place such a question, but don't want to start a thread for something so insignificant, yet potentially problem-causing.

Can anyone provide me a good link to rec.knives, if there is a forum there? I just spent a fruitless time on Google trying to find a generic URL that worked. Several of the links Google offered automatically opened Netscape, then told me the server couldln't be found. I prefer to use Explorer, but obviously have both web apps.

I'm always curious to find another forum dealing with knives, however irresponsible some turkey may be with his negative comments re Spyderco. I'm not usually into flames, but occasionally they seem right, and maybe that is a forum where I could indulge my occasional mean streak??

Thanks,


Stare

[Ewok]

rec.knives is a Usenet group. Usenet is a pre-historic store-and-forward based system. <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> A few months ago, I would have pointed you to deja.com, but that is no more. IIRC, google bought some or all of deja, but hasn't brought the newsgroup support on line. You might be able to find archives of rec.knives.

If your ISP gives you Usenet support, you can use IE or Netscape to &quot;read news.&quot;

[cerulean]

Google Groups is up and running now at http://groups.google.com/ . You can use it to search the &quot;complete&quot; archives of rec.knives (although some posts seem to be missing), but you can't use it to post currently. Google bought out Deja some time ago, but they're finally getting their act together.

A lot of people on the Web based forums (BFC, KFC, etc.) spent time at rec.knives before coming here. Most people on usenet are newbies or too caustic and abrasive to survive in moderated forums, so take what they say with a grain of salt.