How quickly we get used to luxuries

[Blerv]

Im relatively new to the knife scene. I would say that i have a reasonable viewpoint on business, quality and product value. That said, maybe a more experienced chap can give me some insight.

Its hard to say this without falling into morbid sarcasm and violating the "shiny footprints" philosophy that i respect so dearly, but does it seem to some we are used to features and at times unwilling to accept less. People want g10 handles on everything, jimping up the wazoo, drilled steel liners, s30v at the LEAST, screwed construction (because pinned wont let us disassemble our knives once a week like we all do), etc.

After getting my h1 spyderhawk i was blown away at how stout and smooth a knife could be with half the required features above. After spending 2.5 hours trying to escape a knife store owner (and supposed afi) i held at least 20 knives from other makers which most were nowhere near tenacious quality. Notchy action, bad ergonomics, cheap finishes, cruddy steels and huge msrps. I am not trying to be a blind spyderco fanboy/kool-aid drinker as i was attempting to widen my base of appreciation and pick another company to shop with.

I guess coming from the automotive service world and seeing r&d flops on $45,000 trucks my standards are low for a $60 frn knife. However, of the collection in my sig (8 months or so) i sadly cant nay-say the company for anything worth writing an email over let alone a concerned post.

I guess ill keep drinkin my kool-aid. When the blade play on my pinned knives becomes "dangerous" or the lack of g10/jimping causes me to lose a finger ill be sure to let everyone know. In the meanwhile the materials and QC for a $50-60 knife is impressing the hell out of me.

Edit: the paint on my cento3's clip is chipping and the blade is 65% to one side when closed. I dont know what to say...

[sarguy]

You have a good point. I believe what we see here is kind of magnified to some extent due to the demographic and the fact that when we do have a desire for "Knife X", with Jimped Steel Lined G10 featuring a stunning relief of Mother Teresa riding Godzilla, hand carved by angels and polished with the tears of a million dodo birds, other people here "get it" and don't make fun of us. Thus, our vents and rants are concentrated and magnified here. Despite any such rants, I think that by and large we are happy with all of Spyderco's offerings, and the reason for that is because they do listen to those opinions and respond accordingly. Sometimes that means a new steel or handle material, sometimes that means a nice pat on the head before sending us back out onto the forums to play.

Personally, I'll take two, with extra dodo tears. ;)

[The Deacon]

I may worship at different altars than most here, Damasteel instead of CPM Swhatever, flush pinned bolsters instead of coin slotted screws, sambar stag instead of G-10 - but I'm as much (or more) of a snob than most.

I see no problem with that, per se. Where it becomes unrealistic to me is when someone wants high end materials, flawless fit and finish, perfect ergonomics, and a $50 price tag. Then, they expect a dealer to inspect it to insure that perfection, package it to withstand anything short of a train wreck, ship it within an hour, and do all that for $1 over wholesale.

[yablanowitz]

Paul, this time you are wrong. They want it packaged to survive nuclear war, much less a mere train wreck, and that should read $10 under wholesale. ;)

We are so spoiled it is ridiculous. When you consider these are not one of a kind customs, but mass produced by the hundred or thousand, it should boggle your mind that they can be as good as they are, especially for the price. If it doesn't, try making a few knives of your own, and be sure to keep track of your time. Even at minimum wage, I'll bet anything you can make to Spyderco standards will have hundreds of dollars worth of labor involved.

[vampyrewolf]

When you start playing in the world of customs, you realize what Sal does for us. I spent 290usd on a custom tanto to get what I wanted (allowing for creative license for the knife maker). I've got customs from 50-300usd, all fixed blade. To get a custom folder with the quality I've come to expect and appreciate with spyderco, I'm looking at 250usd and up.

I figure the ti military that we asked for and have received (or at least will shortly) will be the epitomy of what spyderco is. IIRC Sal designed the C36 as the knife he'd send with Eric. Now, 13 years of evolution later we get it in a ti framelock. I don't think we'll get much that'll top it for durability and beauty fused into one. Sure I've got a grail to pick up still that'll be the top of my collection for beauty and grace... but the millie was designed to be USED.

I think that most of the people who want high end super steels with high speed handles have never actually pushed a knife to see what it can do. I've pushed my ats-55 frn endura beyond what a lot of people do with a folder (and have for ~6 years). I've been abusing an ats-55 ss dragonfly for 8 years and haven't killed it yet. I tried to kill a 440v millie for a little over 2 years. I tried to kill an ats-55 frn delica for 4 years before giving it to my buddy to beat on when I got my first millie. I trust that my pinned frn spydies will do everything I ask of them. I don't need steel handles and screws for tweaking... I don't need a super steel. Give me 5160, give me L6, give me O-1...

When I started on the forums I thought folks were odd having carried a knife for 10years or more. I hadn't had quality knives before spyderco, so it seemed odd. If someone can use the first few generations of spyderco for long term, why do we need to get fancy after 25 years? I've got a few old slipjoints from 30 to 50 years ago, high carbon steel and pinned, that still function great.

I appreciate quality and consistency, knowing my tools will take anything I throw at em... rather than get something that looks good but is new to the market and untested.

[clovisc]

Blerv, I believe you might just be generalizing a little... :D

I'm very much with V-Wolf in having gained an appreciation of what it means to own a knife that can last through a lifetime of hard use. I also agree that, when you get down to the concept of USE, that lots of the little details don't matter very much. I don't need fancy screw adjustment and wacky jimping/texturing and exotic materials... (but... admittedly, all that stuff is pretty cool!).

I've come to really appreciate H1 -- not only are it's edge retention properties "good enough" for me, it gets much, much, much better the more you use it. It's a steel that actually benefits from use. I feel as though my H1 knives are going to last for many years. I'd like to get a couple new pacifics, but truthfully, I don't have any reason to retire the ones I am still carrying and using.

Sure, I bought tons of spydies this year... but at the same time, most of the very same knives are in my EDC that were there the last couple years. Mili, Pacific Salts, Tasman Salt, Aqua and Rock Salt, and ATS-55 Dragonfly are the knives that are carried and used the most. It's been this way for a while. There are some new entries into my EDC, of course... Sage I, Chokwe, and H1 Spyderhawk... but even with so many new spydies on the market, my EDC is largely what it has been for a while.

The fact that spydies last so long makes it difficult to justify buying spydies as quickly as I'd like to.

[sarguy]

I can't help but toss this in for good measure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

[gac]

You have a good point. I believe what we see here is kind of magnified to some extent due to the demographic and the fact that when we do have a desire for "Knife X", with Jimped Steel Lined G10 featuring a stunning relief of Mother Teresa riding Godzilla, hand carved by angels and polished with the tears of a million dodo birds, other people here "get it" and don't make fun of us. Thus, our vents and rants are concentrated and magnified here. Despite any such rants, I think that by and large we are happy with all of Spyderco's offerings...

You're welcome.