Whither Spyderco....

[golok]

I have seen Spyderco grow from strength to strength over the past decade. That it is an organisation founded on the noble and cherished tenets of reliability and high performance is without a doubt.

Now after scores of Spyderco models and several quantum leaps in innovative technology, I am tempted to ask: Whither Spyderco?

Five years from now, will Spyderco be among the leading pack of industry leaders? In this highly competitive sector where no one has a monopoly on advanced technology or creative genius for long, the future is almost unpredictable.

What's the point in this line of questioning, you may ask. Pushing beyond excellence, I say. I like Spyderco and all it stands for. It reminds me of a young man who has a grand vision and he hangs on to it as if his life depends on it.

The young man has now added a few more years to his life. He begins to realise that in his interesting journey, there are many who share his ambition. The destination is the same: victory and success.

If Spyderco dares to venture forth into unfamiliar territory, it will have to ignore all the rules and go where no knife maker has gone before. That is, right into the realm of extreme affordability! In other words, into the homes of every middle-class, monthly income wage earner where a quality knife can be bought not that cheaply but certainly very affordable by ordinary Joe's standards.

It is a concept that Bill Gates founded his empire on. He sold his software for almost pittance and got back the world in return as a reward.

Will Spyderco dare to push its prices down against the popular trend and against the very being of business commonsense?

The concept is not entirely new. Just ask Sony, Panasonic, Toyota, Honda, and the others. When other industry leaders were improving their products and pushing up their prices in accordance with rising costs and dearer raw materials, the Japanese were enthusiastically pushing down their prices and improving the performance of their products.

Ridiculous, you say, Not so, according to the big names mentioned above. That concept is the very essence of the mind of the strategist. Don't see the view at the end of the road, see instead the universe beyond the road.

In sharing my thoughts with Spyderco in my hour of reflection, I humbly seek your indulgence and your forgiveness for being so forthright.

I do this with much affection for a knife company which has filled my early years with great fun and joy.

Spyderco Endura was my first quality foreign item in my miniscule knife collection at that time. The thumb hole on the blade and its slightly unorthodox design amused me but I soon found out that it was highly functional and effective.

You may accuse me of being a sentimental bloke but there are some people and organisations I am rather fond of and I would like to see them grow - magnificently if at all possible.

[sal]

Hi Golok. Intersting observation and question.

Certainly there are many directions available. We will not forsake performance or quality and we certainly cannot forsake safety.

Hondas are far more expensive then they were in the past. Though many companies try to drive costs down, there is a limit without sacrificing the above.

We are always looking at ways of providing more resonably priced models. However this cannot be done with exotic steels.

We are making the Endura II and the Delica II as a price point variation, but the dowside is AUS-6 steel. AUS-6 is a good steel, but certainly not on a par with ATS or VG10.

Would you be interested in a line of "Price point" models with AUS-6? That is the question.

We are also looking at new ways of making existing models with materials that perform well but cost less to manufacture.

sal

[golok]

Dear Sal,

It is heartening to know that you and your colleagues are striving to do your best with regard to pricing and quality.

The future, as it is now with all the sudden scientific advances and unexpected breakthroughs, is often unpredictable.

Not that long ago, in my country when mobile phones first made their appearance, their size matches that of a car battery and almost weighs just as much. Today, a handphone costs about RM200 (US$50) in my country.

Nowadays, the handphones are better, equipped with more features and definitely more superior compared with the past models.

The point is, as history has proven over and over again, that higher costs yesterday could mean next-to-nothing tomorrow.

Years ago, tin (Malaysia was the world's biggest producer at one time) was about the only thing to hold canned food. Today, the world has plastic, styrofoam, aluminium and other better, cheaper materials.

Exotic materials are being discovered almost every year. First Day Covers in limited editions are being produced with stamps made from tantalum and niobium in my country. These two elements produce exotic and unusual colours. They are beginning to be highly valued for their unusual properties.

I believe the same will go for knives. In the near future, I foresee blades being made from strange, yet-to-be-discovered materials and these will be stronger, better and probably rust-free from any kind of atmospheric conditions, including sea water.

Already, we have talonite and stellite, and others. At one time, I believe scientists used to build anti-tank shells coated with titanium to penetrate the 3 or 4inch thick tank hulls. Then later, these shells were modified with ceramic which were found to have better armour-piercing properties.

The world is filled with metallurgical wonders.

I hope Spyderco will continue to strive for quality, creative but highly functional designed knives. Of course, as it is now, the pricing is determined by the costs of materials, exotic or otherwise.

I am slightly at a loss in expressing my opinion on lower priced Spydercos with a compromise on quality. As a customer, I would always want quality and affordability. Yes, I understand a person cannot have both. However, I must admit that "price point" Spyderco Endura II and Delica II are interesting considerations.

I have seen knives made in countries like Taiwan, China, Pakistan, and India. Their quality are not that far off from that of Spyderco. But I don't think you can hold these knife makers at bay for long.

I know what Asians are capable of. Soon, perhaps in five years, I believe the quality of knives made in the Pacific region will be on par with those made in Spyderco and elsewhere.

Frankly, I would like to see you and your people up there with the best of the world's knifemakers when that time comes. When the East matches the West in quality and pricing, the winners can only be all of us. Ultimately, isn't that what it's all about -- a win-win situation?

[sal]

Hi Golok. Thanx for the encouragement.

We are always looking at makers that could be possible vendors for us. We buy knives and test them regularly. When a maker looks like thay might have the passion and the right attitude, we then try to see if they can build to our quality standard. Few thus far been able to.

As you say, there are makers out there that are getting better all of the time. For us, it's not the country, it's the maker that's most important.

sal