Number what...on a scale of 1 to 10?

[golok]

The other day I was browsing at some knives of various makes and models at a sports section of a major shopping complex.



I noticed there were numerous models of Buck and Swiss Army Knives. The shop assistant and I engaged in a little chit-chat about knives.



I told him that they don't seem to have some of the other names. He replied: "Yes, we don't have some of the better ones like Spyderco, ... etc."



"Anyway, Spyderco ranks about fifth among the world's top five knifemakers," he told me.



That remark set me thinking. If Spyderco is ranked 5th in the world, who are the other top 4 names? I am just curious.

[tique]

I would guess he was talking about production companies when he was speaking of the top 5, cause it would be way too hard if you get into custom makers.

Anyway, if we keep this discussion limited to production companies for simplicity, the I think that he was a bit off. Spyderco would be ranked a good bit higher than 5 in the top 5.

I just did some thinking about what I consider the "top 5 companies" out there, and I would say Spyderco would rank somewhere in the top 3, not exactly sure where though as I would need even more experience than I currently have in the world of knives.

I think it does say something for Spyderco, however, that as a big knife fan that puts out enough cash yearly that I could carry about anything I desire, I carry Spydies. I have 3 knives currently that are daily carries, all 3 are Spyderco. I have been through about all the companies that I care to experiment with as far as carry pieces are concerned, and I see no need to go any further. I have 2 that I like, and Spyderco is the top of them.

I must admit though, that in most of the knife shops I go in, Spydies are not placed where they should be. They try to put an Endura or Delica against a knife that retails for twice it's price from another company and say that it's not as good. I fell into that trap of listening to that for a good while, but I finally came to see the light almost by accident. Now I make sure that I leave a knife shop with the workers having a much better respect for thier Spydies than they did when I got there.

IMHO, YMMV

[john row]

Endura not "as good"???? The problem is that looking at the Endura compared to ANY USING knife of comparable size, the Endura kicks it's competition's B.U.T.T.
Consider - if you sold knives, would you want a $60 -$70 sale or a $150 sale. And then hope that this particular customer would continue to purchase brand X.
Consider these FACTS: People who know knives choose Spyderco as their overall brand. They may buy one or two models of the other manufacturers.
Check the features on most of the other manufacturers models. Most, if not all incorporate features originated by Spyderco. The number one copied cheapo? Also a knockoff of a Spyderco product.
Innovation in design and material? Spyderco AGAIN!!


John

DANG!!! Oh well, still have nine more fingers!! LOL

[tique]

Well, they try to show that the Endura/Delica is not as good. I don't know about how well it performs as I have never owned one. That is not a knife that is terribly attractive to me due mainly to the FRN handle. I am a big fan of G-10, so most of my folder purchases have that scale/handle material. I shy away from the Zytel/FRN/plastic/etc. on most occasions just due to personal preference and I have done that almost as long as I have loved knives. My main point was that they never seemed to have a Military or anything of that nature to compare with another companies blades.

[toothed]

The store clerk ranked Spyderco "fifth" based on what criteria? Sales dollar amount? Quantity of knives produced/sold? Size of company? It sounds like the ranking was based on the clerk's SWAG (Simple Wild A$$ Guess).

Here's my personal subjective assessment: If you're ranking a knife manufacturer and its products by overall performance/quality/design/price/availability/variety/nice guy owner, IMO Spyderco is No. 1! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

[john row]

tique,
sorry to come on so strong. The frn made me stay away from several models at first too.
G10 is a favorite but micarta and even carbon fiber are less desirable for grip for me.I think my hands are too dry or something. Also, I'm left handed and the choice of left/right on the Endura sold me.
Sal had a quote I liked regarding judging a knife by the handle first: Quite a few marriages begin and end that way too. Sorry Sal, I'm paraphrasing and probably not doing it very well either..
The ergonomics of the Spydie handles feel good in my hand.
John

DANG!!! Oh well, still have nine more fingers!! LOL

[tique]

John,

No problem. My experience with Spyderco got off to a really rocky start, and I show that in my posts because I know other people are probably having the same problem. The dealers I have dealt with in the past tend to screw their customers by saying you dont' want a Spyderco, (cause I make less $$) you want a BM or MT or whatever(cause I make more $$). So I was brought up in the north believing that Spyderco was substandard, and therefore I grew to love G-10 and Micarta as a handle material because I was buying all top shelf production knives. Not to say that an Endura isn't top shelf, but I was only getting the stuff that came with top shelf prices attached. I got into Spydies after I got on Bladeforums, and traded for one just for the hell of it. After that, I was hooked. But I am still very fond of the top end handle materials that I have grown up with, always lusting after something more expensive than the last, which completely rules out FRN. I am now trying to rediscover FRN as it seems to do a damn fine job as a handle mat'l. I also am now just as fond of a knife costing $40 as I am of one costing $400. Maturity has helped a bit, as has the learning experience that comes from loving and learning knives.

Rambling like a MF,
Tique

[Clay Kesting]

Well I'll have to admit to having been a snob as far as FRN was concerned. My first Spydie was a Wegner Jr and most of my knives are in G10 or micarta. However, as I've said here before, I've been carrying my Calypso Ltwt all summer and &quot;now I'm a believer&quot;. The FRN is plenty stiff enough, gives a great grip and I don't have to worry about how or where I put it down or what I cut with it. To top it off, I like the look of the &quot;fish scales&quot;. So don't write off FRN, it has it's place for working knives. Personally I'm bored witless with black G10, thank goodness for Almite and Titan <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>.

Back to the topic, I would think that Spyderco could well be #5 in terms of volume. IIRC Sal has said that Spyderco is smaller than Benchnade and they would certainly have lower volume than Buck and possibly one or two out of Schrade, Camillus and Gerber. Of course in terms of design, innovation, quality, customer support and being all round good guys, Spyderco is <b>Numero Uno </b> <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>.

Just my AUS$0.0367779 (at current exchange rates<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>).

Clay

Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted before.

[sal]

Ratings are difficult. Hard to find a ruler that fits all.

In terms of size (volume), Spyderco probably ranks in the 10 - 20 range. Lotsa big knife commpanies out there.

Imperial Schrade
Gerber
Buck
Kershaw
Camillus
Case
Coloumbia River
Boker
Benchmade

to name a few that I believe are larger than Spyderco.

sal

[Tom Percy]

Sal,

the IMO the only way to rate a company like Spyderco is in application Quality.

I have owned the top 5 in your list, and put these under Spyderco when it comes to quality.

When it comes to utility usefulness, price and quality, Spyderco comes right up by the top for folders.

I have had folders by Buck, Cammilus, Gerber, Cold Steel, and Sog and the only name that travels anywhere counts, is Spyderco.

Where some may argue the point (no pun intended) your Designs, quality, workmanship and price are hard to beat.

Edited by - Tom Percy on 1/27/2001 8:36:43 AM

[whosyour]

This is just personal oppinion of course.
Folding knives:Spyderco (by a mile)
Utility use:Spyderco
Automatic:1:Microtech,2:MOD
ELU Friendly:Spyderco(personal experience input)
Customer service:Spyderco
Out of the box Sharp:Spyderco
PRICE:Spyderco
Quality&amp;Warranty:Spyderco
As you can see I rank Spyderco #1 for many reasons,and I have had so many knives,yet when I look at the collection now I have 1 MT,3 MOD's,and 1 BM 42 balisong.And those would be replaced I would imagine if Spyderco made bali's and auto's,yet they aren't for carry and have never seen use,my Spydies however 50% of what I have is in the rotation except my Gunting,it's 100% at night.So do the math,and just because there are bigger companies,definetly doesn't mean they're better,it usually means they're harder to deal with in terms of customer relations,and they don't have all of us cool forumites in there line-up.Spyderco will always be #1

Someday my friends,I'll own em all!!!

[sks]

Spydies have been my favorite for many years. However I relied on another brand for heavy duty/defensive applications. With the Spyderco MBC series, my Emersons have been collecting dust, and I really don't see that changing with a Gunting on my belt.

It's good to be home. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

Steve

[sal]

Hi Steve. Thanx for the support &amp; kind words.

BTW, I understand that Emerson has this reputation for &quot;hard use knives&quot;, but we don't think that his production models hold up better than &quot;normal&quot; Spydercos like Enduras. For our own understanding. what standards would one use to measure hard use potential? (besides advertising claims).

sal

Edited by - sal on 2/18/2001 8:00:26 AM

[sam the man..]

Dudes,
Rating companies based on their products is actually a very subjective topic... IMHO most companies produce good knives <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> The one that captures your imagination as well as your heart, err, well... IMHO ~ would rate highly in your charts... Spyderco, for instance, was introduced on the shelves of selected outles in Malaysia roughly about four years ago... Knife enthusiasts here hardly knew the brand except from reading all about it on Blade and Tactical knife magazine... We had Buck, Gerber and SOG which came in much earlier.. To be fair, I'd say these companies produced good quality blades.. Now, if you are to ask me from a user's point of view, I would rate Spyderco's knives highly followed by other brands such as MT, Benchmade, Emerson, BK&amp;T, Camillus, Strider, Busse, Cold Steel and son on!! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

have spydies
will travel...

Edited by - samo on 2/21/2001 11:00:42 AM