Blade – March 2023
English | 89 pages | pdf | 48.1 MB
In response to the writer of ” Outside Looking In” (page 6, January BLADE®), sorry that Spyderco isn’t your bee’s knees. I know for a fact that the knife market is not saturated; maybe you should try your luck manufacturing knives. Use your astute observations to create something. I’m not a huge collector, 100 knives max, and have around 20 Spyderco knives, fixed blades and folders. Blindfold knife collectors and allow them the opportunity to open, close and feel 100 knives, and I bet they could pick the odd one out of the bunch. Design pedigree and differences in manufacturing are the only thing the blindfolded knife collectors can rely on in this case. It should be easy enough if they know knives.
Take the blindfold off and we can discuss steel(s). According to the World Steel Association (worldsteel.org), “Steel is not a single product. Th ere are more than 3,500 different grades of steel with many different physical, chemical and environmental properties.”
Spyderco’s 2020 steel chart has around 85 steels in it, many of which Spyderco uses to make knives. Collectors snatch up the knives, test and use them, often reporting back as to what they have found regarding the blade steel. Spyderco has probably used 150 different steels to manufacture knives, so while you see 10 variations in a knife, the differences may only be in the steel. I dig it! I must have 10 Spyderco Native Chief knives with 4-inch blades and I plan to collect them all. Th e steel diff erences are cool, and the Native Chief is one heck of a self-defense knife for a folder.
Spyderco looks at what knife you carry as a personal decision, as well as one which may be governed by the laws where you reside or travel. If a manufacturer only makes knives with blades over 3 inches, then those knives cannot be legally carried in some jurisdictions. The
same goes for locks. In some jurisdictions the possession of a knife that locks is illegal. There are certainly other design
criteria that must be considered, and Spyderco tries to accommodate all customers.
Thomas Bivers, a letter via e-mail
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