Spyderco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type | Proprietorship |
|---|---|
| Founded | Golden, Colorado (1978) |
| Headquarters | Golden, Colorado |
| Key people | Sal Glesser, Founder & President |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Products | Knives |
| Revenue | US$10 million |
| Employees | 25–50 |
| Website | www.spyderco.com |
Spyderco is a company, founded in 1978 by Sal Glesser and based in Golden, Colorado, U.S.A., that produces knives and knife sharpeners. Spyderco has introduced many features common to what constitues a "Tactical Folding Knife", has collaborated with 30 custom knife makers, atheletes, and self-defense instuctors for designs and innovated the usage of 20 different blade materials.
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[edit] Products
Spyderco began by producing knife sharpeners in 1978, and produced their first folding knife, the C01 Worker, in 1981.[1][2] This knife was the first to feature a round hole in the blade designed for fast, one-handed opening, which is now the company's trademark[3]. Additionally, the company claims that this was the first knife to feature a clothing clip on the right side of the handle.[4][5][6][7]
Most knives produced by Spyderco are folding knives, of various designs, blade steels, handle materials, and locking mechanisms (including two patented proprietary locks); however, they have also produced fixed-blade knives for various purposes.[8][9]
Spyderco's knives are made with a plain edge, a partially serrated edge, or a fully serrated "Spyder Edge" configuration.[10] Their most common handle material is FRN (Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon), although they make knives with steel handles as well as some limited editions with various other handles.[11]
Most of Spyderco knives production is outsourced to foreign contractors such as Japan, Italy, China, and Germany. Knives made with CPM S30V steel models are made in Golden, Colorado, USA.
Spyderco knives are respected for their simplicity, reliability, good ergonomics and lack of preoccupation with aesthetics. They are popular with many markets including law enforcement officers, fire and rescue personnel, and private citizens.[10]
For his many influences in tactical knife design (most notably the clothing clip, serrations, and thumbhole) and many collaborations with custom knife makers, Spyderco's President, Sal Glesser was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 2000 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia.[12]
[edit] Blade Steels
Spyderco has experimented with new blade steels over the years.[13] In 1994, Spyderco was the first company to use Crucible's S60V tool steel in a production knife and the first knife company to use H-1 steel in a folding knife.[14] The blade steel used by Spyderco over the years include: 52100, a ball bearing steel used in the first run of the Mule project.
8Cr13MoV, a Chinese stainless steel tempered at the Rc56 to Rc58 range and used in the Tenacious and Byrd lines of knives.
440C, a stainless steel, known for corrosion resistance and ease of sharpening.
ATS-55
AUS-6
AUS-8
AUS-10, a Japanese stainless steel series made by Aichi with the same carbon content as 440C but with slightly less chromium.
BG-42, a high performance stainless steel formulated for ball bearings, often compared to ATS-34, which has similar properties.
D2, a high performance tool steel that has 1 percent less chromium than required to classify as stainless steel. Spyderco uses CPM's version of D2, which is a particle metallurgy ("powdered") version, not wrought. CPM-D2 is found in a sprint run version of the Military model.
G2, aka GIN-1. A Hitachi-made low cost stainless steel comparable to, but softer than, AUS-8. Generally hardened in the mid to high Rc 50s. A tough, corrosion-resistant steel.
GIN-2
H-1, a rust-proof steel, ideal for marine applications, because it substitutes nitrogen for carbon. Sharpens easily, scratches easily, and has good edge retention.
MBS-26: A Japanese [stainless] steel, very fine grained with high corrosion resistance used in the Catcherman and in most kitchen knives by Spyderco.
N690CO, an Austrian stainless steel hardened to the high Rc50 range. Currently found in Spyderco's Hossom knives and the recently disco'd Italian-made Volpe.
CPM S30V steel a premium and controversial American powder-metallurgy, high-carbide super steel developed specifically for the cutlery market (which is rare, since most steels used for cutlery have been co-opted from other applications).
S60V, (aka 440V, aka CPMT440V) A modern American super-steel that is wear resistant, but difficult to sharpen.
S90V (aka 420V), similar to Crucible's S60V but designed to be more wear resistant with a very high carbide volume and high vanadium content. S90V was featured in a sprint run of Spyderco's Military in 2008.
VG-10[15], a Japanese super-steel developed for the horticulture industry by Takefu, often hardened around the Rc60 range. Reported to have better corrosion resistance but less edge retention than S30V.
ZDP-189, a premium Japanese powdered super-steel made by Hitachi, hardened into the mid & upper Rc 60s, with very high carbide volume.
[edit] Collaborations
Through the years, Spyderco has collaborated with numerous custom knife makers in the design of various models.[11]
[edit] List of Collaborators
- Alexandru Diaconescu
- Bill Moran[16]
- Bob Lum[17]
- Bob Terzuola[18]
- Bram Frank for the Gunting Knife
- Chad Los Banos for the Lava Knife
- Chris Claycombe for the Bushcraft Knife
- D'Alton Holder[19]
- Ed Scott[20]
- Ed Schempp[21]
- Eduard Bradichansky[17]
- Ernest Emerson[22]
- Fred Perrin[23]
- Frank Centofante[24]
- Howard Viele[25]
- James A. Keating[26]
- JD Smith[27]
- Jess Horn[24]
- Jot Singh Khalsa[28] for the Jot Singh Khalsa knife
- Ken Onion
- Laci Szabo[29] for the Szabofly (Butterfly Knife)
- Peter Herbst
- Massad Ayoob[30]
- Michael Janich[31]
- Michael Walker[32]
- Mike Snody[31]
- R.J. Martin
- Tim Wegner[28]
- Tim Zowada[33]
- Wayne Goddard[32]
- Warren Thomas[34]
[edit] Sprint Runs
Spyderco often produces limited edition models, referred to as sprint runs. These limited runs are generally versions of discontinued models with different blade and handle materials, though some are completely new models, such as the Kopa; a "dress knife" with several variants, each with a different handle material such as micarta, evrina, and tiger coral.
[edit] Byrd Brand
Spyderco design and produce knives under the Byrd brand. These knives use slightly lower quality materials than the Spyderco branded knives and are manufactured in China, allowing much lower prices while retaining most of Spyderco's quality.[35], To differentiate the brands, Byrd knives have a "comet" shaped opening hole in the blade, rather than the trademark round hole found on Spyderco models.
To date, Byrd knives have featured 8Cr13MoV as their blade steel.[35] Early Byrd knives were marked 440C, but tests found that the steel was something entirely different from American 440C. This steel was closer to AUS-8 than American 440C, and also went by the name 8Cr13MoV.[35]
The first Byrd models, the Cara Cara, Meadowlark, Flight, Pelican, and Crossbill, initially featured stainless steel handles. This is likely because company owner Sal Glesser believes that "'basic stainless' is ... the best way to test a 'pattern design'. Function and ergonomics are easily determined without the 'influence' of material." Newer Byrds have featured aluminum, fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN), and G10 handles.[35]
[edit] References
- Delavigne, Kenneth (2004). Spyderco Story: The New Shape of Sharp (Hardcover). Colorado: Paladin Press. p. 312. ISBN 1-581-60060-7.
- Dick, Steven (1997), The Working Folding Knife, Stoeger Publishing Company, 280, ISBN 9780883172100
- ^ "Spyderco History Page". http://spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/index.php?item=9. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.
- ^ Sb "Sharpmaker - Brief Article - Evaluation". Whole Earth. Winter 2000. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GER/is_2000_Winter/ai_68617298
- ^ "Spyderco 'Round Hole' explanation". http://spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/index.php?item=7. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.
- ^ "Spyderco 'Clipit' explanation". http://spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/index.php?item=8. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.
- ^ Shackleford, Steve. Top Knife Innovations of the Past 50 Years, Blade Magazine, August 2006
- ^ Shackleford, Steve."The Most Comfortable Carry Knife of All",Blade Magazine, May 1997
- ^ Roy Huntington "Tactical Knives". Guns Magazine. Jan 2001. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_1_47/ai_67717290
- ^ Russ Thurman "Spyderco - Knives". Shooting Industry. Dec 2001. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_12_46/ai_81305658
- ^ Charles E. Petty "Spyderco Vagabond and stretch knives". American Handgunner. July-August 2005. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_176_29/ai_n13785474
- ^ a b Massad Ayoob "To The Rescue". American Handgunner. May 2001. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_152_25/ai_72293240
- ^ a b Pacella, Gerard (2002), 100 Legendary Knives, Iola, USA, Krause Publications, 145. ISBN 0873494172
- ^ "Bob Loveless". Blade Magazine. 7/01/2000.
- ^ "Spyderco steel information". http://spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/steel.php. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.112
- ^ "Spyderco Kiwi - 2003 New Products Gallery". Shooting Industry. April 2003. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_4_48/ai_100606779
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.42
- ^ a b Delavigne (2004) p.149
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.36
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.150
- ^ "Field knife - New Products". Shooting Industry. Oct 2002. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_10_47/ai_93915994
- ^ "Spyderco's Torture Tested Jungle Rock!", Tactical Knives Magazine 14 (3): 40, 2008
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.163
- ^ Winter, Butch (2003), "Custom Collaborations", Sporting Knives 2003: 160, ISBN 0-87349-430-X
- ^ a b Delavigne (2004) p.131
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.141
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.88
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.172
- ^ a b Delavigne (2004) p.145
- ^ Rhea, David (September 2005), "Butterfly Knives: Flippin' and Flyin'", Blade Magazine 32 (9): 66–71
- ^ Ayoob, Dorothy (1999). "Armor of New Hampshire". http://www.ayoob.com/AboutUs.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ a b "Slick factory Snodys", American Handgunner Magazine 20 (4), 2004, <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_170_28/ai_n6040329>
- ^ a b Delavigne (2004) p.125
- ^ Delavigne (2004) p.215
- ^ N. Morris "Knife with Taurus 24/7". Guns Magazine. Jan 2005. FindArticles.com. 07 Feb. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_1_51/ai_n7581238
- ^ a b c d Mroz, Ralph, "Soaring Byrds". Tactical Knives Magazine. November 2008. Volume 15,(6)p.80
