Prototype Spyderco EDC legal

[Toast]

Yeah, even the bunny-ears are starting to grow on me.

Hm, that conjures an odd image indeed...

A lot of the disappointment seems to stem from Danes that didn't simply want a good knife to carry, they specifically wanted a Spyderco. But the classic Spydie shape - a broad leaf blade, with a lot of blade exposed when closed - appears to have been designed specifically around the very feature you can't have in Denmark. The MkI did all that, with the hole as diminished as Spyderco could get it without jeopardising their patent, and it was still too near-the-knuckle for many.

Burying the blade in the handle seems to me virtually impossible with the classic leaf blade, without making the handle a bit silly, so Sal's blank page approach makes for perfect logic - but I guess it'll never satisfy someone looking for the iconic Spyderco experience.

[sal]

I guess we'll have to hide 'n watch for the reaction to the first run. If the market says no "bunny ears", or.....? then we change. BTW, The "bunny ears" are called a "Smellup".

Hi Two_Zero,

There are many that are skilled enough that the large surface of the blade can be used to OHO a knife even with no hole. I was able to do that at a very young age, that's how I invented the hole. I was trying to come up with a way to open the knife without the learning curve to develop the skill.

As Toast mentioned, burying the blade in the handle is the only way to totally eliminate the one hand open capability, assuming a flick is not possible.

There is no Native slipjoint at the moment,.....dare I ask, any news on that Sal?

We solved the split spring warpage problem and I had a working prototype to carry for a week. I would say we're very close.

sal

[Kiri]

I like it. It's nice to see Spyderco doing a wharncliffeish blade although I generally prefer leaf shaped blades.

I would lose the bunny ears. The smoother lines of the photoshopped version are much nicer.

I appreciate the hole may be non negotiable as a trade mark. A question to Sal, is it not possible to maintain the intellectual property / trademark by etching the Spydie bug on the blade instead?

If the hole has to be there, how about moving it to the bottom of the ricasso so it's hidden by the handle scale when closed?

As it is I think I wouldn't buy it as a Dane. It looks too much like a OHO knife that has had the thumb stud removed. You could also "Ghetto Wave" it with a cable tie.

The only other option I think is to have a higher handle scale that hides the hole and then have a PK70 style nail nick.

How about having a very small hole at the top edge near the front of the blade that barely pokes above the scale that operates as a nail nick and keeps the Spydie trademark?

I think this knife is so nearly there, it just needs a bit of tweaking to make it perfect.

I think it would be popular in the UK as well as its nice to sometimes carry a knife that can't be opened one handed.


I think it's also worth learning from the Squeak comments. The blade should not be able to impact on the inside of the handle and roll the edge.

I like FRN and the new waffle texture as seen on FRN UKPK is brilliant. The problem as rightly pointed out is that stag is often seen as really old fashioned, some will love this, some won't. CF, Ti are too expensive. G10 doesn't have to be too expensive as we can see from SRM.

I think price is worth considering. For UK market I think the £50 for the Squeak was a tricky one to push. This is obviously because European made and the steel. I would think you would sell 5 knives at £35 for every 1 you would sell at £50. I'm not sure on the Danish market but I would hazard a guess at similar.

Hope these observations are useful.

[nicknohair]

The most impressive aspect of this thread is observing a hand-on manufacturer who is in touch and really listening to his customers whilst not being afraid of trying new designs and listening positively to feedback.
Bravo.

[earthman]

The most impressive aspect of this thread is observing a hand-on manufacturer who is in touch and really listening to his customers whilst not being afraid of trying new designs and listening positively to feedback.
Bravo.

Absolutely agree with that.

[bayvillageidiot]

There's something about the sturdy, exotic design of this thing that, uh, resonates.

[Stew]

The only other option I think is to have a higher handle scale that hides the hole and then have a PK70 style nail nick.

Brilliant idea!

The hole is still in the blade but just can't be used as it can't be seen! Superb thinking.

It doesn't need the nail nick if it can be pinch gripped.

[Toast]

OK, not that it's my place to do so at all, but I had a play with the image to see what happened if you patch in more scale enough to get it anywhere near the hole -



It probably conceals enough of the blade to prevent a pinch-grip Spydie drop opening (and the FRN's lack of weight would also presumably make this trickier than with denser materials), and is up enough against the hole so there's no room for thumb studs.

However it's ugly, loses the nice secure two/three-finger grip the original has, and looks less comfortable into the bargain.

As I understand the legal issue, it's that if the hole is outside of certain parameters (including size and relative placement, IIRC), Spyderco could forfeit their claim on it as a trademark - thus allowing other manufacturers to use it without license, and significantly undermining Spyderco's primary USP. I am curious, mind, whether it could be positioned in conjunction with another opening aid. I have in mind something like a scagel hole nail-nick positioned so it looks like a dot-dash... but now I'm well into none-of-my-business speculation.

I doubt it could ever be modified enough within those parameters to avoid the cable-tie wave mod. If that's enough to put you off, I suppose you might as well rule out carrying a Spydie in Denmark altogether.

[andy1000]

Brilliant idea!

The hole is still in the blade but just can't be used as it can't be seen! Superb thinking.

It doesn't need the nail nick if it can be pinch gripped.

Obviously not much use to our Danish friends, but would a ziptie mod make it illegal for legal UK carry? I personally quite like it - the handle's a bit too curved but nice blade shape.

*EDIT, just seen that the cable tie mod has been mentioned already. Beaten to it!*

[Stew]

A wave opener isn't illegal in the uk.

[two_zero]

The most impressive aspect of this thread is observing a hand-on manufacturer who is in touch and really listening to his customers whilst not being afraid of trying new designs and listening positively to feedback.
Bravo.

+1

[bigreddog]

I like it - if it had a choil I'd buy it in a heartbeat

[Gary19]

Takes a bit of getting used to , ( no spyder hole) but it definitely grows on you, and as someone said ' it looks non threataning' . I'd buy one.

Edit. There's no room for a hole, look better with choil too.

[earthman]

A wave opener isn't illegal in the uk.

Until the first court case that involves one.

[BladeScout]

I like it - if it had a choil I'd buy it in a heartbeat

I wouldnt mind a choil either. I dont mind that it will make the edge shorter.