Monday, February 6, 2012

Spyderco Knife: How It All Began

By Zoe Paige


In 1976 Sal Glessar started the company, Spyderco, a cutlery company based out of Golden, Colorado. The name was created as a combination of Sal's passion at the time of sleek, high performance vehicles- often given the name Spyder. Sal also believed his company should be named after something high performance and great quality and so Spyderco was born. The "co" added to the end simply stood for company.

Professionals from many industries own a Spyderco knife including police officers and fire and rescue employees as well as hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. They are fans of this company's products because of the simplicity and reliability of the knives. The company also has gained credibility through its numerous awards and recognitions including the president, Sal Glessar, being inducted into Blade magazine's Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2000 for his innovation in the industry and for creating unique knives that were both comfortable for the hand and came in different sizes. He did this with the help of more than thirty custom knife-makers, self-defense instructors, and athletes as he consulted with them for design ideas based on their specialized knowledge.

The first Spyderco knife ever made and the first knife to feature a round hole cut out in the blade was the C01 Worker folding knife. It was first produced in 1981 and the round hole aided in fast, one-handed opening and has since become the company's trademark. A knife with a pocket clip in the right side of the handle and serrated folding knife blades were also first to be produced by this company who was also known for their variety of materials they used in the creation of their knife blades.

The company's "round hole in the blade" trademark, called the Spyderhole, was created when Sal Glessar decided he wanted a knife that anyone could open with one hand without having a spring in the knife. He tried many different creations like placing different studs and discs on the knife blade to open it and soon realized that these extra parts on the blade weren't as effective as he'd like them to be. Soon after, Sal's company came up with the patented Spyderhole that helps to effectively open the knife single-handed simply by placing a thumb in the hole and quickly rotating the blade open.

The company now produces different knife blade styles including a plain-edge, a partially-serrated edge, and a fully-serrated edge (also known as the Spyderedge). The handles are strong and made from fiberglass reinforced nylon while some limited editions have other types of handles. And since there seems to be a bigger market for folding knives, most of the company's knives are just that. Although they do have some fixed blade knives in production for those interested in that type of knife.

These days the company is known all over the world. Many of their knives are found in movies including those by Sylvester Stallone. Mr. Glessar knows his passion for his company and love of knives give him an unfair edge in the industry and make his products a top-pick. This company's passion for knives, the history, and the design will continue to lead to creative designs going forward.




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