Spyderco Knives – A Brief History and Knife Reviews

Spyderco was founded in Colorado in 1978 by Sal Glesser, who still personally runs the company.

I have heard it said that Spyderco knives are different. Peculiar. Even “out there”.

However, thinking beyond established knife industry barriers did allow them to introduce some new and radical innovations to the knife industry including:

• Single-hand opening
• serrations on a folder
• and a clip to attach a knife to a pocket

Spyderco is definitely out of the norm in their dedication to researching and developing improved and better performing materials with function and reliability being key.

In fact, according to the Spyderco web site, someone once said to Sal Glesser (Spyderco’s owner), ”You must design in the dark because your knives look so strange.” But, their easily recognizable appearance is a result of designing ergonomic, functional, tools rather than applying the same old thing to a pocketknife.

So, although they may look strange, they cannot be said to not be useful or undependable.

Making knives that consistently deliver reliable high-performance to their owners requires an ongoing commitment to testing. In their million-dollar testing facility, Spyderco examines edge retention with a CATRA machine, looks for rust development with Q-FOG, and researches the force needed to open and close a knife.

They also repeatedly test for stress, wear, optimal heat-treating, and actively search for higher quality, performance enhancing, steels and materials.

Now, as a customer, you probably don’t think about this but, it allows them to put forth a promise: When you purchase a Spyderco knife, you are buying a high-quality, reliable, cutting tool designed and manufactured for peak performance and ergonomic comfort.

View the current range of Spyderco knives on Amazon, or read the detailed head to head reviews we have published.