Amsterdam Meet 2014 Report of Upcoming Spyderco Prototypes

[Mr Blonde]

The Spin is back for a sprint run in blue nishijin glass fiber. The blue handle color was quite striking. I loved the mini bead design; I think it’s a logical evolution from the first beads. Those first larger beads can be quite heavy if you attach them to a very small or lightweight knife. The Spin combined with this mini bead made for a perfect little carry combo, I could get a full grip on the knife using the mini bead. Naturally, a tip-up clip would fit even better with the mini bead lanyard.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Apparently, the Danish spyderknuts liked the Pingo but some argued that it lacked the traditional Spyderco look of a leaf shape blade with a hump and full flat grind. Following that feedback, the Spy-DK was conceived.

I really liked the way this folder handled. Like the other FRN slipits, the Spy-DK is very light and ergonomic. The blade ‘locks’ up really well in both the open and closed position, and I really appreciate that fine splinter-picker tip. I will ‘need’ one for sure. And since these were production samples, I’m hopeful we’ll see these knives soon.

The approximate specifications of the Spy-DK production samples are:

Overall Length: 16 cm / 6.29 inches
Edge Length: 6 cm / 2.36 inches
Blade Length: 7 cm / 2.75 inches
Blade Thickness: 0,25 cm / 0.09 inches

 

[Mr Blonde]

Spyderco has been showing concept models of a mega folder at various Amsterdam Meets in the past. I recall one being called the Bison. The result of all this development work is the Tatanka.

The Tatanka was a crowd-pleaser and the large knife was -to me- surprisingly easy to handle and manipulate. I appreciated the fact that Eric and Sal brought along a version of the Tatanka with a clear scale so you could see how the lock works. The tang is radiused so the lock-up will adjust for any wear that might occur. The Tatanka’s lock also made sure the blade had a very nice ‘self close’ to it.

 

 

[Mr Blonde]

The last knife I can show you from the Amsterdam Meet is this wonderful Worker sprint run knife.

I missed out on the Worker so far; the last sprint came out just before I became a diehard Spyderknut. However, I’ll do my best to snag this sprint run in green G-10! The Worker is an original Spyderco design, and the many years of production-experience are evident in this piece. The action was smooth as glass and the lock-up seemed ‘native 5-tight’ to me, i.e. rock solid.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Well, that was the last photo of all the various prototypes I could share from the Amsterdam Meet. It was an amazing event, showing many amazing knives and it was hosted by a crew of amazing people! I’d like to thank Sal, Eric, Joyce, Jur, Ted, Martin and Nemo for putting together another terrific meet. It is a special event. Even more so when you realize there are about 80 guys in the room who you might not ‘know’, but we all speak the same language and there always is a very friendly and great atmosphere.

Special thanks to Ted for helping out with the various measurements of all the prototypes; I asked for a simple blade length and overall length and the man comes back with almost all the specs that go into the catalog descriptions! Next time, we should try calipers and a digital scale!

 

[Mike157]

Incredible line up of new designs and incredible photos. Thank you for all your efforts both Spyderco and Mr. Blonde. I especially appreciate the close up, inner workings of the Tatanka lock. So many great new knives, what is one to do? This was supposed to be the year when I lightened up the collection a bit. Don't think that is possible now. I'm too excited. Thanks again. Mike

 

[Cisco Kid]

There are some amazing knives in this thread. As usual, thanks to Mr. Blonde for posting the annual "What's Up at Spyderco" bulletin.

 

[rpn]

Thank you for all the wonderful pics and taking so much time for all of us. Much appreciated.

The Worker and Tatanka look quite cool! :thumbup:

 

[stabman]

The Tatanka looks like the Police all grown up.
The Worker looks snazzy too.

 

[flipe8]

Thanks for the pics and info!

 

[MattinLA]

In-the-works, but we're still tweaking the protos.

sal

Good to Know!

Mr Blonde thank you very much for all your time and effort. Like many, this is my favorite thread every year.

 

[mrdavidross321]

.

 

[wire edge]

So many exciting models! I'm really looking forward to the K2, Bowie and Tatanka.

 

[salmonkiller]

Some interesting designs.Thanks for sharing and I enjoyed and appreciate the pictures and information.

 

[skyhorse]

Spyderco 2014 Production Prototype – Sam Owens ARK

The first knife that was shown and passed around all attendees, was the Sam Owens designed ARK prototype neck knife. The design apparently came about through forum discussions and ideas. The knife was meant to be carried everywhere and always. This particular design was intended to be a self defense tool for the military to help protect against rape attacks in the showers, from other servicemen. The ARK will feature H1 steel and an injection molded sheath.
What's the best way to remove coffee from your keyboard?

 

[mrdeus]

Thanks for all the pictures! I'm liking the Slysz Bowie more the more I look at it. If it's between the small and large sebenza in size it looks very interesting.

 

[Skywalker1]

Thanks alot for doing this again, Wouter. Some real gems this year!

I always admired your photography, btw. Care to maybe share some of your setup like camera, lighting techniques or lenses? I' m just getting into photographing knives and though my shots are getting better, they' re still miles behind yours

 

[rpn]

I can't stop eyeaballing the Slysz...that is a definite buy for me.

Great job on that one Spyderco! :thumbup:

 

[Mr Blonde]

Thanks alot for doing this again, Wouter. Some real gems this year!

I always admired your photography, btw. Care to maybe share some of your setup like camera, lighting techniques or lenses? I' m just getting into photographing knives and though my shots are getting better, they' re still miles behind yours

Thanks for the kind words. I actually use a simple point-and-shoot camera, set on macro and adjusted to perform under indoor lights. A little photoshop is added for extra sharpness and color correction. The set-up of the lightbox consists of several sheets of rough textured white paper, taped to cardboards that lean onto three lights (like a type of 'lean to'). The lights beam at the cardboard and reflect downwards on the knives. You want a diffuse lights, there are several ways to do this. The guys at the gallery subforum could explain it al way better than I could. I actually prefer using an overcast sky as my main light, but for this I need consistency and something that will work indoors.

 

[Skywalker1]

Thanks! Quite impressive shots for a point-and-shoot.