Photos Chinese Spyderco?

Joshua M. Smith

Joshua M. Smith

Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
30
Hello,

I found this at a thrift shop yesterday. It says "Spyderco," but last time I knew they were built in Japan. Since it was in good shape and only a couple bucks, I picked it up. Someone didn't know how to sharpen a blade, so I fixed the edge. The steel seems decently hard and it's now razor-sharp.

Is Spyderco making some models in China now, or did I get a knockoff?

Spyderco_1.jpg


Spyderco_3.jpg


Spyderco_2.jpg


Thanks!

Josh
 
kreole said:
That's a Tenacious. They came out with those (made in China) about 15 years ago.

Spyderco has been making knives in countries other than Japan since at least 1994.
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Thank you.

That's about when I bought my last Spyderco. I was in martial arts and was told I needed to get a good knife with a clip, and so I walked out of the knife shop with a Wayne Goddard model.

I carried it for over 20 years. The clip had come loose and it dropped from my pocket a few years ago, I know not where.

I replaced it with a Kershaw, and later went back to a Victorinex Swiss Army Knife, which is what I carried most of my teen years, the mid-1990s.

Josh
 
Joshua M. Smith said:
Thank you.

That's about when I bought my last Spyderco. I was in martial arts and was told I needed to get a good knife with a clip, and so I walked out of the knife shop with a Wayne Goddard model.

I carried it for over 20 years. The clip had come loose and it dropped from my pocket a few years ago, I know not where.

I replaced it with a Kershaw, and later went back to a Victorinex Swiss Army Knife, which is what I carried most of my teen years, the mid-1990s.

Josh
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$2 is a heck of a good deal. A lot of people like the Chinese made Spydercos.
 
kreole said:
$2 is a heck of a good deal. A lot of people like the Chinese made Spydercos.
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Cool. I personally don't prefer anything made in China, but that's more due to their treatment of workers and generally poorer quality than anything else.

Since this is secondhand, I figure it's ok, and, since quality seems halfway decent, I'll add it to the carry rotation.

When did Spyderco start using liner locks? I was unaware of any before I found this one.
 
The Tenacious is a good knife for what it is. I've given away several to friends and family and they have been well liked. Early on when they were introduced I bought a couple (plain edge and serrated) and really worked them hard. Only issue I ever had is that the steel can rust a bit more easily than some stainless steels if neglected severely (the one I had that rusted was used as a tackle box/boat knife).

Spyderco has been making liner lock knives since sometime in the 1990s. I don't know which was their first off the top of my head, but at the very least the Military was introduced in the late 90s and has always been a liner lock knife.
 
Spyderco makes knives in 5 (?) different countries off the top of my head, and uses many different locking mechanisms. Some are credited to their original designer, some are proprietary. They also make fixed blades, sharpening systems, and other things. They are far from a one trick pony.
 
The Tenacious is a good knife, somewhat underappreciated. There are some lesser Chinese brands that are starting to make relatively good knives now and they may or may not be competitive with the Tenacious but they have questionable quality control, at least with the Spyderco you know what you are getting. I have a Tenacious similar to yours with G10 scales and I just bought a new (to me) Tenacious lightweight to use for my camping and hiking knife.
 
I agree with the comments about the Tenacious being a pretty good knife. I have several that I use for chores at my remote property when I don’t worry about hurting or losing a folder (I prefer fixed blades). The steel holds an edge long enough to get things done, sharpens easily, the blade shape is convenient for most cutting, the handle fits most hands, and the lock has never failed me. My only dislike is where it is made.
 
The Tenacious is an excellent entry level spyderco and a workhorse of a knife.
Don’t let the fact that it is made in China dissuade you from owning one- Spyderco holds its value line and byrd line of Chinese manufactured knives to their high standards.
I believe Spyderco first used the liner lock well before the Military on their Michael Walker model in the early 1990s
 
Pete1977 said:
The Tenacious is an excellent entry level spyderco and a workhorse of a knife.
Don’t let the fact that it is made in China dissuade you from owning one- Spyderco holds its value line and byrd line of Chinese manufactured knives to their high standards.
I believe Spyderco first used the liner lock well before the Military on their Michael Walker model in the early 1990s
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The C22 Michael Walker was the first Spyderco I can remember using the liner lock, prior to the C36 Military. At the time the back lock was the dominant locking mechanism on modern folding knives until Michael Walker invented the liner lock.
 
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