Spyderco Spyderco Drunken Thoughts?

sfknifeguy

sfknifeguy

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Hey Everyone, super new to the forum but have been lurking a bit and seen that it's a great group of folks. I was curious of everyone's thoughts on the Spyderco Drunken. I personally love Dmitry Sinkevich designs and the look/aesthetic of the Drunken as a whole. I've never personally owned a knfie with S90v steel but have read that it performs quite well. I know that it hasn't released yet and I'm not sure when it will, but what are your thoughts on the price point of it? Is it a reasonable price for what it's asking. I'm kind of thinking we simply won't know until we have it in hand. I'm curious to hear everyone else's takes on it.
 
Given Taichung's production quality on other top-tier Spydercos, I think it's probably reasonably priced given its features. However, a lot of the features contributing to its expense are largely cosmetic, so I think 'reasonable' is really less a discussion of whether the cost is appropriate for the features and more a discussion of whether the features are worth paying for, on the one hand, and whether Spyderco has 'earned' the reputation to ask that kind of money for their knives.

Spyderco has performed very solidly at the high-end production level for a year or two now, but they've not historically had a Gold Class-type line a la Benchmade, and the Drunken's price is well into the range of the small boutique midtech production shops like Millit, Olamic, Koenig Knives, Chris Reeve, etc, which have made their bones at that price point. Spyderco hasn't quite gained the reputation for being able to compete at that level yet, but the Drunken may start changing some minds on that.
 
I really like it, but I think it's going to be like the Nirvana they did, super nice, but priced out of most peoples interest. I think the price is fair, but that doesn't make it competitive or appealing...
 
Should the get Drunken discontinued and the price reduced, I might pick one up.

I think Knife is priced fairly but at $400 plus, I would probably spend my money elsewhere.
 
I like what you all have to say. I have heard a lot of good about their higher end stuff, I don't know what the Nirvana sold for at launch, but I know it was a well received knife. I'm not quite sure either of Spyderco has earned the right to charge that kind of premium for a knife, even though I'm sure it'll be extremely high quality. What kind of knives would you all suggest in the $300 - $400 range then for a high end piece? I've not broken the $200 mark more than once or twice, but am willing to spring for a higher end knife in that range.
 
Production wise Reate and We are tough to beat in the sub $400. CRK and Hinderer are the kings of of the $401-$600 range for me. Customs prices and quality vary wildly, right now I think the best "bang for your buck" makers are Aaron Fredrick, Wind River Wild Knives, Brian Brown, and Tactical Pterodactyl Knives. But honestly if you like the Drunken get it!
 
Reate and WE knives will be the benchmarks to beat at that price range. They may match WE but I doubt it'll be on the level of Reate, I'd love to be proven wrong.
 
I like it, I like Sinkevich designs and I love Spyderco.

But.......it's priced a little too high IMO. For that dollar amount I'm buying a CRK.
 
Alsharif said:
Reate and WE knives will be the benchmarks to beat at that price range. They may match WE but I doubt it'll be on the level of Reate, I'd love to be proven wrong.
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Its not competing against these knives offered imho.

Prices are set fine for what it is. The milling and quality from Taichung, the designer and his style. The premium s90v etc is what your paying more for in general.

I don't think know WE knives doesn't compete anywhere near reate.

It would be nice if spyderco made this without the milling for around 300$ but alas it's a halo knife from the brand where they pulled out all the stops.

On top of this, people who seen it at the knife shows like it alot.

Not all knives are just about the materials they are made out of and nothing more. And they don't all compete with other knives from other brands.
 
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There's a lot to consider here for sure, I just dunno if I'm ready to drop $400+ on a Spyderco knife, it's probably something better to wait on and see if it turns out to be high enough quality to command those kind of prices (fit and finish, design, edc, etc)
 
NomenclaturalMan said:
There's a lot to consider here for sure, I just dunno if I'm ready to drop $400+ on a Spyderco knife, it's probably something better to wait on and see if it turns out to be high enough quality to command those kind of prices (fit and finish, design, edc, etc)
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Nearly all the halo and expensive knives never get edc. They are for collectors mostly. Primarily they are knives obviously.

But yea, most people dropping this coin are doing it because they want the makers work but not want to spend 1000$
 
The cost may be justified based on the design fees, materials used and the costs of manufacture BUT it doesn't seem that competitive w/other knives in the same price range.

It also doesn't help that the advance photos that I've seen of the Drunken make it look a lot like a ZT which generally cost much less than the estimated market price of the knife; the pivot screw, clip and the handle have a very ZT look about them to me.

I like most of the ZT/Sinkevich designed knives (and own 6 of them) but if I'm going to get a ZT looking Spyderco knife, I'd rather pay a lower ZT (rather than premium Spyderco) price for it. However, as a Spyderco OpFocus member, the price I'd have to pay for the Drunken is still w/in my means and below max price that I'll pay for any knife, so I'm in a "wait and see" mode before I decide whether to buy it or not.

I just paid $300 for a Sprint ZT0452 G10 M390 Rose Gold. So, it's not like I can't spend that much $ on a knife. I'll just have to see if the Drunken seems worth that much $ to me or not.
 
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It's a nice looking knife. But I wouldn't pay $400 for a Spyderco.

If I was going to drop $300 to $400 on a production knife (by a name brand designer) I would get a Reate Crossroads or Laconico EZE, but those are more to my taste.
 
Aww c'mon, that was the lowest-hanging fruit I've ever seen. Practically laying on the ground. :D
 
For the designer, material, and milling, the price is not out of the norm. Its just that most people are not used to $400 range Spydercos.
 
I hope the Drunken will justify its price. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty comfortable making recommendations for knives $25-250 and $500-900, but in the $250-500 range, I’ve got nothin’. I prefer some <$250 knives (e.g., SpydieChef, Boos Smoke, Skaha II in CF) to those I’ve seen that are more expensive up to $500. I haven’t caught the CRK bug, and I love certain knives in the higher price bracket, but I’ll take a good look at the Drunken to see if it can beat those <$250 knives to the extent it’s worth the added cost.
 
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