Spyderco's Taichung (Taiwan) Folders

the taichung plant is amazing. i had a vallaton, the overall knife itself ended up being just not my taste, the fit and finish was surprising. Its funny, you read so much about the quality but youre not ready for it when you get your first one. The marking is certainly a badge of honor. I like the nilakka i got recently a whole lot, and like my last taichung, its fit and finish is amazing
 
really glade i picked up three gayle bradley 1's,never even thought they would discontinue this one!just go's to show you never can tell with spyderco! as they never sit on there buts! always inventing new knifes for us nuts.:thumbup:
 
The Taichung factory must operate with great pride of workmanship. Then again, I can't recall ever getting a rejectable Spyderco anywhere.
 
nope, the quality construction is a spyderco thing, the craftsman ship on the taichungs makes you glad they build them there
 
I guess I'm the outlier here - I ordered a Southard and went through four before I got one I felt was acceptable.

Knife 1: Lumps in blade;
Knife 2: Blade tip extremely close to edge of handle when closed - grind lines, uneven plunge grind;
Knife 3: Tip ground significantly more on one side than the other, give the last 1/2" of blade almost a curved appearance;
Knife 4: Uneven plunge grind - but good enough and I was tired of looking.
 
I recently revamped my whole collection to be just a handful of Spydercos. My first Spydie was a Dragonfly 2 (from Japan) which I never had any complaints about. I love the design but the construction wasn't necessarily anything to write home about. My next two were a PM2 and a Native 5, both from Golden. These really made me say wow construction wise. Both of them are super smooth with absolutely zero play. I couldn't have been happier.

Recently, I started a thread asking for recommendations about what to get next and a number of people just responded that I needed to "experience" a knife from Taiwan, and I really didn't understand the hype or what anyone actually meant by that.

Well...I ordered a Slysz Bowie and then I got it. I legitimately didn't think that I would ever own a Spyderco that seemed like such a step up from those two Golden blades, but I was wrong. Every single detail about this knife, from a construction standpoint, seems to be approaching perfection. The action, the fit and finish, the materials...it really is a certain kind of beauty that one needs to behold. And to an outsider that may sound like hyperbole...but I really think that it's true.
 
I have loved all of the Taichung spidies I have owned, I really need to grab a slysz bowie.
 
I have the Gayle Bradley 1 and except for some rusty spots it's a great knife. Much stronger than the average Spyderco.
 
Some of the Taichung spydercos are so well made they are more midtech than production. For example the valloton sub hilt, Rubicon and southard.
Can't wait to see the new Nivarna. The way its constructed(full titanium intergral) put it on the same level as CRK and lionsteel.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Taichung factorys own design are of the same quality. I think I'll pick one up next time I visit Taiwan and share my thoughts on the forum.
 
My only 2 Taichung's (Sage 1 and GB1) are superb. I mean, I can't knit-pick anything on them...at all.
 
Updated post #1 with new releases and discontinued ones.
 
Nice list.
The Perrin PPT Black was a sprint run that is also discontinued.
 
AF said:
The Perrin PPT Black was a sprint run that is also discontinued.
Click to expand...

Yes. All Sprints by default get discontinued because there's limited quantity.

You can still find the Perrin PPT Black Sprint at some places.

Techno S30V is kind discontinued as well. Techno was supposed to be just XHP but there was a run that mistakenly got S30V and they're still available.
 
RamZar said:
Yes. All Sprints by default get discontinued because there's limited quantity.

You can still find the Perrin PPT Black Sprint at some places.

Techno S30V is kind discontinued as well. Techno was supposed to be just XHP but there was a run that mistakenly got S30V and they're still available.
Click to expand...

OK, thought you missed it.
 
The Taichung knives are amazing. That being said, I -almost- have nothing but great things to say about these folders. As of now, my only issue so far has come from the sage series, techno, and chubby. I have all but the sage 4 and the sage 3 blue, and have gifted several others to family. I and my family members have seem to always experienced issues with the smoothness of deployment. A handful of the sages, my second techno, and only chubby have felt really gritty out of the box. Grittiness only became worse in the few days or weeks following. The worst experience was with a sage 1. Bought new, came nice and oily, but the very first deployment was rough and sounded terrible. Almost as if it were rusted and pitted. After a few days of use, it only worsened.

The fix was very easy... disassemble, clean, lub, reassemble. Every knife with the issue was quickly "fixed." I love the knives and after a quick clean, by far my favorite. But a little disappointed with the initial impression. Anyone have similar experiences? Which i presume to be a oil/lub issue.

(all knives purchased from reputable dealers).
 
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