Why is Taichung so great?!

Cru5ader

Cru5ader

Joined
Jul 26, 2012
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I'm somewhat new to Spyderco. Got my first one earlier this year - a Para 3 produced in Golden, CO. Quickly fell in love with the Spydie Hole and compression lock, as well as the general features and ergonomics of the knife. Got my second Spyderco shortly after: a Delica 4 produced in Seki City, Japan. What a great lightweight slicer, so easy to carry and the lock back mechanism is fun to play with as well. Most recently I got my third Spyderco: Slysz Bowie produced in Taichung, Taiwan. I can't say enough about this knife. Love just about everything about it. It has become my primary EDC and I flip it every chance I get - sometimes I take an extra bathroom break at the office just to get a few flips in. :D

That said, I've sampled a few of Spyderco's selection from the three higher end production facilities. From what I've read, and from my personal hands-on experience with my own Spydercos and those of others, it seems to be the reasonable consensus that Taichung produces the highest quality, followed by Golden, and then Seki. My question is, why does Taichung produce such great quality relative to the others (especially Golden)? Is it a corporate decision to supply Taichung with the best machines, material, and talent? Or is the capability the same and they just commission the most ambitious and highest quality projects to Taichung? Or is it up to Golden how well they make their knives and they just choose to be a step below what comes out of Taichung? I'm curious.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
I don't know that Spyderco is supplying the Taichung facility with better machines. Is the factory in Taiwan owned by Spyderco? Or is it that Spyderco delegates the construction of some folders to a factory owned by a third party in Taichung?

Either way I believe the reason the highest end and quality Spydercos come out of Taichung is because of the fact that they are able to offer them for a more reasonable price point this way. The amount of money they save on producing the knives in a Taichung factory over a U.S. factory is enough that it is worth it for them to ship the steels and materials over to Taichung. If models produced on Taichung were produced in an American factory I believe they would cost considerably more. Thus Spyderco sets it up so each factory is producing knives which suit each factory's capabilities the best.
 
Sounds about right to me ^^^
Taichung makes my favorite Spydies, Domino, Southard and the one that showed up about an hour ago!
To say this knife is well made is a complete understatement!!
Amazing build!! Just amazing!
I shudder to think what it would cost if made in the US!
Joe
 

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Taichung definitely is the top plant producing for Spyderco. That is not to say the other factories are not great in their own right. However the stuff coming out of their Taichung plant is on a next level.
 
Spyderco doesn't "own" any factories other than Golden. The factories across the pond are contractors, but I have heard that Spyderco has supplied their other makers with materials, such as, American made steel.
 
BS.

My last four Spydercos came from 2 different Japanese and 1 each US, and Taiwan factories. So 4 different factories from 3 countries. They all had the same level of quality. The only difference was the Taiwanese knife was a little cheaper which is to be expected.
 
As I understand it, Spyderco does NOT own the plant in Taichung. That is an independent and very talented maker who has agreed to make knives for Spyderco under contract. Apparently, they have a much larger facility than the one in Golden, even after the recent expansion. The reason Sal usually gives for "why is this knife being made in Taiwan instead of the U.S." is production capacity. That maker does top-notch work and can crank out a lot of it. They are also able to make any of the locks Spyderco uses (including the Compression lock, which is a lot harder to get right than people seem to think) which is why they were selected for the Sage project, and they are willing to work with new and exotic steels, which is why Mule Team production has been farmed out to them of late.
 
Golden CO is the only Spyderco owned factory. All of the others produce knives for multiple knife companies. As for Taichung (JOTI Dev.), I think they just have the most modern and advanced machinery of the bunch; coupled with excellent management/quality control.

To say they are all the same level of quality is just inaccurate...
 
My general rule is that I expect Taichung knives to have a higher level of F&F (couldn't honestly say why), while I look to Golden for bang for your buck and practical utility designs.
 
I have had different Spydies. And the ones from Tiachung are the smoothest and just right.
 
My Vallotton Subhilt folder is my favorite fondler . Close to perfection .
 
I think in Taiwan the idea of working in a factory is held in high regard so you'll get very good staff happy to work there. In fact Taiwan see's folks coming from all around Asia to work in factories. When you've got staff that wants to be doing their job to that degree it's inevitable that the output will be high quality.
 
Wow, great tid bits of info all around. I learned much from this thread. Thanks again for the replies, all.

Wasn't aware that the Golden plant is the only one Spyderco owns, good to know. The increased production capacity and capability of the Taichung plant makes sense. To those who mentioned management, QC, and pride, I thought as much myself as it seems to show forth in what they kick out. I think what I was wondering most was, do those in charge of delegating a project to a particular factory decide whether or not to send it to Taichung based on their capability and track record for quality, or does Taichung make requests to receive more ambitious and higher-end projects, or both? A disproportionate amount of high fit and finish work seems to come out of there relative to the other plants.
 
palonej said:
Sounds about right to me ^^^
Taichung makes my favorite Spydies, Domino, Southard and the one that showed up about an hour ago!
To say this knife is well made is a complete understatement!!
Amazing build!! Just amazing!
I shudder to think what it would cost if made in the US!
Joe
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Have to agree on Taichung. Congrats on the Vallotton! How are you liking it? I keep seeing it but haven't looked into it yet.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
My general rule is that I expect Taichung knives to have a higher level of F&F (couldn't honestly say why), while I look to Golden for bang for your buck and practical utility designs.
Click to expand...

Good point, well put. Those appear to be their strengths.
 
brownshoe said:
BS.

My last four Spydercos came from 2 different Japanese and 1 each US, and Taiwan factories. So 4 different factories from 3 countries. They all had the same level of quality. The only difference was the Taiwanese knife was a little cheaper which is to be expected.
Click to expand...

PineChaos said:
Golden CO is the only Spyderco owned factory. All of the others produce knives for multiple knife companies. As for Taichung (JOTI Dev.), I think they just have the most modern and advanced machinery of the bunch; coupled with excellent management/quality control.

To say they are all the same level of quality is just inaccurate...
Click to expand...

I haven't experienced enough models from each plant to know if, say, Golden has a model that excels over one from Taichung. I imagine there's at least one where that's the case. But by and large Taichung does seem to consistently kick out the highest quality in design, material, and fit and finish.
 
I don't think the Taichung plant is requesting more ambitious Spydercos be produced there. I think it is more like Spyderco just asks them to produce certain knives
 
Think it's a case of Spyderco finding a company in Taichung that had the equipment and the skill to produce knives that require the talents of skilled precision machinists. They do an excellent job of that, and there are probably models they produce that none of Spyderco's other contractors, or Golden itself, could do as good a job on. However, I'm not convinced they could do an equally excellent job of building something comparable to the C27 Jess Horn, Kiwi, Kopa, Micro Dyad, my bolstered Stretch, or even a simple all stainless Delica. I suspect that flush pin construction has its own skill set and challenges.
 
Cru5ader said:
Have to agree on Taichung. Congrats on the Vallotton! How are you liking it? I keep seeing it but haven't looked into it yet.
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Hey Cru5ader!!!
I'm telling you that this knife is absolutely amazing brother!!
It's a bit heavy, but carries that weight perfectly! It balances very well and feels lighter in the hand.
The build is so good you'll go nuts looking for any flaws.
Completely satisfied and impressed with it!!
In pocket today and cannot stop flicking this bad boy! Great action and the sound at lock up is addicting!
Joe
 
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