You’ve been bitten by the bug? You’ve noticed something strange with your Spyderco knife and now you want to know more? You want to start your own collection and you are looking for more info? You simply wonder what possibly could be found in a FAQ about collecting knives?

Great! Good to have you here! Be it for one of the reasons above or for another one.

Since I am participating on knife related forums for some years now, I noticed that more or less often the same questions are asked. Some forums offer an own sub-forum for these often so-called “newbie questions” that are recurring every now and then, some haven’t. I thought it would be nice to have some of the answers to the most frequently asked questions in one place, and to add an educational aspect to my page aswell, so here they are! Please consider this as work in progress, as I will add new questions/answers as often as I encounter something that fits in here. For further information, I recommend to visit the official Spyderco Forum. The members there are all very friendly and helpful people and they have a vast knowledge about the topic. Meanwhile, I invite you to enjoy my little collection of questions and answers!

Cheers, Rob

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Q: What does the number on my knife mean?
Q: How old is my knife?
Q: The box of my Spyderco looks strange. Is it a fake?
Q: PE, CE, SE,… What on earth does all this mean?
Q: I’ve got a knife with a notch on the spine. Why is it there?
Q: How should I collect?
Q: I’ve seen a Spyderco knife advertised as “rare”. Is that true?
Q: How can I find out how much a certain model is worth?
Q: How can MSRP’s be useful for me?
Q: I’ve seen a knife that looks like a Spyderco but for a fraction of the price…
Q: Where can I find more information?

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Q: What does the number on my knife mean?
A: Maybe you’ve already noticed that there are some models that feature a 3-digit number on the blade. Most likely it is a Collector’s Club number. If you sign up to Spyderco’s collectors program, you will get your own number (if one of the 200 existing is vacant at the moment) and from there on you’ll receive every new model that is released. There is an option to get only the main models and one to get the main model plus all variations of it. The latter can be different grinds (e.g. SE is the main model, CE and PE are variations), handle colours, blade steels etc. All of these variations bear a “V” as a suffix to the collectors number on the blade (e.g. 123V). Quite a lot of Collector’s Club variations are sold through regular Shops because – as you surely can imagine – it is very cost intensive to sign up for every single knife that is released and not every collector buys all the knives with “his” number. Besides these two possibilities, there is a third: To sign up just for the Kopa models. These are limited to 600 pieces per run and this way you can save one of each variation for you. So if you encounter a numbered Spyderco (with or without the “V”), is almost always a Collector’s Club knife and not a very limited and special model as some eBay sellers want to make you believe. If you now think: “That’s it! Where do I have to sign?” I recommend to contact Spyderco directly to get all the information. Take a look at this thread over at Spyderco forums for contact details. If you perform a search over there for “collectors club” you’ll find a lot more info on the subject too.So, what if there’s a number higher than 200 on the blade? In this case it’s not a Collector’s Club knife. It might be from the first production run (usually 1200 pieces) of this model. You also might encounter inscriptions like “154 of 200″ or “1 of 500″. In this case it’s a limited edition. The former meaning that it’s the 154th knife of totally 200, the latter that it is one (not the first) of 500 made. Both were used on forum models for example.
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Q: How old is my knife?
A: This is a rather difficult question as it can be answered with a concrete date for some models and with a range of years for others. Since a couple of years Spyderco prints the manufacturing date in coded form on the boxes that come with the knives. This “code” consists of two capital letters that indicate the month and the year when the knife was built. Both letters resemble a number (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.) so if you encounter “LG” on a box, you instantly will know that the knife was made in 12/07. Here’s an example to illustrate this a little bit:

Sadly, this was not always the case. On boxes of older models you might encounter the manufacturing date in “plain text” like “10/96″ and there were even boxes with the full date on them like “05/15/01″. If you want to determine the age of your knife all of these variants are excellent if you find them on the knives’ box. If you don’t, the trouble starts.

If there isn’t a date on the box you can only give an estimate when the knife in question was produced by doing some research. If it is a model that was only produced for a short time like the CF Dragonfly, you can definitely say that it must have been produced some time in 1999. If you have a Delica for example, you first have to determine which generation it is, then find out when this generation was introduced and discontinued and this will lead you to a range of some years that are possible. Old catalogs help a lot on this issue. If you don’t have them in the printed version, you can easily download many of them from Ted’s site. If you are looking for information about an old sprint run that did not appear in the catalogs, it’s extremely difficult to determine the year when the knife was produced.
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Q: The box of my Spyderco looks strange. Is it a fake?
A: Spydercos come in a variety of boxes. There are blue boxes, black boxes, red boxes, plain white boxes, white boxes with blue Spyderco logo and golden bug on them, greenish boxes with a white logo and the most recent: black/red/silver/gold coloured boxes. The blue, red,black and plain white ones are the oldest. These are quite simple boxes with a “flap” to close them. All others consist of two parts – a frame and a “drawer” with a foam insert. I haven’t found out yet, when exactly which box was used but you can be sure: these are all real! If you find one of the old boxes that has handwriting on it, the box most likely is still in it’s original condition and the text was written on the box in the factory. Here you can see a variety of boxes that are all original albeit they look dramatically different:

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Q: PE, CE, SE,… What on earth does all this mean?
A: So you were browsing a forum or the website of a knife-dealer and found yourself confronted with various acronyms that didn’t make sense to you at all? When it comes to communication about Spyderco knives, some acronyms are used that often can puzzle you if you’ve never seen them before. Most of them originate from the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of the knives that were assigned to them by Spyderco, some others are popular on forums but never used in the official SKUs. Here’s a little list with things you might encounter on boxes or on forums, sorted by edge configurations, colours, materials and forum talk:

Edge
CE	Combo Edge or Combination Edge, mainly used by fans / on forums
P	Plain Edge, used in SKUs
PE	Plain Edge, mainly used by fans and on forums
PS	Partially Serrated (i.e. Combo Edge), used in SKUs
S	Serrated Edge (Spyder Edge), used in SKUs
SE	Serrated Edge (Spyder Edge), mainly used by fans and on forums
Colour
BBK	All black, i.e. black blade and black FRN handle
BB	Black Blade, almost always all black usually in combination w/ G-10
BK	Black
BL	Blue
BRG	Burgundy
BRGM	Burgundy Micarta
CB	Cranberry
FG	Foliage Green / Forest Green
GR	Green
GY	Gray
OD	Olive Drab
OR	Orange
PNK	Pink
RB	Rainbow Coloured
RD	Red
SL	Silver
TN	Tan
TR	Actually no colour, means „Trainer“, blunt blade, always red handled
WH	White
YL	Yellow
Material
A	Aluminium
AC	Apple Coral
ATU	Tufram coated Aluminium
BM	Black Micarta
BQ	Black Quince
CB	Cocobolo
CF	Carbon Fiber
ET	Etched
EV	Evrina
FRN	Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon
G	G-10
GB	Giraffe Bone
GP	Gold Pearl
JB	Jigged Bone
MOPA	Mother Of Pearl and Abalone
MP	Mother Of Pearl
PA	Pearl and Abalone
PB	Pacific Blue Bone
RB	Red Bone
SS	Stainless Steel), mainly used by fans and on forums
SW	Stacked Wood
TC	Tiger Coral
TI	Titanium
TQ	Turquoise
Forum talk
AFI	Aficionado
C III	Caly 3
CC	Collectors Club
D4	Delica 4
E4	Endura 4
EDC	Every Day Carry
FB	Fixed Blade
IIRC	If I Remember Correctly
IMO	In My Opinion
IMHO	In My Humble Opinion
MBC	Martial Blade Craft
MSRP	Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
NGK	New Graham Knives (a popular knife dealer)
NKP	Non-Knife-Person
SAK	Swiss Army Knife
SD	Self-Defense
SFO	Spyderco Factory Outlet
WTG	Way To Go
YMMV	Your Mileage May Vary

There can also be acronyms like VG-10, CPM-S30V, 440C, AUS-8, N-690, etc. These refer to the steel alloy that was used for the blade of the knife. Please take a look at Spyderco’s Steel Chart for the contents of the different alloys and Spyderco’s Steel Element Info for a description of the effects of these contents.
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Q: I’ve got a knife with a notch on the spine. Why is it there?
A: This is Spyderco’s way to mark factory seconds. These are usually knives that have some small cosmetic defects but are fully functional. If you don’t mind to have a second, these can be a very good deal but usually they are not covered by Spyderco’s warranty.
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Q: How should I collect?
A: That’s maybe one of the most difficult questions! Basically it all depends on how much time and money you want to spend. Over the years I encountered 4 types of Spyderco collectors:

Type one: “The accumulating user” – These people are more interested in using their knives than collecting them. They might have a couple that they don’t use, but the majority of type one’s knives are put to use and not on display. This doesn’t mean that they automatically have only a few knives. Here we are talking about 30, 40, 50 or even more users that are rotated frequently. Having many does not necessarily mean that you collect them.

Type two: “The Accumulator” – This is still rather an accumulator than a collector. You might ask yourself at this point where the difference between these is. Well, collecting something involves at least some kind of a system. Accumulators rather buy what they like instead of systematically buying new knives for their collection.

Type three: “The Specialist” – This is the collector who has specialized on one (or more) particular models and tries to get all variations of them. The hardcore variant of type three also includes every edge configuration of “his” model into his system.

Type four: “The Extreme Collector” – This type tries to get every model that was ever produced by Spyderco – i.e. one specimen of every knife. The hardcore variant of type four additionally tries to get one of each variation too and the even more hardcore type four collector also searches for all edge configuration. This is the point where you end up with literally hundreds of knives and a serious amount of money spent.

So, what is the best of all these possibilities? Honestly, there is no answer! First of all, you’ll hardly find a collector who is a genuine type one, two, three or four. I am for example something between type two and three and I never planned to become a type three. Everyone should think about his goals and then structure the collection accordingly but this doesn’t mean that one can’t change his mind after some time. A popular quote of Sal Glesser (founder of Spyderco) sums it up quite nicely “All good, just different!”
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Q: I’ve seen a Spyderco knife advertised as “rare”. Is that true?
A: That depends of the model and the variation of it. Some models are indeed quite rare and therefore pricey, some aren’t. To tell the difference between “rare” and “common” is not always easy.

Basically all models that were produced in small numbers are per definition “rare”. These are all sprint-runs (usually 600 pieces), the Kopa model (limited to 600 pieces per variation), the forum models (special variations of a model that were numbered, e.g. the Military model with MOP Spyderbug inlay on the handle) and all “historic” models that were produced in small runs (e.g. the Police model with Titanium handle).

Then there are models or special variations of certain models, that were only released for the Japanese market (e.g. the Titanium handled Delica, the rainbow-coated Cricket, etc.)

Also some of the models of regular production became somehow rare. Mainly because they were made as users and people bought these knives to use them. Naturally not many are left today which makes them rare if they are in pristine condition. Maybe the original 1981 Worker model would be such an example.

In most of the cases it depends on the current demand for a model and how many of them are offered if a certain knife is considered rare, but yes, there are indeed rare ones out there. But you should check carefully if a knife that is offered to you as rare is indeed what the seller claims.
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Q: How can I find out how much a certain model is worth?
A: There are a couple of possibilities to solve this problem but first I would recommend to take a look at my priceguide which can be found in the download-section of this page. There I’ve listed a vast number of models with their most recent MSRP’s, so that you can get an idea of how much a model was/is.

Second, I recommend to watch platforms like eBay closely over a longer period, so that you get an idea of what is offered regularily and how much people are willing to pay.

Combining the results of both will lead to an average current value, and also the historic value. This way it’s easy to determine if the model is rare (current value is much higher than historic value) or rather common (current value is less or equal than the historic value). You also get an idea what a reasonable price is (at the moment).
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Q: How can MSRP’s be useful for me?
A: To determine the value a specific model was/is of course! Actually no shop anywhere in the world sells Spyderco knives at their MSRP (the only exception might be Spyderco’s Factory Outlet). In the US you get them cheaper while in Europe you pay way more than just the MSRP. Let me give you an example:

To determine the prices, I looked randomly at the webpages of four dealers in the US and four dealers in Europe, took their prices and calculated the average for a very common model: The Delica 4.

A Delica 4 with black FRN handle and plain blade is sold in Europe with an average price of EUR 74,64 (~USD 109,79). In the US it will cost you approximately USD 50,52 (~EUR 25,03). The current MSRP of this model is USD 79,95 (EUR 54,35). The conversion rate I used was 1,47134 as published on xe.com on 9 January 2008.

First, this tells us that Spyderco knives cost about three times as much in Europe compared to the US market and you can assume that the MSRP in Dollars is quite likely the selling price in Euros. This has been a common practice for many years and considering the savings, it’s no wonder that many European collectors buy their knives overseas.

The second conclusion is that in the US usually 35 to 40 percent are taken off of the MSRP by the shops. By rule of thumb you can also apply that to MSRP’s of past years.

Even though the conversion rate from US Dollars to Euros changed over the past few years, the pricing stayed quite stable on both sides of the pond, so having the original MSRP can give you a good hint which range the “street price” of a model was.
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Q: I’ve seen a knife that looks like a Spyderco but for a fraction of the price…
A: And it isn’t a Spyderco? Please do yourself a favour and keep your hands off of these kock-offs. There are quite many copies out there that sometimes look very close to a real Spyderco model (e.g. there’s one that looks almost exactly like Spyderco’s Navigator with the slotted handle but without the coating on the handle). There are a few good reasons why you shouldn’t buy such a thing:

It is theft to produce the design of someone else without a license, and I do not want to support thieves!

The quality of these things is inferior to real Spydercos. You just don’t know if you end up in some hospitals ER after using the fake because the lock failed on you.

If you buy it and it is defective, your money is lost. If a Spyderco is defective when you buy it (rather unlikely), it will either be replaced or repaired under Spyderco’s warranty.

If you like the design, then spend the extra money and get a quality-product that will satisfy you for years rather than spending your hard-earned money on something that might break just days after you got it and bring you nothing but trouble.

Did I already mention that the people who produce these things (I still can’t bring myself to call them “knives”) are thieves?
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Q: Where can I find more information?
A: Kenneth T. Delavigne worote a book called ” Spyderco Story. The New Shape of Sharp” which was published back in 2000 by Paladin Press. If you are interested in the history of the company and older models this is something you should absolutely get! There is a hardcover version of it which is rather pricy but Paladin Press also released it with a soft cover some time ago which is considerably easier to get and also cheaper. “Spyderco Story” is also full of (B/W) pictures, old ads and construction sketches. To sum it up: 312 pages of valuable information!

Unfortunately there is no (printed) literature for the models that were released after the “Spyderco Story”. In my opinion, a sequel to the book is much needed, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for it. So where to get info then? Of course the internet!

For current models and prices, visit Spyderco’s website. There you can find all the info you need for anything that is in the current lineup of Spyderco and Byrd knives. The site also hosts Spyderco’s own forum, where you can get help with basically anything related to Spyderco. The people there are very helpful and they also have a vast knowledge of anything related to Spyderco. I’m sure that once you’ve looked around over there, you will stay.

If you have a knife, but you have no clue which model it could be I strongly recommend Ted’s list of all Spyderco models. Ted put a lot of work into his site to show a picture of every knife ever made by Spyderco. It’s a great resource if you need that kind of info. Recently, he also put up a page with all the Byrd models that were released until today, which also can be very useful. Another valuable source of information are the old catalogs that are also hosted on another part of Ted’s website. They go back to the 1980ies and are full of info that you can’t find anywhere else and the best thing: you can download them as PDF files.

For information about rare models in general, be sure to visit Spyderwa’s site. There you’ll find basically all the knives that have that “super rare” status.

If you are interested in Spyderco’s Q-model, visit Chris’ page. There are tons of pictures of variations of this model. I think he covers the most variations of that model that I’ve ever seen online.

If you are looking for infos about prices, especially of discontinued models, I suggest to have a look on my priceguide.

For more general information, loads of pictures, other collections and many more things related to the topic, I recommend to visit the other sites that are listed under “collectors/friends” in the sidebar of my page.
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