Spyderco knives are instantly recognizable by the round hole in their blades.
Now a proud symbol of the brand, the Trademark Round Hole™ began in 1981 as a means of quickly and positively opening a knife using only one hand. Pioneered by company co-founder Sal Glesser, this feature was incorporated with two other groundbreaking innovations—a clip on the handle to position the knife at the top of the pocket and the option of a serrated edge for extreme cutting power.
Together, these game-changing qualities created Spyderco’s signature “CLIPIT®” platform and literally defined the form of the modern folding knife. While these or similar features are commonplace today, Spyderco and Sal Glesser set the standard more than 40 years ago—and haven’t stopped innovating since. They are now universally regarded as one of the world’s leading knife brands and have earned scores of patents and industry awards to prove it.
Headquartered in Golden, Colorado, Spyderco maintains a worldwide network of manufacturing resources. Led by their state-of-the-art U.S. factory and R&D team, they also produce knives in Taiwan, Japan, Italy, and China. This diverse approach enables them to take full advantage of the specific talents and core competencies of each of their manufacturing partners. In the process, they have also created a broad spectrum of products at prices that fit every budget.
In addition to product design, Spyderco is also the undisputed industry leader when it comes to high-performance blade steels. Their current product line boasts more than 30 different steels and allows knife enthusiasts a remarkable opportunity to experience the performance characteristics of different blade materials in the same design platforms. Thanks to their longstanding relationships with some of the world’s premier steel foundries, Spyderco has even developed proprietary blade steels that can only be found on their knives.
One shining example of this is their groundbreaking Salt® Series—a complete selection of knives specifically designed for use in and around the water. Introduced more than 20 years ago and still the leader in the market, this elite family of knives was founded on H-1 steel—a remarkable material that offered outstanding toughness and extreme resistance to corrosion. Later transcended by H-2, which is also exclusive to Spyderco, this steel was subsequently joined by two other ultra-stainless steels: LC200N and CPM® MagnaCut®. The knives crafted with these steels also feature state-of-the-art marine-grade hardware to ensure that all components are fearlessly resistant to corrosion. In addition to being the cutting tools of choice of sailors, fisherman, divers, and other maritime tradesmen, Spyderco’s Salt Series knives are also in wide use by military personnel and are part of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircrew survival kits.
Many of Spyderco’s most in-demand knives are the award-winning designs produced in its U.S. factory. Co-located with the company headquarters, this facility manufactures a large portion of Spyderco’s total knife production. It also specializes in working with exotic, ultra-high-performance blade steels and their own proprietary US-made steel—CPM SPY27. This cobalt-enriched particle metallurgy steel offers an unparalleled balance of edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance and can only be found in Spyderco knives.
Although many Spyderco knives were designed by co-founder Sal Glesser and his son Eric, the company was also among the first to collaborate with custom knifemakers, self-defense experts, special operations veterans, outdoorsmen, and other subject-matter experts on purpose-driven knife designs. Many of these designs are produced by Spyderco’s manufacturing partner in Taiwan using premium American-made materials. These knives faithfully translate the signature designs and custom-quality craftsmanship of hard-to-find handmade knives to meticulously crafted factory products.
In addition to its genre-defining folding knives, Spyderco also manufactures fixed-blade knives—including a complete line of kitchen cutlery. Their Kitchen Classics have been the go-to choices of savvy cooks for decades and include the first Japanese santoku-style knife to be commercially marketed in the U.S. For truly discriminating cooks, they have also partnered with world-renowned bladesmith Murray Carter to translate his coveted custom kitchen-knife designs to production cutlery. The Murray Carter® Collection includes three tiers of materials and manufacturing sophistication, each featuring five of Carter’s most popular knife patterns.
Before Spyderco ever manufactured its first knife, they made knife sharpeners. In a market crowded with confusing sharpening gadgets and gizmos, their Tri-Angle Sharpmaker® still stands proud as one of the most versatile and easy-to-use sharpening systems ever created. Its high-alumina ceramic abrasive rods remove steel quickly and automatically set the perfect sharpening angles for both utility and ultra-keen edges. The system can be used anywhere and does not require oil, water, electricity, or any complicated clamps or fixtures. It, and their closely related Galley-V™ and Gauntlet™ sharpeners—are also the only systems on the market that sharpen serrated edges just as quickly and easily as plain edges.
Spyderco is indisputably one of the most innovative and influential companies in the knife industry. They set the standard in modern folding knives more than 40 years ago and have been steadily raising the bar ever since. As their motto says, “Those who know carry Spyderco™.” Learn more at Spyderco.com.
