Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Good Looking Spyderco Auto and a short rant on "buying American"


So, I've mentioned in the past that I'm not a huge fan of automatic knives. My thinking is that there are thousands of knives now, in 2009, that open just as fast and have less parts to malfunction. That being said, I do like the look of Spyderco's Citadel series. This pic was "borrowed" from Knifecenter.com.

Here's Spyderco's specs:
Features
Right-hand automatic blade-opening deployment
Hard anodized, machined aluminum handle with Bi-Directional Texturing™
Black steel clip positions folder left/right hand tip-up (three screw attachment)
Back-up safety switch positioned adjacent to automatic-open button
Screw together construction
Trademark Spyderco Round Hole
Flat saber-ground CPM S30V
Spine jimping
Swedge grind reduces weight
Lanyard Hole
Specifications
Overall Length: 7-3/4" 197mm
Handle Length: 4-9/16" 116mm
Cutting Edge Length: 3-5/32" 80mm
Blade Length: 3-1/4" 83mm
Weight: 4.8oz 137mm
Blade Material: CPM S30V
Blade Hardness: Rc 59-60
Scale Material: Aluminum
Made in USA

Pretty sweet knife. It seems many production knife companies are well aware of the increasing consumer demand for USA-Made products. It's nice to know that the bulk of Benchmade's line, many of Spyderco's high end knives, along with some Kershaw and all ZeroTolerance knives, are made here by Americans with American jobs and American craftsmanship. There are many other companies manufacturing here in The States. The once great Buck Knives is also producing a large number of their knives in a new Idaho facility. I used to think that the whole "buy American" thing was somehow nationalistic or racist. As an adult, I now know better. It's about keeping jobs here, and employing our American brothers and sisters, no matter what language they speak or what shade their skin is. Not to mention the fact that many knives made in China and Taiwan are garbage. There are exceptions, like CRKT and Mantis, don't get me wrong, and American manufacture doesn't always mean quality. Shit, look at our domestic automotive industry! My point is, American manufacturing, and "buying American" is good for our nose-diving economy. It's also obvious that many times, when we buy products made in countries like China, that we are indirectly supporting gross violations of human rights, and sketchy child labor. I must applaud many knife and tactical gear companies for either continuing to employ Americans, or increase the number of products in their lineup which are made here.

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