Spyderco byte August 2023 - EDGE-U-CATION® - Categories of Spyderco Folding Knives

Spyderco byte August 2023 - EDGE-U-CATION® - Categories of Spyderco Folding Knives​

Although Spyderco is best known for its groundbreaking CLIPIT® platform, which combines a lock-blade folding knife with the convenience of clip carry and manual one-hand opening, we have also made—and continue to produce—other types of folding knives. To fully appreciate the broad scope of our product line and our commitment to serving the needs of knife users worldwide, it helps to have a clear understanding of the various categories of folding knives—especially those specific to Spyderco.

Friction Folders​

The first knives to combine the convenience and ease of carry of folding construction with the utility of a sharp cutting edge were friction folders. The earliest known examples of these date to the Iron Age, which lasted from roughly 1200 to 500 BCE. One of the most notable specimens was a pocketknife with a bone handle that was discovered at the Hallstatt Culture site in Austria and was dated to approximately 600–500 BCE.

As their name implies, friction folders relied on the friction between the handle and the tang area of the blade to keep the knife open during use. Some had a tension screw at the pivot to increase that friction, while others had a tab that extends from the blade tang, similar to the tab on a traditional straight razor. It served as a lever to open the knife and also indexed against the back of the handle, where pressure from the user’s hand held it in place to stabilize the blade during use.

Historically, Spyderco has only produced one true knife of this type, the C167 Friction Folder designed by Belgian knifemaker Filip De Leeuw. For the sake of completeness, however, our Dog Tag Folder designs, which feature a detent but no lock, are arguably examples of friction folders as well.

Lock-Blade Knives​

The earliest lock-blade knives were crafted in Europe in the 15th century. This innovation was partly fueled by the development of spring steel and partly by the increased restrictions on the wearing of swords and other bladed weapons by people who were not members of the nobility. Folders—even some of the huge ones made at that time—were a clever way of working around those laws.

Early lock-blade folders had an external spring fastened to the back of the handle. The forward portion of the spring had a hole in it that indexed an integral pin, tooth, or even multiple teeth cut into the rear portion of the blade’s spine. When the blade was opened, the spring hole would catch on the pin or teeth and lock the knife open. To release the lock, the forward end of the spring had to be manually lifted. At first, this was done via integral “ears” on the front of the spring—like a classic “picklock” Italian switchblade. Later, the lock release was made easier with the addition of rings and levers to facilitate lifting the front of the spring bar.

Fast forward to today and we enjoy a choice of dozens of different folding-knife lock mechanisms. Some, like lock backs and balisongs, are traditional, time-tested designs, while others are much more recent developments. All have their advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately they do their job well—keeping a knife’s blade securely open during use.

The vast majority of the folding knives Spyderco has manufactured have been lock-blade folders. The specific sub-categories of that broad family are explained in detail later in this article.

Slipjoints​

According to Simon Moore, author of Penknives and Other Folding Knives, the first spring-back, non-locking knives were developed around 1660 in England, but didn’t become popular until the Industrial Revolution. The most common type of non-locking folder, this style of knife ultimately became known as a slipjoint. When the knife is opened, a spring in the back of the handle applies pressure against a flat spot on the tang of the blade, holding it firmly in place. A similar flat spot on the opposite side of the blade keeps it safely closed when not in use. An excellent tool for most cutting chores, the slipjoint is also socially friendly and legally permissible almost everywhere.

Spyderco incorporates the slipjoint mechanism into a number of our smaller designs, like the Bug®, Honeybee™, and Grasshopper™.

CLIPIT®​

CLIPIT® is a term Spyderco created to describe the unique breed of folding knife Sal Glesser created in 1981. He was the first to add a pocket clip and a manual one-hand-opening feature to a lock-blade pocketknife. In doing so, we revolutionized the cutlery industry and literally defined the form of the modern folding knife.

In the early years of the company, all CLIPIT knives featured back lock mechanisms. More specifically, they featured a mid back lock, sometimes also called a front lock, generally attributed to custom knifemaker Harvey McBurnette. By positioning the lock release in the middle of the handle’s length, the lock can be easily disengaged and the knife closed with only one hand. Although this particular style of back lock has remained a consistent standard in our product line, the CLIPIT family has also grown to include clip-carry, one-hand-opening folders with many other lock mechanisms as well.

The vast majority of Spyderco’s folding knives are, in fact, members of the CLIPIT family. Interestingly, the “C” at the beginning of each of our folding knife SKU numbers initially signified “CLIPIT.” Over the years, however, we have assigned “C” SKUs to other folders that are not technically CLIPIT knives. Old habits do die hard.

Clipless Lock Blades​

The Ladybug® and Manbug® are both lock back folders with Trademark Round Holes and mainstays of the Spyderco product line. However, neither includes a pocket clip, nor are they particularly well suited to one-handed opening. As such, they are a category unto themselves.

SLIPIT™​

When England banned the carry of one-hand-opening lock-blade knives, Sal Glesser and Spyderco pivoted and once again defined a new industry standard: the SLIPIT. Sal knew that the convenience of clip carry and one-hand opening were the defining and most desirable features of the CLIPIT knife. He therefore took those features and combined them with an improved, notched-joint spring mechanism that provided greater reliability than a traditional slipjoint, yet did not mechanically lock the blade. As an extra measure of safety, he added an index finger choil on many SLIPIT models that provides a comfortable purchase for the index finger during use and helps prevent accidental closure of the blade.

The notched-joint non-locking mechanism is the basis of most of Spyderco’s SLIPIT designs—like the UK Penknife™, the Urban™, and the Squeak™. However, knives like the Ralph Turnbull T-Mag™, the Terzuola SLIPIT, and the Mike Read PITS™ Folder also broadened the scope of the SLIPIT platform.

ClipJoint™​

To keep pace with changing knife laws around the world, Spyderco also developed a hybrid non-locking folder that offered the convenience of clip carry but required two hands to operate. Dubbed a “ClipJoint,” the small Trademark Round Hole in the blade clearly identifies this style of knife as a Spyderco product but does not allow one-handed opening. When pinched between the thumb and index finger, however, it offers much easier opening than a traditional nail nick.

The primary examples of the ClipJoint breed were the Spy-DK™ and the Pingo™. Developed primarily to comply with Danish knife law, which prohibits one-hand-opening knives altogether, these designs and the term sadly never achieved a strong following.

Clipless Notched Joint​

The notched-joint non-locking mechanism is a defining feature of both the SLIPIT and the ClipJoint platforms. Both of those styles of knives, however, feature pocket clips. What happens when you design a ClipJoint knife without a clip? You get the Roadie™, a uniquely functional take on the classic penknife that is worthy of a category all its own.

To truly understand Spyderco, its history, and the breadth of our current product line, you must understand the various categories of folders we’ve produced. From the very start, we set the standard in modern folding knives. We then adapted to a changing world, repeatedly defining new standards along the way. That process continues today, as strong as ever.