on the ground area of the blade where it counts. The lesser-worked backside isn’t as hard, allowing the blade to have more flexibility. This is very similar to the differential hardening used on clay-tempered Japanese blades.
Rethinking Steel Spyderco has been extremely suc-
cessful in marketing their brand to a wide range of customers over the years, but H-1 steel opened a whole new set of doors and, with them, new challenges. Wisely, the com- pany first focused their efforts on consumers who would benefit most from non-corrosive steel. Accord- ing to Spyderco Marketing director Joyce Laituri, “Our marketing of H-1 is a work in progress. We find new applications, therefore mar- keting outlets, for it all this time. Our initial promotion was to the salt/fresh water enthusiast. Then long-distance (perspiring) runners started buying it to stop their rust- ing issues. Sales picked up to boat owners, military, LEOs, paddlers, people in highly humid areas, com- mercial fishermen … Movies and television production crews (film- ing in water or tropics) started call- ing. H-1 pretty much self markets.” Laituri further adds, “The rea-
Spyderco offers their Salt series in a wide range of styles and sizes. At left is the Ed Schempp designed Rock Salt, at right the Salt I folder.
son it has taken off is because con- sumers use it, find it does what we say it does and start talking. Word of mouth has been our biggest H-1 marketing tool. As an example, I was at fishing trade show last year. Talking to a man at our booth, he wanted to know why he should buy H-1. Before I could tell him, anoth- er show go-er interrupts, selling for us: ‘I bought one three years ago and have cut line wrapped around a prop, gutted hundreds of fish, dropped it in water, lost it in my live tank, found it and it still cuts like a monster.’ That great sales pitch is from someone who isn’t even sell- ing our knives!” What speaks volumes about Spy-
If wicked hawkbill blades with drag- on teeth are your bag, you’ll delight in the duo. At top is the Spyderhawk, at bottom the Tasman Salt, both in bright yellow FRN handles.
50
derco’s endorsement of H-1 steel is they stepped out of the safe marine/ outdoors environment and used it on their most ambitious tactical knife to date, the Warrior. Inspired by close-combat expert Michael Echanis, of the Korean HwaRang- Do martial arts school, the Warrior (Model FB25BK) is all about pure, unadulterated combat of the high- est degree. There is no way Spy- derco would have produced such a knife without imbuing it with the best the company has to offer. I asked Michael Janich, Spyderco’s
REALITY CHECK • 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
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