Hello from Castle Rock! Loving all this rain but the near daily hail is getting old.
Let me begin with the thank you. A few weeks ago, my nephew gave me a P3 LW SPY27 for my 49th birthday. My first Spyderco. I've wanted one as long as I could remember but just couldn't swing a Golden, and being here in the 'Do, I really wanted a local Spydie as my first. Anyway, I love the knife more than any other inanimate object I own. It brings me so much joy to look at and to use. I just gotta say thank you to Sal and Eric and everyone at Spyderco who made this knife possible.
Upon learning Spyderco's warranty policy I was surprised. I sort of figured if anyone would encourage owners to take apart, clean, and maintain their product, it would be a company like Spyderco. But after watching weeks of youtube videos with owners taking apart their knives with the wrong tools, the wrong size torx bits, bending, prying and doing who knows what, I am understanding the policies and where they came from. I swapped mine into AWT scales without any issues, but man, some people out there are really making it tough on themselves. Then at the end of the vid they are talking about returning the knife. And these are just the ones making videos. So yeah, I get how this could be a big problem.
I used to be on a lot of forums back in the day. The first was the Colorado Sportbike Club almost 20 years ago. We argued over trivial things, shouted newbs down at times, and had a lot of fun. So I get that, but this stuff is different. I saw a member get shouted down while asking if his knife was fake, mostly because the other guy didn't think the knife was popular enough to fake. I see one guy getting beat up by another because he likes "flipping" his knife open. The other guy, who speaks for the whole forum apparently, basically said to grow up! No place for that kind of talk here! On the knife forum...
Now I am not a fidgeter, but the night I got my Para I learned to thumb flick it, reverse flick it, and Spydie drop it. After that I learned them all lefty. Then I saw a vid where a guy opened it with his index finger from the front side, so I learned that one. Hurts my finger, but that's not the point. Whether it's Tiger bouncing a golf ball on his wedge, someone spinning a basketball on their finger, or a motorcyclist doing a wheelie, there are skills that when one is deeply involved in a hobby they might want to learn to execute. It shows a certain mastery of their craft. Or a lot of time on one's hands. But it definitely shows a love for something when you want to push past the ordinary and enjoy the thing in a different way. They may be completely unnecessary for each hobby, but they are fun, and that is enough. Not everyone desires to learn these tricks. But I'd like to know how many who hate the flicking can actually do it themselves. If you can, and still dislike it, that's one thing. But if you can't do it, then you are just a hater. Those who can do, those who cannot hate.
I look at my Para at least a dozen times a day. I've found the reverse flick to be a beautiful way to open the blade when you just want to look down and admire the beauty. I hold down the compression lock and snap it open when I am pulling it out to cut. Not something I thought about beforehand, it is just an easy, organic way to open the knife. I close it the same way.
One of the things that makes this company great is their willingness to try things other companies won't. But you still gotta have buyers. I don't think you old ******** out here buy enough to keep the company afloat. So you NEED new blood. That guy who flicks his blade open on youtube is helping to sell a lot of product. This allows the company to continue innovating and creating awesome shiz out of awesome steel. So be kind to the newbs. If someone new wants to buy every Spyderco they see that is a GOOD thing. Don't you think?
That is all. I apologize in advance if I ruffled any feathers. I didn't want to call anyone out specifically and I am sure you are all good dudes. I've been the old guy on the forum too, and I know how it feels when the place is changing. But change is good. This needs to be an awesome place for people to share in their love of Spyderco, ask questions without fear, and to boost up our entire community of Spyderbros. Thank you. 
P.S. I wish there was a smiley where the eyes are Spyders. That would be cool...
