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Spydercollector Chronicles the History of ‘Unofficial’ Spyderco Knife

April 25, 2018

Spyderco-centric blogger Spydercollector recently chronicled the acquisition of an ‘unofficial’ Spyderco release, the Mosquito. This modified first gen Ladybug sports an awl for a blade and has never reappeared in the company’s official lineup.

According to Spydercollector (also known as Wouter), the Mosquito has been the stuff of legend amongst Spyderco fans. “Around the early 2000s, Sal [Glesser, Founder of Spyderco] had a very small batch of Ladybug folding knives modified into the Mosquito. What I heard is that these Mosquitos were never an official offering and only given away as gifts.” The normal first generation Ladybug has a small drop point-style blade, but it was significantly rejigged for the Mosquito. “The edge was ground off, leaving you with a very pointy tip,” Wouter says. The result was a 1.9-inch folding awl made of then-standard AUS-6 steel.

The Mosquito is famously scarce, even compared to rare full-production models. “What I heard is that these Mosquitos were never an official offering and only given away as gifts,” Wouter explains. He has only ever come across two himself, and says that although it isn’t technically a ‘knife,’ the Mosquito performs its job of piercing things with aplomb. “I can tell you that it picks olives and cubes of cheese quite well, especially in front of fellow collectors, who first frown at the sight and then recognize what I just unfolded.”

Spyderco is well-known for releasing products off the beaten path. They’ve even incorporated awl-style tools into other releases like the maritime Tusk model. But Wouter suspects the Mosquito will forever remain a collectible. “I can’t imagine that that would be a viable, popular product.” He envisions his own Mosquito will spend most of its time in the collection, not on the keychain. “Considering the collectability and curiosa factor, this is a mainly a collectible and conversation piece for me.”

Knife featured in image: Spyderco Mosquito

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