Spyderco Releases 2016 Discontinued List

Spyderco released its official 2016 discontinued list today, a few weeks earlier than anticipated. There are a couple big surprises this year that included a knife that nobody could have anticipated would end up on the chopping block and one that most thought would get the axe, but instead will survive another year. The discontinuation of the highly-praised (some say ‘classic’) Caly 3 will feel like a punch to the gut for some Spyderco fans.  Others were expecting the Rubicon to get turfed because the knife seems to pop-up on the secondary market quite frequently and is offered at a high price point in the increasingly competitive flipper segment.

“Spyderco couldn’t come out with 20 new models every year if they held onto those products,” Cutlery Shoppe owner Jeff Loffer recently told KnifeNews for our story: ‘Is Spyderco’s Upcoming Discontinued List a Good Investment Opportunity.’  We’ll find out soon which Spyderco rookies will backfill these blades – the company traditionally releases its new catalog within a few weeks of announcing the discontinued knives.

Here’s our Take on Spyderco’s Discontinued for 2016 List:

Spyderco Caly 3
The discontinuation of this knife will come as a shock to many as Spyderco fans consider it to be a classic. Some have even called it one of Spyderco’s finest designs, largely because of the ergonomic finger choil formed between the blade and handle when open. This last version of the Caly 3 has carbon fiber scales and a laminated ZDP-189 blade.

Spyderco PITS
The Pie In the Sky (PITS) folder, designed by British knifemaker Mike Read, is elegant in design and unconventional in function. It is a non-locking slipjoint, designed to comply with British knife laws, which uses a spring integral to the titanium handle scales to hold the blade open and closed. Although the design was innovative, it survived just a year in the Spyderco lineup.

Spyderco Gayle Bradley
Though the Gayle Bradley folder is beloved by Spyderco fans, the new iteration of the design: the Gayle Bradley 2 is comforting consolation. Featuring the same tough CPM-M4 steel that cutting champion and knifemaker Gayle Bradley prefers, the GB2 may reach retailers before the end of the year.

Spyderco Air
Also designed by Gayle Bradley, the Air is a small titanium liner lock with a modified wharncliffe blade of CPM-M4 steel. It does not have a pocket clip – a rarity for Spyderco – and was designed to be carried loose in the pocket like a traditional slipjoint folder.

Spyderco Ulize
This large folder, released in 2013, was designed in collaboration with German knifemaker Ulrich Hennicke and a German policeman. Its long (4.11”) recurved blade limits its utility and legality for some. Perhaps it was overshadowed by another, similar Spyderco favorite: the Police 3.

Spyderco Memory
Spyderco released the Memory, a gentlemanly folder designed by late knifemaker Frank Centofante, after he passed away as a tribute to the man and his contributions to the company over the years.

Spyderco Double Bevel
The Double Bevel, designed by knifemaker Bob Terzuola has a compound blade: hollow ground near the handle, and flat ground towards the tanto tip. Spyderco fans tend to gravitate towards simpler blades, which might explain why the Double Bevel was discontinued.

Spyderco Starmate
The second Terzuola design on this list, the Starmate is a larger, heavier blade. Terzuola literally wrote the book on the tactical folding knife, and the Starmate is a Spyderco-flavored recreation of one of his classic designs.