Alexandru Diaconescu, better known to the knife community as “Dialex,” should be no stranger to savvy Spyderco fans. In addition to his roles as an economist, a talented graphic designer, and an information specialist for the Romanian police, he is also a lifelong knife enthusiast with a deep passion for Spyderco knives.

A number of years ago, he combined his interest in Spyderco designs with his skills as a graphic artist and created a series of extremely realistic artistic renderings of potential knife designs. The unique quality of his work attracted the attention of Spyderco’s founder, Sal Glesser, and ultimately led to Dialex’ first collaboration with Spyderco, the futuristic C102 Adventura, which was also the 2005 Spyderco forum knife.

In 2011, Spyderco released the second Dialex collaboration—a unique folder with a dramatic integral guard named the C150 Junior. Designed to protect the user’s hand from accidental contact with the blade, it was intended primarily for novices but gained great favor with experienced knife users as well.

Spyderco’s third and newest Dialex collaboration represents his concept of a personal-defense knife and is appropriately named the Battlestation. It is an extremely stout folding knife built on a framework of solid stainless steel handle liners. These full liners define an ergonomic profile and create a pronounced integral finger guard that provides substantial protection for the user’s hand. They are capped by textured G-10 scales that ensure a secure grip and feature meticulously machined relief cuts to allow easy access to the blade’s Trademark Round Hole™ when opening the knife. At the rear of the handle a solid stainless steel backstrap and post provide excellent strength, and, together with a strategically exposed area of the liners, offer two handy attachment points for lanyards or fobs.

The blade of the Battlestation is a unique hybrid profile that features a slightly curved, Americanized tanto-style point and a strong saber-ground PlainEdge™ cutting edge. Ground from 3.5mm (0.140 inch) VG-10 stainless steel, it also features twin fullers (grooves) in the blade flats and a beveled swedge at the tip to ensure a strong but capable point. An index-finger choil at the heel of the blade allows the user to choke up for extra control and features carefully machined jimping (textured grooves) for extra grip security. For swift, one-handed opening, the blade includes a 13mm Trademark Round Hole that also unmistakably identifies the Battlestation as a Spyderco design.

Linking the blade and handle of the Battlestation together is a heavy-duty back lock. This over-engineered mechanism locks the blade securely in the open position and features a David Boye dent to help prevent unintentional closing during use. A reversible wire clip attached to the butt end of the handle supports left or right-side tip-up carry and complements all the other features of the knife to make its carry and operation completely ambidextrous.

Although not specifically intended as a “hard-use” folder, the Battlestation’s stout blade profile and robust construction make it an excellent choice for users who value strength in their knives.

The first production run of the Battlestation is complete, in stock and now shipping. If you’re one of the many Spyderco fans who have been eagerly awaiting this knife, act now.

SPYDERCO DELICA® PLASTIC KNIFE KIT

Why let adults have all the fun? The new Spyderco Delica knife kit is “glow in the dark” polymer and includes all the components needed to build a plastic model of a Delica folder. The parts come in a snap-out sheet and include a plastic non-sharpened blade, dual handle scales, a lock bar and the pins needed to build the knife and take it apart again and again. The Delica Knife Kit is a perfect way for adults to teach children 7 and up about the function and safe handling of a folding knife without the worry of a sharpened cutting edge. It assembles in minutes without tools or glue. It makes a wonderful gift or an ideal rainy day project for young knife knuts and those that are not so young as well.

TIP-UP vs. TIP-DOWN

When Spyderco added a pocket clip to its first folding knife back in 1981, we literally revolutionized folding knife design. A pocket clip allows a knife to be clipped to the top of a pocket in a consistent, secure, immediately accessible position while still allowing the pocket to be used for normal storage. But to really appreciate the advantages of pocket clips, it helps to understand them at a deeper level.

The first basic consideration when evaluating a pocket clip is its orientation on the handle. If the clip is attached to the butt end, the closed knife will carry “tip-up.” Clips attached to the pivot-pin end of the handle orient the closed knife “tip-down” in the pocket.

The choice of clip position on a knife is determined by a number of factors, including the shape of the handle, the type and position of the lock mechanism, the size of the knife, and the designer’s preferences. For example, knives with Ball Bearing Lock™ mechanisms must use tip-up carry to allow the user easy access to the lock release. Conversely, many of Spyderco’s back lock and Compression Lock™ knives feature four-position clips that support tip-up and tip-down carry on both the left and right sides.

Although both carry styles can support quick, positive access, tip-up carry allows you to draw the knife and immediately assume a grip that allows one-handed opening. This method maximizes the amount of surface contact of your hand on the handle, ensuring positive control and minimizing manipulation of the knife between the draw and the opening of the blade. By carrying the knife all the way to the rear of the pocket, the pressure of the pocket seam on the back of the blade also ensures that the knife cannot open in the pocket.

Fans of tip-down carry like the fact that blade faces downward in the closed position, allowing gravity to help in ensuring that it remains closed. However, this style of carry requires that you grip the knife with your thumb and index finger, draw the knife out of the pocket, and then reposition it in your hand before opening the blade with a standard thumb opening. Both of these methods put less of your hand in contact with the knife during the draw and opening process, but can be easily mastered with a bit of practice.

Clip carry will always be a dynamic combination of folding knife design, hand size, knife size, and personal preference. Ultimately, the best solution is the one that works best for your individual needs. Fortunately, as the pioneers in clip-carry knives, Spyderco is uniquely equipped to meet those needs.

BLADE SHOW 2014

The 2014 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia took place June 6-8 and was an enjoyable and successful three-days for everyone attending. Not only was it one of the largest gatherings of knife people to ever to take place, it was exceptionally lively and entertaining for our Spyderco Crew. We are honored to have won Blade Magazine’s Best Imported Knife of 2014 with our Spyderco/ Peter Carey collaboration, the Rubicon.

Alexander Hronek stopped by to share his Spyderco enthusiasm with his custom t-shirt and the Spyderco Crew worked and played hard talking knives with our friends, customers and industry colleagues.

SPYDERCO SOFTBALL TEAM

The 2014 Spyderco Softball Team is working hard and playing hard!