The late Bob Lum was an incredibly skilled knifemaker with a remarkable talent for translating traditional Asian tools and weapons into modern form. One of his rarest custom designs, the Darn Dao, was inspired by the legendary “single knife” broadsword of the classical Chinese martial arts. After literally years in the making, Spyderco is extremely proud to translate that breathtaking design into a factory-made form.

The Spyderco Darn Dao faithfully translates every detail of Bob Lum’s meticulously crafted custom design into an equally dynamic production knife. Its satin-finished blade is full-flat ground from thick CPM^® 154 stainless steel—a state-of-the-art powder metallurgy stainless steel that offers increased toughness over the conventional ingot version of this alloy. The blade’s unmistakable profile pays homage to the iconic weapon that inspired it, while adding a long, unsharpened swedge to ensure an acute point. For maximum strength and a deft balance, the gracefully curved blade has a tapered full tang that is flanked by contoured black G-10 scales. Like its historical inspiration, the Darn Dao’s handle flares at the pommel to ensure a positive grip during high-speed manipulation. It also features a generously sized lined hole for the easy attachment of a lanyard and a modern integral double guard.

The Darn Dao comes complete with a high-quality zippered storage pouch and a handsome leather sheath with an integral loop for belt carry. The sheath’s open-backed construction and thumb-break-style snap ensure positive retention, while still allowing a swift draw.

This amazing knife is also unique in that it is Spyderco’s second “Flash Batch” product. Like our Sprint Runs, which are unique, limited-edition production runs of either current models or classic, discontinued designs, a Flash Batch is a truly distinctive, one-time-only event. A Flash Batch, however, showcases a brand new design that has not been previously produced and will never be duplicated in the exact same form again. To make them even more unique and collectible, Flash Batches are individually serialized with a laser-engraved number on every blade.