Recently, I found two surprisingly interesting and rare vintage Spyderco knives at a gun show. I am excited about these knives and the history they represent so I’ll be posting shorter than normal articles on both of them, starting with this unique edition of the classic Spyderco Police.
Normally I don’t have much luck at gun shows, flea markets, and the likes. It seems that with eBay a click away, if someone an inkling of what a knife is they can look it up and find the highest price a niche collector was willing to pay for something at least similar… then price it right at that top dollar. At the same time that eBay can be a great market research tool for the collector, it can also mislead the non-collector.
In this instance, I was told that a detective was moving to California and couldn’t take his guns, knives, and ammunition with him. In a way that is sad, but it was an estate sale and the owner himself wasn’t actually there to tell me about his knives.
I noticed this knife first, because I have always been a fan of the stainless handled Spyderco Police. In fact, my uncle carrying one of these when I was young is one of the factors that got me interested in knives in the first place. It’s just such a classic design; the long slender blade, the sleek stainless steel handle, and the meant for business shape.
However, when I picked it up I knew right away it was something special. I’d heard of the “PIG” model only once or twice in my many wanderings of the Spyderco forums and Spyderco section on BladeForums, but it caught my eye right away. The blade has a factory, not aftermarket, engraving that reads:
Pride
Integrity
Guts
Being that the engraving is found on the Police model, it’s an easy connection to realize that this is an acronym for “PIG”. Apparently, this derogatory moniker for law enforcement officials has been turned on its head and made positive through this acronym. Being that Spyderco makes many models intended for first responder use and gives law enforcement and other first responders a significant discount, it’s no surprise that Sal (the founder and owner of Spyderco) decided to make a knife showing their support for police officers.
This interesting edition of the Police provides a great example of Spyderco’s willingness to make unique and quirky knives. It’s one of the characteristics of Spyderco that I most enjoy, and a large part of why I picked up this knife.
Another reason this knife is interesting and worth owning is because it is both old and rare. According to the Spyderco Wiki, this knife was produced between 1984 and 1986, and was one of the very first Police models released if not the very first. Also, it was made in relatively low numbers compared to today’s Spyderco run totals at 2400 made (with 80% being right handed, as mine is). All of this makes for an exceptionally old and rare knife.
Finally, it has aged well for being an almost 40 year old knife. It has what seems to be the factory edge, except for a blunted tip. The handle has scuffs as all stainless handles Spydercos do, but it doesn’t have any major gouges. The lockup is extremely solid, and opening and closing with one hand is easy and smooth. It’s just a great example of the fact that Spyderco has been making really good knives for a long time.
Overall, I’m very happy to have found this piece of knife history in the Spydeco Police PIG edition. It’s an old, well made, and fun knife that’s made for use by people who rely on their knives for their lives. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to check out the Spyderco Police PIG knife!
These old and rare knives are such an amazing pieces of the knives. Everything in this knives looks cool.
I agree! Thanks for reading!