For many years I didn't buy Spyderco knives because I didn't care for the cosmetics of their classic "hump". But now I've bought several and really really like them. That hump I disliked is very functional. I am especially enamored with their newer lower-end line: Byrd. Those knives give you quite a bit of bang for your buck. The Robin and Meadowlark are my favorites, and my EDC now.

Sorry to hear your blade broke. That's quite disconcerting. Spydercos customer service sounds fantastic, but it's still a little worrisome that you had such a catastrophic failure in the first place. A small percentage of even well-made products will surely fail, it just hurts when you're the one to get that one-in-a-million dud. I guess that's why many of us carry backup knives!