Does anyone have experience with BLACKHAWK! knives?

[Plasmio]

I own a knife by BLACKHAWK!; the Tatang, which happens to be my favorite knife. I'm thinking about purchasing a Nightedge from the same company: http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Nig...dge,232,35.htm it's a good steel and a nice looking knife IMO.

[B0$$Man]

The tatang is a supurb knife, but the nightedge is another story. It comes VERY dull and with a piece of crap sheath. Overall, it is not worth $100. If you are looking for a good knife, here a re a few brands: Ka-Bar, Kershaw, Buck, Gerber, ColdSteel, and only a few by Blackhawk. Hope this helps.

[j_killa]

Hey B0$$Man, I think that you should not write that the knife comes dull in general without contacting the customer support.

Just use google and google for the nightedge. You gonna find a review in which someone got a dull one.
He contacted customer support, returned the dull one and received a shaving sharp new knife.
They apologized for having a bad batch of knives. This knife is not GENERALLY DULL.

I think it is an excellent design.
It has a super strong point AND a back edge with serrations. Thats just awesome.

What I dislike are the serrations on the main edge. I already contacted their customer service because of that but they won't offer it without them.

The sheath could be better but it is good enough.

It is on my wish-list but I am too lazy to get rid of the main edge serrations.....

[erhodes]

I actually own a blackhawk nightedge and the original nightwing. Both are great knives and came sharp enough to shave hair out of the box. I have found that the nightedge can take a lot of abuse especially the tip with any noticeable damage. I have stabbed it through plywood, coconuts, and even thin sheet metal and it has suffered no deformations or even really dulled through the process. Overall I would rate it an excellent knife for the money and one of my personal favorites. That said I do not like the sheath it comes with but since I like the knife so much I had a custom one done by mashed cat and it is now near perfect.

[j_killa]

thank you for sharing your experiences, erhodes.
this helped me decide

[j_killa]

I just recieved my nightedge.

First impression:

Wow, that thing is small! I thought, it would be a bit bigger.
Smaller than my ESEE-6 and Leatherneck-SF.

The box said "ballistic nylon sheath included" but what I got looks more like those Cold Steel Secure-Ex things.

The sheath is good. Many possibilities for paracord / molle plate / tek-lok.
There is a small rattle - the knife does not fit perfectly. But it is secured in the sheath without retention strap.
There is just a little plastic "lever" which blocks the knife from coming out, the system is very nice.

The blade grind is perfect!!! So everyone who gets this thing with a bad grind, contact Blackhawks CS and send it back!!!
What I dislike is the sharpness of the serrations. I need to touch them up now.

The grip is comfortable. But from what I read so far, I expected the material to be softer.
There could be some more texturation. Maybe it will get slippery when wet.

The blade was very greasy - thats cool, otherwise it would have rust on it's way to my place.
I read people complaining about that ... lolz.
It also had some dust on it, long journey )

What I did not like and what I will definitely tell the seller:
The knife itself was to be secured in the box with a little zip tie.
This zip-tie was broken, so the point of the knife pierced through the carton.

I noticed that kinda late - luckily no one got cut.

Overall I am very pleased with this knife, it seems like a quality tool.
Not just a fighting knife - the unique grind leaves it a very strong point and possibilities to baton..

I can't wait to take this guy in the woods and test it. Unfortunately I have no camera ATM, maybe I can lend one.

[j_killa]

sry 4 double post

[j_killa]

little correction - grind is not even - hard time sharpening with the sharpmaker...

[erhodes]

Glad you are enjoying it. If the grind isn't even maybe contact blackhawk and see if they would fix it for you. I have heard that their customer service is great. Never had to use it myself. The grind on mine seemed to be even but it is kindof hard to tell since I use a lansky diamond hone set which evens things out very quickly if there is an issue.

[j_killa]

I contacted the seller before shipping it he should check whether the grind is OK.
Shipping cost is too high for me to ship it back to Blackhawk.

I just sharpened it a bit - serrations are OK now. Plain edge needs still some metal removed on one side,
but thats just 15 minutes more work. Maybe tomorrow

I already did some tests - grip is very good when stabbing.
Tip strength is awesome so far.
The jimping is too smooth, could be bit sharper.

If I find the time, I gonna add some thoughts after using it in the woods.

[erhodes]

I do agree that the jimping could be a little sharper but that isn't too hard to fix. May not look as good after but if you are going to use it then it doesn't really matter. I have found no issues at all with the tip strength and it has amazingly not dulled on the tip through all the stabbing that I have put it through. Overall I think it is a very good design.