1st Folder Ever Arrived Today...Started with a Strider

watchknut

watchknut

Joined
Oct 16, 2013
Messages
259
The last knife I bought was a Case yellow handled pocketknife about 20 years ago. I was in a gun shop a couple of weeks ago picking up some grips screws and noticed come neat looking knives behind the counter. I have no idea what make they were, but I was shocked at the $400-$500 price tags! Needless to say, I had no idea that was an entire custom knife scene out there. After scouring the interwebs, I decided to bite the bullet and get a Strider SMF. Man is it one robust and well made blade! Anyway, like most things, I figure there will be a lot more blades in my future and I look forward to learning from everyone on the forum.







 
Welcome to Bladeforums,

There is a LOT of good read here on the forums about STRIDER.....:rolleyes:

Search and you will see..... enjoy!
 
Welcome to BF. Nice first higher end folder. I'm digging that tanto blade. Just remember, you can go broke quickly if you hang around; we are a bunch of enablers :)

PS: Several of us live in Alexandria.
 
Looks like someone learned to run before he could walk.

You'll never like a value folder again
 
watchknut said:
The last knife I bought was a Case yellow handled pocketknife about 20 years ago. I was in a gun shop a couple of weeks ago picking up some grips screws and noticed come neat looking knives behind the counter. I have no idea what make they were, but I was shocked at the $400-$500 price tags! Needless to say, I had no idea that was an entire custom knife scene out there. After scouring the interwebs, I decided to bite the bullet and get a Strider SMF. Man is it one robust and well made blade! Anyway, like most things, I figure there will be a lot more blades in my future and I look forward to learning from everyone on the forum.
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Dude, you ain't seen nothing yet!!! Let the learning begin. Technically speaking (if I am not mistaken) that is not a custom. That's going to be what's called a "mid-tech". Mid-techs are, from what I can gather (not owning one myself yet) production knives made is small batches by shops that adhere to extremely high standards of craftsmanship. They do vary in size but the big players in the mid-tech game are Strider, CRK with the Sebenza, and Hinderer. There are certainly others that I have neglected to mention.

Custom? That's a game played well north of $400 generally speaking. Up there, nothing is impossible. That stuff is just amazing.

Hearty and sincere congratulations on a FANTASTIC knife you have there!!! Welcome. Please say goodbye to your money for me as you are in for a quite ride...with your wallet taking the brunt of the buffeting!
 
I know this is not a custom knife, I was just saying that I had no idea that the high-end production/semi custom/custom folders were in the $1k+ range. I am used to the 1911 world, and luckily learned some lessons, better to buy right the first time than mess around with stuff you think you want! I am looking forward to learning much more and adding some more "affordable" blades to the stable over time.
 
watchknut said:
I know this is not a custom knife, I was just saying that I had no idea that the high-end production/semi custom/custom folders were in the $1k+ range. I am used to the 1911 world, and luckily learned some lessons, better to buy right the first time than mess around with stuff you think you want! I am looking forward to learning much more and adding some more "affordable" blades to the stable over time.
Click to expand...

From what I am able to tell, custom knives are more out of proportion to factory prices than guns. Most custom knives are made from scratch...from bare steel. Most custom guns are, as you well know, re-works of guns of various kinds. For a long time there, one of the most sought after 1911 customss was based on the Norinco...with new barrels and triggers and whatnot. There are a few knives like that...customized versions of production or mid-techs.

You might have done as well...but you couldn't have done better than a Strider for what you want. Good choice.
 
Search on Custom folders in Youtube and watch some of the videos. BTW, Strider and Hinderer also produce custom knives, with their personal attention to detail. There are also levels within the custom world. The highest being sole authorship knives, where the maker makes everything, even the damascus for the blades, himself. Regular custom makers frequently buy parts (like damascus) from other sources, but design, assemble, and grind the blades themselves. Big time custom makers may have assistants. Their order books are frequently a 2 year wait for a knife.

But if you want to look at nice customs, search on custom dealers, such as Arizona Custom Knives, Knifeology, Fort Henry Custom Knives, etc. You pay a higher price for their customs, but you are paying to not wait 1 or 2 years to get a knife. So a custom maker may charge $500 or so for a basic model knife (without special options), but that same knife will go for $1000 on a custom sealer's site. But you get it in 2 days, not 2 years.

watchknut said:
I know this is not a custom knife, I was just saying that I had no idea that the high-end production/semi custom/custom folders were in the $1k+ range. I am used to the 1911 world, and luckily learned some lessons, better to buy right the first time than mess around with stuff you think you want! I am looking forward to learning much more and adding some more "affordable" blades to the stable over time.
Click to expand...
 
Welcome aboard!! Boy you didn't even go wading in the kiddie pool first you just jumped in to the deep end;) May the force be with you.
 
I get the sense that this Strider is like my Ed Brown, a semi custom end product, completely made by hand of custom parts and premium materials. That is why I bought it, I didn't want to go down the road of tinkering with knives that might scratch the itch for the time being. I did that with guns and ended up wasting time and money! My goal was to get a knife that would keep me happy until I could learn more about the lay of the land...plus I am impatient and compulsive, and hate waiting on anything!
 
Dang...it's hard to recommend the great budget folders when you start with a Strider! Oh well, you would've gotten there sooner or later. :)
 
Welcome to the knife world and blade forums! Try to soak in all the info you can, get educated but don't become a knife snob. :)
 
Nice buy! I assure you you'll enjoy it :) One thing that helped me in the beginning was getting the spyderco and Benchmade catalogs (Lot of good facts in the back) as well as my Blade Magazine subscription. But most of all talking to other knife knuts.
 
also. ALWAYS read the stories of non-knife people that pop up on this forum from time to time. Could save you a lot of grief to learn from other people's mistakes.
 
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