A new William Henry to add to the collection (images) >>

patrickb

patrickb

Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Messages
339
I received a new WH Monarch (B5-CF) this morning. This is my 2nd WH, the first being the Kestrel (T09-CF). Materials and workmanship are top notch, just as expected. Fit and finish are just perfect. I wanted a knife a bit larger than the Kestrel and also wanted to try thier button lock. These are my EDC's and the featherweight carbon fiber handles and titanium hardware are a great match during the workweek with a suit on.

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Blade is ~2 5/8", compared to the Kestrel's 1 7/8" cutting edge. Most literature lists the Kestrel's blade as 2 1/8", but the cutting edge is a hair under 2".

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Another difference is the titanium pocket clip. The Kestrel's is anodized blue, while the Monarch incorporates a black clip, with a pattern much like the carbon fiber itself. I'm not sure how they achieve this look, but I prefer it to the attention grabbing blue anodized Kestrel.

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I just love these William Henry Knives. I can't get enough of 'em. The action on the Monarch was actually smoother out of the box than the Kestrel. It doesn't need any break in and feels as smooth as any other folder I own. For the money, these William Henry's are quite impressive. They do some great work out there in Santa Cruz. Something about carbon fiber and titanium that just gets me :)
 
Steven Andrews, I agree with you. I recently received a WH Kestrel and a Spyderco Delica with carbon fiber scales. The Spyderco looks and feels like it's made of glass; I'd much prefer the matte-finished CF of the WH line.

Patrick, I'm thinking of getting a WH Spearpoint as my larger "fancy" knife, though the liner-lock and blue clip are deterrents. Any input or opinion?
 
Arcanum,
I was a little disappointed with my CF Delica. The shiny CF looks tacky and is ragged around the screw holes.( The Phillips screws look cheap too)
If Spyderco did it like William Henry I'd be willing to pay a lot more than $90 for the result.
 
Originally posted by arcanum
Patrick, I'm thinking of getting a WH Spearpoint as my larger "fancy" knife, though the liner-lock and blue clip are deterrents. Any input or opinion?
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Hi Arcanum,
I handled the Spearpoint in CF recently. It's a beauty and I just may pick one up myself one day :) The only thing I'd like to add is that much like the Kestrel, the Spearpoint's actual cutting edge is probably shorter than the literature would have you believe. I don't think it's done to deceive, it's just that descriptions of the blade usually list it as 3 1/4". I'd guess (just guessing, remember) that the cutting edge measures more in the neighborhood of 3", while the spine of the blade comes in at 3 1/4" as described.

I could be way off here, but the blade is similarly shaped on the Kestrel & Spearpoint. As per my original post, descriptions of the Kestrel list its blade as 2 1/8", but the cutting edge actually measures a hair under 2". I figure the same may be true for the Spearpoint. This wouldn't bother me a bit, but I bring this up only if you prefer larger blades.

Just out of curiousity, why does the liner lock deter you? I kind of agree about the blue clip, it's not really my cup of tea. However, I noticed that the clips are the same size on my Monarch and Kestrel. I sent an email off to William Henry to inquire about obtaining an additional black clip so I could replace the blue one. I haven't heard back yet, but you may be able to do the same if the Spearpoint's clip really bothers you.
 
You have some sweet looking blades there.:cool: William Henry is on my wish list, I'm just not sure which one to get first.:confused:

Paul
 
Patrick,
The liner-lock only deters me because I know that the button-lock is available and I'd rather have that. I realized after I'd posted that it is HIGHLY unlikely that I'd be doing any type of cutting with a WH folder where lock integrity would play a factor! Good idea about the replacement clip; I'll look into it as well if I decide on another WH.

Steven,
I just spent 30 minutes introducing my disassembled CF Delica to some 220-grit sandpaper -- and I now have some beautiful matte-finished, radiused, chipless scales. (Not quite William Henry quality, but way better than the original glassy slabs. Now I almost prefer them to the WH scales.) Man, what a mess that CF makes, though! (I wore a mask and sanded inside a shopping bag, in order not to mess up either my lungs or the room.) I'd never disassembled a lock-back before, and I must say that it was quite a shock to see the locking bar wing across the room upon removal of its pivot-pin (and a simultaneous sense of horror as to whether I'd still see ten fingers when I looked down).

Good thread all around for me -- thanks for your input.
 
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Both the knives and the pics are excellent! The T09-CF model is one of the top rankings on my wish-list.
 
Good luck with it. Great pics. A few months ago I picked up a T12/BT and it makes a great EDC. I'm very impressed with the consistent high quality of WH.:cool:
 
Damn you're making me wanting to spend money that I don't have for one!
 
Thanks for the note horus. I longed for the T09-CF once I handled it in person. Then I perused the websites for a week or so before I finally bit the bullet and just ordered it! That was just a month ago now and now I've got another CF William Henry!

calyth - go ahead, drop a few hundred bucks, it's only money :rolleyes:

arcanum - Nice DIY job on the spyderco. Would love to see some before & after shots if you got 'em. I recently picked up a BM-770 in CF. Benchmade does a great job with carbon fiber as well. This is becoming a problem...I'm addicted to carbon fiber.

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man, patrick

you do take some beautiful snaps!

i just got a kestrel today, inspired in part by your pictures...

...errr, so you give me $50 and i'll call us straight, ok? :D

-Dave
 
Originally posted by ExMachina
man, patrick
you do take some beautiful snaps!
i just got a kestrel today, inspired in part by your pictures...
...errr, so you give me $50 and i'll call us straight, ok? :D
-Dave
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Funny Stuff Dave. The Kestrel is a beauty isn't it? I really like the blade shape. Out of the box it was hair popping sharp (just like teh Monarch) and while it sees only menial tasks during the day, it eats envelopes for breakfast :) I chose the Kestrel because of that unique blade shape. I thought it had more personality than the Lancet. It kinda looks like a mini version of the Spearpoint.

Keep an eye out for that $50 I owe you. Check's in the mail ;)

-pb
 
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