Any advantage of Endura 4 over the Endura Wave?

mongomondo

mongomondo

SUPPRESSING FIRE
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
Messages
3,290
I want to add an Endura to my collection and am deciding between the wave and non wave. Is there ANY advantage of the non wave Endura over the wave besides being cheaper? Are they basically the same or is there some hidden advantage like a noticeable weight difference or thicker liners?
 
the blade is much taller. the wave opener aids in very fast deployment from a pants pocket. it comes in a rather dulled out drak blue-gray. and it can open bottle caps..
 
Endura 4 has flat grind which will make the edge thinner (sharper). Among these 2, this is the better cutter / slicer.

Endura 4 Wave has saber grind, and this makes the edge a little thicker compared to the flat grind one. However, being thicker also has advantages; stronger blade for example.
 
I was under the impression that all but the G10 Enduras were saber grind. I have the wave currently, wish I had a plain one as well. Reason is that sometimes I don't want to use the wave and it requires me to be a little more careful pulling out the knife. Otherwise good to go.
 
You might want to grab the blade along with the handle when pulling it out of your pocket if you don't want to wave it.

Are there any regular Enduras that have saber grind ?
 
The wave is illegal in some places. If you ever go to any of these places you'll want a legal version to carry. So my advise is to get both.

- Chris
 
The cutting ability for both should be similar, as both are saber flat ground unless you get the G-10 version which is full flat ground. The serrations on the Endura Wave are the smoothest cutting serrations I have ever used, and are easily sharpened on the Sharpmaker if you are thinking about serrations. The Wave opens the knife extremely fast, especially if you carry the knife in the front of your right pocket with the clip on left handed. The knife reliably opens every time that way, and doesn't tear up my pants nearly as bad as a standard wave opening at the rear of the pocket would. I plan on sending my Endura Wave in to Tom Krein for a full flat grind once he gets back from Blade show.

Mike
 
smoothest cutting serrations you will find :thumbup:


and bottle opener;) what else do you need?

E4Wteeth2.jpg
 
Although I EDC my wave endura and definitely love it, I too must admit that it looks butt-ugly. Seriously guys. Still EDC and still love it though.
 
I don't think the wave is illegal anywhere but it does have the issue of opening up the knife when you remove the knife from your pocket whether you want it to or not. I had a Waved Commander and did not like it trying to neuter me.

If you can get the full height flat grind I would gt it. They are better cutters and really unless you plan to use your knife like an entry tool or for prying you want an EDC that cuts well. I would like to try the fully serrated edge on the full height flat grind but so far I have only had the hollow ground saber version on my serrated Police.

The best serrated edge i have had is on my old fully serrated Worker with a Gin1 steel blade. not sure why it is so damn sharp.


I really like the VG10/FRN Endura but some people dislike the feel of FRN. It is a great hard durable plastic but it feels "cheap" compared to G10 or stainless.

I prefer fully serrated or plain edge to partially serrated.
 
personally, I prefer the Wave over the regular endura for the bottle opener ;) - comes in handy more often than I'd thought.

I'm curious if they'll ever do a FFG ZDP Wave Endura?

One can dream, right?
 
I can't give an example off the top of my head, but I recall language in some state laws that prohibit devices that allow a folding knife to be drawn in the open position (I'm unclear on the exact language — maybe someone can help me out). Cops in states that have iffy laws regarding switchblades may give you more trouble than you want (obviously it's only a problem if you open it using the wave around a cop). If I'm wrong about this, I'd appreciate someone correcting me.

- Chris
 
From the California law:

"For the purposes of this section, "switchblade knife" means a
knife having the appearance of a pocketknife and includes a
spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other
similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more
inches in length and which can be released automatically by a flick
of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other
mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by
any type of mechanism whatsoever."

This section may make waves illegal, although the endura wave may be allowed by this later passage:

"'Switchblade knife' does not
include a knife that opens with one hand utilizing thumb pressure
applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to
the blade, provided that the knife has a detent or other mechanism
that provides resistance that must be overcome in opening the blade,
or that biases the blade back toward its closed position."

I hate trying to decode these laws.

- Chris
 
Interestingly, I looked at my regular E4 blade's serrations, and there are 8 separate sets of those serrations, whereas in the photo of the E4 Wave's serrations, there are 7 sets. I wonder if that extra space helps them cut a bit better than mine? I noticed that my old E3's SE edge cuts a bit smoother than my E4's. It seems if there's a little more space between each set, and a little bit fewer teeth overall, it helps cut more smoothly.
Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top