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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Anyone ever owned or handled a rockstead folder?
- Thread starter ChrisJS1
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Handled one at a show. Without out a doubt better fit and finish than ANY production folder I've ever seen.....and probably better than most custom/handmade folders as well.
If I were rich I'd buy one right away.....(and if they made lefthanded versions...but then If I were rich I could probably just ask them to make a lefty for a ridicilous amount of money)
If I were rich I'd buy one right away.....(and if they made lefthanded versions...but then If I were rich I could probably just ask them to make a lefty for a ridicilous amount of money)
LX_Emergency is right.. they are extremely well built knives! The fit & finish truly is %100, and the overall quality is second to none that I've ever seen. Yeah, they're expensive, but they're probably the best knife money can buy! Everything about them is perfect and they're sooooo sharp. Rocksteads have edge retention you wouldnt even believe.
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Nemo did a review .. Google it
TheGrownUpKid
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Old thread I know but I just got some Rocksteads over the past couple months, and started searching for threads on them tonight.
I bought a Higo in ZDP. It arrived on a Thursday. That night I had to pull an all-nighter, but I work from home and i was so enamored with the knife that it sorta "got me through", if you know what i mean. I liked it so much, that at 9 AM I called up Knifecenter to buy another one. I realize they're $900 knives. But I feel better about carrying them then I do about my Striders, Reeves Etcs., because when you have it on you, you know you're carrying THE BEST. "Fit and finish" doesn't even come close to describing the way to look at how these knives are built. Most of us talk about tolerances. We talk about lock-up, blade play, etc. Many many knives from many many companies, arrive with fine lockups and edges. I've had $2500 Vallotons, Crusader Forges, Aaron reddericks, Hinderers...none of them come close. They are great knives. Amazing even. Rocksteads best all of them. Rocksteads are at a level of "tolerance" in which, the "tolerance" is exactness. They are for all intents and purposes, exactly machined to fit, in every dimension, on every part. Accurate easily to a 10,000th of an inch. They redefine smooth. They feel like melted butter on glass. The lock up feels like a fixed blade. The feel of the handle finish is, no joke, like a woman's skin. I'm not being lude here...its just true. The feel of the weight of the duraluminum is other-worldly. And the blade? Seriously guys, they are what you picture in your mind, as the perfect edge. I have never in my life used another blade that cuts this well. And with occassional stropping on denim with Flitz, they do not require sharpening for 3 YEARS. I've also sent them back to him for some work. He had them back to me inside 10 days.
Anyone see Four Rooms? "Sharp as the devil himself, is what I asked for." - Leo. That's how sharp they are.
I bought a Higo in ZDP. It arrived on a Thursday. That night I had to pull an all-nighter, but I work from home and i was so enamored with the knife that it sorta "got me through", if you know what i mean. I liked it so much, that at 9 AM I called up Knifecenter to buy another one. I realize they're $900 knives. But I feel better about carrying them then I do about my Striders, Reeves Etcs., because when you have it on you, you know you're carrying THE BEST. "Fit and finish" doesn't even come close to describing the way to look at how these knives are built. Most of us talk about tolerances. We talk about lock-up, blade play, etc. Many many knives from many many companies, arrive with fine lockups and edges. I've had $2500 Vallotons, Crusader Forges, Aaron reddericks, Hinderers...none of them come close. They are great knives. Amazing even. Rocksteads best all of them. Rocksteads are at a level of "tolerance" in which, the "tolerance" is exactness. They are for all intents and purposes, exactly machined to fit, in every dimension, on every part. Accurate easily to a 10,000th of an inch. They redefine smooth. They feel like melted butter on glass. The lock up feels like a fixed blade. The feel of the handle finish is, no joke, like a woman's skin. I'm not being lude here...its just true. The feel of the weight of the duraluminum is other-worldly. And the blade? Seriously guys, they are what you picture in your mind, as the perfect edge. I have never in my life used another blade that cuts this well. And with occassional stropping on denim with Flitz, they do not require sharpening for 3 YEARS. I've also sent them back to him for some work. He had them back to me inside 10 days.
Anyone see Four Rooms? "Sharp as the devil himself, is what I asked for." - Leo. That's how sharp they are.
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Ernie1980
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I have the money set aside to order a hizen, but I keep going back and forth in regards to the blade steel. I also keep admiring the stingray inserts, but I keep going to back to the hizen or Higo. One day I will just stop thinking and just order it!
Locutus D'Borg
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If they are that good, why don't all other custom, midtech knife-makers and production companies just go out of business?
Because we like variety
My first Rockstead was a Chi, I got it at a good deal and thus was able to experience it at a good price. I ended up selling it. I then bought a Higo (with Hitachi's YXR7 steel, DLC coated) and then a TEI. So I'm a fan and agree with TheGrownUpKid. The Higo is my most used and carried knife in my EDC rotation, my favorite to carry. I reach for it more than any other. I've also had and have many other high end knives as mentioned. I've gone through some 20 knives this year trying to find the right 4-6 that are keepers. My average knife cost/purchase is in the $700-$800 range.
I'm a light user and don't sharpen my own knives. One concern I had was edge retention and ability to get a working edge back. I believe a good working edge is important for most use for me. So over the months my Higo edge has become used, while still sharp, clearly it wasn't the hair shaving sharp as it was when new.
I just came from the Vegas show, I was there Friday and of course visited the Rockstead booth to say hi and see if they had anything interesting. I showed Mr. Hanada my Higo and proceeded to check out the ironwood Higo on display. He pulled out his denim strop board while I fondled the Ironwood Higo and with a few strokes back and forth over the denim, sharpened my knife back to hair shaving sharp. He proved it with a push cut through magazine paper and gave me a gift of a small vial of the white paste they use on the board.
That's what I need in a knife for me and this further convinced me that I had made a good purchase. Seeing him strop it to sharpness in front of my eyes and give me a useable working edge, is what I think most knife owners want and need. Now I understand there are knife user experts who can demonstrate and create the same or better results etc. But this is something that I can do on my own with minimal knowledge and effort. That works for me.
One note about my knife and the reason I was showing Mr Ishida my Higo. My cousin used it to cut a plum a few weeks ago on a camping trip. I've used it to cut apples etc but never a plum. I was pretty certain my cousin wiped the blade down after use when he handed it back to me. However the acidity or whatever left some "stains" on the steel. The mirror polish was fine but now somewhat marked by brown stains. Oh well. Anyway Mr Ishida said "because this is a carbon steel" and you must wipe it down. He said it was unlikely the stains could be removed. Of course I don't love what happened but it is what it is...
I'm in the market for a Ironwood Higo in ZDP now. I missed this one - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1098760-Gone-Rockstead-Higo-X?highlight=rockstead
On a somewhat related note, I've worked in manufacturing engineering for over 20 years and run machine shops. tool shops etc. so I have great appreciation for design and engineering execution. The owner of our company likes to buy American (Corvette and Cadillac) and our machine shop has 7 American made CNC machine tools. Our most productive and accurate machining center is a Japanese Mazak FH-6000 and costs about $500,000. We also measure our parts with a Japanese Mitutoyo Christa CMM (coordinate measuring machine) which can measure to microns.
regards
I'm a light user and don't sharpen my own knives. One concern I had was edge retention and ability to get a working edge back. I believe a good working edge is important for most use for me. So over the months my Higo edge has become used, while still sharp, clearly it wasn't the hair shaving sharp as it was when new.
I just came from the Vegas show, I was there Friday and of course visited the Rockstead booth to say hi and see if they had anything interesting. I showed Mr. Hanada my Higo and proceeded to check out the ironwood Higo on display. He pulled out his denim strop board while I fondled the Ironwood Higo and with a few strokes back and forth over the denim, sharpened my knife back to hair shaving sharp. He proved it with a push cut through magazine paper and gave me a gift of a small vial of the white paste they use on the board.
That's what I need in a knife for me and this further convinced me that I had made a good purchase. Seeing him strop it to sharpness in front of my eyes and give me a useable working edge, is what I think most knife owners want and need. Now I understand there are knife user experts who can demonstrate and create the same or better results etc. But this is something that I can do on my own with minimal knowledge and effort. That works for me.
One note about my knife and the reason I was showing Mr Ishida my Higo. My cousin used it to cut a plum a few weeks ago on a camping trip. I've used it to cut apples etc but never a plum. I was pretty certain my cousin wiped the blade down after use when he handed it back to me. However the acidity or whatever left some "stains" on the steel. The mirror polish was fine but now somewhat marked by brown stains. Oh well. Anyway Mr Ishida said "because this is a carbon steel" and you must wipe it down. He said it was unlikely the stains could be removed. Of course I don't love what happened but it is what it is...
I'm in the market for a Ironwood Higo in ZDP now. I missed this one - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1098760-Gone-Rockstead-Higo-X?highlight=rockstead
On a somewhat related note, I've worked in manufacturing engineering for over 20 years and run machine shops. tool shops etc. so I have great appreciation for design and engineering execution. The owner of our company likes to buy American (Corvette and Cadillac) and our machine shop has 7 American made CNC machine tools. Our most productive and accurate machining center is a Japanese Mazak FH-6000 and costs about $500,000. We also measure our parts with a Japanese Mitutoyo Christa CMM (coordinate measuring machine) which can measure to microns.
regards
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TheGrownUpKid
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To understand why a company like this exists, and why it hasn't put other companies out of business, one must just look at basic economics. Supply and demand. To make knives like these, he has himself and like 2 other people working by hand, controling CNC lathes, water jet cutters, etc. in tiny batches. And then ALL of the final assembly, finish work and blade polishing/sharpening is done competely by hand. You can't make 1000s of knives in that manner, and expect to retain the astounding tolerances and quality control that comes out of his tiny shop. To put "all the other knife companies out of business", he would have to be making these knives, at this quality, by the 10s of thousands per year. I have 3 Rocksteads now. The two aforementioned Higos are numbers 111 and 112, and my recently acquired Shin (used), is number TWELVE. As it stands he probably puts out maybe 1000 knives in a year, total for all models, for the entire world's market. Its been stated that less than 30 of each model make it to the US. Consider that for a moment....THAT's why they are $900 to $2000 new, for a "factory custom".
Now, those prices are nowhere near what you can pay for a knife, but understand that other than with certain custom makers who either forge their own steels by hand and/or have a huge wait list because of the demand, or are just not sold directly to the public (which slowly drives up the secondary market's prices, ala Hinderer), generally knives priced higher than that are cosmetically more amazing. They have engravings, bone inlays, wire inlays, jeweling all over, sometimes even actual jewels etc, ...they are ornate...those knives are more expensive in the value of the materials, and the time taken to produce that kind of work, but those materials only lend AESTHETIC value to a knife. They do not generally add to function. In contrast, Rocksteads are understated, and even the more ornate ones are subdued in nature. Most of the quality you get in a Rockstead is the: 1) quality of the steel (lets face it. the Japanese have been making the finest blade steels, forever), and 2) the feel of knife in hand (better than any knife I've ever held), and 3) while maintaining subtly tasteful and tactical features that translate into these knives being amazing users, something you wont really want to do with a $5000 damascus custom.
Hope that helps.b
Now, those prices are nowhere near what you can pay for a knife, but understand that other than with certain custom makers who either forge their own steels by hand and/or have a huge wait list because of the demand, or are just not sold directly to the public (which slowly drives up the secondary market's prices, ala Hinderer), generally knives priced higher than that are cosmetically more amazing. They have engravings, bone inlays, wire inlays, jeweling all over, sometimes even actual jewels etc, ...they are ornate...those knives are more expensive in the value of the materials, and the time taken to produce that kind of work, but those materials only lend AESTHETIC value to a knife. They do not generally add to function. In contrast, Rocksteads are understated, and even the more ornate ones are subdued in nature. Most of the quality you get in a Rockstead is the: 1) quality of the steel (lets face it. the Japanese have been making the finest blade steels, forever), and 2) the feel of knife in hand (better than any knife I've ever held), and 3) while maintaining subtly tasteful and tactical features that translate into these knives being amazing users, something you wont really want to do with a $5000 damascus custom.
Hope that helps.b
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TheGrownUpKid
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@HwangJino: Rock on!
Rockstead has some great marketing, that is for sure. Their literature makes convex, polished edges seem like a long lost Japanese secret, when it is common place. I guess it is a great knife for those who cannot sharpen a knife.
Not aluminum handles, but Duraluminum! Ooooh.
In my opinion, Rockstead is a prime example of Veblen goods.
Concerning worth though, if it makes you happy, go for it.
Not aluminum handles, but Duraluminum! Ooooh.
In my opinion, Rockstead is a prime example of Veblen goods.
Concerning worth though, if it makes you happy, go for it.
Ah Mr VeblenCertainly there is some truth in this. But aren't all luxury goods subject to the Veblen theory?
I think I read that once about a Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Oh, I know I am guilty of it.
"G10 and a standard steel? That seems boring... Oh wait! It is $500? Now I am interested." :foot:
TheGrownUpKid
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@HwangJino: Nice work. Exactly like my two Higos. I love Chris Reeve knives, for the "2 slabs, 2 washers, and a stand off" design. The Higo is like the Samurai version of that design. LOVE IT. Using one, keeping the other new.