Buck/Strider SBT

Originally posted by ReconTech
I contacted Strider directly today, and was told the price for law enforcement was $135 for the Tarani (sp?).

I was under the impression (a post I read) that law enforcement and military got a discount...and the TAD gear price is the same as the Strider LEO price?

Thats ok though, I don't expect a discount, just thought there was one. Still a great knife that i'll have to get. I wonder if I have to contact Buck directly?
Click to expand...


That is a discount. The list is 150.00 and Strider takes off 15.00 for LEOs/ Mil. If TAD wants to discount it to evryone thats their call.

For a short time we were selling at an ever greater discount to LEOs to get knives into the hands of operators. That time has passed and now the knife is sold through our dealers.

Hope that helps,

Josh
 
I wrote up a review on my newly arrived SBT (thanks, tadgear). It's long, sorry. :(

http://www.geocities.com/midgettofu/SBT.html


chances are highly likely, that the site won't show up for all of you. Sorry about that, it's geocities's limited hosting and all that bull. For those of you who can see it, feel free to copy the review and pics to your own domain, so everyone can see it if they want to.

I warn you now, however. My review is grim. :( Just my opinions...
 
its a shame that the sbt has thin liners. i think most people expect a buck strider product to have thick liners.
 
I just got mine in the mail today. I'm actually handling it right now as I type this. Honestly, its not what I expected. I've been carrying around my Benchmade AFCK as my EDC for a while and after playing with the SBT, I'm a bit disappointed in the SBT. I'll carry it for a couple of days to see if it grows on me.

I love the design. I've always wanted a Strider but couldn't afford the price. I figured this would be a great way to handle one for a bit before I actually take the plunge and buy one. The blade shape is nice and the handle feels real good in the hands. I also like the thumb studs, blade texture, AND blade thumb hole for easier opening. The thumb grooves are nice as well.

What I don't like: The knife came real tight. I had to loosen it a bit, but re-tightened it after I played with it a bit. I would rather have it loosen up on its own. I don't why they used Zytel for the handle. Zytel is something I'd expect from a $50-75 knife, not a $150 STRIDER. The liner is thin compared to my other ~$150 knives from Emerson and Benchmade.

Overall, I was expecting a bit more from the knife. Do I like it? Yes, but I wish it was cheaper. Either lower the price or use g10 for the handles and thicken the liner.

BTW, is it just me or does this knife feel like it would accidentally open in your pocket?
 
although not an expert by any means, I've had mine in hard use for a week now. I jacked with the tension on the blade pivot a little, but it don't move once you adjust it. No it won't open in your pocket if you adjust it and the carry method you use correctly. I think the compliants about the liners are unjustified; we're just so used to things being overbuilt and very rarely push kinves to their breaking point (under normal conditions for which it was designed); just use it and see. If you want overbuilt, spend $400-500 on an Ar, Sng or GB an be done with it. I don't think Buck or Strider would risk the quality of their brand name's on saving money on inferior components. I buy knives to use, not to put in a safe & tell everyone I have one. That's why spending $135.00 on a knife that fits you hand (I've got large mitts) and does what you need is worth it to me. (it replaced an 880sp as one of my edc's) The thing that spooked me a few days after I had it was how damm sharp it was! anyway, if you want to sell it in a few weeks, shoot me an email as I was going to get another one anyway. I've got twin boys, so I've got to have two of most stuff to pass on. but try to break it first. then sell it to me cheap!!
 
The mini buck striders and full size buck striders are cheaper than the sbt but offer more ie. thicker liners and g10. This is why we feel cheated when we have to pay more and get less.
 
I agree with nonbox. We can have G-10 and much thicker liner from same Great Knife Company with less money. Why pay more for lesser quality knife especially with tiny liner.
 
Originally posted by nonbox
The mini buck striders and full size buck striders are cheaper than the sbt but offer more ie. thicker liners and g10. This is why we feel cheated when we have to pay more and get less.
Click to expand...

I don't feel cheated - just a bit dissappointed. If I felt dissappointed, I'd return it. I'm still keeping it.

I'm just weary about getting a real Strider knife now. I feel like I'm paying more for the name than anything. From the forums, Strider seems associated with expensive, overbuilt, hardcore knives. With my SB4-T, it just seems expensive. If Buck can make a knife with G10 scales and thick titanium liners for the same price, they should make the SB4-T with the same materials.

Now, if I paid $400 for my SB4-T, I'd feel cheated, exploited, and like someone's jail b!tch. :D
 
Thanks for the feedback guys,

Here is the deal,

The 880/ 881's have been on the market for a few years, so by now they are heavily discounted and sell close to what their wholesale is. Remember the MSRP on the 880/ 881 are close to 200.00. The MSRP on the SBT is 150.00 for now. As it starts to flow to our dealers they will set the prices they want.

As far as the G-10 question,

I love G-10 on my knives and it serves its purpose. This knife was built to some specific LE requirements for design, materials and cost. G-10 was not called out in the specs because of its tendency to chew up thinner uniform/ plain clothes fabrics. The texture on our TACCOM handles (not Zytel) have a strong glass content and thickness for strength and rigidity as well as an aggressive texture that allow operation with wet/ bloody hands or gloves on. Since it is still a polymer it will not eat clothing like G-10 of similar texture.

Our local SWAT guys were the test bed for this knife and they have put it through some hard use. It has performed to their rigorous demands extremely well. Thats what this knife was built for, the operators and first responders.

The Liner,

The liner is .040 heat treated Stainless steel. The lock fails at about 240 lbs and the stops (where most of the stress hits) fail between 800-900lbs. While not as strong as the 880 it is still very strong and capable of the rigorous demands that it was designed for as a Police Utility Knife.


Please let me know if you have any more questions,

Josh
 
I was going to ask about the high price versus the 880 line, but that's already been answered. The .04" steel liners are probably stronger than the .05" titanium liners used on "the #1 hard use knives", but I sure would have liked to see something thicker, like an AlMar Sere2k. I guess I'm just underwhelmed by the whole knife, especially for the $135 going price. Plastic handles, thin liners, no plain edge option, and riveted construction. It'd make a great ~$60 knife. If this was my only option for getting a SnG style knife, I'd probably get one eventually, but since I can get a real SnG, I'll hold out for a Strider.
 
When will the 882 be shipped to other dealers?
As far as knife prices go, the new 882-SBT is in line
with the other new knives that are being released.
I think they ALL are over priced! I would never buy
a $200 knife much less a $400 one when there's plenty
that will do the job for 1/2 the price?
But that can be said about cars and guns!!!

I don't see why G10 handle material is so much more
expensive than Zytel,,it's just electronic circuit
board figerglass,,,,,

I like the 'looks' of the Buck/Strider 882, I'll buy
one soon? (when my supplier get them)
mm
 
I like the overall appearance of the SBT, but it does seem overpriced to me. Before anyone starts to think I'm slinging mud at Buck or Strider, let me just say that I own several Buck knives and I love them all, but I just feel that with the SBT, you're paying extra because of the Strider name attached to the knife.

I own a Buck Odyssey I - ATS-34 Model Number: 181FX which has an MSRP of $64.00 (as listed on Buck's website) I got mine for just under $50.00. The Odyssey 181FX sports a 3 1/8" ATS-34 partially serrated blade, textured thermoplastic (riveted) handle with metal backbone and metal pocket clip.

Now, TAD says the MSRP on the Buck Strider SBT is $150.00 and TAD sells it for $135.00. So, for $135.00 you get a partially serrated ATS-34 3" blade, plastic riveted handle with a reversable metal pocket clip.

That's $150.00 MSRP for the SBT versus $64.00 MSRP for the ATS-34 Odyssey. Even at $135.00 for the SBT versus $50.00 for the Odyssey, we're talking about an $85 dollar differance in price!

Since I have not yet had the opportunity to handle an SBT yet, I'd like to ask those in the know, what makes the Buck Strider SBT better than the Buck Odyssey 181FX to warrant such a price?
 
Originally posted by mtrialsm
I don't see why G10 handle material is so much more
expensive than Zytel,,it's just electronic circuit board fiberglass...
Click to expand...

If I had to guess, the machining and processing of G10 is probably a lot more difficult and hazardous...

IIRC, Zytel can be molded and cast to the proper contours with the chamfers; G10 has to be cut and machined. In addition, G10 needs serious respiratory and vacuum equipment to machine.

-jon
 
I aggree with cosmic and others about high knife price of all of what
I call the "fad" tactical knives that are coming on the market.
I've purchase several BM's and tried a Buck Mayo! (ouch!)
I've sold most and because I really don't abuse my knives
anyway, why not go cheaper? The basic models that have been around
for years,,,,lock-backs. Never had one to fail!
mm
 
maybe the extra money was used to pay for extra r&d or testing? maybe they paid the nice folks that tested the knife to make sure it worked?
 
Let me clear some things up for you guys,

The SBT is a law enforcement product. It has been built to very specific requirements provided by Steve Tarani. He is an expert and consulted on by many Agencies for use and carry policy for edged tools. This knife has features that conincide with those policies. This knife was designed for a specific purpose and if you are not an operator it probably doesn't apply to you, so an Odyssey will work just fine for your daily tasks. The Odyssey is a great knife, but in no way is it comparable to the SBT. The SBT blade is much thicker and the scales are much thicker, not to mention the over all design which is based of the design chosen by MCCSOCOM DET 1 for their issued knife (the Strider SMF). The SBT is also ambidextrous. It also has PDT (Positive Deployment Texturing) for safe two hand opening.

G10,

G10 in the texture that was required is too abrasive on fabric so we opted for TACCOM polymer instead (not Zytel). Cost is an issue, although it is a secondary one.

This is a new product and has not been released to our full array of dealers. When it is, they will set the retail price just like they have on all of our other products. Its economics guys, the price we say is MSRP isn't always what you pay, dealers will set the price.

Hope that helps,

Thanks

Josh
 
A .145 blade sounds good. I was making some measurements on one of
my favorite Buck knives (Buck ECCO twin blade liner-lock).
It's a little over 3" closed, great pair of blades! It's also
9/16 thick and the liner lock is also .040! I would say the lock
is just right for this knife!
I'm going to buy the Buck/Strider 882. But I think the liner-lock
should be at least 1/2 as thick as the blade! But I know that would also make the knife thicker. But I'm no knife designer, and I doubt that I would ever put the 882 to it's limits!!!!
I've already seen the 882 for sale on internet (pre-order) for
$119.00 and I never pay retail for anything, so the retail price
is just a starting point.
I would just hate to buy a new knife and it be upgraded in a few
months?
MM
 
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