Convince me I did the right thing, gave strider another shot.

I had a PT and sold and it missed it and bought another one. I had an SMF, too, and sold that and have kept an eye out for another one. None of them had any fit and finish or performance issues. Blades were centered, lock up was good with no bladeplay, no sticky locks. Easy to open. I bought all mine used, though, so maybe that changes the "Strider Lottery" you hear about.

By the way, I sold my Unumzaan, too, and have never thought about replacing it. I guess that says I like the SMF better than the Umnum. (I did keep my Sebenzas, though.)

None of the Strider knives are worth $300-$500 by any rational measure, but if knives are your thing and you have a little money to spare, you may be pleased.
 
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Again, this might sound like a stupid question, but couldn't you ask your dealer to check for such issues before sending it:confused:?

Benchmade seems to have almost as bad a reputation on fit and finish(mostly to do with blade centering), and so I always ask for the dealer to check, and I always get a perfectly centered blade:thumbup:.
 
I can't speak for others but I bought mine used. I made the mistake of buying into the hype I guess and figured they must be pretty good. Live and learn I suppose.
 
All mine were bought second hand. The sellers descriptions gave me an idea if there were any issues that would be a problem before I had it in hand.
 
newcoyote said:
$5 gas station knife? That is really silly to say. The point being is Striders sometimes do not come flawless perfect every time. There are a few minor discrepancies here and there. I KNOW it can be argued for that much bread they better look like God himself made it(OK now I'm doing it). I am arguing Stiders make up for it in strength, ergonomics & (warning. Nutnfancy reference) second kind of cool. $5 at the flea market won't ever get you that. That I love (as many others do) my Striders in spite of the little dings should say something about them. They have a certain merit that precludes perfection.
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Obviously you and I disagree. Personally I don't think they're worth anywhere near what they charge for them. I can find toughness and ergonomics with better fit and finish in a knife that cost half of what Striders cost. Hell, I can find toughness, ergonomics, and better fit and finish in a knife less than $100. Strider has their following just like every other knife maker or company. I tried with 6 different Striders and they let me down every time. Sorry.
 
I have had 3 Striders ...a SMF and 2 RCs (1 RC remains), all three had perfect centered blades, F&F perfect. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, but the one I have is all I need.
 
Tony8179 said:
I tried with 6 different Striders and they let me down every time. Sorry.
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When?
The three I've obtained (2 SmF's and an SnG) have had wonderful fit and finish and all that jazz, but I've heard that the older ones had issues.
They've been in business for a while making the exact same knives pretty much, so it seems they've gotten the bugs worked out.:thumbup:

I don't doubt those who had issues with theirs, but I tend to think they got the older ones, before production quality was increased.

I didn't even get scratches all over mine like the old complaint was.:(:D
 
i like their fixed blades their folders should be boycotted
until they start doing reliably decent f+f.
 
i will definitely be looking at their folders now, mebbe at a knife show...
thx for the heads up :thumbup:
 
TheCarbideRat said:
i will definitely be looking at their folders now, mebbe at a knife show...
thx for the heads up :thumbup:
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No problem.:)
And if you can handle them in person at a show, that's the best possible way for sure. Then you can make sure you get exactly what you want.
And if Strider ain't doing it for you, then there's plenty of other knives to get there instead.:thumbup:
 
stabman said:
When?
The three I've obtained (2 SmF's and an SnG) have had wonderful fit and finish and all that jazz, but I've heard that the older ones had issues.
They've been in business for a while making the exact same knives pretty much, so it seems they've gotten the bugs worked out.:thumbup:

I don't doubt those who had issues with theirs, but I tend to think they got the older ones, before production quality was increased.

I didn't even get scratches all over mine like the old complaint was.:(:D
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I had a Lego SnG and I don't know which generation it was. It had the Hinderer lock stabilizer and had no BOS heat treat logo. I had two CC SnG's and I know that they are relatively newer. I had a Lego recurve PT that was alright once I was able to work out it's original bugs of loose lockup, bladeplay, and a horrible cutting edge. I had a CC PT that was pretty good out of the package except that the blade came in contact with the Ti side of the knife when the pivot was tightened to take out all the blade play. Finally, because she kept asking me about it, I bought my fiancee a pink PT for her bag. Granted I found it on the secondary market as a part time user, but again the edge geometry was all wrong and the lockup was sloppy. I don't know how the lockup was when it was new, but the edge geometry definitely came like that from the shop. I was able to reprofile the edge and tighten up the lockup by taking the knife apart and flexing the lock inward. She likes it and that's all that matters. I would have rather bought her a 3" XM-18 with a pink scale.
 
i have been happy with the striders i have owned, both fixed and folder.

i have no doubt there have been owners with f/f and lockup issues. i also have no doubt there are owners who have been more than a little displeased with their customer service.

i have no complaints with either.

my first strider was purchased about 8 years ago. i don't recall any issues with it, but then again, i probably wouldn't have known better.
 
Well after reading this thread....i'm def not buying a Strider. They look friggin awesome as hell, and i'm tempted, but that's the reason i'm getting away from Benchmade....seems every knife i get from them has SOME issue. I want to love them, but i want something that's as close to perfect as can be....oh, i just ordered a CRK sebenza the other day too:)
 
lemmuhj said:
Well after reading this thread....i'm def not buying a Strider. They look friggin awesome as hell, and i'm tempted, but that's the reason i'm getting away from Benchmade....seems every knife i get from them has SOME issue. I want to love them, but i want something that's as close to perfect as can be....oh, i just ordered a CRK sebenza the other day too:)
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Well I just purchased a new Strider, and I'd say the fit and finish is on par with my william henry and chris reeve knives.

-Freq
 
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