CRKT Pilar 3 D2

Interesting. I hadn't seen this. The overall ergonomics look good but I'm not sure about the lanyard area. The recessed clip screws are a nice touch at least. Three things are keeping me away.

1. The blade is pretty thick for the kind of knife it is. They list the stock as 0.15". I generally don't like more than 0.125" for slicing through materials. I don't know why they made the blade so thick here or what it helps to accomplish.

2. The three handle materials look strange together. It's black scale on one side, steel on the other, with a colored metal back spacer sticking out. Between the steel side and the blade thickness, it also makes the knife heavier than it needs to be.

3. Chinese D2. Summers are humid where I live and I tend to sweat. Despite having a few knives I really like in D2, I've given up on carrying them in the summer. Even if that wasn't the case, aren't people getting tired of this steel by now? While the edge retention is a big improvement over 8Cr13Mov, the Chinese stuff rarely lives up to expectations. Depending on the individual heat treatment, it's not uncommon for people to get comparable or better performance from lower-maintenance steels like 14C28N, N690, or 9Cr18Mov.
 
I got a chance to hold the 8cr one in hand and it's pretty comfortable. The blade is more of a beater/utility piece so the thicker blade seemed fine to me. Its priced competitively and looks a little better than the first pila (in my opinion).

Whether or not the D2 version uses "low grade" D2 (I'm chinese and I do not want the term associated with bad quality lol) I cant comment. I've had a CEO in D2 and that blade rolls/dulls alot slower than my original CEO in 8cr.

Overall I think the new pilar is not bad, if you're cool with the aesthetics. But you just KNOW theres going to be an exclusive somewhere...
 
Dergyll said:
I got a chance to hold the 8cr one in hand and it's pretty comfortable. The blade is more of a beater/utility piece so the thicker blade seemed fine to me. Its priced competitively and looks a little better than the first pila (in my opinion).

Whether or not the D2 version uses "low grade" D2 (I'm chinese and I do not want the term associated with bad quality lol) I cant comment. I've had a CEO in D2 and that blade rolls/dulls alot slower than my original CEO in 8cr.

Overall I think the new pilar is not bad, if you're cool with the aesthetics. But you just KNOW theres going to be an exclusive somewhere...
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A lot of the budget D2 coming out of China has fallen short of the preceding reputation for that steel. It's definitely a step up from 8Cr13Mov. It's just not as big of a step up as the D2 that built that preceding reputation. I don't know that it's "low grade" but it seems to vary a lot in terms of performance. Since going mainstream, this has caused controversy. There has been a lot of speculation on why with sensitivity to issues in mass heat treatment and possible variations in composition coming up. Some companies seem to have a better handle on it but curiously, some of those companies have also started importing the analogous Bohler K110.

Unfortunately, China-bashing is real and I'm sad to see it on occasion here. The controversy regarding Chinese D2 has certainly been mentioned in that context but that is certainly not my intention here. One issue that comes up is the contrast with another Chinese steel: 9Cr18Mov.

Between associations with 8Cr13Mov (and lower-numbered members of that series) and some companies running it soft over the years, 9Cr18Mov seems to have gotten a bad reputation. However, modern knives in 9Cr18Mov from various companies can deliver edge retention in the same ballpark as the average Chinese D2. Meanwhile, WE seems to have perfected the heat treatment for 9Cr18Mov. Besides my own positive experiences with it, check out Outpost76's cut-testing videos. Not only does it outperform other 9Cr18Mov and most of the Chinese D2, its performance catches the heels of "budget knives" in premium steels like S35VN.
 
No worries friend, no offense taken...I understand the current market stigma surrounding it and make no excuses about it. Sorry to hijack the thread lol, back to pilar.

I'm also a fan of sandvik steel, it would be a good tough steel for the pilar, also stainless. Like I said, I'm not obsessed with this one, maybe if an exclusive one comes out (hopefully not one of the 150$ bladehq S35VN ones lol that's a little hard to swallow).

Cheers
 
Dergyll said:
No worries friend, no offense taken...I understand the current market stigma surrounding it and make no excuses about it. Sorry to hijack the thread lol, back to pilar.

I'm also a fan of sandvik steel, it would be a good tough steel for the pilar, also stainless. Like I said, I'm not obsessed with this one, maybe if an exclusive one comes out (hopefully not one of the 150$ bladehq S35VN ones lol that's a little hard to swallow).

Cheers
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Retail on the CF/S35VN Pilar from BHQ was $70, which was a steal. If they do a "high-end" Pilar 3, I'd expect it to come in a little more than the S35VN Elementum, around $85-95.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
Retail on the CF/S35VN Pilar from BHQ was $70, which was a steal. If they do a "high-end" Pilar 3, I'd expect it to come in a little more than the S35VN Elementum, around $85-95.
Click to expand...

Wow that is, I guess I missed that one. The new Tuna and CEO exclusives were a little up there in prices.

Like I said, better for me to wait for an exclusive:)
 
Dergyll said:
Wow that is, I guess I missed that one. The new Tuna and CEO exclusives were a little up there in prices.

Like I said, better for me to wait for an exclusive:)
Click to expand...
That could also explain why the Pilar exclusive sold out immediately and the Tuna and CEO exclusives are still available...
 
The D2 Pilar III is my favorite version in the series. I have 2 CF Pilar, I which I love, but the bit of extra length and and modified blade shape make the III feel even better in hand and better looking to boot. My example is smooth and centered, and lockup is solid. I am looking forward to the seemingly inevitable BHQ CF version
 
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