Got a Golden Eye coming, very excited for that, as i've been looking to replace my Lawman. Will update in a few days when i've received it.
It's a great deal at $115 for S35VN steel, but i'll have to see how it does on the F&F department.
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UPDATE
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Got my Golden Eye today. Overall im very happy about it. Here are my first impressions:
Overall fit & finish, dimensions and feel
- I think CS has nailed it down in the 2015-2016 models and this is no exception. Also, this is the first time i got a CS blade with perfectly symmetry grind and very even edge. It's way better than any of the the Benchmade 710, 908 and 950 i got last month.
- The knife is slightly longer than American Lawman in both blade and handle. It has somewhere around 3/8' to 1/2" more cutting edge than the Lawman.
- It is very light and balanced, unlike a lot of liner/frame lock folders due to the lack of steel liners. I think the spec is pretty accurate at 4.1oz, although i have no scale to prove that. The balance point is exactly at the deepest point of the first finger groove, where your index finger sits. CS almost always have perfect balance in their G-10 models.
- The knife thickness is the same as the new post-2015 Lawman, Holdout, Mini Recon 1, Black Talon, Tiger Claw etc. Basically the same thin G-10 scale they started using in recent years, except for the Broken Skull model, which has even thinner G-10 scale.
Action
- The newer model has very smooth and more importantly crisp actions. Seems like CS is increasingly going after the kind of crisp action where you can feel a distinct "snap!" when you close the blade, like closing a swiss army knife. This also make the detent crisper as you have to overcome a sharper hump when opening the knife. The actions feel more confident or "decisive".
- Some might find the action stiff. I don't, as im a long time CS user. I find it easier to disengage the lock than the lawman, because the lockbar is much longer, hence providing better leverage. It was easier to disengage the lockbar with your finger tip(which you shouldn't) compared to the Lawman.
- When i first got it, the blade drops free when you disengage the lockbar, and this is without any up-down or side-side blade play. This shows how smooth it is. However this is irrelevant to me as i always tighten my pivot all the way down. Im OCD about this for no reason, and i got very strong thumb.
About the the Eye......
- I don't like it. I would much rather have a plain round hole, or the usual thumbstud.
- First of all it's ugly.
- More importantly, it limits the functionality vs the thumbstud. With thumbstud you can open the blade using your fingertip, or you can open it using the middle of your thumb near the join area - this is my preferred method and I have muscle memory for it. With the "eye", you are now stuck with opening the blade with just your fingertip because you cannot get enough purchase/traction using your join and can slip easily. Lost 1/2 of the opening options there.
- The eye also doesn't work as well as the angled thumbstud like the one on Kershaw Blur, since it doesn't protrude enough and doest not provide enough traction unlike the Blur.
- Because the hole is too small you cannot flick it open like you can with Spyderhole.
- So im not sure what this is. It tried to be both a hole and a thumbstud, but it doesn't seem to work as well as either.
- I thought the saving grace is that you might be able to use it to "wave" the blade out. Nope. Doesn't work. Not sticking out far enough to snag on anything.
Blade
- I love it! It's like the spearpoint blade on the Code 4 but wider. If the American Lawman and Code 4 have baby, the blade will look like this, plus a hole. Basically a Code 4 blade on steroid. This is the ideal shape for me.
- The plunge grind is perfect and is big enough to be used as fingerchoil. I think it's designed so because they added an additional curve big enough to for your finger.
- Can't comment on the S35VN steel or heat treat obviously as i haven't been able to put it to work yet.
- The design of the swedge makes the tip very strong, which i love. The blade profile is also very robust, much stronger than the lawman due to the wider flat spine.
- The blade is hollow grind. I prefer flat saber grind, but this is ok, as it's not too paper thin.
- Overall the blade looks like it can cut & slice very well, but it's also very strong due to its width and the extra support from the spine and the reinforced tip.
Handle
- Mixed feeling about this one. I would rather have a more neutral handle without so many finger grooves, but my fingers fit just fine. Overall it's very comfortable for my hand.
- I think the handle should fit larger hand better and people with smaller hand may get hotspot from the grooves.
- Like mentioned earlier, it's just the standard think G10 used on other post 2015 models like the Lawman.
- The only problem is that it has pretty poor blade to handle ratio. The handle looks much longer than the blade in proportion.
Clip
- It's terrible IMO. Non-deep carry clip is a deal breaker for me. When clipped, more than 3/4" of the handle is exposed from the pocket. I think it's a bad design, as you don't need that 3rd middle screw at the bottom.
- I don't really have issue with older clip having too much tension, but for those who like straight clip, this works as well as the one on Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or Manix 2.
Lock
- It's a Triad lock. Nothing else to talk about here.
A couple of pics:
It's a great deal at $115 for S35VN steel, but i'll have to see how it does on the F&F department.
*******
UPDATE
*******
Got my Golden Eye today. Overall im very happy about it. Here are my first impressions:
Overall fit & finish, dimensions and feel
- I think CS has nailed it down in the 2015-2016 models and this is no exception. Also, this is the first time i got a CS blade with perfectly symmetry grind and very even edge. It's way better than any of the the Benchmade 710, 908 and 950 i got last month.
- The knife is slightly longer than American Lawman in both blade and handle. It has somewhere around 3/8' to 1/2" more cutting edge than the Lawman.
- It is very light and balanced, unlike a lot of liner/frame lock folders due to the lack of steel liners. I think the spec is pretty accurate at 4.1oz, although i have no scale to prove that. The balance point is exactly at the deepest point of the first finger groove, where your index finger sits. CS almost always have perfect balance in their G-10 models.
- The knife thickness is the same as the new post-2015 Lawman, Holdout, Mini Recon 1, Black Talon, Tiger Claw etc. Basically the same thin G-10 scale they started using in recent years, except for the Broken Skull model, which has even thinner G-10 scale.
Action
- The newer model has very smooth and more importantly crisp actions. Seems like CS is increasingly going after the kind of crisp action where you can feel a distinct "snap!" when you close the blade, like closing a swiss army knife. This also make the detent crisper as you have to overcome a sharper hump when opening the knife. The actions feel more confident or "decisive".
- Some might find the action stiff. I don't, as im a long time CS user. I find it easier to disengage the lock than the lawman, because the lockbar is much longer, hence providing better leverage. It was easier to disengage the lockbar with your finger tip(which you shouldn't) compared to the Lawman.
- When i first got it, the blade drops free when you disengage the lockbar, and this is without any up-down or side-side blade play. This shows how smooth it is. However this is irrelevant to me as i always tighten my pivot all the way down. Im OCD about this for no reason, and i got very strong thumb.
About the the Eye......
- I don't like it. I would much rather have a plain round hole, or the usual thumbstud.
- First of all it's ugly.
- More importantly, it limits the functionality vs the thumbstud. With thumbstud you can open the blade using your fingertip, or you can open it using the middle of your thumb near the join area - this is my preferred method and I have muscle memory for it. With the "eye", you are now stuck with opening the blade with just your fingertip because you cannot get enough purchase/traction using your join and can slip easily. Lost 1/2 of the opening options there.
- The eye also doesn't work as well as the angled thumbstud like the one on Kershaw Blur, since it doesn't protrude enough and doest not provide enough traction unlike the Blur.
- Because the hole is too small you cannot flick it open like you can with Spyderhole.
- So im not sure what this is. It tried to be both a hole and a thumbstud, but it doesn't seem to work as well as either.
- I thought the saving grace is that you might be able to use it to "wave" the blade out. Nope. Doesn't work. Not sticking out far enough to snag on anything.
Blade
- I love it! It's like the spearpoint blade on the Code 4 but wider. If the American Lawman and Code 4 have baby, the blade will look like this, plus a hole. Basically a Code 4 blade on steroid. This is the ideal shape for me.
- The plunge grind is perfect and is big enough to be used as fingerchoil. I think it's designed so because they added an additional curve big enough to for your finger.
- Can't comment on the S35VN steel or heat treat obviously as i haven't been able to put it to work yet.
- The design of the swedge makes the tip very strong, which i love. The blade profile is also very robust, much stronger than the lawman due to the wider flat spine.
- The blade is hollow grind. I prefer flat saber grind, but this is ok, as it's not too paper thin.
- Overall the blade looks like it can cut & slice very well, but it's also very strong due to its width and the extra support from the spine and the reinforced tip.
Handle
- Mixed feeling about this one. I would rather have a more neutral handle without so many finger grooves, but my fingers fit just fine. Overall it's very comfortable for my hand.
- I think the handle should fit larger hand better and people with smaller hand may get hotspot from the grooves.
- Like mentioned earlier, it's just the standard think G10 used on other post 2015 models like the Lawman.
- The only problem is that it has pretty poor blade to handle ratio. The handle looks much longer than the blade in proportion.
Clip
- It's terrible IMO. Non-deep carry clip is a deal breaker for me. When clipped, more than 3/4" of the handle is exposed from the pocket. I think it's a bad design, as you don't need that 3rd middle screw at the bottom.
- I don't really have issue with older clip having too much tension, but for those who like straight clip, this works as well as the one on Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or Manix 2.
Lock
- It's a Triad lock. Nothing else to talk about here.
A couple of pics:
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But I can't wait to get mine!
).