daboia Flipper review.

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austonh said:
[video=youtube_share;AFB2WZBMAbY]http://youtu.be/AFB2WZBMAbY[/video]
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Awesome video. Thanks for adding to the thread! If anyone wants that carbon fiber to pop just use a terry cloth with windex on it. It will clean all the carbon fiber dust out of the textured cuts of the sdale and it will really add another dimension to the overall look.
 
Got one on its way, it just hit customs in NYC yesterday. I went with the black bladed version. It looks like a DLC coating. It's definitely not an epoxy coat. I can't wait to get it :) It's good to see some original designs coming from that factory. A buddy has some of the clones so I've seen them up close and they're damn good. In fact amazing for the cost. He has a DOC clone that actually addressed the issues on my legit DOC and I dare to say that aside from blade steel the fake is the better knife. Which is a hell of a kick in the balls to guys like me who got a tremendously shitty DOC. I just can't support stolen work. But I do want to support their move in the right direction. If we can have some high end work of that caliber for the $100-$200 price range maybe it's gonna drive down some of these ridiculously greedy prices that have been appearing lately. With companies like KJ and CKF doing original designs I see china becoming a major force in the knife world. I mean right now a few production companies around here are giving us g10 titanium liner locks for the $250-$300 range. That's pure greed driving those prices. I can't support that kind of thing either (even though I really like a few designs) the materials just don't justify that kind of price.

Edited to add that I just looked it up and its a PVD coating not DLC. Not sure what metal they used in the PVD but It looks quite good.
 
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Got here and I have to say I love it. This knife is easily right up there with knives costing 2x to 3x as much. My fit and finish is perfect. The amount of embellishment on the knife lands it squarely next to most mid techs. Then they stick tritium in the clip and blade stop. Not really necessary but so cool. It's smooth as butter, has a great detent while not having undue pressure on the lockbar. I love the milled carbon fibre and 3d machined pocket clip. The backspace is also a milled one of part. Honestly this company, if it chooses to continue making its own designs will continue to have me as a customer. It's getting real hard to look at some of my other high end knives and see value when they cost $400-$600 and this one is just as nice if not nicer. There is one thing that I'm not 100% keen on and that's the flipper is kinda small and pretty slick. It doesn't stop me from deploying the knife but it could be a bit larger or have a little jimping. But I absolutely love that it's skeltonized. It reminds me of a 1911 hammer.
 
Will Batayte said:
Got here and I have to say I love it. This knife is easily right up there with knives costing 2x to 3x as much. My fit and finish is perfect. The amount of embellishment on the knife lands it squarely next to most mid techs. Then they stick tritium in the clip and blade stop. Not really necessary but so cool. It's smooth as butter, has a great detent while not having undue pressure on the lockbar. I love the milled carbon fibre and 3d machined pocket clip. The backspace is also a milled one of part. Honestly this company, if it chooses to continue making its own designs will continue to have me as a customer. It's getting real hard to look at some of my other high end knives and see value when they cost $400-$600 and this one is just as nice if not nicer. There is one thing that I'm not 100% keen on and that's the flipper is kinda small and pretty slick. It doesn't stop me from deploying the knife but it could be a bit larger or have a little jimping. But I absolutely love that it's skeltonized. It reminds me of a 1911 hammer.
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I agree the flipper is rather small. It was the first thing I noticed about the knife but It didnt hinder my ability to flip it so I didnt stress over it. Yours looks really nice man. Glad to see you like it. In fact it appears from your pictures that the quality may have increased because I dont see the same machining marks in your lockbar cutout that can be seen on my example. I am a bit jealous now, lol.
 
I just back read a few posts and I can assure you that the KJ version is excellent in fit and finish. I truly can't find any machining flaws whatsoever and I paid $200 flat for the knife. The PVD coating is flawless and I'm really happy to see that the edge grind is perfectly straight even where it passes the spanto line. Which in other spanto style blades I've seen the edge bevel widen in this area. I really like this knife a lot and can't stress enough what a deal it is at $200. like I said before this knife is right up there with the fit and finish or knives by ZT, strider, hinderer, and all the other high end brands. People can say what they want about KJ's past discretions but they are clearly punching in the in the heavyweight arena. In fact I have microtechs that cost hundreds more that have more issues with both F&F and design. These chinese machinists have finally gotten with the program and are a force to be respected. I really can't wait to see what they have to offer in the future.
 
Will Batayte said:
I just back read a few posts and I can assure you that the KJ version is excellent in fit and finish. I truly can't find any machining flaws whatsoever and I paid $200 flat for the knife. The PVD coating is flawless and I'm really happy to see that the edge grind is perfectly straight even where it passes the spanto line. Which in other spanto style blades I've seen the edge bevel widen in this area. I really like this knife a lot and can't stress enough what a deal it is at $200. like I said before this knife is right up there with the fit and finish or knives by ZT, strider, hinderer, and all the other high end brands. People can say what they want about KJ's past discretions but they are clearly punching in the in the heavyweight arena. In fact I have microtechs that cost hundreds more that have more issues with both F&F and design. These chinese machinists have finally gotten with the program and are a force to be respected. I really can't wait to see what they have to offer in the future.
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I have to say man your perspective is refreshing. My advice though? Strike now on every high end chinese knife you like. Because in a few short years the prices are going to close in on ours and japanese prices. Right now they are in the infancy stage and cant ask too much too soon. But that wont last forever.
 
PURPLEDC said:
I have to say man your perspective is refreshing. My advice though? Strike now on every high end chinese knife you like. Because in a few short years the prices are going to close in on ours and japanese prices. Right now they are in the infancy stage and cant ask too much too soon. But that wont last forever.
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I agree, PURPLEDC. Reate's price is already substantially higher on their newest model (on a percentage basis). The Horizon C is coming out at...$179? nope. $199? nope...Reate's next new release is priced at $249.95. (That's a 25%-30% jump in price on their newest model. Same materials & production process & costs. Just a nice looking, new model.) Imagine what Reates will be selling for in a couple of years!...(not that they're not worth it). This is why I just bought my second Daboia, today (got lucky)! And glad to have it. It's as good as just about any of today's $300-$600 mid techs when you really compare "apples to apples".:cool:
 
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Scrim said:
I agree, PURPLEDC. Reate's price is already substantially higher on their newest model (on a percentage basis). The Horizon C is coming out at...$179? nope. $199? nope...Reate's next new release is priced at $249.95. (That's a 25%-30% jump in price on their newest model. Same materials & production process & costs. Just a nice looking, new model.) Imagine what Reates will be selling for in a couple of years!...(not that they're not worth it). This is why I just bought my second Daboia, today (got lucky)! And glad to have it. It's as good as just about any of today's $300-$600 mid techs when you really compare "apples to apples".:cool:
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Still They have to be careful. If they increase their prices prematurely they could receive some backlash. Right now people are jumping on chinese knives not just because they are quality but because they represent value. If the value is lost and prices are on par with USA offerings, im not so sure US based buyers are going to stay loyal. The price gap was what enticed many to venture to chinese knives. The ONLY way for them to get away with selling at USA prices or above is to actually offer better quality than what is available hear.
 
You're 100% right and I do tend to worry that these guys will get greedy like the rest of the industry. I have to admit the chinese knives I buy, I buy because they are equal quality to knives costing 2-3x the price. That being said with a knife like the morrf or the venom 2 the design got me and even without the added value of low prices I still wouldn't have hesitated to purchase one. We are already seeing huge markups on knives like the decepticon. That's greed right there. Beautiful knife but it came from the same factory as the other ones and it absolutely is NOT $870 better or $870 harder to make. That is someone along the line getting greedy plain and simple. Look at the american knives right now. The spyderco rubicon is on amazon right now for $345.50 :eek: Are you serious spyderco? We get a little carbon fibre and a thin TI linerlock for almost the price of a sebenza? Are they high? Or how about the benchmade 62? $300 for a giant leap back in tech WTF? No spring latch, No TI handles and double the price of what a 42 used to go for at the height of their popularity. What does that say to me? That is a giant fuck you from benchmade to their loyal fans. Well I fully intend to vote with my wallet from now on. While I like both designs I refuse to encourage this behaviour. There is no way I'm going to support greedy business practices when I can get 10x the knife for 1/3 of the price from china. There are a lot of guys out there that are quick to say "oh it's Chinese it must be garbage". I get it we've all seen the mtechs and the furys, and the other flea market brands. But I'm here to tell you that these new chinese knives are a far cry from that shit. These knives are closer to your sebenzas, hinderers, and your ZT's then they are to those POS flea market pickings.
While I do worry that the bubble will pop so to speak, I rest assured that where ever there is greed there is a guy out their who'll use all that wiggle room created by the insane markup to undercut their greedy asses. It's like the clothing industry, You want to have the new hottest thing what do you do? You make a well made product. Just so there are no glaring flaws and you slap a a ridiculously high price tag on it and the public will invent a million reasons why its so much better then everything else because they want to see intelligence and value in their purchase. This is why when people see a knife like the venom they have to see it as inferior to their $600 mid tech when in fact it's sometimes better. Like I said I've held a DOC clone and it was BETTER then my legit DOC. Less machining errors, not sticky comfortable to use lock, No fuck you clip. better fit and finishing all around, super smooth choil. It really made me pissed off at microtech for serving me a steaming pile of shit for $340. when the clone costs $80. If fact I may just go ahead and get myself one of those DOC clones because as far as I'm concerned microtech already got my money for their design and I believe they still owe me the knife I deserve for $340. I won't sell my DOC because I refuse to fuck someone else over. But hey If anyone wants a legit DOC with almost 100% late, sticky lockup, a clip that stabs your hand, uneven blade grinds, and a "stonewash" that shows tons of tool marks through it, make me an offer. Full disclosure lol.
 
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Having a small issue with my knife. The tritium in the pocket clip has died days after I got the knife. This leads me to believe that maybe KJ is sourcing these tritium vials from used night sights or something. Tritium glows for 13 years so I don't see how it would have worn out if it was new. Kinda a dissapointment. Wish I could contact the factory and get it switched out. Unfortunately not likely. This is one of the downsides of these knives. That being said it's not a huge deal.
 
Will Batayte said:
Having a small issue with my knife. The tritium in the pocket clip has died days after I got the knife. This leads me to believe that maybe KJ is sourcing these tritium vials from used night sights or something. Tritium glows for 13 years so I don't see how it would have worn out if it was new. Kinda a dissapointment. Wish I could contact the factory and get it switched out. Unfortunately not likely. This is one of the downsides of these knives. That being said it's not a huge deal.
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More than likely it has a crack that is not visible. The rate of half-life is gradual and won't simply go out. A crack in the vile will kill it though. Bummer none the less.
 
Will Batayte said:
Having a small issue with my knife. The tritium in the pocket clip has died days after I got the knife. This leads me to believe that maybe KJ is sourcing these tritium vials from used night sights or something. Tritium glows for 13 years so I don't see how it would have worn out if it was new. Kinda a dissapointment. Wish I could contact the factory and get it switched out. Unfortunately not likely. This is one of the downsides of these knives. That being said it's not a huge deal.
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There was a guy on Instagram who had the same issue. One of his tritium vials(the one in the thumb stud) was DOA. He contacted Mike at Custom Knife Factory and Mike sent him a new vial. The customer then replaced the vial in his knife and held the new vial in place with some epoxy. The vials are just glued in so it shouldn't be too much trouble to remove. If you did not buy the knife from CKF, you can still source a new tritium vial. They are available for purchase from China and surprisingly inexpensive. Good luck.
 
Wow.
I actually really, really like the looks of this. Looks really well made, lots of features & tritium for $200? (found this thread searching for tritium button HALOs. Love tritium vials for some reason.) Had no idea the Chinese made *anything* cool, but I've been in self-imposed knife buying hermitage for a while now.

I can only find ones with big snake logos & a paragraph on the blade though. Can you still get unmarked blades somewhere?
 
bitfiend said:
Wow.
I actually really, really like the looks of this. Looks really well made, lots of features & tritium for $200? (found this thread searching for tritium button HALOs. Love tritium vials for some reason.) Had no idea the Chinese made *anything* cool, but I've been in self-imposed knife buying hermitage for a while now.

I can only find ones with big snake logos & a paragraph on the blade though. Can you still get unmarked blades somewhere?
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No. They were a special run for Custom Knife Factory and as far as I know, will never be done again.

It probably wouldn't be hard to grab one with a billboard and change the blade finish to get rid of it.
 
Lost Cosmonaut said:
No. They were a special run for Custom Knife Factory and as far as I know, will never be done again.

It probably wouldn't be hard to grab one with a billboard and change the blade finish to get rid of it.
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Bah. Figures.
I actually like the way the Ti PVD looks on this knife, and I usually don't like coated blades.

So who can brush/grind the stupid logo off & keep it looking factory?
 
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