- Joined
- Jan 4, 2013
- Messages
- 715
Howdy yall,
A couple of weeks ago I posted a little narrative about my first experience holding and seeing my first high end knife in person. I think a few people enjoyed reading it, and I certainly look for any opportunity to give back to the community that answers my incessant questions. This is the story of a visit to the only half decent knife store I know of, it is 80ish miles away and a nightmare to find, and this pilgrimage was made with my brother in law.
As I walked up, the person I was visiting with pointed to a sign on the door that said, "Chris Reeve Knives sold here," and I knew I was in for way more than the website had let on. I made a relatively quick trip around the store trying to take stock of each and everything I had to handle for the first time before the two hour process of dragging an employee (who was very nice and completely accommodating) around having him unlock cases. As I took stock, I noted I had to see the ZTs, all of the Spydercos, the Microtechs, the Chris Reeve Knives, the Striders, and the William Henry's. I decided to forego the benchmades, since I was pretty familiar with most of them, and to be honest there is only so much you can take in.
The first stop was the ZT case. Zero Tolerance knives were my first obsession as I started researching knives, and despite huge amounts of time researching them and their relative abundance I had never held one. I asked to see three of them from the case- a 302, an orange 350, and a 561. They were certainly big and bulky, but nothing like I expected. All of them had the exact feel I imagined, but not quite the heft. The 300 was incredible. It wasn't as beastly big as I was expecting but felt wonderful in the hand, and really felt like a folding fixed blade. As strange as it may sound, the 300 is a more subtle knife than any of the pictures would ever project. I was less impressed with the 560 than I thought I would be. I think I had built it up to being virtual knife perfection. It felt much sturdier and heartier than I thought it would- maybe on par with the 300, but it really was more of a behemoth tool than elegant knife with hard use tool tenancies. I may have liked it less than I thought, but any questions about its true hard use potential were put to bed- it is a monster.
I was shocked by the spydercos. For me, it was a prime example of having experienced a really really really incorrect sampling of their products. I have always associated spyderco knives with delicate slicers. Knives that are perfectly suited for their purpose, but almost engineered to fail with anything more than light work or careful slicing. I was very wrong. My first impression was the sheer size of some of the knives. The Military, Police, Gayle Bradley, and Tuff were all incredibly large knives, and far heavier built than I would have guessed. Coming from someone who instantly loves larger knives, I was caught off guard. The military and police were almost, and I gasp to say it... too large to carry. I suppose I had been mislead by years of appraising blade shape, first from the non knife person perspective and now with a novice eye, and thought the blades would crumble under pressure and the tip would snap from a sideways glance. I would not hesitate to carry either of these blades in virtually any scenario and with little worry of failure. I know there are many fans here who would say, "Of course they can survive, have you not seen the videos?" There really is nothing like the perspective gained from handling these wonderful knives.
On a side note, and at this point in my journey, something very interesting came up. High end knives are, by nature of more precise engineering, far less ambidextrous than cheap knives. Being left handed, I've always been in the minority and anything engineered for comfort one handed is always inverted for me. Like all left handed people, I've adapted and rarely even think about, but there are certainly times when it becomes painfully apparent. I had seriously considered ordering the Spyderco Tuff. Unlike most people I thought, and still think, it is a really attractive heavy use knife. After handling it, I'm very thankful I did not. The knife incredible- the lock up could survive a nuclear blast, the handle is comfortable and more subtle than I would have guessed, the blade shape is gorgeous, and the hefty behind the knife sponsors more confidence than probably any other I held all day (including the custom SMF they were kind enough to bring from the back for me to see), but I could not operated with just my left hand. Pulling the lock bar toward me was too difficult. It could be done right handed without much effort, but for everyday use as a southpaw it was too much.
I mentioned several brands not covered so here, but really I just want to write about one more. I was not a fan of Chris Reeve knives when I walked in the store. My arguments were pretty much the same as any layman's: they are too plain and too expensive. Why the hell would anyone waste $400 on plain titanium frames and a pretty standard nice blade on a knife that's only claim to fame is "fit and finish?" Don't get me wrong, fit and finish are important, but if a knife is going to be used that should be secondary to utility, and after handling the sebenza and umnumzaan I still feel the same. If I wanted I working knife in that price range I would have chosen a Strider with their robust blade and handles and legendary utility. If I wanted a slicer in that range why not a microtech socom or sprint run super steel military? After saying all of that, I do not want a strider, I do not want a microtech, and I do not want a military. I really cannot say what it was about the Chris Reeve knives. Maybe I still don't have adequate knife knowledge to describe exactly what it is about them, but they were perfect. They felt right when I gripped them. They looked right in my hand. They opened and closed exactly as a knife should. The blades inspired confidence, without looking so aggressive as to send people running in fear. Maybe some day my tastes will open back up, but after my pilgrimage I want nothing else, and I really cannot explain why.
A couple of weeks ago I posted a little narrative about my first experience holding and seeing my first high end knife in person. I think a few people enjoyed reading it, and I certainly look for any opportunity to give back to the community that answers my incessant questions. This is the story of a visit to the only half decent knife store I know of, it is 80ish miles away and a nightmare to find, and this pilgrimage was made with my brother in law.
As I walked up, the person I was visiting with pointed to a sign on the door that said, "Chris Reeve Knives sold here," and I knew I was in for way more than the website had let on. I made a relatively quick trip around the store trying to take stock of each and everything I had to handle for the first time before the two hour process of dragging an employee (who was very nice and completely accommodating) around having him unlock cases. As I took stock, I noted I had to see the ZTs, all of the Spydercos, the Microtechs, the Chris Reeve Knives, the Striders, and the William Henry's. I decided to forego the benchmades, since I was pretty familiar with most of them, and to be honest there is only so much you can take in.
The first stop was the ZT case. Zero Tolerance knives were my first obsession as I started researching knives, and despite huge amounts of time researching them and their relative abundance I had never held one. I asked to see three of them from the case- a 302, an orange 350, and a 561. They were certainly big and bulky, but nothing like I expected. All of them had the exact feel I imagined, but not quite the heft. The 300 was incredible. It wasn't as beastly big as I was expecting but felt wonderful in the hand, and really felt like a folding fixed blade. As strange as it may sound, the 300 is a more subtle knife than any of the pictures would ever project. I was less impressed with the 560 than I thought I would be. I think I had built it up to being virtual knife perfection. It felt much sturdier and heartier than I thought it would- maybe on par with the 300, but it really was more of a behemoth tool than elegant knife with hard use tool tenancies. I may have liked it less than I thought, but any questions about its true hard use potential were put to bed- it is a monster.
I was shocked by the spydercos. For me, it was a prime example of having experienced a really really really incorrect sampling of their products. I have always associated spyderco knives with delicate slicers. Knives that are perfectly suited for their purpose, but almost engineered to fail with anything more than light work or careful slicing. I was very wrong. My first impression was the sheer size of some of the knives. The Military, Police, Gayle Bradley, and Tuff were all incredibly large knives, and far heavier built than I would have guessed. Coming from someone who instantly loves larger knives, I was caught off guard. The military and police were almost, and I gasp to say it... too large to carry. I suppose I had been mislead by years of appraising blade shape, first from the non knife person perspective and now with a novice eye, and thought the blades would crumble under pressure and the tip would snap from a sideways glance. I would not hesitate to carry either of these blades in virtually any scenario and with little worry of failure. I know there are many fans here who would say, "Of course they can survive, have you not seen the videos?" There really is nothing like the perspective gained from handling these wonderful knives.
On a side note, and at this point in my journey, something very interesting came up. High end knives are, by nature of more precise engineering, far less ambidextrous than cheap knives. Being left handed, I've always been in the minority and anything engineered for comfort one handed is always inverted for me. Like all left handed people, I've adapted and rarely even think about, but there are certainly times when it becomes painfully apparent. I had seriously considered ordering the Spyderco Tuff. Unlike most people I thought, and still think, it is a really attractive heavy use knife. After handling it, I'm very thankful I did not. The knife incredible- the lock up could survive a nuclear blast, the handle is comfortable and more subtle than I would have guessed, the blade shape is gorgeous, and the hefty behind the knife sponsors more confidence than probably any other I held all day (including the custom SMF they were kind enough to bring from the back for me to see), but I could not operated with just my left hand. Pulling the lock bar toward me was too difficult. It could be done right handed without much effort, but for everyday use as a southpaw it was too much.
I mentioned several brands not covered so here, but really I just want to write about one more. I was not a fan of Chris Reeve knives when I walked in the store. My arguments were pretty much the same as any layman's: they are too plain and too expensive. Why the hell would anyone waste $400 on plain titanium frames and a pretty standard nice blade on a knife that's only claim to fame is "fit and finish?" Don't get me wrong, fit and finish are important, but if a knife is going to be used that should be secondary to utility, and after handling the sebenza and umnumzaan I still feel the same. If I wanted I working knife in that price range I would have chosen a Strider with their robust blade and handles and legendary utility. If I wanted a slicer in that range why not a microtech socom or sprint run super steel military? After saying all of that, I do not want a strider, I do not want a microtech, and I do not want a military. I really cannot say what it was about the Chris Reeve knives. Maybe I still don't have adequate knife knowledge to describe exactly what it is about them, but they were perfect. They felt right when I gripped them. They looked right in my hand. They opened and closed exactly as a knife should. The blades inspired confidence, without looking so aggressive as to send people running in fear. Maybe some day my tastes will open back up, but after my pilgrimage I want nothing else, and I really cannot explain why.
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