Finally got my Camillus Dominator!

GSackett

GSackett

Joined
Jun 6, 2003
Messages
29
After waiting several months I finally received my Camillus Cuda Dominator on Friday. It made my weekend.

2447.jpg


Initial thoughts are very positive. It is an assisted opening frame lock with titanium scales and an S30V blade. It arrived sharp enough to shave with (as the bare patch on my arm will attest). There is no play in the pivot at all, and it locks up very well.

My only slightly negative comment was that it was so tight that I could barely get it to open, even with the flipper. After some lubrication and working the action it has loosened up a bit to where it is easier to deploy, although it is still really difficult with just the thumbstuds. It has no blade lock like some assisted openers, so I am sure it is intentially made stiff as a safety feature. The only other downside is that it is tip-down carry, which I don't really prefer, but that seems to be the case on most assisted openers, again probably for safety's sake.

Overall though, I am very impressed with this knife. For the price, it is tough to beat in terms of materials and quality.

Greg
 
Greg,
Glad you like the DOMINATOR! You guessed right, we designed the assisted opening feature to require more travel, and pressure to deploy the blade, as we wanted the knife to be more secure[from accidental openings]. You have to WANT to open this knife, and that is the way we feel it should be.

BTW, the pic you posted is somewhat dated. That is an early prototype, and there are some features that are somewhat different....here is a pic of the current knife......

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Thanks for being a customer!
 
How does the assisted opening affect the lock-up in the long-term? Wouldn't the impacts on the stop pin result in blade play over time, or are they not significant enough to do so?

Also, how long does the assisted-open feature "last" (i.e. how does it wear)?
 
Just as an aside, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember someone making the same comments about the thumbstuds on his custom Darrel Ralph. Darrel then informed him that they're not actually thumb studs, but rather the stop pins for the blade. Maybe that's why the knife is hard to open with them???
 
Like most of Darrel's designs, the Dominator doesn't actually have a stop pin. The "thumb studs" are what actually perform that function. They are somewhat larger and sturdier than a typical stop pin, so they should hold up a lot better under the stress of "assited opening".

The "thumb studs" on these designs aren't really intended to be used for opening the blade. They really serve to limit the blade's movement in both directions.

--Bob Q
 
sph3ric pyramid,
All of the parts on the Dominator and the other Camillus CUDA series are hardened for long life. The spring in this knife is built to last for life.
We were behind on delivery because of our insistence on making this knife "star" of power assist knives world wide.
The thumber is made to be stop pins on this knife as they are on the MAXX knives.

I can say that in the future we may use the thumbers for opening other non power assisted knives.
The diameter of the thumber with its large diameter makes for a very solid and much better stop pin than a hidden smaller pin inside of a knife.
This is just the physics of more contact surface at the stop point.

When you get the knife out of the box it may be a little tight.
Break the knife in. It will work great after some firing.
 
*slaps forehead*

I saw that the thumbstuds were being used as stops, but somehow my brain chose to overlook it.

Thanks for the reply, from the designer, no less.
 
Does the satin bead blast finish look like a stonewash? I have a microtech with a stonewashed finish.
 
Originally posted by FivePointOhh
Hey thanks for the review. I've been wondering about that one. And thanks for the updated pic Will, nice refinements.

We still need a couple more players in the Aftermath passaround/raffle.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=268521

willowslover_1754_1988911
Click to expand...

What knife is that in your post?

---------

Also (to everyone) - how different is the Dominator from the CUDA? I'm not farmiliar with S30V steel, the last few knives I've owned were all M2 steel. Are the Dominators easy to sharpen, and do they dull quick?
 
Hey, what's up Tuff. The knife in FivePointOhh's post is the Camillus Aftermath. Personally, I like S30V a lot. Not sure how hard it is to sharpen a completely dull knife that has an S30V blade, but touchups are very easy. On the S30V AR that I just got, the edge was sharp from the factory, but a few passes on the Sharpmaker made that thing scary sharp. It holds an edge rather well, IMO. I cut into an old lens off of my Flex-7 goggles and cut open one of those tough plastic packages (blister packages?) and it was just as sharp as before.

*Edit* Forgot to ask if anybody knew what the street price is for the Dominator?
 
Originally posted by SarcoBlaster
Hey, what's up Tuff. The knife in FivePointOhh's post is the Camillus Aftermath.
Click to expand...

The very expensive Aftermath I see... :(

Looks nice still.
 
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