Graduation self gift, William Henry??

J

Javelin

Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
320
Hey ladies and gents,

So I'm a week from graduating college! For the past few years my grail knife has been the Mcusta Yoroi, which I was going to purchase upon graduation... However now that I'm at this point I was considering saving a few more pennies and possibly getting a WH or possibly a high end benchmade. Now, I have some concerns when it comes to Mcusta and WH. I don't PLAN on using it overly roughly, but if the need arose would any of these be up to taking some abuse?? Specifically something like the William and Henry B12 in ZDP-189.
 
Well how are we defining "abuse?" I owned an Mcusta Tactility for a while (selling was a mistake) and I used it at work for cutting plastic tie straps, zipties, heavy duty cardboard, and string reinforced packing tape a lot and it handled those jobs just fine. As for the William Henry, William Henry knives are decidedly gentlemanly folders but they are built solidly from what I've observed handling a couple of them. If you needed to do heavier-end EDC cutting, I'd say they would probably handle it well. Now if we're getting into anything like prying, really heavy cutting like tires or rubber, or other hard use then you would want to look elsewhere.
 
If you're really looking to splurge, why not go custom?

There are plenty of custom makers that can blow a high end production model out of the water.
 
William Henry's are beautiful and well built knives. I have several of them. However, i agree with Depty572, if you want something really special why not find a custom knife to mark the occasion. There are many great custom makers who make strongly built folders in the same price range as a WH B12. All that said, what you seem to be describing for usage you should really consider a Chris Reeve knife. The wood inlayed small Sebenza would set you back about the same amount (or a bit less) than a WH and would be able to handle any chore you could throw at it. You would never regret buying a CRK, IMO.
 
I'd get the WH--it is every bit as solid as a CRK, but feels more special, and is built to at least as high of standards (if not higher). Special occasion = special knife.

DJK
 
I own WH's and Chris Reeve knives and you won't go wrong with either. One option: you could get a smaller WH (like a B0 5 Monarch or Kestrel) OR a CRK Mnandi and carry it everyday in your jeans watch pocket or suit coat pocket, in addition to a larger EDC knife. WH's are easier to open one handed than the Mnandi's, if that matters, but Mnandis are available in a large selection of woods. Also, smaller WH's don't have a pocket clip; Mnandis do. Here is my 2.65" blade WH Monarch:

 
ive had an mcusta tactility for a little over a year now and its a great knife. looks nice, cuts all day and never malfunctions in any way. as for benchmade, i assume your looking at a gold class knife, i think for the money youd be better served by a custom made. william henry is my personal grail right now and if i was coming up on my graduation id use that as my excuse to finally get one. congrats man.
 
William Henry makes some great knives, I have had several different models over the years. The spear point is the one I found to be most useful, the zdp holds a great edge. (But it is a beast to sharpen)
However, I would not recommend using them really hard. They are well built, but not designed for hard labor. You can't go wrong with a CRK for a hard user.
A full custom might be the best way to celebrate though! You can get exactly what you want.
One more idea.....if you go for a WH or a CRK, contact them and see if you can get a knife that shares the birthday of your graduation. I have a knife that matches my daughters bday, and will get one to match special events in the future. It gies me an excuse to buy another knife, plus I think it is neat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top