- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
- Messages
- 3,831
Howdy folks!
So tomorrow I turn 25, and I wanted to share a great knife experience here. It is partly a makers/manufacturers post, partly a community post, partly a reviews post, and so on. So I decided to post my story here. I think it covers a lot of different topics, so this was fun to write.
Just before Christmas I noticed that forumite RDT, famous for his karambits on these forums, had a large Buck/Strider tanto for sale on the forums here. Interestingly, when these knives first came out I thought they were absolutely stupid. Knives are for cutting, so who the heck wants a thick bladed, square handled prybar? Well, about a eyar and a half ago my mind changed and I really wanted the B'S tanto. What changed my mind was Dexter Ewing's review in BLADE mag, Larson's review in Tactical Knives, and my own changing habits. I had bought an SAK and found myself using it LOTS. Those thin blades sure do cut! So my AFCK was reserved for harder use stuff. Well, when I looked around at what would be a good replacement/improvement for the AFCK as a hard use folder, epiphany struck! So thaaattsss what the SB-1 is for! My problem though was that I was in Graduate school (still am) and paying for an engagement ring (done that now). O.K., fastforward to December of 2002. I told my fiancee about the deal, and she says that for my birthday she'll help me buy the knife. WOHOO!
My deal with Richard was fantastic. He modified the knife. Richard had jeweled the liners, drilled 3 divot holes on one scale for grip changes, satin finished the blade and made the tip sharper and polished. He sent me pics of the modifications, and I thought that I was getting a fantastic production knife, customized by an obviously talented maker, for a price that is a steal. Dealing with RDT was great. Everyone go check out his karambits and other blades!
An interesting thign about this experience is that I am now a Buck customer. I never really liked Buck's traditional blades, and I am very pleased that Buck is making a variety of knives for a broad range of customers. The knife locks up flawlessly and all of the factory work is fantastic. I definitely want more from the Buck/Strider line, and maybe one of the classic 110s too.
After inspecting the knife for a couple of days, my fiancee took it and wrapped it up. I won't have my knife back until tomorrow. But I did do soem cutting with it, and I handled it a lot. The edge geometry is great. It cut wood very nicely, as well as cardboard. Lots of peopel say that the knife is huge, but I wouldn't say that at all. Comparing it to my AFCK, the SB-1 ha a shorter blade and a shorter handle! Where the SB-1 gets its beefy reputaion is in width and thickness. THe blade is thicker and wider than my AFCK, as is the handle. I love the thickness. THe SB-1 is easy to grab and hang onto. The texturing of the g-10 is awesome too. It isn't rough to the feel, but grips your hand well. I don't know if the handle will be comfortable in clong cutting sessions, but I don't really have long cutting sessions anyways. The thing I like about my AFCK better than the SB-1 is the choil. The AFCK handle looks like it is more secure in the hand. I don't know what the actuals are on that though. Interestingly enough, any suggestion for improvement that I have (the choil is the only functional improvement, others are nice to haves, liek S30V) can be found in the custom version from Mick and Duane at Strider knives. Guess what I'll be saving for!
So, to summarize: great fiancee, great deal with Richard Derespina, great knife from Buck and Strider Knives. Now I only have one problem. Though I love my SAK, I want something with better blades! I'm thinking of getting one of the Leatherman Juice models sometime. THey look easy to carry and I sure could have used pliers today. I have a Gerber multitool but the Juices look so much easier to carry. So now I'm searching for the perfect super cutting, easy to carry light duty knife! We'll see what I find between now and my 16th birthday.
Thanks for reading this,
Karl Rejman
So tomorrow I turn 25, and I wanted to share a great knife experience here. It is partly a makers/manufacturers post, partly a community post, partly a reviews post, and so on. So I decided to post my story here. I think it covers a lot of different topics, so this was fun to write.
Just before Christmas I noticed that forumite RDT, famous for his karambits on these forums, had a large Buck/Strider tanto for sale on the forums here. Interestingly, when these knives first came out I thought they were absolutely stupid. Knives are for cutting, so who the heck wants a thick bladed, square handled prybar? Well, about a eyar and a half ago my mind changed and I really wanted the B'S tanto. What changed my mind was Dexter Ewing's review in BLADE mag, Larson's review in Tactical Knives, and my own changing habits. I had bought an SAK and found myself using it LOTS. Those thin blades sure do cut! So my AFCK was reserved for harder use stuff. Well, when I looked around at what would be a good replacement/improvement for the AFCK as a hard use folder, epiphany struck! So thaaattsss what the SB-1 is for! My problem though was that I was in Graduate school (still am) and paying for an engagement ring (done that now). O.K., fastforward to December of 2002. I told my fiancee about the deal, and she says that for my birthday she'll help me buy the knife. WOHOO!
My deal with Richard was fantastic. He modified the knife. Richard had jeweled the liners, drilled 3 divot holes on one scale for grip changes, satin finished the blade and made the tip sharper and polished. He sent me pics of the modifications, and I thought that I was getting a fantastic production knife, customized by an obviously talented maker, for a price that is a steal. Dealing with RDT was great. Everyone go check out his karambits and other blades!
An interesting thign about this experience is that I am now a Buck customer. I never really liked Buck's traditional blades, and I am very pleased that Buck is making a variety of knives for a broad range of customers. The knife locks up flawlessly and all of the factory work is fantastic. I definitely want more from the Buck/Strider line, and maybe one of the classic 110s too.
After inspecting the knife for a couple of days, my fiancee took it and wrapped it up. I won't have my knife back until tomorrow. But I did do soem cutting with it, and I handled it a lot. The edge geometry is great. It cut wood very nicely, as well as cardboard. Lots of peopel say that the knife is huge, but I wouldn't say that at all. Comparing it to my AFCK, the SB-1 ha a shorter blade and a shorter handle! Where the SB-1 gets its beefy reputaion is in width and thickness. THe blade is thicker and wider than my AFCK, as is the handle. I love the thickness. THe SB-1 is easy to grab and hang onto. The texturing of the g-10 is awesome too. It isn't rough to the feel, but grips your hand well. I don't know if the handle will be comfortable in clong cutting sessions, but I don't really have long cutting sessions anyways. The thing I like about my AFCK better than the SB-1 is the choil. The AFCK handle looks like it is more secure in the hand. I don't know what the actuals are on that though. Interestingly enough, any suggestion for improvement that I have (the choil is the only functional improvement, others are nice to haves, liek S30V) can be found in the custom version from Mick and Duane at Strider knives. Guess what I'll be saving for!
So, to summarize: great fiancee, great deal with Richard Derespina, great knife from Buck and Strider Knives. Now I only have one problem. Though I love my SAK, I want something with better blades! I'm thinking of getting one of the Leatherman Juice models sometime. THey look easy to carry and I sure could have used pliers today. I have a Gerber multitool but the Juices look so much easier to carry. So now I'm searching for the perfect super cutting, easy to carry light duty knife! We'll see what I find between now and my 16th birthday.
Thanks for reading this,
Karl Rejman