Recommendation? Holt Bladeworks

[Pee Dee Knives]

Does anyone have experience with Holt Bladeworks? I am looking at getting a knife from them, but would like someone’s opinion of what they are like to deal with and if their knives are good.

 

[viper89]

I actually got my Specter from Holt Bladeworks a few days ago and they are great to deal with. I got updates/emails confirming my order, on the knife when it was being assembled, and when it was ready for purchase. This was all in a span of 3 weeks. The Specter is a great knife. I recommend checking out their website on the engineering they use on their knives. It is something different compared to what I have in my collection and definitely worth it.

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

This is perfect, thank you. Definitely getting one during their next run. I saw the engineering section, which was nice to see someone talk about their design process. But the had me at “all knives ship irresponsibly sharp”.

 

[viper89]

Yes, I cannot recommend them enough. The customization options are great and the edge is oh so irresponsibly sharp. One of the sharpest I have received from a maker. It has a different feel compared to the usual detent ball but it's a good feel.

 

[tyyreaun]

+1 here. I got Specter #26, as shown in their gallery. Excellent customer service - they worked with me to create a new anodization option based on my preferences.

Given they're fairly new, I probably should put some comments on the reviews forum. In short:

Pluses:

• Excellent customer service - good communication and willing to work with customers on new options
• Great build quality - excellent fit and finish
• Excellent blade grind. Mine is super thin behind the edge, making it a killer slicer. I requested a thin grind - I'm not sure if they're all like that
• Excellent packaging. Minor detail, but it matters

Minuses:

• Free-spinning pivot with T15 holes on both sides. Larger Torx holes are good, but given that most kits only go up to T10, it's a bit annoying
• My Specter may be ever so slightly off-center - hard to tell with the naked eye. This could probably be easily fixed by tightening the pivot a hair, but I haven't gotten around to it yet due to the above bullet point
• My clip doesn't quite touch the side of the scale, such that when closing the knife, the clip vibrates and resonates (think tuning fork). Just an annoyance - when I get around to taking the knife apart, I'll need to bend the clip in a hair to solve this

The minuses are more nitpicks then anything else. I do need to get a second T15 bit to take it apart, which may show some other issues. I'm hoping they didn't use Loctite on the pivot!

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

You guys sold me on them. Just placed an order. Thanks

 

[viper89]

Awesome, I'm sure you will love it.

Because a knife thread without pictures is boring, here are some of mine.

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

Gorgeous knife. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, did you get the double ano’d handles?

 

[Mo2]

Every time I see it, it says buy me.

Not a fan of free spinning pivots.

How is all the milling by the pocket clip? Is it annoying to clip on and off your pockets? Seems like it may or may not be an issue.

I like the sharp by design detent... I don't think Brian patented it which is cool, wonder what he thinks of other makers using his detent design. I love flat detents.

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

At least it uses a torx pivot and not some proprietary tool

 

[viper89]

Gorgeous knife. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, did you get the double ano’d handles?

Gorgeous indeed. Yes, it's double ano and quite subtle. It's ano'd Lows 87V, Highs 72V. There is hints of purple in there under the right lighting.

 

[viper89]

Every time I see it, it says buy me.

Not a fan of free spinning pivots.

How is all the milling by the pocket clip? Is it annoying to clip on and off your pockets? Seems like it may or may not be an issue.

I like the sharp by design detent... I don't think Brian patented it which is cool, wonder what he thinks of other makers using his detent design. I love flat detents.

I am not a fan of the free spinning pivot either but the larger torx will help for sure. I do hope they can make an improvement to it. I am sure it would help with the assembly too.

So far the pocket clip has been good for me. I can pocket it with one hand with ease. Though I think it might be a bit more difficult with pockets with thicker fabrics. The clip sits ever so slightly about the handles so that also helps with getting it back into the pocket.

I have not tried Sharp By Design though it sounds like I do need to give them a shot in the future. The detent on the Specter is the first I have tried with this detent design and I am really liking it.

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

Thanks for your recommendations. Just got my Spectre today. It is one nice blade.

 

[tyyreaun]

+1 here. I got Specter #26, as shown in their gallery. Excellent customer service - they worked with me to create a new anodization option based on my preferences.

Given they're fairly new, I probably should put some comments on the reviews forum. In short:

Pluses:

• Excellent customer service - good communication and willing to work with customers on new options
• Great build quality - excellent fit and finish
• Excellent blade grind. Mine is super thin behind the edge, making it a killer slicer. I requested a thin grind - I'm not sure if they're all like that
• Excellent packaging. Minor detail, but it matters

Minuses:

• Free-spinning pivot with T15 holes on both sides. Larger Torx holes are good, but given that most kits only go up to T10, it's a bit annoying
• My Specter may be ever so slightly off-center - hard to tell with the naked eye. This could probably be easily fixed by tightening the pivot a hair, but I haven't gotten around to it yet due to the above bullet point
• My clip doesn't quite touch the side of the scale, such that when closing the knife, the clip vibrates and resonates (think tuning fork). Just an annoyance - when I get around to taking the knife apart, I'll need to bend the clip in a hair to solve this

The minuses are more nitpicks then anything else. I do need to get a second T15 bit to take it apart, which may show some other issues. I'm hoping they didn't use Loctite on the pivot!

Bumping this up as I wanted to give an update on my previous comments.

I mentioned that my Specter had a few very minor drawbacks/nitpicks. I finally got a second T15 bit and took it apart.

First, the internal milling is incredible - not just big pockets for weight reduction, but they're patterned, too. Excellent attention to detail.

All the screws are free spinning, going into steel spacers, and the bearings ride on steel washers. The pivot was held together with blue Loctite. The tolerances are incredible - even with all the screws removed the knife didn't want to come apart, held together with friction. I'm not a fan of the free spinning screws, but everything else is top notch, as good as any other knife I've seen.

Reassembly was also easy. After cleaning it, adding nano-oil, and putting it back together, the action is even smoother than before. One nitpick I had was that I thought it might be slightly off center - that's gone now, as it's dead center after reassembly. Likewise, I had a nitpick that the clip didn't quite touch the scale, making it into a tuning fork when closing the blade. I was able to bend the clip a tiny amount to remove the gap, so that's gone too.

Incidentally, I was also able to get my hands on a Norseman recently, albeit an older one. I gave that one a full disassembly, cleaning, and lube as well. The action on it is great, but the Holt is clearly better, no question.

I do know that @NickShabazz is getting his Specter soon. I'm gonna go ahead and predict right now that his review is going to do to Holt Bladeworks what he did to North Arms with the Skaha review. Get your order in now if you want to see one in the next year for anywhere close to the dealer's price

 

[Pee Dee Knives]

I do have one small nitpick, which I will be letting Holt know about. The area in front of the lock bar is a bit of a hot spot when the knife is open. See the picture.

It’s not a hard use knife, so it’s not a big deal, but fixing that would make it truly flawless.

Good call on getting one before Holt really takes off.

 

[tyyreaun]

I do have one small nitpick, which I will be letting Holt know about. The area in front of the lock bar is a bit of a hot spot when the knife is open. See the picture.

It’s not a hard use knife, so it’s not a big deal, but fixing that would make it truly flawless.

Good call on getting one before Holt really takes off.

Heh, I never noticed that - it's never bothered me. The Liong Mah SDC has a similar hotspot that's sharp enough to cut you if you're choking up on it, though...