How are Strider Folders?

enderwiggin said:
IIRC, there was a discussion about S30V rusting more quickly, possibly due to certain types of bead-blast processing. I have no experience whatsoever with Strider knives, but I noticed my T1 Harsey with a bead-blast S30V blade seemed to rust MUCH easier than any of my other S30V knives.

That being said, is it possible that differences in manufacturing between runs could make some Strider knives more prone to rust?
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Where do you live, roughly?

I've had rust problems with D2 blades that I EDC a lot. Never had a problem with S30V. Not just Strider blades but Sebenzas and others.

Thanks,
Rich
 
The last PT I owned was carried for a week-long vacation to FT. Myers Beach, going from beach to ocean to pool and everywhere else without issue. I didn't break it down each day, just rinced it off and rubbed it by hand. Any surface rusting simply rubbed off. I guess some people have worse luck than others. I've had 6 Striders and all were as perfect as I would expect, easily on par with the 4 Sebenzas I've owned. In fact(since it has been suggested the OP get a Seb instead a number of times), three of the Sebs I purchased have had blade play issues and one was so bad it had to be sent back for a new one(the first one with play was repaired by myself gently sanding down the bushing).
If the OP is looking for a really tough knife with amazing warranty, a Strider would be the first on my list of suggestions.
 
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gajinoz said:
This rust thing has me a bit puzzled. I own a number of S30V knives, including Strider, Spyderco and Sebenza. I use all of them regularly, the Native in fact is my current go to work EDC. I have never seen even a hint of rust in any of them. I'd like to know what people are doing with them to make them rust, are they working salt water all the time or something?
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2 out of the 20 or so Strider folders I have had rusted in weird spots. Both were brand new when I got them and have been taken care of with either a tuff cloth or wd-40 if they were damp at all. One is a Tanto SnG, one is a Recurve SMF. The SMF would rust around the opening hole after sitting in my collecting room not being used for a while. It sat next to a whole bunch of other knives that didn't rust while sitting. I also think it's because of the bead blast. I'm also carrying that SMF today as I will be on a construction site and would worry about my other knives. Not this one. :-)
 
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OilMan said:
The rust is what we're talking about and you say 'without issue' even though yours rusted?
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I've had surface rust on a Spyderco that fell off my PFD on the beach on few years back after about twenty minutes before I found it. It easily rubbed off just like the Strider I mentioned. To me, that's "without issue". If it were totally encrusted with rust or pitted, that would be an issue. Maybe I'll throw my Sebenza into my PFD pocket while going down to the falls for some playboating in the next hour. I imagine it will have some surface rust, too. But, to me, if it can rubbed off easily, it's of no concern.
 
Hi flipe8,

Thanks for the report.

Were your Striders getting dipped in the ocean now and then? I've not tried it with my Striders. The Pacific along the Central Coast of CA is a little cold. :-) Although, I used to go in a lot when I was a kid.

Thanks,
Rich
 
I've had many S30V blades from Spyderco Dodos to Strider to other knives using it and its never been anything more than surface spots that rub right off. I don't think its anything to worry about really. It seems to me to be about the same kind of thing I have seen with D2 and even a few other higher carbon stainless steels. (most always bead blasted ones)

The only time I've seen D2 do this is when I had my Bob Dozier White River Skinner with me when hunting on my property and I noticed after getting back to my cabin that it was gone. That knife fell off my vest and sat where it landed in my woodlands in the Osage hills of Oklahoma for two days before I finally after many hours of hiking stumbled upon it laying there on a deer trail just when I was about to give up all hope. The handle scale (brown Micarta) on the one side turned lighter color from sun exposure also. Some spots showed up on the blade from the dew I guess. I took it home, rubbed it down with Simi Chrome and it was good as new.

S30V should be better at resisting rust than D2. (D2-1.55 Carbon) It has less carbon than D2 (1.40-1.45 still a lot though) and more chromium (14.00 for S30V and 11.50 for D2) Both are high enough to be very good at resistance to staining. D2 is said to be the most stainless like of the non stainless steels. But being technically non stainless its fine to see it spot if its not properly maintained. I think since much of the S30V is bead blasted for the finish that its this that is the culprit behind moisture spots that show up from the little dips in the finish that allow some places to remain just moist enough to spot from being just deep enough in the metal to allow missing them when wiped off.

STR
 
Hi Rich357,
When I was away, I had the PT clippped to the pocket of my board shorts. If someone was staying with our bags on the beach, I's place it in the bag. But, if we were all getting in the water, I'd just leave it clipped to my shorts. As result, it was in the ocean a fair bit over the run of a week. I'm not saying I'd leave it un-rinsed for extended periods, but it seemed to hold up on par with the few other knives I've exposed to salt water, with the exception being my Spyderco Salt.
And I know what you're saying about cold water as I still wear a full drysuit when out in the ocean paddling. Brrrrrrr...
 
Mye SnG rusted in the pitting last summer. I believe it was at work, it just got so hot it was soaked in sweat. It won't rub out, of course, the bead blast does prevent that. I started Tuff-clothing it to help. I mentioned it at the time, but is it worth searching for, nah.

I still like the ergo's, best knife out there for gloved hands, not so friendly for bare. It does what it's supposed to for who it's sold to - of course, these days, any soldier in gear looks SF, just like all the early customers of Chris Reeves (South African Military) looked like mercenaries. The untrained eye is easily confused when they don't have a clue about the subject. Chris took his hits in the day about his mall Rambo wannabe hollow handle survival knives, but he still offers them, and they are the strongest.

The cream rises to the top, and it costs more.
 
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