Is the CRKT Hissatsu Folder worth buying?

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Hi,

lethal force said:
I think you've got to have very weak hands to feel that the Hissatsu folder is hard to open.
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My hands are fine, but a childhood accident made my right thumb weaker/more sensitive, so while I can open this knife easily when my thumb is well-rested, it certainly takes its toll on it after a short while.

Has anyone removed the Outburst mechanism--is it easy to do? More importantly, once the Outburst is removed, how is the knife opened? Is it with a one-handed flip of the wrist (which I find so much more practical) ? I didn't really understand this part.

Thanks!

Awesome knife, by the way. It has certainly intimidated those I have shown it to.
 
I bought this about a year ago, and I do find that the ridges on the opening disc do dig into my thumb, no matter the callousing. While I understand the idea of trying to put pressure parallel to the handle of the blade, I certainly tend to put more pressure perpendicularly. Any suggestions?

Otherwise, it's a damn fine blade.
 
Digging up an old thread I see...

Well, I read this thread when I got my Hissatsu about a year ago. I could never reliably open the thing with the torsion bar installed so I uninstalled it (it is very easy to do). I found that I liked the opening much better with it uninstalled. This became the fastest and smoothest knife I had without the bar, even faster than my other AO blades. Still just as fast and smooth a year latter. I just picked up the Heiho on a whim (lowe's had it for $33 so why not). This little one is much easier to open and the outburst is amazingly fast!
 
I think the joint just needed some lube, but I still find that the little ridges of the opening disc bite into my thumb. And, I'm a little hesitant to remove the torsion bar. Still, if I can find some footage of the blade being disassembled, I may give it a shot.

Now, while the Heiho does look nice, I think that would be more likely something I would gift. For myself, I'm really digging the slimmer profile and higher placed clip of the Otanashi noh Ken.

Moreover, I don't totally understand how Amazon seems to get off selling CRKT's work at half price. The mind reels...
 
There is no need to dissemble the knife to remove the torsion bar. It can be done in less than a minute. In the photo below you can see inside the butt of the open knife there is a torx screw. Simply unscrew it and remove the bar. I can't remember if the bar just slid out or if I needed to poke it out with something but either way it is super quick and easy. You can put it back just as easily if you don't like it unassisted. I believe unassisted is the way James Williams likes it. I think the thumb soreness issue comes from how much pressure you need to use with the AO. Mine doesn't hurt me at all since I took out the torsion bar.

I have been looking at the Otanashi noh Ken also. Remember, when you buy directly from the manufacturer you are paying full retail. Going to a dealer is the way to go. Never pay full retail, for anything, ever.

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I have all of the Williams model folders and like them very much. I wouldn't say any of them are good for a general purpose EDC knife though they'll get you through in a pinch. They're mainly geared toward self defense. My Hissatsu has no blade play at all and opens easily. I don't think anyone who knows how to flick a blade open would have any problem at all. I haven't measured but I would guess the handle is thicker than a Millie but it still carries quite easily. As others have mentioned wicked sharp blade and point. Can't remember what I paid for it but I'm quite happy with it.

Mike
 
Mike45ACP said:
I have all of the Williams model folders and like them very much. I wouldn't say any of them are good for a general purpose EDC knife though they'll get you through in a pinch. They're mainly geared toward self defense. My Hissatsu has no blade play at all and opens easily. I don't think anyone who knows how to flick a blade open would have any problem at all. I haven't measured but I would guess the handle is thicker than a Millie but it still carries quite easily. As others have mentioned wicked sharp blade and point. Can't remember what I paid for it but I'm quite happy with it.

Mike
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The knife has a design flaw in some instances. Some are perfectly fine to open, others impossible. A lot of them should have never been shipped. More info here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1323441-Info-on-CRKT-Knives?p=15281314#post15281314
 
I've has to sharpen one for a friend.
Lots o blade play, but normal for the price jm guessing.
 
Overall the knife I had was of good quality and appeared to be durable, but I didn't have it long. For me, the assist mechanism was all but useless. I could barely even get the thing open it was so difficult to activate. After removing the spring, it was easy to open and I much preferred it that way. I gave it too my brother for his b-day after not having it too long.
 
I can second the second post in the thread :D Otherwise, lots of advanced informaction by headroom, this should be a sticky somwhere for future reference.
I personally find that it's not really nessesary to taper the torsion bar, the fix in my case was very simple and quick, it works just fine for years. Crytab already got the link to my post,
I was about to posted, you beat me to it, I hope it'll be useful for somebody... :thumbup:

Love the knife for what it is - a stabber. The one I currently got was a gift from a good friend of mine and it's sharpened to about 20 dgrees inclusive, it is very sharp and goes trough clothing on a slash with ease.
I personally prefer the AO and Autolawks, I understand that not everyone likes those but I like to rely on a simple mechanizm rather human factor, when we're talking about opening such knife.
I also found that the blade opens much easier if you push it not away from the handle but towards to where it should go when open, just as EB suggested. I guess it works diferently for diferent people...
Love most of Mr Williamse's folders, Hissatsu and Heiho are my absolute favorites for number of reasons.

Interesting fact - regardless the difference in size, if you put the three knifes ( Hissatsu, Otanashi Noh Ken and Heiho) side by side,
you will notice that the distance from the pivot to the opening disk on all of them is almost identical, about 15/16th of an inch for the Heiho and an inch for the Hissatsu and ONK.
This means that you will work with all of them in exact same way, your thumb will find the thumb-disk in the same place where your muscle memory is taking it,
it you are used to opening one of them, you will not have any problems to repeate the opening motion when useing any of the other two... :D

Sb0H1E.jpg
 
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I've owned 2 of these, primarily because I like anything designed by James Williams. Could barely open the 1st with the torsion bar installed. Took it out, and really liked the knife. Gave the 2nd to a friend, but not before I removed the bar, as it was really difficult to open also. Seems like an opening mechanism that didn't really work to me. Have all the other Williams stuff by CRKT, but this was the only one that I thought I had to modify. Other than that, pretty slick little blade, especially at that price point
 
craytab said:
50 to 60 what? What does sweet mean? You will notice how others are explaining their comments and not just taking pot shots.
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Look here boy, don't sass me. You got a question, ask it.
50 to 60 dollars. Sweet= nice.
Do be thick
 
craytab said:
50 to 60 what? What does sweet mean? You will notice how others are explaining their comments and not just taking pot shots.
Click to expand...
Is this an edit? You weren't trying to be helpful earlier, you're trying to cute.
If you can talk in an adult manner, I'll listen. But don't try to be funny at my expense. This is just a knife forum, I'm a menber of more than 2 dozen knife groups of fb and have conducted many successful high dollars swaps and purchases.
Not to mention i am a military vet and a large man.
 
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