Hello all ^^
As this is my first post on Blade Forums, I'll do a short introduction...
Ever since I was a little kid, I've been into knives. I remember getting my first tiny knife from a gumball machine and being ecstatic about it. Carried that puny thing everywhere and was heartbroken when I lost it, playing in some bushes. Must have spent a week digging around trying to find it :'(
Growing up, I got given some haggard SAK copies and bought a bunch of cheap tat myself, as a teen. It wasn't until I cut myself (due to a crappy knife failing on me) that I started investigating knives a bit more. Sadly, not much of a knife culture in the Netherlands. Thankfully my parents didn't mind as I've always been rather well behaved ^^
I think I spent about a decade carrying around my Victorinox Cybertool 34 (so much memories, beat the crap out of it and 'll never part with it) and the obligatory "Serrated Black Tanto Monstrosity", an old model CS Recon 1 with the axis lock (again, beat the crap out of it, but those things are damn near indestructible).
Over the years I've gotten rid of all the crappy knives and have a modest collection of quality ones I (can) carry and use. Nowadays (while I still enjoy the tacticool stuff) I'm more into minimalistic and elegant folders.
So, last week I ordered about 15 knives and spent a few days with my best friend going over and fondling them
I checked with the store whether this was ok and they were cool with it. At the end of the week I packed up everything and off to the store we went to return most of it. Was a good opportunity to have a look at some of the other beautiful (bought all of these), cool (got my friend a ZT 0300) and ridiculous (Extrema Ratio RAO) knives they carry.
We spent about 2-3 hours at the store and had a blast! In the end I went home with a sweet little collection of knives. All of which I intend to put into my EDC rotation. Even though I'm a Mechanical Engineer, my knives don't see much action beyond cutting fruit, slicing the odd birthday cake and opening packages, as I spend most of my time in the office. Thankfully, people at work (including management) are fine with me carrying a blade. I do get some comments ranging from good natured ribbing and "why do you need that?" to "I'm pretty sure that's illegal! ...cool knife, though" xD
I feel I'm starting to babble, so let's drop the introduction bit...
The knives I got:
- Rebranded Sanrenmu 710 (black with a light stonewash)
- Mcusta Yoroi (exquisite armor inspired handle)
- Boker Kwaiken Flipper
- Lionsteel SR2 (matte gray)
- Lionsteel TiSpine (matte gray)
- Wüsthof Culinar Chef's (20cm / 8")
(Am I allowed to post links to the Manufacturer's websites?)
To me, these are all desperately pretty... I should be set with regards to beautiful knives, but am pretty sure these will soon be joined by the more colorful Lionsteels, the TM1, the upcoming flipper and a blue Mcusta Katana :S
From this haul, the 3 Titanium knives are the sleekest (and to me) most practical. Even though the blade centering being a bit off on all 3 irks me (Lionsteels are my most expensive blades to date), I'm quite content with their finish. The Lionsteels' monoblock construction tickles me, as I like to design stuff in CAD and hope to produce some unique and wonderful designs like these in future.
Since acquiring the knives, I've spent quite a bit of time behind the PC (reading BF) deploying and closing the blades. The Kwaiken is a joy to play with. As I've gotten used to the Axis lock (Recon 1 / BM 300), I'm used to quick OHO and OHC. While this certainly wasn't (and shouldn't) be a priority when designing elegant folders like the TiSpine and SR2, I'm starting to manage it ^^
Spending some quality time with these knives in my hand, I have noticed a few things that worry me...
The TiSpine came out of it's cool tube packaging with a rather strong detent. I've been using my index finger in conjunction with my thumb to open it. This has improved matters. I'm confident I'll be able to open it with just my thumb in a bit. Something else that's slowly been getting better is the lock stick (there's a lot of friction between the tang and lockbar). However, disengaging the lock is still far from smooth and I'm concerned this may not improve
As far as the SR2 is concerned, both the detent and lock are relatively smooth. BUT, the detent ball is rubbing on the tang rather aggressively. As the blade describes an 180 degree arc on opening and closing, the 90 degrees in the middle require more force on the thumb stud to push through. This is due to the detent ball's pressure on the tang. Sometimes I even hear that awful metal on metal squeak :'(
Now, I'm a bit miffed about encountering these issues on (what to me are) expensive knives. Before I go whining to Lionsteel or the store, I thought I'd check with the good folks of BF : ]
Have any of you dealt with this? Are these common issues that will go away with time, or should I get these 2 looked at, maybe even exchanged? From what I've read, Gianna and the folks at Lionsteel take care of their customers.
Looking forward to hear about your experiences ; ]
Thanks for having me on the forum!
As this is my first post on Blade Forums, I'll do a short introduction...
Ever since I was a little kid, I've been into knives. I remember getting my first tiny knife from a gumball machine and being ecstatic about it. Carried that puny thing everywhere and was heartbroken when I lost it, playing in some bushes. Must have spent a week digging around trying to find it :'(
Growing up, I got given some haggard SAK copies and bought a bunch of cheap tat myself, as a teen. It wasn't until I cut myself (due to a crappy knife failing on me) that I started investigating knives a bit more. Sadly, not much of a knife culture in the Netherlands. Thankfully my parents didn't mind as I've always been rather well behaved ^^
I think I spent about a decade carrying around my Victorinox Cybertool 34 (so much memories, beat the crap out of it and 'll never part with it) and the obligatory "Serrated Black Tanto Monstrosity", an old model CS Recon 1 with the axis lock (again, beat the crap out of it, but those things are damn near indestructible).
Over the years I've gotten rid of all the crappy knives and have a modest collection of quality ones I (can) carry and use. Nowadays (while I still enjoy the tacticool stuff) I'm more into minimalistic and elegant folders.
So, last week I ordered about 15 knives and spent a few days with my best friend going over and fondling them
I checked with the store whether this was ok and they were cool with it. At the end of the week I packed up everything and off to the store we went to return most of it. Was a good opportunity to have a look at some of the other beautiful (bought all of these), cool (got my friend a ZT 0300) and ridiculous (Extrema Ratio RAO) knives they carry.
We spent about 2-3 hours at the store and had a blast! In the end I went home with a sweet little collection of knives. All of which I intend to put into my EDC rotation. Even though I'm a Mechanical Engineer, my knives don't see much action beyond cutting fruit, slicing the odd birthday cake and opening packages, as I spend most of my time in the office. Thankfully, people at work (including management) are fine with me carrying a blade. I do get some comments ranging from good natured ribbing and "why do you need that?" to "I'm pretty sure that's illegal! ...cool knife, though" xD
I feel I'm starting to babble, so let's drop the introduction bit...
The knives I got:
- Rebranded Sanrenmu 710 (black with a light stonewash)
- Mcusta Yoroi (exquisite armor inspired handle)
- Boker Kwaiken Flipper
- Lionsteel SR2 (matte gray)
- Lionsteel TiSpine (matte gray)
- Wüsthof Culinar Chef's (20cm / 8")
(Am I allowed to post links to the Manufacturer's websites?)
To me, these are all desperately pretty... I should be set with regards to beautiful knives, but am pretty sure these will soon be joined by the more colorful Lionsteels, the TM1, the upcoming flipper and a blue Mcusta Katana :S
From this haul, the 3 Titanium knives are the sleekest (and to me) most practical. Even though the blade centering being a bit off on all 3 irks me (Lionsteels are my most expensive blades to date), I'm quite content with their finish. The Lionsteels' monoblock construction tickles me, as I like to design stuff in CAD and hope to produce some unique and wonderful designs like these in future.
Since acquiring the knives, I've spent quite a bit of time behind the PC (reading BF) deploying and closing the blades. The Kwaiken is a joy to play with. As I've gotten used to the Axis lock (Recon 1 / BM 300), I'm used to quick OHO and OHC. While this certainly wasn't (and shouldn't) be a priority when designing elegant folders like the TiSpine and SR2, I'm starting to manage it ^^
Spending some quality time with these knives in my hand, I have noticed a few things that worry me...
The TiSpine came out of it's cool tube packaging with a rather strong detent. I've been using my index finger in conjunction with my thumb to open it. This has improved matters. I'm confident I'll be able to open it with just my thumb in a bit. Something else that's slowly been getting better is the lock stick (there's a lot of friction between the tang and lockbar). However, disengaging the lock is still far from smooth and I'm concerned this may not improve
As far as the SR2 is concerned, both the detent and lock are relatively smooth. BUT, the detent ball is rubbing on the tang rather aggressively. As the blade describes an 180 degree arc on opening and closing, the 90 degrees in the middle require more force on the thumb stud to push through. This is due to the detent ball's pressure on the tang. Sometimes I even hear that awful metal on metal squeak :'(
Now, I'm a bit miffed about encountering these issues on (what to me are) expensive knives. Before I go whining to Lionsteel or the store, I thought I'd check with the good folks of BF : ]
Have any of you dealt with this? Are these common issues that will go away with time, or should I get these 2 looked at, maybe even exchanged? From what I've read, Gianna and the folks at Lionsteel take care of their customers.
Looking forward to hear about your experiences ; ]
Thanks for having me on the forum!
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