Kizer 5404a2

Mine is tip up w/ the option for tip down
. I think mine is prolly going to be a discontinued model.
 
bld522 said:
Did you buy a Ki302F, Chris? I've been looking at that one myself. I've got a Ki3404A3 and I love it!
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I like the look of the Ki302F and damascus, but I feel like the S35VN on the Ki3404 would be smarter but its less pretty. Can't decide between the two.
 
MacLaren1 said:
That's great news man. Please, feel free to post up some pics when/if ya get a chance.
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Here you go. The spectrum anodized titanium side looks cool.

Very impressed.

Although this knife reminds me why I hate trying to photograph mirror polish blades! :)






 
K.O.D. said:
I think partially what may have happened is that when Kizer started out with a tip-down only clip design on most of their knives, and has now produced a "second generation" with tip-up or 2 position clips, hence why the original designs are on sale. Could be a number of things.
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Could be...I was thinking the same...I was pleasantly surprised when one I ordered, which was supposed to be tip down only, arrived in tip up configuration with the option for either.

Impressed with F&f. however, i took one down yesterday to do a slight mod and discovered that the screws are without a doubt the softest screws I've ever encountered... Stripped immediately with very little force.... Btw,I use premium wihi torx bits and know what I'm doing. Be careful with the screws...they should have just riveted it...as the take down screws are non functional IMO
 
I work for Niagara Specialty Metals and we do indeed sell directly to Kizer. We buy the slab from Crucible, hot roll it to sheet and ship direct to their facility in China. They get issued material certificates when we sell them the steel. They may not provide the certs with the knives, but how many companies actually do?
 
nsm said:
I work for Niagara Specialty Metals and we do indeedh sell directly to Kizer. We buy the slab from Crucible, hot roll it to sheet and ship direct to their facility in China. They get issued material certificates when we sell them the steel. They may not provide the certs with the knives, but how many companies actually do?
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Who creates the finished blades and does the tempering? Is Kizer just an assembly plant of parts provided by other unknown Chinese manufacturers? I really can't find any info about them on their website or a Youtube by them showing a tour of their facilities.

With all the counterfeit knives coming out of China I want more than cheap talk before I believe anyone's claims. Good steel, poorly tempered, equals a lousy blade. Anyone have any really good info from a proven authority? Heck, they had problems at Shot Show setting up and explaining their product specs to show attendees. They do make good looking cheap knives. I hope they are what they say they are, but have my doubts based on what has previously been shipped to knife buyers from China.

They don't even have a USA or European Warranty Service departments, which would be a small potatoes cost investment and an important function of any serious knife company selling cutlery in the US and Europe. Maybe this lack of customer service is why the price is so cheap. Thoughts?
 
Those are some legitimate questions GatorFlash1.
I'd be interested in knowing the answers.
So far, I really like the knife.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
Who creates the finished blades and does the tempering? Is Kizer just an assembly plant of parts provided by other unknown Chinese manufacturers? I really can't find any info about them on their website or a Youtube by them showing a tour of their facilities.

With all the counterfeit knives coming out of China I want more than cheap talk before I believe anyone's claims. Good steel, poorly tempered, equals a lousy blade. Anyone have any really good info from a proven authority? Heck, they had problems at Shot Show setting up and explaining their product specs to show attendees. They do make good looking cheap knives. I hope they are what they say they are, but have my doubts based on what has previously been shipped to knife buyers from China.

They don't even have a USA or European Warranty Service departments, which would be a small potatoes cost investment and an important function of any serious knife company selling cutlery in the US and Europe. Maybe this lack of customer service is why the price is so cheap. Thoughts?
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Honestly, it sounds like your doubts will only be assuaged by using one of their knives yourself. Maybe look into the passaround they're sponsoring right now with their new Matt Cucchiara collab. That seems like the best way to gain assurance.
 
Hi, thought I'd jump in to answer some questions.

To get a feel for our product, I encourage everyone to sign up for our passarounds which will be posted with regularity in the upcoming months. Current pending one is the DORADO from Matt Cucchiara!

1) Warranty - We have a US based warranty center and warehouse operation that we are steadily building up. Feel free to contact me with any warranty issues you may have.

2) 2nds - we do not sell seconds at this time.

3) Steel - as stated, we use S35VN and other steels. We usually do not go into details of all the manufacturing process, but if you have a question, I'm always here to help out by PM or email.

4) Questions - I'm always here to help answer questions. Please fee free to send me emails or PMs and if I don't have the answer, I'll get them from the other team members at Kizer.

5) Shows - we attend the SHOT, IWA, BLADE show and plan to attend more shows in the future. I welcome everyone to stop by and meet the team. We would be happy to answer any questions you have in person as well as in electronic format.

Thank you.

Kizer.
 
I bought 3 recently to try out. Perfect fit and finish on all of them. They were all larger than I normally carry (3.5-3.75 inches) so I'll be letting them go but if they start making slimmer smaller (3.25 inch) blades then I'll be all over these.
 
Kizer is a great brand. I just picked up the Ki403A2 yesterday, and I absolutely love it. Some of the handles look a little too "colorful" for my taste, but the one I have is very mellow. Perfect centering, smooth opening, and to top it off, S35vn and titanium? What??!?? All for about $100. Yup! This knife and this brand are awesome!
 
I have 2 kizer's, a ki3404-3 and a ki4401x. I got them when kizer first started out. I can say this, for the price, they're solid knives, but I wouldn't go as far as saying they compare to higher priced knives.

They are built like they're priced, and they have a few little perks that make them sorta unique. For example, the 2 I have both feature a ceramic detent which makes them incredibly smooth. Also, most of them have Ti handles (sometimes sculpted) with anodizing, something usually not found on knives in the under $200 range.

I actually contacted crucible myself and was told that kizer uses authentic cpm products. Can't say what the heat treat process is, but it's not bad steel. I never noticed anything that made me think it was subpar.

I can't say I'd buy myself anymore kizer's since now I'm more focused on higher end customs and such, but I sure would mind carrying one. They will do what I need them to do.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Honestly, it sounds like your doubts will only be assuaged by using one of their knives yourself. Maybe look into the passaround they're sponsoring right now with their new Matt Cucchiara collab. That seems like the best way to gain assurance.
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I don't want to waste my time. I'll let someone else take the point, and take the risk off spending bucks on good looking junk knives from China that don't hold up over time. I hope I am wrong about Kizer. They look great and the price seems to good to be true to me.

FYI- one of the tricks that I have seen from China is the manufacture of parts for heavy construction equipment. The parts initially had good steel, fit, etc. But overtime they became less effective as the elements of the product were cheapened resulting in earlier failure. These counterfeit products were cheaper than what Cat and others sold them for. They looked exactly like OEM parts. This also happened with aircraft parts, engines, etc. That scared the heck out of me as a student pilot. I hoped the flight school was buying parts from a reliable source. Stuff happens!
 
GatorFlash1 said:
I don't want to waste my time. I'll let someone else take the point, and take the risk off spending bucks on good looking junk knives from China that don't hold up over time. I hope I am wrong about Kizer. They look great and the price seems to good to be true to me.

FYI- one of the tricks that I have seen from China is the manufacture of parts for heavy construction equipment. The parts initially had good steel, fit, etc. But overtime they became less effective as the elements of the product were cheapened resulting in earlier failure. These counterfeit products were cheaper than what Cat and others sold them for. They looked exactly like OEM parts. This also happened with aircraft parts, engines, etc. That scared the heck out of me as a student pilot. I hoped the flight school was buying parts from a reliable source. Stuff happens!
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So you just want to complain about them and cast aspersions without making any effort to confirm your positions or seek experiences that may change your mind. Got it.
 
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