- Joined
- Jun 6, 2010
- Messages
- 184
Preface
FYI, this is a "re-post" from my original 4/22 post.
This is an account of my first impressions of a knife which I recently acquired. My goal here is to describe a knife that you may have heard of or even seen online, but haven't had the opportunity to look at in detail. My personal observations, photos and short background on the designer/ manufacturer and their objectives will help one get a better idea of the knife and it's key attributes. I will follow up with a review once I have had the opportunity to actually work with the knife over a reasonable length of time. Last but not least ...enjoy!
Intro
I went out the other day to pick up a Rockstead and came home with a real beauty of a folder! But... there was this other knife that caught my eye... something that is really quite hard to do when you already have a gem in your hands. I couldn't imagine a better compliment for that other knife, which was a Lion Steel SR-1Al.
click-the-pics for the larger, 1280x version
Poor man's SR-1
I'm not sure if that's the best heading to use, because there's absolutely nothing poor (or cheap) about the SR-1Al. Note the "Al" suffix - that stands for aluminum. As you probably know, Lion Steel was awarded Best innovative Imported Design at the 2010 Blade Show for their original SR-1, which is a Titanium monoblock / frame-lock based folder. A real beauty and certainly worth the asking price. I thought about picking one up late last year but decided the price was a bit too high for my budget. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I heard that Lion Steel would be issuing an Aluminum version of the SR-1 at a substantially lower price
There are three differences between the SR-1 and SR-1Al:
Length: Overall 21.1cm (8.3") / Closed: 11.8cm (4.7")
Weight: 159g (5.6oz)
Blade Type: "wide-chord" drop-point, flat grind
Length: 9.4cm (3.7")
Material: D2 tool steel
Frame: 6061 Aluminum monoblock
Pocket Clip: tip-up only but reversible from front to back
Action: frame lock / thumb stud
Monoblock. With a Frame Lock. With a Lock.
Although there may be others, the SR-1 is the first knife I own (or even know of) that has a one-piece frame machined out of Ti/Al... (!) Even if it's not the first, solid frames are certainly not very common. Just think of the added effort to machine this puppy...! The SR-1's unique monoblock uses a less-unique and in fact the very well-know Reeves Integral Lock (RIL) also commonly referred to as a frame lock. And that is a good thing because as the saying goes, why reinvent the wheel? Lion Steel did however add their own twist to the RIL by providing for a replaceable "lock face", knowing that this part of the frame lock is the first to go, so to speak.
Just to top off the frame innovations, they even incorporated a safety lock - which (as the name would imply...) locks the frame-lock in the open position. All it takes is a quick twist (with your thumb) of the locking "nut" which is centered exactly between the frame-lock "arm" and the rest of the frame. Very simple, very nice and very effective! At first glance, it is easy to assume that this mechanism [also] functions as Rick Hinderer's Lock Bar Stabilizer but this is not quite the case (see addendum for details). Finally, some might be concerned that Al may be too malleable for a frame-lock. Personally I have limited experience with frame-lock folders and my thumb is already raw from disengaging the lock; having said that, I find it hard to imagine the frame "arm" bending or otherwise experiencing structural fractures, but please keep in mind I'm not a specialist (insert grain-of-salt here).
While we're on the topic of robustness, the SR-1's lockup is solid and there is zero blade-play. It comes quite stiff out of the box, both pivot and frame-lock are quite stiff - with time & usage this will hopefully give a bit or I will need to adjust the pivot a little as I can hardly open it a la one hand without wildly jerking the whole arm... not very subtle. Closing it requires two hands, simply because my right hand doesn't have enough strength to push the lock out of the way and fold the blade in one go (ymmv). The clip is small and non-protrusive and is located all the way at the butt of the knife for deep-pocket carry. The clip is relatively smooth and it's tension is reasonable. It can also be moved from the back to the front-face, but only tip-up. This is where the tool that comes with the original SR-1 would be handy...
Ergonomically, the blade's modest jimping combined with a deep finger-guard provide for a very secure grip. Keep in mind however that Al is usually more slippery than say G10 and the SR-1Al's finish, although matt-looking, has a glossy feel to it. Compared to the rough-matt finish of my Benchmade 943SBK which is very grippy for Al, the SR-1's finish is perhaps to "smooth" for rough work. The ribbing, which looks awesome, doesn't seem to add all that much to the grip. Even the Rockstead's Tei offers a bit more grip thanks to the stingray inlays. I plan on looking at the titanium version again and I will compare the feel of both to see if there is a difference in the finish. Maintenance-wise, the monoblock construction and added gizmos will make cleaning a bit tricky. Lion Steel has machined holes in the frame's spine which should facilitate cleaning but I would avoid using it on "messy" subjects... .
Wide chord
Here's a term not heard too often which describes a blade that is broad all the way through to the tip. I own a few of Doug Ritter's knives (which is a BM Griptillian with Ritter's custom blade) and those were the "fattest" drop points in my collection. Enter the SR-1: Now this thing's got belly! The steel used is another cost-reducing change between the original SR-1 and SR-1Al. The Ti's blade is made of Böhler-Uddeholms Sleipner tool steel while the Al version comes with classic D2 tool steel. Now Sleipner is said to have similar characteristics to D2 but is supposedly more resistant to chipping and general wear. Of all the differences, this is the one that hurts me the most, being the *cough* closet-steel-snob *cough* that I am... (lol). Otherwise, I have to say it's a stunning blade with a high flat-grind which makes for a great slicer with plenty of follow-through power. The edge has a standard factory "saw-tooth" finish and most users will want to finish it off by hand.
Molletta & Maniago
Molletta is a popular designer in the EU and is quickly gaining reputation globally. He has done work under the Custom knives "label" Nexus, and of course for Lion Steel. Lion Steel is located in Maniago, Italy. Maniago is today one of the more prominent knife-making regions of the EU giving the other established regions serious completion (I'm sure that all the Fällkniven and Böker fans here may choose debate that statement...). Maniago is home to Falcon, Fantoni, Fox (Siff), Lion Steel, Maserin and still others.
Conclusion
Beautiful knife, great design, great bloodline and great pricing too. Many Blade 2010 attendees probably already own the titanium version, but for those who just didn't have enough cash, here's your (correction, our) chance to enjoy the knife too
Addendunm
"...At first glance, it is easy to assume that this mechanism [also] functions as Rick Hinderer's Lock Bar Stabilizer but this is not the case..."
Just to be absolutely clear, I'd like to expand on the above statement. First off, Lion Steel calls it's locking mechanism RotoBlock*. The RotoBlock does share one function with Hinderer's stabilizer; they both prevent the lock bar from over-extending when unlocking. Otherwise, the RotoBlock's principle function is to "lock" the lock bar and Hinderer's to "stabilize" the lock bar. Regardless of the difference, Lion Steel's Gianni Pauletta did talk with Rick Hinderer prior to releasing the SR-1 series.
*FYI/ fwiw, the RotoBlock is also implemented in the DPx HEST folder.
FYI, this is a "re-post" from my original 4/22 post.
This is an account of my first impressions of a knife which I recently acquired. My goal here is to describe a knife that you may have heard of or even seen online, but haven't had the opportunity to look at in detail. My personal observations, photos and short background on the designer/ manufacturer and their objectives will help one get a better idea of the knife and it's key attributes. I will follow up with a review once I have had the opportunity to actually work with the knife over a reasonable length of time. Last but not least ...enjoy!
Intro
I went out the other day to pick up a Rockstead and came home with a real beauty of a folder! But... there was this other knife that caught my eye... something that is really quite hard to do when you already have a gem in your hands. I couldn't imagine a better compliment for that other knife, which was a Lion Steel SR-1Al.
click-the-pics for the larger, 1280x version
Poor man's SR-1
I'm not sure if that's the best heading to use, because there's absolutely nothing poor (or cheap) about the SR-1Al. Note the "Al" suffix - that stands for aluminum. As you probably know, Lion Steel was awarded Best innovative Imported Design at the 2010 Blade Show for their original SR-1, which is a Titanium monoblock / frame-lock based folder. A real beauty and certainly worth the asking price. I thought about picking one up late last year but decided the price was a bit too high for my budget. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I heard that Lion Steel would be issuing an Aluminum version of the SR-1 at a substantially lower price
There are three differences between the SR-1 and SR-1Al:
- Frame material (Ti vs. Al)
- Elegant wooden box (& much more importantly, the pivot/clip tool...!) vs. cardboard (& much more importantly, no pivot/clip tool...!)
- Sleipner [snob-] tool steel vs. D2 [Poor man's-] tool steel
Length: Overall 21.1cm (8.3") / Closed: 11.8cm (4.7")
Weight: 159g (5.6oz)
Blade Type: "wide-chord" drop-point, flat grind
Length: 9.4cm (3.7")
Material: D2 tool steel
Frame: 6061 Aluminum monoblock
Pocket Clip: tip-up only but reversible from front to back
Action: frame lock / thumb stud
Monoblock. With a Frame Lock. With a Lock.
Although there may be others, the SR-1 is the first knife I own (or even know of) that has a one-piece frame machined out of Ti/Al... (!) Even if it's not the first, solid frames are certainly not very common. Just think of the added effort to machine this puppy...! The SR-1's unique monoblock uses a less-unique and in fact the very well-know Reeves Integral Lock (RIL) also commonly referred to as a frame lock. And that is a good thing because as the saying goes, why reinvent the wheel? Lion Steel did however add their own twist to the RIL by providing for a replaceable "lock face", knowing that this part of the frame lock is the first to go, so to speak.
Just to top off the frame innovations, they even incorporated a safety lock - which (as the name would imply...) locks the frame-lock in the open position. All it takes is a quick twist (with your thumb) of the locking "nut" which is centered exactly between the frame-lock "arm" and the rest of the frame. Very simple, very nice and very effective! At first glance, it is easy to assume that this mechanism [also] functions as Rick Hinderer's Lock Bar Stabilizer but this is not quite the case (see addendum for details). Finally, some might be concerned that Al may be too malleable for a frame-lock. Personally I have limited experience with frame-lock folders and my thumb is already raw from disengaging the lock; having said that, I find it hard to imagine the frame "arm" bending or otherwise experiencing structural fractures, but please keep in mind I'm not a specialist (insert grain-of-salt here).
While we're on the topic of robustness, the SR-1's lockup is solid and there is zero blade-play. It comes quite stiff out of the box, both pivot and frame-lock are quite stiff - with time & usage this will hopefully give a bit or I will need to adjust the pivot a little as I can hardly open it a la one hand without wildly jerking the whole arm... not very subtle. Closing it requires two hands, simply because my right hand doesn't have enough strength to push the lock out of the way and fold the blade in one go (ymmv). The clip is small and non-protrusive and is located all the way at the butt of the knife for deep-pocket carry. The clip is relatively smooth and it's tension is reasonable. It can also be moved from the back to the front-face, but only tip-up. This is where the tool that comes with the original SR-1 would be handy...
Ergonomically, the blade's modest jimping combined with a deep finger-guard provide for a very secure grip. Keep in mind however that Al is usually more slippery than say G10 and the SR-1Al's finish, although matt-looking, has a glossy feel to it. Compared to the rough-matt finish of my Benchmade 943SBK which is very grippy for Al, the SR-1's finish is perhaps to "smooth" for rough work. The ribbing, which looks awesome, doesn't seem to add all that much to the grip. Even the Rockstead's Tei offers a bit more grip thanks to the stingray inlays. I plan on looking at the titanium version again and I will compare the feel of both to see if there is a difference in the finish. Maintenance-wise, the monoblock construction and added gizmos will make cleaning a bit tricky. Lion Steel has machined holes in the frame's spine which should facilitate cleaning but I would avoid using it on "messy" subjects... .
Wide chord
Here's a term not heard too often which describes a blade that is broad all the way through to the tip. I own a few of Doug Ritter's knives (which is a BM Griptillian with Ritter's custom blade) and those were the "fattest" drop points in my collection. Enter the SR-1: Now this thing's got belly! The steel used is another cost-reducing change between the original SR-1 and SR-1Al. The Ti's blade is made of Böhler-Uddeholms Sleipner tool steel while the Al version comes with classic D2 tool steel. Now Sleipner is said to have similar characteristics to D2 but is supposedly more resistant to chipping and general wear. Of all the differences, this is the one that hurts me the most, being the *cough* closet-steel-snob *cough* that I am... (lol). Otherwise, I have to say it's a stunning blade with a high flat-grind which makes for a great slicer with plenty of follow-through power. The edge has a standard factory "saw-tooth" finish and most users will want to finish it off by hand.
Molletta & Maniago
Molletta is a popular designer in the EU and is quickly gaining reputation globally. He has done work under the Custom knives "label" Nexus, and of course for Lion Steel. Lion Steel is located in Maniago, Italy. Maniago is today one of the more prominent knife-making regions of the EU giving the other established regions serious completion (I'm sure that all the Fällkniven and Böker fans here may choose debate that statement...). Maniago is home to Falcon, Fantoni, Fox (Siff), Lion Steel, Maserin and still others.
Conclusion
Beautiful knife, great design, great bloodline and great pricing too. Many Blade 2010 attendees probably already own the titanium version, but for those who just didn't have enough cash, here's your (correction, our) chance to enjoy the knife too
Addendunm
"...At first glance, it is easy to assume that this mechanism [also] functions as Rick Hinderer's Lock Bar Stabilizer but this is not the case..."
Just to be absolutely clear, I'd like to expand on the above statement. First off, Lion Steel calls it's locking mechanism RotoBlock*. The RotoBlock does share one function with Hinderer's stabilizer; they both prevent the lock bar from over-extending when unlocking. Otherwise, the RotoBlock's principle function is to "lock" the lock bar and Hinderer's to "stabilize" the lock bar. Regardless of the difference, Lion Steel's Gianni Pauletta did talk with Rick Hinderer prior to releasing the SR-1 series.
*FYI/ fwiw, the RotoBlock is also implemented in the DPx HEST folder.
It is a great knife and very sharp.
