Looking At My First LionSteel Knife

Wolverine666

Wolverine666

Joined
Dec 7, 2009
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Lately the TiSpine has caught my eye. I like the sleek yet sturdy design and that what I want in my next EDC. I have never owned or handled a LionSteel knife so I'm going in blind (which is why I'm in search of info from experienced people). I'm heavy into Benchmade and Spyderco. So most of my knife experience stems from using said knives.

Anyway , I have questions :

1) How is the overall quality and fit & finish of LionSteel ?

2) Comparatively with other knife manufacturers , how would you rate LionSteel ? Are they in the same category as BM and Spydie as far as being well-built , materials used and engineering ?

3) I know nothing about Elmax. How is it ? Anywhere near the likes of S30V ?
 
I own five different models and they are in my opinion every bit as good as benchmade and depending on the model better. I have several spyderco knives and love them but I think Lionsteel knives are a cut above and better built. I think they are on par with ZT knives.
 
Very high-quality knives with a lot of unique monoblock frames milled from a solid block of titanium, aluminum, carbon fiber or micarta. LionSteel was runners up to Chris Reeve Knives in the 2013 Blade Show Manufacturing Quality Award and the SR-2 was runners up to Zero Tolerance's 0454 for Overall Knife of the Year Award.

The TiSpine is thin, slim, slick and real nice-looking. If you're buying new I suggest getting the Damascus ones for slightly more.

ts1df_gm.jpg

ts1d_damasco.jpg
 
Agreed, the Lionsteel knives are certainly better quality than Benchmade at this time and the Taichung Spydercos come pretty close to the Lionsteel offerings, but they are still slightly better.

The only anamoly to this equation is the Spyderco Lionspy which is made by Lionsteel for Spyderco, but quite a few people complained about the fit and finish.

The TiSpine will be an epic addition to your collection, more so if you get a Damascus version as RamZar has mentioned.
 
austonh said:
The only anamoly to this equation is the Spyderco Lionspy which is made by Lionsteel for Spyderco, but quite a few people complained about the fit and finish.
Click to expand...

No fit and finish issues on my LionSpy but the lock bar is very stiff! I got mine about 9 months ago so it's of a later batch.
 
RamZar said:
No fit and finish issues on my LionSpy but the lock bar is very stiff! I got mine about 9 months ago so it's of a later batch.
Click to expand...

Same here .... my LionSpy is perfect (bought it new a little more than 2 years ago). If you compare the lock bar on the LionSpy to the SR1 lock bar, you will see that the LionSpy's is thicker. This, in my opinion, attributes to it feeling stiffer than the lock bars on the SR1 series. That said .... ALL of my LionSteel-made knives are perfect.
 
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I'm just looking for something new. A slimmer knife is currently what appeals to me for an EDC. I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the BM 710-141 but who knows when that will be. And the LionSteel TiSpine looks interesting. Is there any benefit of the Damascus blade over the standard Elmax ?
 
Steel: Elmax is a modern powder steel 1.7C 0.8 Si 0.3 Mn, 18.0 Cr, 1.0 Mo, 3.0 V. From an engineering standpoint this is superiour to any damascus steel. Even with a lot of effort small mistakes happen when in the process of smithing (wording?) damascus steel.
Great edge holding but a bit hard to sharpen. Not very flexible, not the ultimate sharpness, like many other not so fine grained steels with lots of additional elements. There is a reason why razors are made of C70 or such. It is a good steel for the intended usage. A really decent compromise.

Damascus still looks fancy and is good enough for any realistic knive usage. Personally I do not like Chads style. I like less contrast

Quality: very nice

Personal adivce: Get it mated. not polished. Mine is polished and it looks very nice until you touch it. The polished version I can recommend only if you want the blue on. It tends to become purple when mated. Get the gold or grey in mate.
 
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