LW Harsey T1 CF owners - would you buy one again?

[KnifeGuyinSocal]

On my quest for an affordable Carbon Fiber folder, I discovered that Lone Wolf has discontinued the CF and has switched to G10. (if the info I read was correct) There are still quite a few CF's floating around.

I like the size, look, and materials used in the LW T1 CF - a lot. There seemed to be a lot of problems with the T2, and some of these problems (like the shape of the scales not perfectly matching the liners) could have affected the T1 too, but the criticism I read about the T1 CF seemed to be mostly limited to cracking of the clear coat around the screw holes, and that the overall fit and finish was just OK, not great.

Halsey T1 CF owners, or those who have handled them - would you still recommend this knife? Keep in mind that Carbon Fiber is a must as is affordability. (I should have bought that mint used William Henry Kestrel CF for $90 when it was offered to me last year! Damn! Anybody got one they want to sell?)

Thanks

 

[eswartz]

I have the Rosewood and the Carbon Fiber T1.

They are nice knives, some of my favorites, even though they have, what I consider, a design flaw.

The rosewood and the CF knives have some differences that I attribute to evolutionary fixes.

My rosewood one is older and has the thumb stud very close (touching) the liner lock when closed. The ball detent is engaged into the blade hole fully so the blade closes with good pull in. However, with the thumbstud in this position, the knife is hard to open because getting purchase on the thumbstud is hard.

Also, the knife when closed, hits one of the back spacers. Not good (the design flaw). Having a smaller back spacer, or moving the detent ball hole on the blade would fix this (or a few sharpenings).

The CF one is newer and has some fixes to the above problems. The thumbstud is moved higher on the blade, near the very edge, so it does not touch the liner when closed and provides more room for the thumb to get under it.

They also ground the close stop bar indention in the blade differently, so the blade does not hit the backspacer when closed. However, with the blade cut this way, the ball detent does not engage the hole on the blade, so it doesn't close with any pull in, just a friction close. Grinding the blade so the blade closes enough to engage the ball detent, causes the knife to hit the backspacer.

So the design flaw, IMHO, is either a) too big a backspacer diameter, b) incorrect location of ball detent hole on blade, or c) both.

I live with the slight contact with the backspacer and perhaps it will go away with a couple of sharpenings.

I love the handle material. The rosewood is really nice and the CF is very smooth, shiny and visually holographically interesting.

I like the looks of the knife, but I can't say that fit and finish is 100%. The backspacers are boring round cylinders and not sculpted like the ones on the T2. They also look kinda dinged up for some reason, not perfectly smooth.

For the problems stated above, I can't really recommend them to others, no matter how much I like them. I would buy more myself.

Eric.

p.s. As always, I may be wrong.

 

[JSR]

My Harsey T1 CF is my favorite folder. Yes, there are superficial cracks in the clearcoat, but assembly is fine. I do notice that the blade doesn't pull in when closing, but I have no problem with that. I actually prefer it. The ball detent is strong and keeps the blade closed very well. The only fault I find with my T1 is the blade is not centered, but it doesn't rub/touch anything. My blade does not hit the backspacer...actually, it's quite far from any of the backspacers. The handle fits my hand perfectly, full 4-finger grip, and is comfortable. One of my favorite things about the T1 is the amazing blade to handle ratio. 3.2 inches of blade, 3" of cutting edge, all in a closed length of 4"...that's hard to find! The S30V cuts great and sharpens well. Lockup is solid and the liner is thick. Mine has some slight lateral blade play, but only because I loosened the pivot purposely. Noticing the blade play takes a lot of concentration and looking for it. No vertical blade play, as I said, really solid lockup. For the price, I don't think there's a better knife for me.

I looked at other knives like the BM HK14210, probably the closest contender, but when closed, the thumb stud is not aligned well with the choil/indent and the blade tang sticks out too far, and it costs more. I didn't really consider Spydies because I was looking for the longest blade to handle, and the most cutting edge, both of which 90% of Spydies lack (they tend to have very short blades for a handle length, and even shorter cutting edges). Plus, most Spydies (cept a few like the Native and Goddard) are far too wide and take up more pocket real-estate than an equivalent BM, CRKT, Kershaw, LW, etc.

I like my T1 CF so much that I wish I had picked up another, and I'm considering picking up the G10 version. The CF is beautiful to look at and just appreciate. I'd personally really recommend it. It's an amazing knife for the price. Even if it were the same price as the BM 14210, I would still choose it.

 

[KnifeGuyinSocal]

My Harsey T1 CF is my favorite folder....I like my T1 CF so much that I wish I had picked up another, and I'm considering picking up the G10 version. The CF is beautiful to look at and just appreciate. I'd personally really recommend it. It's an amazing knife for the price. Even if it were the same price as the BM 14210, I would still choose it.

Thanks! Great points regarding blade/cutting edge length vs handle length too. You just 'sold' me. I'm ordering one ASAP.

 

[enderwiggin]

I just received a BM HK 14210 today. Even with the axis lock and G10, the T1 Harsey in CF is just beyond the 14210. Better blade steel--SHARP out of the box--well thought-out and put together, and has looks that are more 'serious' and well-designed than the curvy, somewhat odd lines of the HK 14210. Beautiful handle scales as well, for the reasons mentioned above.

The only reason I may end up carrying the 14210 over the Harsey is its' smaller size, I wanted something to rotate with the Griptilian.

 

[JSR]

enderwiggin - do you mind posting pics of both your T1 CF and HK 14210 next to one another? I've handled the 14210, but didn't have my T1 with me then. I don't believe the size diff is that great, but again, I never looked at both at the same time.