MOD Hornet or CQD II?

Never had a CQD, but my Hornet was a little smaller than I anticipated. It had some up and down blade play from the factory, which MOD promptly corrected once I sent it back to them. The handle ergonomics were a bit more uncomfortable than I expected as well.

Regardless of the above, I really do like the knife. I think the quality is good, and the blade takes and holds a good edge.
 
I'd personally go with the CQD MKII. The handle is very grippable and it has that handy glass breaker in the butt. Very useful if you have any EMT or rescue applications.
 
Originally posted by shane45-1911
Never had a CQD, but my Hornet was a little smaller than I anticipated. It had some up and down blade play from the factory, which MOD promptly corrected once I sent it back to them. The handle ergonomics were a bit more uncomfortable than I expected as well.

Regardless of the above, I really do like the knife. I think the quality is good, and the blade takes and holds a good edge.
Click to expand...

The Hornet was designed on purpose to be real small. But at least it's got certain things right, such as good finger guards and shape for thrust and withdrawal. You can palm this knife and it's totally hidden. And check out that lock-up - did you examine the locking bar and compare it to regular liner locks?

Than again, if your hands are pretty big, then it would be uncomfortable.
 
I've owned the CQD2, only played with the Hornet. The CQD is a heckuva good knife, with great applications if you regularly work EMS,Firefighting, LEO, etc. If not it may not be worth the downsides which I will mention here...

Tip down carry- for my hand the tip down carry was just always slow and awkward to open the blade. I've got a strong feeling this wouldn't be the case with the auto version.

Smallish handle- the handle was a little small in most grips for my largish hands, About the only defensive grip I dare use with it was just a plain hammer grip, Sabre or Philipino grips were just way too awkward for me, not enough handle.

Thick blade grind- I guess this is one of those give/take issues with knives, you can have it hell bent for stout, or you can have it slice like crazy, but it's difficult to get both, and I believe the CQD leaned a bit more towards the hell bent for stout side. It was fine for the typical tape/cord/knock around kinda stuff, but it was a bit inefficient at cutting denser materials like cardboard boxes and foam. Very much a perspective issue here, but, that's mine...:D

It's also just a wee bit thick and bulky for most EDC applications.

When I first got mine, it had some vertical blade play, and I sent it out with an entire herd of other knives that needed factory work, Spyderco, Emersons, etc. and within a week they'd sent me a brand new knife, FANFREAKINGTASTIC customer service. One of the many reasons I WILL own more MOD knives.

On the brighter side, it was very well made, the glass breaker was pretty cool, and the spearpoint blade was pretty sweet as well. I also like the plunge lock. (avoid linerlocks whenever I can) If a person wanted to they could easily sharpen the back edge of it and carry it safely. It very much does happen to be one of those knives I wish I'd kept.

The Hornet did seem very well made, and somehow inspite of the smaller handle, fit my hand more nicely. For a liner lock, it was VERY well made, and it seemed much handier for EDC. The blade also seemed a bit more accessible to me, but like I said before, probably a personal issue. Bear in mind, I never owned the Hornet, just drooled and gawked at it for awhile.

So, in summary, if you wanted the input of a neophyte knife guy, I'd say get the CQD2 if you're routinely working Emergency Services of some sorts, get the Hornet if you're wanting a good, stout, well made EDC that is still quite capable of hard duty.

Best of luck to ya'!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top