Most Overrated Folder

Bugout Bill said:
I'll happily buy my $90 Griptillians, which happen to use a better locking system, better steel, and handle scales that don't look like a $5 gas station knife.
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Now, I like spyderco and benchmade both, but most of what you said is just not true. The handle materials are both injection molded plastic. 154cm and vg-10 are pretty much on the same level. As far as the lock, yes the axis is stronger, but neither will fail under normal use. Its just a matter of preference, no need to insult any knife, or the person who likes them.
 
I just got a Benchmade Griptilian today (#551, 3.45" satin plain).

Can someone explain why this knife costs $90? Or did I buy it hugely overpriced?

The grips kill me.

The pocket clip material seems cheesy but works ok.

I really wanted to try an axis lock to see what all the fuss is about. The lock up is good and the blade material is great but sheesh - for $90 I would rather get two Leeks and a Chive.
 
This kind of thread is solely based on preferences.

I own a 550HG Griptilian and its one of my fav Production knives.

Does that mean that everyone is gonna love it, no not at all, and that's their choice.

Do I like Hinderers, yes I do, can I afford a Hinderer, yea I can.

Do I think the secondary market is always too high, no I don't.

There are plenty of times people ask WAY to much for his offerings, but I've also found some for not too much over cost.

I guess it depends if you find a deal or can be patient to do so.

I haven't found what I would call a "overrated folder" yet and I own about 55 folders.

I have knives that cost $20 to $500+ and haven't been displeased with any of them really.

But again this is all about personal opinion and preference.

Another member said we should get rid of liner locks, I think that's rubbish IMO.

Any type of locking mechanism can fail depending on the use and situation.

I have PLENTY of liner locks that you will never pry from my possession.....EVER!

And almost all of my liner locks have under 50% lockup and function flawlessly with no play what so ever.

It all comes down to personal taste and how much "YOU" feel a knife is worth, not what others think its worth.

Just my .02
 
egally08 said:
Now, I like spyderco and benchmade both, but most of what you said is just not true. The handle materials are both injection molded plastic. 154cm and vg-10 are pretty much on the same level. As far as the lock, yes the axis is stronger, but neither will fail under normal use. Its just a matter of preference, no need to insult any knife, or the person who likes them.
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Right. I've found it's also not a bad idea to express things as my OPINIONS, not as FACTS, unless I know that what I'm saying is a fact and I can prove it.
 
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agile_1 said:
I just got a Benchmade Griptilian today (#551, 3.45" satin plain).

Can someone explain why this knife costs $90? Or did I buy it hugely overpriced?

The grips kill me.

The pocket clip material seems cheesy but works ok.

I really wanted to try an axis lock to see what all the fuss is about. The lock up is good and the blade material is great but sheesh - for $90 I would rather get two Leeks and a Chive.
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Hmmmm. Based on what you'd rather get, maybe you should have tried an Emissary instead of a Griptilian. it would have set you back a little more than the Grip, but you may have ended up a lot more satisfied.
 
bld522 said:
Hmmmm. Based on what you'd rather get, maybe you should have tried an Emissary instead of a Griptilian. it would have set you back a little more than the Grip, but you may have ended up a lot more satisfied.
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You may be right. The plastic scales are just too cheesy for me. I feel like if I had the griptilain in my back pocket and sat down wrong that the plastic would crack. Milled aluminum alloy may be better. And I am a big fan of deep carry clips.

Right now I am liking my ZT's.
 
An " over rated knife" is only a matter of perception, What is over rated to one person may be the holy grail of the knife world to another, People can do what they want with their money and spend it on any "over rated knife" they please after all it's their money that they worked/saved up for so if they wanna drop 500 or even 1k+ on a knife more power to you.
 
agile_1 said:
I feel like if I had the griptilain in my back pocket and sat down wrong that the plastic would crack.
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Nope, not a chance. That plastic is ridiculously tough.
It does, however, feel an awful lot like plastic.

The Mini-Griptilian somehow feels better with the full length liners...but the plastic still feels like plastic (odd!!!).
 
Over-rated is entirely a matter of opinion anyway...unless we're talking about Mantis. :D
 
stabman said:
Over-rated is entirely a matter of opinion anyway...unless we're talking about Mantis. :D
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How would Mantis be overrated when everyone already thinks they're junk--oh wait, are you saying that calling them junk is still too good? ;)
 
Overrated is a matter of opinion, but there are a lot of knives that get so much hype, that I don't understand. I have never understood Sebenzas, or Hinderers, mainly for the price you pay. But one more affordable knife I don't envy that much is the Para 2. It is a decent knife no doubt, but the handle is so big compared to the length of the cutting edge, it just seems big and bulky to me for the blade size you get. A Benchmade 710 has a much better blade to handle ratio, and it has an axis lock, most people love them, not everyone though. Just my thoughts, and I mean no disrespect to anyone. I think like with everything, there are trends and highly anticipated (marketed) items as well that influence purchases.
 
meanwhile said:
In my experience people don't think that way. They think that the Hinderers are overpriced in absolute terms and the LEO/EMT/Fire thing is a marketing riff that has no connection with reality. Hinderers don't seem to get discussed on LEO forums when knife choice comes up (I've done some google site specific searches), they don't match what these people say they want in a knife (the Cop Tool is one match, a cheap serrated non-stabby folder another) and they do match the parameters of the Tacticoolus Fanboyus's taste in knives exactly: stabby, smooth flipping (like a cop is going to care about that!) and pretty. They're disliked as well-built knives with extremely suspect marketing and consequently silly prices - it's the suspicion about the marketing that causes the dislike, not the prices themselves, still less that some people can get a discount.
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Whoa!!! How did I miss this post? Well, someone needs to address it so it might as well be me.

The first thing that comes to mind is a desire on my part to thank you for the research you put into this, meanwhile. I too would be surprised if many LEOs walk around with $385.00 knives in their pockets. The second thing is to be careful not to base my buying decisions on resentments. I'm not suggesting that's what you do. I'm just saying it hasn't worked out well for me.

I'm not sure I'd agree that Hinderers are overpriced in absolute terms. Based on what I've had an opportunity to compare them to, I'd say they're worth the manufacturer's selling price. And marketing practices don't really matter that much to me. I consider most marketing to be little more than noise geared to capture mindshare and generate sales. But if I need proof of how powerful that noise can be, a quick look at what's going on in the secondary market for XM-18s is more than enough to satisfy me. Would I like to own an XM-18? Sure, if I could buy one for what the manufacturer says it's worth. Am I willing to pay more for one than the manufacturer says it's worth? Not when I know what else is out there for the money. As the saying goes, a little education is a dangerous thing. ;)
 
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Brad9660 said:
Overrated is a matter of opinion, but there are a lot of knives that get so much hype, that I don't understand. I have never understood Sebenzas, or Hinderers, mainly for the price you pay. But one more affordable knife I don't envy that much is the Para 2. It is a decent knife no doubt, but the handle is so big compared to the length of the cutting edge, it just seems big and bulky to me for the blade size you get. A Benchmade 710 has a much better blade to handle ratio, and it has an axis lock, most people love them, not everyone though. Just my thoughts, and I mean no disrespect to anyone. I think like with everything, there are trends and highly anticipated (marketed) items as well that influence purchases.
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If you used your knives a lot like some people really do then you would understand more about why knives like the Para 2 and the Military are designed that way.

It does make a difference. ;)
 
bld522 said:
Who I too would be surprised if many LEOs walk around with $385.00 knives in their pockets.
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Why?
I've been a security guard walking around with a $500 knife in my pocket.
Yesterday, I was a lab tech with $800 of knives in my pockets.
When I have another security shift, who knows how many dollars worth of knives I'll have on me.

Vocation is irrelevant to amount of dollars spent on knives...people on this forum of all places should not need that explained.
 
stabman said:
Nope, not a chance. That plastic is ridiculously tough.
It does, however, feel an awful lot like plastic.

The Mini-Griptilian somehow feels better with the full length liners...but the plastic still feels like plastic (odd!!!).
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Don't get bothered by it. Some people seem to be plastic phobic. Personally I find high quality plastics to be some of the best construction material available. Thats why my Thinkpad can survive what it's survived.

The plastic on the Griptilian is very high quality and extremely tough. So sitting on it would crack it is worse than an opinion, it is conjecture.
Is it tougher than steel? Of course not, but it doesn't have to be since it uses an axis lock which does not rely on the plastic handles but steel inserts.
 
Ankerson said:
If you used your knives a lot like some people really do then you would understand more about why knives like the Para 2 and the Military are designed that way.

It does make a difference. ;)
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Yup. It's why I dislike slim thin handles, like a Sebenza.
Bloody uncomfortable when you use it for more than opening packages and letters.
 
Well said. A lot of assumptions are being made about knife-enthusiasts. I love my Hinderers and I'm a retired geezer. If you saw me, you'd probably throw some money at me to get a decent meal. And I'd take the money and put it towards another good knife :)

stabman said:
Why?
I've been a security guard walking around with a $500 knife in my pocket.
Yesterday, I was a lab tech with $800 of knives in my pockets.
When I have another security shift, who knows how many dollars worth of knives I'll have on me.

Vocation is irrelevant to amount of dollars spent on knives...people on this forum of all places should not need that explained.
Click to expand...
 
stabman said:
Why?
I've been a security guard walking around with a $500 knife in my pocket.
Yesterday, I was a lab tech with $800 of knives in my pockets.
When I have another security shift, who knows how many dollars worth of knives I'll have on me.

Vocation is irrelevant to amount of dollars spent on knives...people on this forum of all places should not need that explained.
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I'm not sure your personal experience as a knife enthusiast is applicable to those who carry knives as a part of their jobs but aren't enthusiasts. And meanwhile's research leads me to believe that there may be more of the latter than the former in the LEO community. But if you say so . . . :)
 
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bld522 said:
I'm not sure your personal experience as a knife enthusiast is applicable to those who carry knives as a part of their jobs but aren't enthusiasts. And meanwhile's research leads me to believe that there may be more of the latter than the former in the LEO community. But if you say so . . . :)
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Exactly, MOST LEO and 1st responders aren't knife enthusiasts, that's been known as general knowledge for a long time.

Have to think outside of BF as it's a very big world out there. ;)
 
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