My ATR will be here Monday

J

jayharley

Joined
Oct 6, 2000
Messages
1,092
Just talked with Roger at KnifeWorks and my ATR will be here Monday. Can't wait. I am anxious to see how it compares to my large Sebenza. I was in the market for another folder. I thought about the Strider. But wanted something that would carry well in dockers as well as jeans. Seems the ATR will do quite nicely.

Like most of us, I don't need another knife. My folder group consists of the Sebenza, SERE 2000, Tops Magnum, Benchmade 710, Cuda Maxx, a couple Emerson Commanders and CQC7's and a few customs, etc and other stuff etc. The ATR will have a good home with plenty of company.
 
Me=jealous.
NewGraham went out of stock right after I ordered mine (a few days before they took the "in stock" off their homepage). I'd like to think it will show on my doorstep this week or next, but...:( :confused:
 
The ATR is an impressive knife. I think that Spyderco is on the right track with this lock type. The lock up is very solid and the lock design has no real parts involved to break or fail. The lock has proven pretty natural to disengage and not at all prone to being accidentally disengaged. I am sure you will be impressed.
 
Dremmel the knife and wave it. Make it the knife it should be.

Beware that hardened CPM steels are not fun to use power tools on.
 
Originally posted by memnoch
Dremmel the knife and wave it. Make it the knife it should be.
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I can see where lots of folks do like the wave idea. However, with the few Commanders I own, I find that I now only carry them in the Emerson quick deployment sheath (which I really really like). For regular pocket carry, I now find the wave to be a bit inconvenient. Most of the time I want to pull out a clipped knife without it automatically opening, or halfway opening, or eventually tearing my pants. This is not meant to be any criticism of the wave design at all. Just a comment on my personal kinfe requirments.

I purchased the ATR to be a more aggressive looking , rotating substitute for my large classic Sebenza (with leather inserts). I enjoy my Sebenza very much (top quality, very smooth etc etc). However the appearace of Sebenzas, in general, is very passive, elegant, politically correct but a bit boring and unexciting. I am expecting the ATR to be more aggressive and a more exciting looking than the Sebenza. I doubt if the quality of the ATR can beat the Sebenza, but I will have to wait until Monday to find out. Spyderco has certainly put a lot of time and effort into the ATR to create a knife of the highest quality materials and modern lock and blade design. I presume that, for the money, it will make my Sebenza a bit jealous.
 
Memnoch, I have read many of your postings and respect your experience, but I have to disagree with you. I am close to filing the wave feature off my Commander. A friend has already done so. While it's fast, for me it's not always reliable, and often I have trouble getting the knife out of my pocket without it opening a quarter of the way. I'd rather control how and when it opens myself! :)

Jestyr, the wave is a feature of some Emerson knives. The blade has a little hook on the back of it. When you pull it from your pants, the hook hangs onto the edge of your pocket, pulling the blade open as you draw it from your pants. If you're good at it, it's the fastest way of opening a knife. I, however, am not good at it, and find that with different pants it requires a slight change in technique. You can "wave" a Spyderco knife by modifying the opening hole to make it function as a pants pocket hook.

Jayharley - Congrats on your purchase and please tell us all about your new ATR when you get it!

Johnny
 
However the appearace of Sebenzas, in general, is very passive, elegant, politically correct but a bit boring and unexciting.
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Exactly. Reason why I never bought one. If it had a kick ass look, I'd probably have one but I can't buy a knife solely on craftsmanship.
 
My ATR just arrived. Really quite a nice knife. Actually looks like a giant surgical instrument. Very slick and agressive styling. A nice compliment to the "politically correct" styling of my classic Sebenza.

Here are some of my initial thoughts:

The lock mechanism seems to be EXTREMELY STRONG and well designed. This certainly is not an easy mechanism to design and make.

It is one of the nicer folders that I now own. The workmanship is very nice and there seems to be a LOT of machine work involved in making this knife.

Incredibly sharp. The hairs on my arm ran for cover.

I did have to fool around with the pivot screw a bit as the blade was off center when I opened the box. Seems to be better now. Also simply opening and closing it seems to have centered it a bit more.

It fits in my hand very nicely and the cobra hood is ingenious.

When I started adjusting the pivot screw, to center the blade, I noticed that the amount of adjustment is very sensitive. If you loosen it a hair too much you will get a tiny bit of side to side blade play. If I tighted it a hair too much the blade almost scraped on one of the handle "slabs". However I was able to adjust it so the blade is almost perfectly centered with no blade play.

The ATR is worth the money. No question. I REALLY like it. However, it does not seem to be built with quite the same high quality of workmanship as my large Sebenza. This is also OK with me, since the Sebenza costs about $125 more than the ATR.

I think when all is said and done, the ATR will be one of my folders that I choose to use and carry most often. My compliments to Spyderco for designing a very well designed, useful and unique knife.
 
I've had mine for a few weeks, and originally called it the best production folder currently available from any manufacturer, and I still think that. The opening was a bit stiff, but has broken-in fine.

Question on design: On the inside of the lock arm, there's a small piece that looks like a rivet. What is it's purpose?

--dan
 
The ATR is worth the money. No question. I REALLY like it. However, it does not seem to be built with quite the same high quality of workmanship as my large Sebenza. This is also OK with me, since the Sebenza costs about $125 more than the ATR.
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Uhhhh yeah...;)

The ATR kicks the Sebenza's ass in the looks department. No offense to the swarms of Sebenza followers out there...*puts on flame retardent suit*;)
 
dano: I also have wondered what that rivet is. Perhaps it has something to do with production and holding the components in place during assembly.

Warthog: I cannot say that it is better looking than the Sebenza. Of course appearances are completely personal. However, I do believe it is a good, much more aggressive design than the Sebenza. The Sebenza's "beauty" (appearance wise) is in its simplicity, classic, politically correct, subdued styling. The ATR's physical beauty seems to be in its aggressive, deadly appearance and highly machined look. I like variety. That is why I own so many knives in the first place.

I can't really agree it is the best production folder made today, since I have not owned or have not used them "all". However I still feel that the Sebenza is better in overall construction, fit, feel and smoothness. However the ATR seems to be certainly a "better" made knife that all of my other folders (other than the Sebenza). I don't own a folding Strider, so I cannot make a comparison.

I also feel that the Sebenza is a bit more comfortable to hold, but the ATR seems to feel more "grippy" due to the less rounded edges of the handle and the holes in the handle. Handle comfort also has a lot to do with personal taste and how a knife is to be used. I will say that the ATR's handle is well designed to allow the user to grab the knife with no feeling of insecurity.

The cobra hood, combined with the Spyderco "hole" works very well. The cobra hood also looks like it is quite involved to manufacture. This "hood" allows you to quickly get a really firm grasp on the knife. My thumb naturally falls into place on the hood when gripping the handle. The finish of the hood is rough, but maybe this is to increase the texture and to allow a firm grip.

I fooled around with the ATR quite a bit last night. It is becoming much more smooth opening (although it never was very "rough"). The blade is almost perfectly centered now (but not quite).

The compression lock seems to be very very solid. It also appears to be designed to withstand lots of use and abuse without needing any adjustment. Time will tell. Actually, I don't even know if it can be adjusted.

Please note that my opinions are based on a very limited initial impression of the ATR. I presume other likes and dislikes will appear after I own and use this very cool knife over a long period of time.
 
Question on design: On the inside of the lock arm, there's a small piece that looks like a rivet. What is it's purpose?
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If its the part I'm thinking about, I asked Sal at blade what it was and he said,Its a stop pin so you wont over extend the lock when unlocking the knife. It made perfect sense after he told me that.
BTW, I really enjoyed talking with Sal down there. He is one of the most personable people you'll ever meet. He's one of thoes people that even if you only meet him once, You'll never forget him.
 
If its the part I'm thinking about, I asked Sal at blade what it was and he said,Its a stop pin so you wont over extend the lock when unlocking the knife.
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Actually it looks to work in the opposite direction. Looks that it would stop the lock from engaging too far if parts get worn down etc. The "pin" is attached to the lock portion and is between the lock and the other opposite "slab". Maybe Sal can answer this one. I am a bit lost with it.
 
Hmm....must be a different part. I might have been looking at a preproduction model at blade.
Mr Sal?
 
It's there, looks like a small disk on the lock bar in the middle of the handle. Kind of like the head of a small nail or screw. I can't see any useful purpose unless it's an anchor point in the machining process.
 
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG

Must....


Get,,,,,


ATR

ATR!!!!!!!!

Nice review of the ATR. I have to save up some dollars and get me one.
 
Just a bit of an update: I have been playing with my new ATR all day, while sitting at my desk, and it is really becoming very, very smooth. I also am beginning to find the handle more and more comfortable and "familiar" to the touch. Yes. This knife is going to get a lot of "carry time". I added a nice lanyard to it and it is becoming a good friend now.
 
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