My first Olamic Wayfarer 247... Thanks Eugene!

Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
781
Been a long looooooong time since I posted on Bladeforums, but my search for a higher end, modern, titanium handle, EDC knife lead me to an absolutely outstanding knife and an equally outstanding person. I just have to share my experience with Olamic Tactical and Eugene Solomonik.

About a month ago I purchased an Olamic Wayfarer 247 with the full black stonewashed PVD coating from an online vendor. I'm not crazy about all black or "blackwashed" knives, but I liked the look of the handle, so I went for it. After a week of carrying the knife I contacted Olamic Customer Service about swapping or buying a satin finish blade with no coating for my Wayfarer 247. Olamic Cutlery owner Eugene Solomonik, emailed me back and explained that he didn't have any blades available for swap or purchase. However, he did offer to satin finish my blade flats, pocket clip and back spacer as an option in order to achieve a two-toned look at no cost to me. He took the time to send me a modified photo of a PVD coated Wayfarer 247 to show me exactly what he planned to do to the knife. After a few more extremely helpful e-mail exchanges with Eugene, I packed up my knife and sent it from FL to Olamic in CA. I received emails from Eugene throughout the process letting me know that he got the knife, when it was completed including photos and finally a tracking number for the return package. 8 days after the knife left my house, I had it back in hand. All I can say is WOW!!! And of course thanks so much for the outstanding customer service to Eugene Solomonik. Best customer service I've ever experienced. What a great guy, company and product!!!

About the knife:
  • Lockup is solid with no stick or lock-rock.
  • No blade play vertical or horizontal.
  • Edge was shaving sharp out of the box. Very even and symmetrical from point to sharpening choil. I reprofiled the bevel to 16º per side and gave it a near mirror polish and 20º micro bevel on my Wicked Edge.
  • Blade centering is spot on!
  • Fit and finish is outstanding.
  • Action is super smooth. No need to mess with the pivot screw. I tightened all screws and the pivot after cleaning and the blade free drops with the lock disengaged.
  • Flipper is well balanced and opens with authority every time via "push button" or "light switch" method. I'm not usually a flipper knife kind of guy. This is the only flipper I've ever been compelled to keep after using it.
  • Detente is just right. Love the polished detente ball ramp on the blade tang. Not too hard or soft...it just works. If you like the finger destroying Detente of a Zero Tolerance 0566 then this knife probably isn't for you.
  • The PVD finish doesn't scratch easily.
  • Pocket clip works well, but took a few days to get accustomed to it. Pocket retention is very good.
  • Was worried about the proprietary pivot hardware, but the tool included with the knife works well.
  • Fits my hand perfectly, cuts wonderfully!
  • Elmax steel on this knife takes an extremely fine hair whittling edge and retains it quite well. The PVD coating isn't showing any scratches on the blade near the cutting edge.

Even though I haven't been crazy about flipper knives in the past, the Olamic Wayfarer 247 addresses the few issues that keep me from truly loving my Sebenza 21. I know I'll be parting with the Sebenza at some point soon because the Olamic is exactly what I was looking for.


Olamic1_zpsxq8ncell.jpg


Olamic2_zpsdyvkgvur.jpg


Olamic6_zpskmwgxdmd.jpg


Olamic5_zpszmgomzwg.jpg


Eugene replaced the Olamic and Elmax laser engravings that were sanded away.
Olamic3_zpsuhfaau9u.jpg



Olamic4_zpsjw5fkdni.jpg



Olamic7_zpshaqztdsg.jpg


Olamic8_zps5ztlkrff.jpg


Blade Centering
Olamic11_zpslcnwnpi5.jpg


Group shot of popular knives for size comparison: Paramilitary 2 (Elmax & Green G10), Olamic Wayfarer 247 (Elmax & Titanium), Sebenza 21 (S35VN & Titanium) and Benchmade 940-1 (S90V and Carbon Fiber)
Olamic9_zpsip7c8dhe.jpg


Olamic10_zpsjzbikmmw.jpg
 
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I can definitely vouch for Eugene at Olamic. I consider him a friend, and Olamic's work is absolutely outstanding. This is my custom, made to my specifications:

28786029540_ac594411fc_b.jpg


S30v "Sheepscliffe" blade, with hammered copper bolsters and green polished G10. Just perfect.

Your knife looks like it will provide many years of fantastic service, brother! Typical Olamic quality!
 
Wow...great looking knife!

I just can't believe that my knife is a factory mid-tech and not a custom. Well, I guess now it's customized... and perfect!
 
Wow...great looking knife!

I just can't believe that my knife is a factory mid-tech and not a custom. Well, I guess now it's customized... and perfect!

Absolutely, I really really like the blade finish on your knife. Just an excellent piece all around.
 
I can definitely vouch for Eugene at Olamic. I consider him a friend, and Olamic's work is absolutely outstanding. This is my custom, made to my specifications:

28786029540_ac594411fc_b.jpg


S30v "Sheepscliffe" blade, with hammered copper bolsters and green polished G10. Just perfect.

Your knife looks like it will provide many years of fantastic service, brother! Typical Olamic quality!

i bet that was a nice looking knife. howd you break the tip off? i do quite a bit of prying on boards and such but i always just use a prybar so i don't ruin any of my knives. haven't broken a knife yet. you can usually find a prybar at home inprovment stores for cheap, so i just make sure to use that instead. hope your knife came with a good warranty. its still cool though. best of luck buddy. :thumbup:
 
i bet that was a nice looking knife. howd you break the tip off? i do quite a bit of prying on boards and such but i always just use a prybar so i don't ruin any of my knives. haven't broken a knife yet. you can usually find a prybar at home inprovment stores for cheap, so i just make sure to use that instead. hope your knife came with a good warranty. its still cool though. best of luck buddy. :thumbup:

...LOL took me a second. Very subtle sarcasm. I actually thought you were serious for a second.
 
...LOL took me a second. Very subtle sarcasm. I actually thought you were serious for a second.

hope I'm not missing something, i was just wondering if you broke it or maybe you got it second hand and it was like that already? i had a buddy who busted a knife tip and it looked a lot like that and he ended up giving it away to his brother, after that i made sure not loan him any of my tools just to be safe. cheers!
 
Been a long looooooong time since I posted on Bladeforums, but my search for a higher end, modern, titanium handle, EDC knife lead me to an absolutely outstanding knife and an equally outstanding person. I just have to share my experience with Olamic Tactical and Eugene Solomonik.

About a month ago I purchased an Olamic Wayfarer 247 with the full black stonewashed PVD coating from an online vendor. I'm not crazy about all black or "blackwashed" knives, but I liked the look of the handle, so I went for it. After a week of carrying the knife I contacted Olamic Customer Service about swapping or buying a satin finish blade with no coating for my Wayfarer 247. Olamic Cutlery owner Eugene Solomonik, emailed me back and explained that he didn't have any blades available for swap or purchase. However, he did offer to satin finish my blade flats, pocket clip and back spacer as an option in order to achieve a two-toned look at no cost to me. He took the time to send me a modified photo of a PVD coated Wayfarer 247 to show me exactly what he planned to do to the knife. After a few more extremely helpful e-mail exchanges with Eugene, I packed up my knife and sent it from FL to Olamic in CA. I received emails from Eugene throughout the process letting me know that he got the knife, when it was completed including photos and finally a tracking number for the return package. 8 days after the knife left my house, I had it back in hand. All I can say is WOW!!! And of course thanks so much for the outstanding customer service to Eugene Solomonik. Best customer service I've ever experienced. What a great guy, company and product!!!

About the knife:
  • Lockup is solid with no stick or lock-rock.
  • No blade play vertical or horizontal.
  • Edge was shaving sharp out of the box. Very even and symmetrical from point to sharpening choil. I reprofiled the bevel to 16º per side and gave it a near mirror polish and 20º micro bevel on my Wicked Edge.
  • Blade centering is spot on!
  • Fit and finish is outstanding.
  • Action is super smooth. No need to mess with the pivot screw. I tightened all screws and the pivot after cleaning and the blade free drops with the lock disengaged.
  • Flipper is well balanced and opens with authority every time via "push button" or "light switch" method. I'm not usually a flipper knife kind of guy. This is the only flipper I've ever been compelled to keep after using it.
  • Detente is just right. Love the polished detente ball ramp on the blade tang. Not too hard or soft...it just works. If you like the finger destroying Detente of a Zero Tolerance 0566 then this knife probably isn't for you.
  • The PVD finish doesn't scratch easily.
  • Pocket clip works well, but took a few days to get accustomed to it. Pocket retention is very good.
  • Was worried about the proprietary pivot hardware, but the tool included with the knife works well.
  • Fits my hand perfectly, cuts wonderfully!
  • Elmax steel on this knife takes an extremely fine hair whittling edge and retains it quite well. The PVD coating isn't showing any scratches on the blade near the cutting edge.

Even though I haven't been crazy about flipper knives in the past, the Olamic Wayfarer 247 addresses the few issues that keep me from truly loving my Sebenza 21. I know I'll be parting with the Sebenza at some point soon because the Olamic is exactly what I was looking for.


Olamic1_zpsxq8ncell.jpg


Olamic2_zpsdyvkgvur.jpg


Olamic6_zpskmwgxdmd.jpg


Olamic5_zpszmgomzwg.jpg


Eugene replaced the Olamic and Elmax laser engravings that were sanded away.
Olamic3_zpsuhfaau9u.jpg



Olamic4_zpsjw5fkdni.jpg



Olamic7_zpshaqztdsg.jpg


Olamic8_zps5ztlkrff.jpg


Blade Centering
Olamic11_zpslcnwnpi5.jpg


Group shot of popular knives for size comparison: Paramilitary 2 (Elmax & Green G10), Olamic Wayfarer 247 (Elmax & Titanium), Sebenza 21 (S35VN & Titanium) and Benchmade 940-1 (S90V and Carbon Fiber)
Olamic9_zpsip7c8dhe.jpg


Olamic10_zpsjzbikmmw.jpg

Dude, that's so awesome it's hard to put into words. Literally, that whole post is awesome. I've spoken about it before but back before Olamic got into folders I sent Eugene an email about buying a nero. He said he didn't have any available. I said thanks and moved on. Close to a year later I received an email from him with a full list of offerings that he had with the nero design and said different things could be changed if I wanted. The fact that he emailed me after so much time had passed after a single email spoke volumes to me. To this day I think that was one of the best examples of customer service in the business and have absolutely no hesitation in believing that if one of their customers was EVER dissatisfied with the knife in any way that Eugene would bend over backwards to make it right. I've yet to see that from any company, knife related or not.

Oh, and if you want to sell that knife, let me know. It's beautiful!
 
Hi Augustus. How do you like the pocket clip? It looks different.
Mtangent,
The pocket clip is definitely different, but it works well once you get used to it. I think it complements the look of the knife. It's a flat piece of titanium with a Todd Begg style ceramic ball at one end. The other end screws into three stand offs that thread into the titanium handle. Pocket retention is very good. It works better on jeans and other slightly stiffer, thicker fabrics like most cotton cargo shorts. Light weight quick drying nylon shorts are a little to thin and limp to get past the ball easily. The knife feels a bit heavy in pocket for those kind of shorts anyway. Hope this helps.

Bodog,
Sorry man, but this knife is going nowhere!:D
 
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