"My First Strider" tiger striped fixed blade

J

jayharley

Joined
Oct 6, 2000
Messages
1,092
I am seriously thinking about buying one of the new "My First Strider" tiger striped fixed blades. However, I cannot figure out what makes the knife worth $200. The steel is not anything exotic (it is ATS 34). The handle is not any special material (it is cord wrapped).

I am mainly drawn to the knife due to the great Strider reputation, and the fact that I have never owned one. However, $200 is more than I paid for my Mike Snody cord wrapped custom, or my Chris Reeve Shadow III one piece. Any input would be appreciated.
 
When you buy any product, you not only buy the item itself, but the skill and experience of the craftsman. For example, I can take a piece of a chrome bumper, sharpen it on a grinding wheel, quench it in motor oil and it will probably cut most things. It does not represent the skill, the design, the evolution of the design as it was tweaked and the warranty.

I bought a Strider because I am also a Dillon Precision customer. I still get updated parts in the mail for a Square Deal Press I bought in 1986. If I have a problem, I can call their customer service hot-line. Mike Dillon often pulls a shift on those phones to stay in touch with his clients.

Talk to any Strider customer and try to get their knife away from them. Look at the Strider forum; the owners and guys at TAD monitor the threads and provide info. You got a beef, ship it back.

I liked my Microtechs until the 'new guys' started stripping titanium off of the knives to save a buck or two. However, when my new Strider folder came on the UPS truck, I tossed my aluminum LCC in the drawer.

What did you get for two hundred bucks? You got Mick's word.
 
Ichabod Poser: Thanks for the reply. Of course I know "when you buy any product, you not only buy the item itself, but the skill and experience of the craftsman". That is why I made a comparison with Mike Snody and Chris Reeve. We are talking about very experienced, high level craftsmen.

Perhaps I should have worded my question differently. With both Chris Reeve and Mike Snody, customer satisfaction is top notch also. I am still not clear on why the knife costs $200 for a ATS 34 blade and a cord wrapped handle.

Please do not misunderstand me. I like the knife. I know Strider has a great following. I have read the forum and know that Strider's customer service is on par with Chris Reeve's (and others).

Maybe there simply is no direct answer to my question. Maybe it is a matter of brand loyalty and customer service as opposed to materials etc. However, if I buy the knife, I just want to know why I am paying more than other high quality knives.
 
Originally posted by AKADave



Hell given enought time and effort I can cut the tail end off a chopper with a dead skunk!:p

Click to expand...

Yes, I've thought about leaving my Strider at home and walking around with a dead skunk...the problem is that I haven't found anyone who'll make a Kydex sheath for the skunk.

RL
 
I will not buy a knife because it is made by Strider. If it is the best $200.00 knife for the purpose I intend to use it for, with the best warranty and the company has great customer service and a proven track record, then I will buy it. If a Strider fills all those requirements better than any other knife I am looking at then I would buy it, if not I would look elsewhere.
 
Well, it's my initial impresion, but maybe this isn't the knife for you.

But here's maybe a different perspective than just brand loyalty giving it the $200 price tag.

First off I don’t own a Strider, although I do like the AR folder and have thought about buying one, but just look at the material cost. G10 for 2 rough-cut scales at http://www.texasknife.com/TKS_Mainframe.htm is listed at $4.95 and Micarta at 6.95. It’s not a lot of money and if you were a knife company buying in bulk then I would think that the price would be even cheaper. Not really all that different from para-cord, just a couple of bucks. And even if you take into labor I don’t think it would be that different. If you have roughed out scales, drill a couple of holes, screw it on and sand off the excess (I know it would be a little harder, but basically I don’t think there’s a lot of finish time spent on tactical knife handles) vs. wrapping the handle in cord, both will take time if done by hand. They also list ATS-34 at $9.95 and S60V at $25.00. I think that the new S30V would be a little cheaper than the S60V but they don't list it. Once again, it's not very much. Your still only looking at $20.00 in material at most for a blade and handle even if you get away from the steel and handle material that you seem to have a problem with (tell me why you are looking at this knife again?).

I think what you are paying for is a good design and properly executed form, meaning grind lines that match and a secure handle (of any material), with professional/reliable heat treating (from Paul Bos I believe in Striders case), something that I think you should be more concerned about than over what ‘exotic’ steel was used. Who does the heat treating? Unless you are talking about Talonite or Damascus, the price to buy raw material isn't the major deciding factor in the price of a knife.

Also, you could post a question on the Strider forum as to why para-cord is used on all of his fixed blades and I bet you will get an answer from Mick Strider himself and I also bet he has a reason and it’s not because this was the cheapest thing he could find to use.
 
I hear the Bos name thrown around a lot and I find it interesting. I have been out of knives as a hobby for a few years and just recently got back into it. I used to hang around a smith friends shop and while he mostly forged and did his own heat treat he did do stainless stock removal knives and sent them out for heat treating. There are a lot of heat treaters out there and I have read about the foiling and the various techniques out there. My friend did some destructive testing and non-destructive testing and in general the knives he had heat treated were done right. What makes this Paul Bos guy different?

Its true that you cant count the cost of materials since they are ridiculously cheap in comparison to the craft. Look at the cost of materials in some of the worlds priceless art...
 
You can buy Strider, Reeve, and Snody knives for $200?! They should cost at least $300.

How much matieral goes into a Master Smith bowie? A few bucks. It's true none of these knives cost that much in material fees, what you are paying for is design and labor. Knives are designed for a certain dollar niche, what you lack in labor, must be made up in design.

Strider knives honestly can't cost that much labor, but they are superbly designed for their intended role. They may not look like much on a website, but to see them in person is awe-inspiring. You know they mean business when you pick it up. It's really quite ingenius how such a simple design can feel so right.

I've yet to buy a Strider because I can't justify a need. But they are certainly among the top pick of my list when it comes to a $300 niche tactical knife.
 
drjones: Well, thanks to your response and everyone else's praise of Strider Knives, I just bought a MFS Fixed blade. Got a good price and free shipping. Now I cannot wait until I get it. NOTHING LIKE A GOOD HOBBY!!
 
Glad I could be of assistance! :D

Honestly, you will not be anything less than 186.54% satisfied with your Strider! (Well...maaaaybe 185.24%...but don't quote me!) Like someone here said, you may as well give Mick and the guys direct access to your bank account! ;)

Enjoy
Drjones
 
The smell of the Strider knife is well worth the price of admission. You won't even be able to wash it off of your hands once you hold it.

Sometimes knives are priced like cars. They charge what they think the market will bear. A car company doesn't price an automobile according to the amount of materials they have in it. They do research and find out how much the buying public is willing to pay for certain designs and features. Then they price the car according to their data. Sometimes this means tremendous profit.

Strider knives are priced fairly for what you get. They're extremely tough and the designs are great. The tiger stripes are heard to beat.
 
$200 is more than I paid for my Mike Snody cord wrapped custom, or my Chris Reeve Shadow III one piece.
Click to expand...

I buy Snody and Reeve knives as well, but guess what? They are not my users. When I want to do some heavy cutting, it's my Striders that I reach for. If you snap that Shadow III in half because you pryed something open or ruined the knife by accidently smashing it against a rock , I doubt that CRK would replace it. You do the same thing with a Strider and you will get a new knife. To me, that is well worth the difference in cost that I pay for my Striders (what are we talking about anyway? $15 or $20 dollars difference between a Shadow III and a MFS?)

All knives mentioned are great knives. All companies/makers mentioned are great makers. Striders are just great user knives that are backed by exceptional customer service, very functional designs and a guarentee that can't be beat.

You will like your MFS and as it is your "first Strider" I am sure that more will follow.

S.
 
<img src="http://www.1sks.com/images/strider/sk-mfs-3.jpg">

It's a pretty cool knife. It would make a great everyday heavy utility blade, and will work for camping tasks. If you have a job where you are cutting tough things daily, and need a fixed blade the knife is for you...

Kevin
 
Paul Bos. Do a search on him, or ask jerry hossom or many of the other numerous makers out there who use him for HT. He is one of the best HT guys out there, bar none. Great guy to deal with, and the blades come back great. He has been doing HT for many years, formerly did Buck Knives HT stuff, he might still over see the operation IIRC. paul has been in the business for many years, and still grows and adapts, especially with the new steels Crucible is putting out. He works with the makers to help them determine what the best HT recipe is for each steel, and for diff purposes for the steel. paul bos does a great job with everyone, from newbies like me to people like Jerry H, Tom Anderson, etc.


As for the strider, i agree with the pricing. paul Bos Ht on strider knives is very similiar if not exact to the HT many custom makers can get. He doesn't do one method for 1 person, and another Ht for another person with the same steel. he uses the best method possible for it. I have seen posts where it comes across as Strider taught Paul how to HT, and they have their own "secret HT" for it, but Paul replied to a post their HT is the same as any others, no secret, just a different rockwell they shoot for as their blades are bigger, so they have a slightly lower rockwell, IIRC. Someone asked me about one of the strider knives that sold for $350. Not too much, ATS-34 and cord wrap and kydex. I laughed and told him that i am making an 1/4" thick (approx.) 11" blade, 17" OAL S30V bowie with a 400 grit hand finish, stainless guard, and black canvas micarta and kydex for $375. its all about marketing and hype. Strider has maybe $30 or $40 tops into their blades, but they sell for $200. you can get similiar/better customs for less. But Strider has the reputation and backing of the special ops community:rolleyes: which means that they are the best knife out there, and they can sell it for an arm and a leg. NOT. personally, I do not like strider, but thats another story.


Paul Bos gives everyone the same attention to detail with his blades, and is the best. Period.

Strider has a decent following, great CS from what i hear, sometimes if they aren't too rude to you, and overhyped and overpriced knives. My 2 cents worth.
 
Striders are great tools. What else can you say? Please post and tell us how you liked the knife Jay. :)
 
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