I just bought a Hissatsu 2 from Amazon.com. I like it .. within its limitations. Its not a fighter, but what I call a gentlemans knife in a fighter style. It is, however, a quality product that exceeds the expectations of its sub-$50 price point.
First, lets address the scales since thats the biggest gripe from the critics. (I love it when people complain about things before they touch them or even see them in person. Really? I mean, REALLY?) Anyway, the specs say zytel, but the scales look and feel more like linen micarta. There's layers and grain to the texture as well as evidence of milling and polishing. The kanji is deep and appears to be milled, not engraved or molded. If indeed it does say Art of War then thats a good thing. Being a redneck zen kinda guy, I like it. Overall, the quality of the scales remind me of some of my old Al Mar folders.
CRKTs so-called Outburst option sucks. Assisted opening knives desperately need flippers (a la the classic Carson design). Thumb studs and discs are not healthy when used with assisted openers. The spring creates so much initial resistance that you end up pushing down on the blade so hard and therefore follow through with so much pressure that you risk cutting yourself. None of the assisted openers Ive ever had were worth the trouble unless they had a flipper/guard/whatever you wanna call it. The only one I have that Ive kept is the SOG Twitch.
Anywaaaaaaaay
I took out the spring in both of my Hissatsu folders. You might have to take the knife apart to do this. You need a Torx #6 to loosen the retaining screw. The spring in the larger folder was easily pulled out. The smaller one required complete disassembly. I couldnt even drive it out with a steel punch. I ended up putting the spacer in a vice and using vice grips.
The effort was worth it, though. Get this: THE LARGER KNIFE IS ACTUALLY FASTER TO OPEN WITH NO SPRING THAN IT IS WITH THE SPRING. I like both knives 100% more without the spring assist. Oh, sure, you can impress your friends and all with the snappy little click but so what? I prefer control and safety. Keep in mind that the smaller Hissatsu 2 blade is not nearly as heavy as the larger knife blade so the inertia/momentum trick dont work quite as well. Still, its faster without the spring.
One technique that works for me on both Hissatsu folders is using the thumb disc like an Emerson wave. I learned this on the Boker Chad Los Banos Subcom series. On those knives the scales are thinner than the thumb studs and its a simple matter of dragging the knife sideways against the edge of your pocket (as opposed to the top against the edge with the Emerson Wave) to expedite opening.
The large Hissatsu folder is a literally a snap to open this way. I have to force myself not to do it when I dont want it to pop open. If you miss just flip the wrist and itll open up, way faster than any automatic or assisted opener.
The smaller Hissatsu 2 folder takes a little more effort. I suspect if you opened up the index finger groove a little bit the technique would work even better.
The Hissatsu 2 blade like its larger brother is multi-faceted and sleek. Its more of a saber grind than hollow. I wish it was flat ground, but whattayagonnado? The knife out of the box isnt particularly sharp, but AUS-8 is good steel and depending on the heat treatment ought to take a decent edge.
Aesthetically, the graphics on the blade are a bit much, way more offensive than the so-called mall ninja kanji. The CRKT on one side of the blade is all right, but William HissatsuTM 2 is garish and probably will be polished away (if I keep the knife). The bigger the better. Actually, shouldnt it be Hissatsu 2TM? The TM is a really good move, artistically speaking. Better if the whole thing had been more in proportion to the diminutive size of the blade.
By the way, in regards to the original Hissatsu folder
. Putting the word folder on the side of a folding knife is like putting sword on the side of a katana or car on the side of a car. Why not put box on the box it is packaged in, just in case the customer gets confused and thinks its a bale of hay. I mea, come one
I work in communications and at the risk of pointing doom in my own direction, some marketing people should just be shot or at least put on an ice floe and left to drift alone to die.
Overall the execution of the Hissatsu 2 is classy and a quality job. If I decide to keep the knife (I sometimes give them away as gifts for favors or to friends who deploy) I would do two things: the scales could use a little bevel to make it even friendlier to my hand; plus, I might polish down the detent ball just a teensy bit to see if I can make it flip open.
After all, I am a mall ninja. I just dont hang out at the mall.
I've actually been thinking about taking it back apart and putting a high polished finish on it. I think that would look beautiful. Be even neater if I could get a nice hamon it but that'll never happen lol. Anyway like Hobo said regarding the geometry ;and to add, thickness, I decided to thin mine out a tad. Unfortunately for aesthetics, I removed the separation of grinds; it's now a consistent edge thanks to my inability to sharpen correctly when I got the knife. I have been thinking about getting another one polish up vs this one but once again it'll be the original model as I'm not very fond of the handle on the new one, just personal taste.
