Reate D9-A
District 9 Storm
Here's the guts. The pivot screws are 2.5mm Hex and the handle screws are 2.0mm Hex. All of the Hex screws are Class 12.9 which is something like the equivalent of SAE Grade 8 bolts, basically the strongest you can get in Metric. This also means that they are all standard size and not something proprietary, which means replacement parts are as close to going down to your local ACE Hardware and the potential for upgrades to Titanium is possible. The lock bar insert, "rotoblock"/LBS disk and pocket clip are all T6 Torx, the same that Zero Tolerance (and other brands) use for their pocket clips, though the thread pattern seems to be different.
Reate D9-A
District 9 Storm
Mystery solved, though we don't know why the change was made. The recesses are the same:
The bearings and pivot construction on both are the same, bearing race on the handle side, and then caged bearings against the blade. The bearings are small and black, District 9 claimed they were Ceramic so since they don't look like steel, I'm guessing that's what they are.
The lock bar insert is well made (exactly the same on both) and seems to use a black ceramic ball bearing for the detent as well. You can also see the overtravel protection. Both certainly feel smooth and have that nice "click" when they close.
You'll also notice that both are well designed enough to keep the lock bar from dragging on the side of the blade when moving through the arc. There's also a relief on the side of the lock face on the blade to minimize shearing against the detent ball.
The action on these is perfect, they fire hard, lockup very nice. As I said earlier, only a hint of sticky lock on the Reate D9-A.
My only real disappointment is the pocket clip, it's just uninspired and doesn't really fit in looks with the rest of the package. It's secure and slides on and off of my pocket edge nicely, it just doesn't look right.
I was hoping a 0561/0550 Gen 2 clip would fit since the pattern looks the same, but unfortunately they don't.
(this is a custom Gnoleb 3D titanium clip for my 0561)
As you can see it's very very close. I'm sure Gnoleb and others would be willing to make custom clips for it, though.
So there you go, there's the guts of these two bad boys. Top notch knives! And I have to say, Reate's customer service so far has been excellent. I haven't dealt with District 9 on that level yet, but he seems like a cool enough dude as well, and a consummate collector. Definitely looking forward to more knives from this power team!
