Olamic Wayfarer 247 closing smoothness

[Lord_Balkan]

Aaaaaaanyway......

Back on topic....

I've been carrying/using (and flipping) my 247 since I got it and it is breaking in nicely. The opening/closing action improved considerably after flushing out the pivot and putting a drop of oil.

It's now very smooth! I can also start pinch-opening with the thumb-holes now, and I expect it will get even easier as time goes by.

I haven't put it through much slicey tasks yet, but it's opened a lot of boxes! No issue there.

That is good to hear. I don't mind a beefier blade as long as it can still cut and slice well enough. I don't think I can do knives that are thicker than .15" anymore. Of course it depends on the grind and size / width but I have no use for thick stock and makes my current cutting tasks less of a joy.

 

[ChazzyP]

Aaaaaaanyway......

Back on topic....

I've been carrying/using (and flipping) my 247 since I got it and it is breaking in nicely. The opening/closing action improved considerably after flushing out the pivot and putting a drop of oil.

It's now very smooth! I can also start pinch-opening with the thumb-holes now, and I expect it will get even easier as time goes by.

I haven't put it through much slicey tasks yet, but it's opened a lot of boxes! No issue there.

Nice segue, man, with a manner as smooth as your new 247.

I'm glad yours is coming around. I find mine breaking in more and more with the use it gets. I've been on the job a lot lately and haven't quite had the heart to mix my Olamic into the high-end user rotation yet, but with lighter carry and endless evening fondling the knife gets smoother by the day and is moving up the favorites list.

I think the next big purchase will be a full-size Wayfarer build.

 

[SaraLikesKnives]

When I got mine it was stiff as a board - flicked nicely but you could almost feel how tight all the tolerances were. A day of continuous opening and closing, as well as a little oil on the pivot and ceramic detent, and it was smooth if still a little tough.

Now, over a month later of continuous wear and use, and it's like a rocket. Everything moves with a purpose, including closing; it doesn't fall closed like say a Grimsmo or my ZT0456, but it does close super easy and with a butter smoothness. As someone who thought she wanted a fall-shut kind of blade, I've really come to appreciate this: twice my ZT blade has fallen onto my thumb and chopped up my knuckle a bit. Both times my fault of course and I've learned to avoid it, but I've had no problems with the Olamic.

Seriously love this thing. My new dream is to find one with the mirror-polished Acid Rain handle and the upcoming harpoon blade style. Now THERE would be something I'd enjoy staring at as much as using!!

 

[ChazzyP]

That is good to hear. I don't mind a beefier blade as long as it can still cut and slice well enough. I don't think I can do knives that are thicker than .15" anymore. Of course it depends on the grind and size / width but I have no use for thick stock and makes my current cutting tasks less of a joy.

You sent me scrambling for my calipers, L_B, and for the knives in my earlier comparison shot. Blade stock on the 95T is .147", the Inkosi is .140", and the 247 comes in at .137", so it compares favorably if lighter is better. BTW my XM18 Spanto (AKA, sharpened prybar) comes in at .165" while one of my Seb 21s measured in at a svelte .12".

Of course the Shiro has a full flat grind and the Inkosi a higher grind than the 247 as well as having the newer CRK large radius hollow. Nevertheless, I did slice up a fairly substantial corrugated box with the 247 and it showed no tendency to jam up in the cut.

 

[Lord_Balkan]

Just got it... heres some pics

Right now my only disappointment is I think it is slightly off center. It is hard to tell but I want to let it break in before I try and send it in. It is thin enough behind the edge.

 

[Officer's Match]

You could probably loosen the pivot a teeny tiny bit and it would be perfect, but frankly its pretty well centered as is. And BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Cory Hess]

Fantastic looking knife, but you forgot the most important part of your first impressions. Is it smooth when closing?

I've been eyeballing these all day between the forums and dealer sites. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to pick one up sooner rather than later.

 

[Lord_Balkan]

You could probably loosen the pivot a teeny tiny bit and it would be perfect, but frankly its pretty well centered as is. And BEAUTIFUL!

I try that, it fixes the centering but brings in a teeny slight bit of blade play :/ And yes it is beautiful. Thanks

Fantastic looking knife, but you forgot the most important part of your first impressions. Is it smooth when closing?

I've been eyeballing these all day between the forums and dealer sites. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to pick one up sooner rather than later.

I would say it is about the same smoothness as my Sebenza, maybe a tad smoother. My only other complaint is I wish the lockbar had some jimping.

 

[ChazzyP]

That's a beauty, L_B. It's exactly the one I was looking for when I bought mine, but couldn't find. I'm not in any way displeased with what I have but the uncoated blade and hole pattern are really sweet.

Could be the centering will come around after a bit of use and break-in as mine has gone through a fairly lengthy period loosening up and becoming smoother and smoother. The centering looks pretty good to me, though.

 

[DallasSTB]

After owning three variations of the Wayfarer, I can safely say that the product has taken a well-earned place in my "high-quality" brands category. It's right up then with CRK, KAI /Zero Tolerance, Spyderco, Hinderer, CKF, Klotzli, etc. For me, the 247 is a actually better carry than the handbuild regular Wayfarers and Wayfarer Ccompact due to its relative thinness. It doesn't quite close under its own weight, but I prefer that personally. The action is glass, smooth though. If you have a chance and a few bucks to spend, I highly recommend trying one (or more) a variation of the 247. I doubt you'd regret it.

Wayfarer 247 with Gold accents, fileworked backspacer, and M390 satin blade

Wayfarer Compact "Custom" with Carbon fiber and Ti bolsters, blue anodized hardware and backspacer. Multi-grind CTS-XHP polished blade

 

[Lord_Balkan]

That's a beauty, L_B. It's exactly the one I was looking for when I bought mine, but couldn't find. I'm not in any way displeased with what I have but the uncoated blade and hole pattern are really sweet.

Could be the centering will come around after a bit of use and break-in as mine has gone through a fairly lengthy period loosening up and becoming smoother and smoother. The centering looks pretty good to me, though.

Yeah I am not going to worry about it until after I break it in a bit. I have already cleaned it and lubed it and that was a pretty nice process. I don't think the detent ball has worn in a track yet so sometimes it misfires. Like I said though I am not too worried about it until it breaks in. My biggest and only complaint so far is I wish the lockbar had some jimping.

 

[ChazzyP]

Yeah I am not going to worry about it until after I break it in a bit. I have already cleaned it and lubed it and that was a pretty nice process. I don't think the detent ball has worn in a track yet so sometimes it misfires. Like I said though I am not too worried about it until it breaks in. My biggest and only complaint so far is I wish the lockbar had some jimping.

Some of my favorite knives have poor lockbar geometry, and I just live with it. I get that a lot of makers want to keep the show-side/lock-side profiles as close to identical as possible out of aesthetic consideration, but I often find that jimping in those cases doesn't help that much anyway. Often as not low jimping still requires a thumb shift to a more vertical posture and the need to uncomfortably dig in more. My XM24 is a prime example of that, the bottoms of the jimps actually being lower than the show-side cut-out.

One of the things I truly love about my CRKs is the balance between their simple, utilitarian design and their prominent, easy-to-operate lockbar. No jimping required and a more-than-appropriate, not hurting :thumbup: for their design!

 

[Officer's Match]

My take is the opposite - I want it to be a very deliberate action to unlock. I actually like the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1's flush profile, and prefer the Umnumzaan's small ledge to the Sebenza's large cutout. I think the 247 is plenty easy to unlock.

 

[Lord_Balkan]

My take is the opposite - I want it to be a very deliberate action to unlock. I actually like the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1's flush profile, and prefer the Umnumzaan's small ledge to the Sebenza's large cutout. I think the 247 is plenty easy to unlock.

I just also might suck at it. That is completely possible. I sold my ZT 452CF because of that. This one is a lot better than that. It is also probably partially just me getting use to it.

 

[ChazzyP]

My take is the opposite - I want it to be a very deliberate action to unlock. I actually like the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1's flush profile, and prefer the Umnumzaan's small ledge to the Sebenza's large cutout. I think the 247 is plenty easy to unlock.

I just also might suck at it. That is completely possible. I sold my ZT 452CF because of that. This one is a lot better than that. It is also probably partially just me getting use to it.

I liked my Gayle Bradley, but really couldn't deal with the disengagement. As I've been moving stuff out and in lately I let it go, but I do find myself missing it now.

I didn't mean to suggest that the 247's lockbar geometry was poor. When I first got mine I did indeed suck at it. After a while both the knife and myself got better at it and unlocking now has a nice balance between safety and ease.

Edit: I have trouble with my ZT0452's lock release, too, but that's one of those favorites that I'm keeping.

 

[Razor]

I just got one yesterday and I will have to say this is just about the best fit and finish I have ever seen on a knife. I have owned and looked at several customs that did not have the fit and finish of these knives. The blade grinds on mine are perfect and it came razor sharp. It opens and closes perfect! The one I have has blue andoized handles with blue screws and satin finished blade. The clips that come on these knives are something else with the little ball bearing in them. I would say this knife won't be leaving anytime soon!