One Year With The Spartan Harsey Folder

They kind of made a little unique niche for themselves with these engraved models; i have a plain one which ive had for years one day ill get one of these enhanced ones.
 
King of the Cheese said:
I just wish they would make a fir 3.25. I’d be in. Why don’t they do the special designs in the 3.25? Only offering basics or basics + Damascus
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I believe they've also done a couple of special runs of the 3.25 size. I want to say I've seen the DLT Warthogs in the 3.25 blade size model as well, but agree that otherwise, it's pretty basic.
 
I like my SHF.. Different moms... same daddy.

Um71Wlq.jpg
 
PXL-20230908-195238197-MP-2.jpg

Buncha damn enablers, all y'all! :D

I landed a decent job today, and decided to treat myself. Well, treat myself in as much as I dip into some fun money and plan on paying it back over the next several weeks instead of waiting to buy the knife outright ;)

Anyway, after seeing the 3.25 and the full size, I decided that the full size was just more my speed. I may ask my wife to get me the 3.25 for Christmas. Nice easy one n done shopping for me if she does. It would make a good evening knife. I was hoping more for an comparison in size between the full size Adamas and the Mini. However, I do see a 3.25 in my future, but for my first Spartan, I had to go with the big fella.

So, initial thoughts after a solid and exhaustive 30 minutes of ownership;):

The Good:
This knife is a solid chunk of heavy duty folder. High Speed, Low Drag CRK is a good description of it. I get the Strider vibes people talk about, but it honestly reminds me a lot of my Les George colab with ZT. It's a lot like the full size 909 but constructed like the smaller 900. Nothing about this knife in the PJ version screams "pocket jewelry", and the the engraved versions are more akin to tattoos. None of them blew up my skirt, so I just stuck with the basic version. Blade steel is beefy. This is a knife that you could easily toss in my pocket and press into hard use service on a hike or camping. I like the drop point edge, and it seems to handle like my beloved Adamas in terms of blade shape. The lock up is solid. I don't feel any lock stick and the detent seems to do the job.

The Bad:
For $465, this knife really needs a bit more polish. Not in the looks department, but the edges are rough. I have a slight little burr on the titanium where the lock meets the steel of the blade. It's clearly from fine tuning the fit, which is incredible. However, i think it could have been buffed off pretty easily by a skilled hand. The edge is about 95% ground perfectly with the nittiest pick of the tip being just a touch off from one side to the other. Not terrible at all, but once again...$465 for this thing. Also, in 2023, I don't think a high end knife should be free spinning. It's hard not to compare this to a CRK, but at this price point, it's kinda to be expected. For the same money, I can get a knife that can be taken apart easily, comes with the tools to do so, and requires no tuning. I know that Chris Reeve designed an investment grade EDC work knife and Spartan is geared more towards robustness over finesse. What the SHF lacks in polish, it makes up for in brute toughness. My final gripe, I know it's a design choice, but I hate the unsharpened/no sharpening choil part of the blade.

In short:

I know it sounds like there is quite a bit I don't like about the knife, but they are really just nitpicks. For under $500 you can get a USA made hard use folder sporting excellent S45VN steel, nearly complete titanium body, and is quite honestly a knife that inspires confidence inasmuch as it could easily be the only knife I take with me on a well planned outdoor trip. It's not a Chris Reeve, but besides being a classic/"dated" design, they aren't THAT similar in philosophy of use. I think that after I clean the tool a bit, give the edge a strop, and really get to know the SHF, it's going to be a go-to knife I find in my pocket when I go into a day where I expect the unexpected.

Robust, no nonsense, ruggedly handsome. I think Spartan nailed what they were going for with the the SHF. If this is what you're looking for in a folder, I think you can certainly do worse.
 
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The shf is a beautiful knife, the handle looks very comfortable as well. I was wondering how they carry in the pocket for a 4” knife? Also, are they on pb washers and do they flick open or slow roll?

Thinking I’m going to have to get one next year to complete the updated trinity!
 
My EDC is a large SHF, it is a little chunky, but I've been carrying a larger folder since I was a wee lad, so I am used to reaching around the knife to fish out keys/coins/etc. I find the size and weight reassuring. I tried to carry a Spyderco Subvert, but it was entirely too wide and makes the SHF feel thin.
They are on washers, a large symmetrical one on the show side and a smaller symmetrical one on the lock side. It is a slow roll, but I suppose you could loosen the pivot a bit, it is pretty tunable.
Here is a width comparison between my EDC and a Maverick I got in this morning that feels extremely skinny and dainty in comparison.
View attachment 2314500
 
mitchnola said:
The shf is a beautiful knife, the handle looks very comfortable as well. I was wondering how they carry in the pocket for a 4” knife? Also, are they on pb washers and do they flick open or slow roll?

Thinking I’m going to have to get one next year to complete the updated trinity!
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They are pretty dang heavy for the size. The titanium is is very thick and not skeletal in the least. Solid slabs. The blade stock is beefy and it's chunky behind the edge. It doesn't cut as well as my Adamas in Cruwear, but I think the edge will hold up to more abuse. It's also not a very subtle rider in the pocket with a good inch sticking out proud. Once again, it's not designed to be invisible in an office as much as be quickly pinched out of the pocket in gloved hands. Opening, a CRK mine is not. Slow rolling is definitely a bit of jerk when it breaks the detent. It's not glass smooth after that, but it's decent. Mine is flickable, but I find that I don't have enough leverage to completely snap it open with just the pad of my thumb without a bit of a wrist snap. If I flick the thumb stud like I'm flipping a coin, it snaps open no problem.

I think mine will break in soon enough. I would think that taking it apart and cleaning it and giving it a bit of grease i bum from my Inkosi kit would help, but with it being free spinning, I'm going to need another set of torque bits. With a knife of this expense, I'm not going to cheap out on them either. So for now, I think its going to get a bath of WD-40, gun scrub, compressed air, and a drop of rem oil.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
PXL-20230908-195238197-MP-2.jpg

Buncha damn enablers, all y'all! :D

I landed a decent job today, and decided to treat myself. Well, treat myself in as much as I dip into some fun money and plan on paying it back over the next several weeks instead of waiting to buy the knife outright ;)

Anyway, after seeing the 3.25 and the full size, I decided that the full size was just more my speed. I may ask my wife to get me the 3.25 for Christmas. Nice easy one n done shopping for me if she does. It would make a good evening knife. I was hoping more for an comparison in size between the full size Adamas and the Mini. However, I do see a 3.25 in my future, but for my first Spartan, I had to go with the big fella.

So, initial thoughts after a solid and exhaustive 30 minutes of ownership;):

The Good:
This knife is a solid chunk of heavy duty folder. High Speed, Low Drag CRK is a good description of it. I get the Strider vibes people talk about, but it honestly reminds me a lot of my Les George colab with ZT. It's a lot like the full size 909 but constructed like the smaller 900. Nothing about this knife in the PJ version screams "pocket jewelry", and the the engraved versions are more akin to tattoos. None of them blew up my skirt, so I just stuck with the basic version. Blade steel is beefy. This is a knife that you could easily toss in my pocket and press into hard use service on a hike or camping. I like the drop point edge, and it seems to handle like my beloved Adamas in terms of blade shape. The lock up is solid. I don't feel any lock stick and the detent seems to do the job.

The Bad:
For $465, this knife really needs a bit more polish. Not in the looks department, but the edges are rough. I have a slight little burr on the titanium where the lock meets the steel of the blade. It's clearly from fine tuning the fit, which is incredible. However, i think it could have been buffed off pretty easily by a skilled hand. The edge is about 95% ground perfectly with the nittiest pick of the tip being just a touch off from one side to the other. Not terrible at all, but once again...$465 for this thing. Also, in 2023, I don't think a high end knife should be free spinning. It's hard not to compare this to a CRK, but at this price point, it's kinda to be expected. For the same money, I can get a knife that can be taken apart easily, comes with the tools to do so, and requires no tuning. I know that Chris Reeve designed an investment grade EDC work knife and Spartan is geared more towards robustness over finesse. What the SHF lacks in polish, it makes up for in brute toughness. My final gripe, I know it's a design choice, but I hate the unsharpened/no sharpening choil part of the blade.

In short:

I know it sounds like there is quite a bit I don't like about the knife, but they are really just nitpicks. For under $500 you can get a USA made hard use folder sporting excellent S45VN steel, nearly complete titanium body, and is quite honestly a knife that inspires confidence inasmuch as it could easily be the only knife I take with me on a well planned outdoor trip. It's not a Chris Reeve, but besides being a classic/"dated" design, they aren't THAT similar in philosophy of use. I think that after I clean the tool a bit, give the edge a strop, and really get to know the SHF, it's going to be a go-to knife I find in my pocket when I go into a day where I expect the unexpected.

Robust, no nonsense, ruggedly handsome. I think Spartan nailed what they were going for with the the SHF. If this is what you're looking for in a folder, I think you can certainly do worse.
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I’ve been thinking about picking up a SHF in the near future. Just curious , what do you mean by “free spinning”?
 
Wolverine666 said:
I’ve been thinking about picking up a SHF in the near future. Just curious , what do you mean by “free spinning”?
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Unlike a lot of "modern" frame locks, every one of the screws require two wrenches to take the knife apart. If you try to unscrew the pivot or any of the pins in between, they will just spin unless you put another torque bit on the opposite side and hold it/spin it the other direction.
 
mitchnola said:
The shf is a beautiful knife, the handle looks very comfortable as well. I was wondering how they carry in the pocket for a 4” knife? Also, are they on pb washers and do they flick open or slow roll?

Thinking I’m going to have to get one next year to complete the updated trinity!
Click to expand...
In the pocket, it's more intrusive than my CRKs, and comparable to my Hinderers. They are on washers and I can slow roll or flick mine. The small is easier to flick than the large.
 
My Watch Works flips like a rabid demon. My new Viking has a nice feeling action, but it feels like one that hasn't been mated into it's washers yet and all that, like most washer knives come new. I may lightly strop the washers and use some floro grease on it one of these days soon, like I do with a lot of knives.

I just pulled out my 3.25, which is a PJ with Nichols damascus and it had a few light pin pricks of surface rust 😲. About crushed me. I believe the Nichols damascus on this one is not a stainless damascus like I assumed it probably was. Even still I had it Ren Wax'd and put a light coat of mineral oil on it a few months ago. I must have had something slightly acidic on my fingers one of the times I was caressing it. It came off by rubbing my fingernail on it luckily, but there's still 2 tiny pin pricks where it's a tiny bit darker than the rest. I cleaned it with alcohol and wiped it down with oil again. I keep it on a shelf in my bedroom with my other kind of "classy" knives. I might think about keeping it in my knife roll with a desiccant pack in it's pocket.
 
norcalAF said:
I will say I had one scale off the other day and I didn't need a driver on both sides of anything except the pivot. And even that I got tight with finger pressure on the opposite side because I couldn't find another T15 in the drawer
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That's good to know. I don't take my knives apart much, but I may give this one a detail at some point. Regardless, I'm digging it. I've bought some very specific use folders as of late. This one feels like it could take one just about anything, but I would like to detail it like a CRK sooner than later.
 
LimpCroissant said:
My Watch Works flips like a rabid demon. My new Viking has a nice feeling action, but it feels like one that hasn't been mated into it's washers yet and all that, like most washer knives come new. I may lightly strop the washers and use some floro grease on it one of these days soon, like I do with a lot of knives.

I just pulled out my 3.25, which is a PJ with Nichols damascus and it had a few light pin pricks of surface rust 😲. About crushed me. I believe the Nichols damascus on this one is not a stainless damascus like I assumed it probably was. Even still I had it Ren Wax'd and put a light coat of mineral oil on it a few months ago. I must have had something slightly acidic on my fingers one of the times I was caressing it. It came off by rubbing my fingernail on it luckily, but there's still 2 tiny pin pricks where it's a tiny bit darker than the rest. I cleaned it with alcohol and wiped it down with oil again. I keep it on a shelf in my bedroom with my other kind of "classy" knives. I might think about keeping it in my knife roll with a desiccant pack in it's pocket.
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You were probably drooling on it and didn't realize 😁
 
Steely_Gunz said:
That's good to know. I don't take my knives apart much, but I may give this one a detail at some point. Regardless, I'm digging it. I've bought some very specific use folders as of late. This one feels like it could take one just about anything, but I would like to detail it like a CRK sooner than later.
Click to expand...
While I had it apart I wiped everything (washers/scales/blade) clean and put in a bit of CRK grease. She is quite smooth now. There was nothing wrong with the action before it was just one of those "while I'm in there" things.
 
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