Ontario/Hossom Retributiob folders

C

cutter17

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May 16, 2006
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Anyone have one of these? What is the opinion of the forum aboubt these knives? They seem to be built for strength. I'm interested in getting one, probably the larger model to use as a camping folder. Any information would be mucho appreciated!
 
I've got both models - they lock up rock solid and have beefy .090 liners. The contoured micarta scales are a refreshing change from slab sided G10 folders.

The fit and finish is ahead of Benchmade and even Spyderco IMHO - I'm very impressed.

However... the large model is HUGE and my hands aren't big enough :) so I'll be selling it. While I love the medium and fits my hands really well, I rarely carry a belt sheath and its too thick to drop into my pocket... soI'm still debating about whether to keep it or not.

Don't get me wrong - I get to handle a lot of knives, and these really impressed me - comfort, fit and finish, awesome lock up and great value for money.

Oh yeah, they are freaking sharp - they really polished the edges!

They just don't fit into my carry rotation so I'm a little more ruthless with my collection these days.
 
Thanks Daniel. That is what I was wanting to know. Can you see fitting a pocket clip on either one?
 
It appears to be very difficult to fit a clip to these knives. The handle slabs are not flat but more contoured. I'm going to to fit the included sheath to my hiking pack and use it in the field. Maybe someone else has some ideas. It would be a shame to leave this knife in the drawer.
 
Fitting a clip would be a mission - they weren't designed for clips and the contouring of the micarta as mentioned above really makes it near impossible without a lot of work.

Jerry Hossom has mentioned that he went clipless so as to not interfere with the ergonomics of the grip. Fair enough - I thought I could live with a belt sheath, but I have found it just doesn't work for my lifestyle. If I carried a mutlitool in sheath it wouldn't bother me, but I don't do that either - hence my preference now for pocket clip.
 
I would like to pick one of these up, but for me, the lack of pocket clip on a knife is a real killer. It just wouldnt get used as much as it should.
 
You can probably contour bend a clip to match the curve of the handle or another way would be to machine route a recess the shape of the mount that screws to the scale so it had a nice flat spot to sit on.

I am positive I could make a clip work on them.

STR
 
Lacking any advertising so far, it might be useful for me to explain the purpose of these knives. For starters, they are definitely not everybody's cup of tea - not the average stick-in-your-pants-pocket-and-head-to-the-office kind of knives. These are folding stand-ins for fixed blades, designed for the woods, desert, and mountains. If they go in a pocket, it's a jacket or BDU pocket. Several are already in the Sandbox.

If you put a clip on these knives two things happen. You totally destroy the ergonomic benefits of the handle and you hurt your hand trying to hang on to it. These are not slab-sided folders that can easily accommodate a clip or fit in your front pants pocket even if it had one. It's the same handle as on my fixed-blade Retribution Combat Knives.

They really fit in a somewhat different domain than most of the folders discussed here. Ontario may decide to offer a slab-sided version of the knives, but I'm pretty sure most people who have and use one of these likely won't want one of those.

Hope that helps clarify this a little.

BTW, the liners are >0.100"
 
I will say my Retribution II locks up with a sound like a safe closing. This knife also came as sharp as any knife I have ever bought. I have pretty much settled on using the included sheath and affix it to a back pack strap for use in the field. It would also fit nicely in a hunting coat pocket.
 
Well......I just took the plunge and placed my order for a Retribution I!! Hopefully I'll have it Saturday morning to check out. I've read a whole lot of positive about this knife and NO negatives, so I'm looking forward to an enjoyable suprise when I open up the box!:) :) Should be a good one.:D
 
While I know Mr. Hossom is an expert and I am just a lowly fanboy..........
I think a small clip could still be integrated SOMEWHERE on that knife. Look at the small Elishewitz butterfly clips. small and unobtrusive. I think too many companies are obsessed with really big clips, which I really HATE! clips are okay, but they definately get in the way, and I've had more problems with loose clips than any other issue with any of my folders. But I do like small clips that are well designed, and are designed to keep out of the way of your grip.
 
I don't think there is any way you could put a clip on the Retribution without it getting in the way. You would have to flatten one side of the handle and that would ruin the ergonomics. When you pick it up it feels and handles like a fixed blade. Anyway the knife is so beefy it would be a poor choice to use for pocket carry. Even the Manix feels dainty compared to the Retribution. :)
 
While I completely understand that some would not like the clip on certain knives keep in mind that they are removable. I think its worth mentioning that some people just prefer that mode of carry over a sheath. I personally have no more room on my belt for anthing else as one such example of why I prefer a clip. I have my pistol on one side and my Swiss tool on the other now.

I do agree that some clips can get in the way or even cause pain in white knuckle situations.However, if you know how to make the bends you can make a pretty good compromise that hits the best of both a clip too low so its invisible to the hand and a clip too high so it slides on and off the pockek nicely. If the clip is made shallow so it sticks up very little it may be hard to slide on thicker pants and it may even wear the pants pocket faster but it will feel better in the hand. If you make it stand up too tall it will get in the way some with certain grips but it might slide on and off the pocket easier and fit over thicker pockets or vest pockets and such. Also, if I knew I was going to the sand box and felt the clip was not going to work in that situation I'd simply take it off.

Some of the better liked clips I've made have been the short ones. I feel these are better also and pretty much can be made to really duck down out of the way better. Low riders are hard to do that with and speaking of low riders. Seeing as I've already been approached to do some for these knives I'm just going to say now don't go there. You will run out of pocket before the knife seats down all the way sticking a low rider on one of these bigger folders like the full size. If you can make a low rider work on that monster you've got pants with deeper pockets than any of mine..

STR
 
STR, have you tried really short clips meaning just the width of a pinky finger or similar? I would agree clip ergonomics have come a long way since Spyderco introduced them. The new ones Sal is using are much more ergonomic than the older ones which were quite squarish.

Jim70 said:
I don't think there is any way you could put a clip on the Retribution without it getting in the way. You would have to flatten one side of the handle and that would ruin the ergonomics.
Click to expand...

You could mill out the slab and run the clip flush including seating the head. There is also the possibility of having the whole clip run flush and then being able to extend the contact point to allow for it to be clipped which would then spring back to flush automatically. Just play with the design a little.

-Cliff
 
I have been experimenting with smaller clips yes but I don't think any that small Cliff. The longer clips, especially in the low rider type don't have the built in tension I like anyway, so it was that that started me working on making them shorter and shorter. Here lately the shorter ones are what I make for myself also. I am not much of a low rider fan though. I make a ton of them for others and I know they are popular but personally I don't mind a tad bit of the knife sticking up. I wear baggy shirts anyhow so no one sees my knife to begin with. Most low rider style clips stick up off the knife too much for my tastes I guess. I try hard to keep them down but with a fold over its damn hard to make it invisible in the hand. This Dodo clip I did after rebuilding it with ti liners and Micarta scales is the most popular style clip I make and its also one of the shortest ones.

STR
 
By the way Cliff. If you have some ideas on paper on what you are talking about show it to me and we'll try a few "Cliff Clips" as an experiment.

STR
 
STR said:
This Dodo clip I did after rebuilding it with ti liners and Micarta scales is the most popular style clip I make and its also one of the shortest ones.
Click to expand...

That was what I was thinking of, I was unclear, I meant more that the clip part which extends past the attachment is about the width of a finger. You could attach the clip on the butt of the knife to reduce the profile further which makes it ride really low.

-Cliff
 
I agree with Hossom. Clips are always compromise to the best handle design. If you want the best handle, you can't have a clip. That's why William Henry uses pocket slip sheaths. Cold steel and spyderco had one of the best compromises with the integral zytel clip and handle, but the clips can break and they are now out of production. Boker has an alternative with the disappearing clip, wonder how that works out?

Personally, I don't understand the need to put a clip on every knife. Some of my knives with clips, such as the spydreco/wegner mouse, actually are quite neat w/o the clip. I applaud Ontario/Hossom for bucking the clip nazis and providing an alternative. With the cargo pants that are in style these days, you don't have to be a marine to have big pockets. Carrying a folding knife in a sheath (such as the Buck 110) is now an american tradition.
 
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