Overrated Blades

The day i took my med. voyager out of the box, i hated it. Nearly needed pliers to open it and the full-serrated edge was rolled enough to stop a finger nail in it's path. I ended up grinding the heck out of the zytel to loosen it up, to no avail. Finally I just had at it with my Dremel to see if i could make a "wave-opener". It was in the garbage by the second day and remains the only knife i have ever thrown away.
 
Should I dare open Pandora's box. Sure what the hay!
What's the big hype over Busse's knives? Do I like them? Sure, but
a inflated price for what they are. A good example if reputation, supply, and demand, over pricing IMO. I'd go with a MMHW for a lot less money.
 
I would have to say BM 940 Osborne Axis. I really like the look of it. But after it arrived, I decided it wasn't for me. The blade is too thin and the whole thing is too small. That's when I decided I needed a Skirmish.
 
dennis75 said:
overrated/overpriced/overhyped/over-whatevered?:


-benchmade's 630 skirmish
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Compared to other Ti - frame locks considering the price it is definatly not!

Not that i am a fan of the 630, but look what other pieces of same features demand. I firstly thought BM declares war on Emerrsons HD7 and CRK, but concluded, they are much to nice people to do this.

My vote goes to the Rat Trap and all Busses in general.
 
fruitbat said:
I would have to say BM 940 Osborne Axis. I really like the look of it. But after it arrived, I decided it wasn't for me. The blade is too thin and the whole thing is too small. That's when I decided I needed a Skirmish.
Click to expand...

Funny, the 940 is the only non custom knife I've bought recently. (Oops, if you don't count my MT Vector) I bought it for the reasons you don't like it, ie skinny, long blade. I put a scary sharp edge on it and use it when I know I'll be cutting alot of wire housing. I can do the same thing with my SMF but it's a little overkill and not great for delicate work. I really like mine. :)

later,

Oily
 
OilMan said:
I put a scary sharp edge on it and use it when I know I'll be cutting alot of wire housing.
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The one that I had was VERY sharp right out of the box. But it was just too small for my taste. The whole thing was too skinny to get a good grip on.
 
I own many CS products and have no complaints. Great bang for the buck IMO. From what I have read on these forums, QC ain't so hot but I guess I've been lucky. Alot.

The most overrated / biggest disappointment I've had recently in purchasing knives was a Bark River Night Fighter. What a POS. Improperly ground to begin with, I figured I would keep it as a rather expensive ($50) beater knife. Also wanted to form an opinion of A2 steel... However, the tip bent about 90 degrees after 20 min. of hard use / mild abuse. Was it the grind or the heat treat that caused it to fail?

In contrast, my CS SRK has held up to far more punishment - I still throw it frequently & I've never had a problem. It was my EDC during the power outages associated with the hurricanes...

I recently got another CS fixed blade as a gift - the UWK. Because the tip is more needle-like, I was concerned about durability at first - thought it might break whereas the Bark River knife had bent. So, with low expectations, I subjected it to pretty much exactly what I had done to the BRNF... Only no problems were encountered at all - no bend, no break - not even any deformation!

So, CS makes a good knife in my book. And the Bark River Night Fighter is the most overrated knife I currently own.

Other examples of overrated products would be Gerber - never had one I was satisfied with, and Buck - the 110 folder specifically. I had one (the 110) break after falling onto a hardwood floor from about a 3' drop.
 
The trend I find most dissapointing is a good maker that sacrifices quality in order to boost profits. It's a one-way path, no going back.

Best example off the top of my head is Cold Steel. Way back when, these were great knives - quality all the way. These days...I wouldn't bother looking at one.

Most other makers vary. Even after carring them for years, I love the way my Benchmade Stryker and Spyderco Goddard (Micarta) feel and cut. OTOH, the AFCK and the Military didn't work for me at all.

'Overrated' tends to equate to 'Overhyped', and that's a function of personal taste. Most (other) people can't imaging spending $100 on a knive, much less $1000. But I'm willing to bet everyone on this forum has a blade they would be willing to spend that much on, if they could find it. (And convince the wife.) "But, honey....It was the Damascus Combat Talon II Microtech displayed at the 2000 SHOT show!" Certainly she would think it overhyped.

No, I'm not picking on women. I love giving knives as gifts to the women I know, and each of them has loved it. That Spydie Military that didn't suit me? My girlfriend loved it, is carrying it now.

I'm not going to call a knife 'overrated' unless I've handled it and regarded it as actually unacceptable for the job is was designed for. Cold Steel, CRKT, the current Emersons...I would have to call them overrated.
 
Had 2 cold steel knives and got rid of them ASAP.
I never had a sharp out of the box CRKT. And I had several of them.
Especially the M16 series is a design I can´t get warm with.
Bökers, Herbertz are POS IMHO.
I had a Emerson MACH1 that was as dull as a horse´s back out of the box. couldn´t get it sharp, no matter what I tried. My CQC7 was also very poorly made.

I like Microtechs, Striders, Benchmades and Spydercos. Out.
 
Neko2 said:
I've seen posts (especially in rec.knives) where folks just love 'em. :confused: :confused: :confused:

N2
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Maybe they were refering to the nice but inexpensive Frost's of Mora, Sweden. No relation at all to the other, crappy Frosts.

I have bought two Boker slipjoints and had to send both back to Boker for replacement. One was a barlow that had gaps between the scales and the liners (big gaps), and a pen-knife that was mis-assembled bad enough that when the smaller blade was opened you could look inside and see the pivot pin between the blade and the liners. The replacements were better, but not much.

Case knives dissapoint me too often, but if you hand pick them you can get a decent one.

Of makers that I own, I have never had a Bark River, Spyderco, Opinel, or Victorinox disappoint me.
 
Hi. I'm new to this forum. There was a lot mentioned about CS knives. Many were directed at the newer lines. Like many of you, I also have a Recon 1 (tanto) although it is the older version with AUS8 not 440A. Cutting wise, I think it does quite well, the lock is rather sturdy....but the thumbwheel is not great to operate and the handle isn't great on ergonomics. To be perfectly honest, I have a cheap Magnum that's sturdy, opens easily and costs maybe 25Euro...which I'm more comfortable with on a day to day basis.
 
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