Questions on HRT knife from Taylor Cutlery

Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
75
Hi, new poster, long time reader.

I have been carrying around as an EDC, a SWFLC2 knife from Taylor Cutlery.
http://www.taylorcutlery.com/html/hrt_16.html
Great blade, and I like the shape of the edge for cutting chores at home and work, knife is nice and lightweight and fits well in my pants pocket. I have had the knife for about four months now and have noticed the thumbstud has become loose, and somewhere along the line of duty, I have lost one of the little allen head screws that holds the belt clip in place. Now the beltclip is secured around the pivot and has three additional screws to hold it in place so no big loss but ugh, I hate loosing parts. I wrote to Taylor and asked about type and size of screw to replace the missing one and what to do about thumbstud and they promptly wrote back asking for my address so they could send replacements for beltclip, screws, and thumbstud. Talk about customer service, only question asked was my address. Paid about $30 for the knife from a police supply store about two blocks from my house. Didn't expect much from the knife other than a big hefty work knife. Guess I should have asked before I bought the knife, how well does Taylor Cutlery stack up in your book against the big boys? (ie. BM, spydie, CRKT, Cold Steel, etc)
 
If you use Lock-tite on the thumb studs and screws your problem should be solved.
 
In all honesty, you have what is perhaps one the better knives produced by Taylor Cutlery. It's a Darrel Ralph framelock design made for Taylor Cutlery in the Republic of China and is comparable to stuff from CRKT, Timberline and Benchmade's Red Class. Most of Taylor Cutlery's other stuff like their Cuttin' Horse line and their Extreme Ops line are still crap, in my opinion. Some folks like S&W knives, and some despise them because of their past reputation of ripping off designs. If you want to familiarize yourself with Taylor Cutlery's past take a look here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/magazine/secure/jan/shame.shtml
 
sunrunner, your going to get mixed reviews on Taylor products here. i have a few Smith & Wesson knives and i think they're ok. they work for me and i will agree to the using of BLUE loctite on screws. i found my S&W knives needed it.
*as for how they "stack-up", they will never be on par with the likes of Spyderco, Benchmade, etc. **if YOU like the knife, that is all that matters. we all here like/love knives and the reason we're on this forum.
replace your screws and enjoy your purchase.
 
sunrunner said:
Ouch, wish I had seen that before I spent money on one of their knives.

Your HRT knife isn't a bad knife at all. The fact that they are sending you replacement parts free of charge also shows good customer service on their part. The link was just intended as edge-ucation. ;)
 
From what I've seen, most of Taylor Cutlery's stuff is :barf: .
The sole exception is the H.R.T. line. Darrell Ralph apparently made them tow the line if they were gonna use his name and designs. ;)
I have several models from that line including the satin version of the knife your asking about. I've been very pleased with them all.
For the record, I have the combat fixed blade(Khukuri style blade), the Wharnecliffe bladed fighter and the Magnesium handled folder.
I have the same mis-givings about Taylor Cutlery's past behaviour as others but I'm a 'forgive and forget' kind of guy and when Darrell Ralph can give them a second chance, well I can too. (Really, it's just because Darrell has some freakin' awesome designs and here was an oppurtunity to try some on the cheap. :p )

After trying the first of the H.R.T. line and finding it to be worth the money spent I had to try some of the others and have been pleased with them. A good value for the money spent, IMO.
 
Aloha!

I have a S&W HRT Badge knife...like a Le Griffe. I used it for a long time as a shakedown knife and it performed well for a 13$ knife. I also received a Ti Camo folder from Morgan TAYLOR and it is still going strong. Gave it to a co-worker of mine while we were performing a shakedown once, and he's very happy with it...and he's a south paw!!! LOL! (These are framelockers).

Anyway, these are an good value for the $.

God bless :cool:
 
I grew up in a big city, and our meaning of shakedown was extortion. :D

What do you mean by shakedown knife?
 
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