Really wanting a Strider SNG....Help!

Tsujigiri · Dec 19, 2011

DrOpPoInT1110 said:
Never heard of a Strider blade stop falling out. Couldn't see it happening either. Personally, I think the SnG is designed much better and is more comfortable than the 0551 but that's just my preference. It also feels higher quality to me. And I would definitely have to say the SnG feels "sturdier" as you put it.

Here are a couple reported instances of the pin falling out or being installed incorrectly so that the blade cracks. I've heard of neither problem on the ZT's (or even much, much cheaper knives for that matter). I guess we differ on that, Striders didn't seem very special to me in person. As for the blade play problem with Strider, there are way too many threads on that. I recall one user saying that it's not a matter of if a Strider will develop blade play, it's when (which is often about 6 months because Strider doesn't harden the titanium or design the lock well).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/440624-New-Strider-failure
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/884492-Strider-won-t-answer-my-calls
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/640075-knives-worth-trust

ssblood · Dec 19, 2011

johnnytoxin said:
Seriously???? Wtf??

Op: striders are pretty sweet especially now that they have improved their lock up. I'm sure you will love it.

I'm sorry but what part of my post didn't you understand?

Someone gave their two cents on thinking that a sebenza was a better knife. I got rid of my Umnumzaan after getting an SnG. The umnumzaan is a nice letter opener in comparison. People constantly put down Strider and claim they have horrible customer service and I'm sure it has an effect on people buying the knives. I sent mine in and had it back in less than a month, didn't pay for shipping either.

Also, a lot people claim blade play or lock rock do so on brand new knives that aren't broken in. They fail to search and read that they should clean the tang ans lock rock will disappear. A strider is not a Zero Tolerance, they feel nothing alike. They have a unique personality.

snowreaper1 · Dec 19, 2011

ssblood said:
I'm sorry but what part of my post didn't you understand?

Someone gave their two cents on thinking that a sebenza was a better knife. I got rid of my Umnumzaan after getting an SnG. The umnumzaan is a nice letter opener in comparison. People constantly put down Strider and claim they have horrible customer service and I'm sure it has an effect on people buying the knives. I sent mine in and had it back in less than a month, didn't pay for shipping either.
Also, a lot people claim blade play or lock rock do so on brand new knives that aren't broken in. They fail to search and read that they should clean the tang ans lock rock will disappear. A strider is not a Zero Tolerance, they feel nothing alike. They have a unique personality.

Likewise, people constantly put down CRK and say Chris is a %@#& and spread mis information. Goes both ways. If you don't realize your doing the same excat thing that
but on the opposite side then I'm not sure what to tell you.

And to the OP, Striders definitley offer a unique design in the SNG, SMF that you can't find with any other knife company. Solid built knives with a no questions warrantee.
I have a SNG DGG and the weight and carry-bility on it is amazing for such a solid folder. I suggest browsing the for sale forum and Striders will sometimes pop up for really
good buy.

stabman · Dec 19, 2011

Just buy it.
Is it worth it? It's likely overpriced.

But it made me $500 worth of happy, judging by how happy I was with other $500 expenditures.
And you have something left afterwards at the end of the weekend.

DrOpPoInT1110 · Dec 19, 2011

Tsujigiri said:
Here are a couple reported instances of the pin falling out or being installed incorrectly so that the blade cracks. I've heard of neither problem on the ZT's (or even much, much cheaper knives for that matter). I guess we differ on that, Striders didn't seem very special to me in person. As for the blade play problem with Strider, there are way too many threads on that. I recall one user saying that it's not a matter of if a Strider will develop blade play, it's when (which is often about 6 months because Strider doesn't harden the titanium or design the lock well).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/440624-New-Strider-failure
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/884492-Strider-won-t-answer-my-calls
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/640075-knives-worth-trust

Thanks for posting the links. That's interesting...never heard of that. I can't argue facts, there are Strider lemons out there but from my OWN experience, the SnG and those Striders I have handled (not just new ones, ones owned by others) do not have those issues. I've seen VERY used Striders with no lock-up issues and still with their original stop pins. So far, I am very happy with my Strider. If anything does develop, maybe I can better understand these "sudden failures" but have yet to experience anything like that in the past. Not to say it CAN'T happen.

ssblood · Dec 19, 2011

snowreaper1 said:
Likewise, people constantly put down CRK and say Chris is a %@#& and spread mis information. Goes both ways. If you don't realize your doing the same excat thing that
but on the opposite side then I'm not sure what to tell you.

And to the OP, Striders definitley offer a unique design in the SNG, SMF that you can't find with any other knife company. Solid built knives with a no questions warrantee.
I have a SNG DGG and the weight and carry-bility on it is amazing for such a solid folder. I suggest browsing the for sale forum and Striders will sometimes pop up for really
good buy.

I am not spreading misinformation. He did call me a liar. I did recieve horrible customer service. Heather finally apologized to me after I made a thread in the CR forum. This is fact, not misinformation. I don't constantly put them down but I also feel that they don't deserve to be put on a pedestal and used as a comparison to put down other companies.

DrOpPoInT1110 · Dec 19, 2011

ssblood said:
I'm sorry but what part of my post didn't you understand?

Someone gave their two cents on thinking that a sebenza was a better knife. I got rid of my Umnumzaan after getting an SnG. The umnumzaan is a nice letter opener in comparison. People constantly put down Strider and claim they have horrible customer service and I'm sure it has an effect on people buying the knives. I sent mine in and had it back in less than a month, didn't pay for shipping either.

Also, a lot people claim blade play or lock rock do so on brand new knives that aren't broken in. They fail to search and read that they should clean the tang ans lock rock will disappear. A strider is not a Zero Tolerance, they feel nothing alike. They have a unique personality.

Well put. I have never had to deal with CRK for warranty service but have gotten nice replies when asking questions or getting quotes on services. I do however, like my Strider more than my Sebenza but that is solely based on the knives. I do agree 100% though that people give Strider a lot more flack than they deserve. A lot of it is also people who have never owned one bashing the knives.

johnnytoxin · Dec 19, 2011

ssblood said:
I am not spreading misinformation. He did call me a liar. I did recieve horrible customer service. Heather finally apologized to me after I made a thread in the CR forum. This is fact, not misinformation. I don't constantly put them down but I also feel that they don't deserve to be put on a pedestal and used as a comparison to put down other companies.

Link please?

ssblood · Dec 20, 2011

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/863066-Umnumzaan-Issue

I ended up not sending the knife back in for the update.

rpdknife · Dec 20, 2011

The SNG is one of the most comfortable knives I have, but you pay for it with less blade length relative to the handle size. It is the size of a large Sebenza with the cutting edge of a small. I bought the 3/4 grind which has a very sharp edge and works well with the great Strider heat treat.

Here's a pic of mine.

Tsujigiri · Dec 20, 2011

ssblood said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/863066-Umnumzaan-Issue

I ended up not sending the knife back in for the update.

Hmmm that is disappointing. I don't see that they directly called you a liar, but they certainly could have been more accommodating. A lot of companies could learn from makers like ESEE and Kershaw. However, if you compare CR customer service to Strider's, I think the overwhelming majority would come down in favor of Chris Reeve. While your one case is something no one wants to deal with with a knife company, it is a very rare case of CRK slipping up in taking care of their customer. There are tons of threads of people complaining about Strider's customer service department ducking customers and making it near impossible to contact them. Plus, the $66 you said you'd have to spend in this one instance to get the Umnum set right isn't far off from the $50 that Strider will charge you to fix their knife when the blade starts to play.

trashboss · Dec 20, 2011

Tsujigiri said:
The design is the main reason you'd want one. Something like a ZT 0551 or 0560 will have better steel, better ergos, better customer service, better quality control, and better reliability, for about half the price. You won't have the problems with the thumbstud falling out or the blade beginning to play after a few months like Striders do. The ZT will also be thicker (sturdier) and have a Ti liner on the G10 side, and in the case of the 0560 ball bearings and a flipper. But knife buying is never about directly calculating the value of the knife based on its features; people buy designs that appeal to them. If the Strider SNG seems like the perfect knife for you and has that psychological "pull," then it's probably a justifiable purchase. If you're buying it because you think it has the best features in knifedom, look elsewhere.

Tsujigiri, I have been pretty happy with the S30V used in my PT. I found a micro chip on the edge one day but i worked that out with my Sharpmaker and no further chipping has occured - also, my PT had a slight amount of blade play, noticed this after bringing it home the day i purchased it, I sent it in to Strider and the problem was corrected, both Mic and Josh have been excellent and stand behind their product 100%. Strider's customer service was great. I flick my PT open and closed all day long sometimes, it's been opened and closed countless times and has not redeveloped any blade play, it works perfectly and is one of my most favorite knives to carry and use. I love ZT but other than "affordability vs. need" - there is no way i would choose ZT over Strider.

johnnytoxin · Dec 20, 2011

ssblood said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/863066-Umnumzaan-Issue

I ended up not sending the knife back in for the update.

Read the thread a few times over. I will give you the benefit of the doubt. They may have been skeptical of your claims but they never directly called you a liar. Heather did offer to try and work it out. They are human they make mistakes. I am human I make mistakes, I should not have responded to your post sarcastically. I apologize. I enjoy both Strider and CRK. In my experience they both have great customer service.

archieblue · Dec 20, 2011

My SnG CC has "lock rock". My brand new SmF (S35VN)... about a month outta the Strider shop is certainly on its way. I do not think the new lock has made its way to either, comparing with my SJ75, which DEFINITELY has a better lock. Strider has actually began machining the lockbar to mate with the tang... Which they have not done in the past. It will make its way to the other knives, but I don't think it will effect resale value. It may take time, but I believe they will resolve any issues on any knife. I have Sebenzas which would be my recommendation for someone who wants a great expensive knife though. The reason why I have Strider knives is that nobody else makes knives like em. Grabbin my SmF n headin to work as we speak!

Icancutstuff · Dec 20, 2011

Easy way to justify these types of purchases. Break it down to small amounts. $365 is a lot for a knife. 25 cents a day for 4 years doesn't sound bad

ssblood · Dec 20, 2011

As far as I'm concerned someone telling me yet it couldn't possibly leave the shop that way is calling me a liar. Their idea of making it right was to pay to ship it back to me after I would have had to pay to ship it again.

My point was just proven also. Had we have been talking about Striders CS it would have been a dog pile. It was CRK so mistakes happen and they still have great customer service...

I really wanted to keep my Umnumzaan, in the end my experience and the experience of a couple others changed my mind.

Buffalohump · Dec 20, 2011

I dunno about the SNG but the SMF is a great knife. Its a LOT of knife though. Strictly for knife nuts. If you're big on blade to handle ratio and cutting edge, I wouldnt recommend it. But its a unique knife and I really enjoy carrying and using mine. I carry it in a open top leather belt sheath. Works great!

spydusse · Dec 20, 2011

DrOpPoInT1110 said:
Never heard of a Strider blade stop falling out. Couldn't see it happening either. Personally, I think the SnG is designed much better and is more comfortable than the 0551 but that's just my preference. It also feels higher quality to me. And I would definitely have to say the SnG feels "sturdier" as you put it.

I have and sng and an 0551 and agree with everything you said. +1

spydusse · Dec 20, 2011

ssblood said:
I'm sorry but what part of my post didn't you understand?

Someone gave their two cents on thinking that a sebenza was a better knife. I got rid of my Umnumzaan after getting an SnG. The umnumzaan is a nice letter opener in comparison. People constantly put down Strider and claim they have horrible customer service and I'm sure it has an effect on people buying the knives. I sent mine in and had it back in less than a month, didn't pay for shipping either.

Also, a lot people claim blade play or lock rock do so on brand new knives that aren't broken in. They fail to search and read that they should clean the tang ans lock rock will disappear. A strider is not a Zero Tolerance, they feel nothing alike. They have a unique personality.

I agree with this as well. The worst experience I have had with a knife companies customer service was with crk not strider. My sng is SOLID

DrOpPoInT1110 · Dec 20, 2011

spydusse said:
I have and sng and an 0551 and agree with everything you said. +1

Glad I'm not alone on that one.

Really thought I'd get shot down for saying that but IMO, it's true. I love Kershaw/ZT and have owned MANY (still have quite a few) but I can't agree that the 0551 is built to the same level of the Strider. The pivot alone dwarfs that of the 0551. The ZT just feels "cheesy" to me (I know it isn't). The materials are top quality but the way it's all finished (the G10 texturing, the beadblasted finish) just doesn't inspire that same High-end feel I think the Strider does. I think the 056X series will be a much more comparable comparison.