Reate Wave flipper

[Gary W. Graley]

Greetings all, just got this in yesterday from a friend out west, I was blown away by the fit and finish and overall feel of this folder, simply amazing work, thanks again Raj !

Some specs on the folder;

Reate Wave model

Blade: length just under 3 3/8" of nicely ground M390 full flat grind, edge bevel at the shoulder measures about .024" so not super thin, but cuts well, spine at the handle is about 3.9mm so a sturdy blade.

Opening mech: flipper only and the detent is fairly strong, light switch type for me at least.

Pivot: Bearings, very smooth opening and closing.

Handle: length measures approx 4 1/4" long

Lock: Frame lock, but the textured Ti inlay covers the bulk of the lock bar, which does help prevent you from accidentally pressing against the lock bar when trying to open. Also there is a steel insert for the lock face which includes an overtravel limiter.

Frame; Titanium very nicely contoured and has a light machined texture

Inlay: Titanium, very grippy surface, held by two screws each from the inside, which helps make it a pleasing looking inlay while at the same time very functional...not to mention the bling factor

Clip: Titanium clip, held in by a hidden screw, nicely made and provides a good grip, not a death grip on your pants pocket but seems enough.

Lanyard/back spacer: Titanium with some jimping and a small hole that you can fit 550 paracord through to make a lanyard, which is nice as it keeps the paracord thickness below the level of the scales, doesn't make a bump.

Here are some images taken tonight;

For now I made what I call a bob tailed fob, just enough to hook my pinky around to help pull the knife from the pocket.

An excellent folder, I have about medium size hands and it fits me great, I had a few others with shorter handles and they just seemed a bit too small overall.

G2

 

[J D Wijbenga]

Good looking knife and good looking pictures! I like how the inlay covers the lock bar. Nice combination of form and function!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks JD, it's a very well thought out knife for sure.

Here's a crop of the side of the lockbar, the steel insert is hidden by the Ti

and here you can see how the Ti was cut out to hide the steel insert, on the left you can just see the head of the screw holding that in place.

I ended up putting a new lanyard on there, my normal longer one that has a diamond knot near the knife and then ending in a diamond knot, using the celtic bead as a sliding keeper, works very well in this way, also changed out the white for a black/tan/white paracord as well, it'll hide the dirt a little easier over time

G2

 

[Raj]

Hi Gary, great pictures of the knife and a very nice write-up.
The pictures of the inlay and lockbar are really outstanding.
Let us know how it sharpens up and how it cuts. Would you want to do a lot of cutting with it?. Are there any high spots in the grip or is it overall very comfortable in hand.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Sharpened up great, just needed a light touch up was all and the handle works very well, not done hours of cutting to know if it will prove to have hot spots but it feels perfect right now when held and during cutting, and the texture of the inlays really work great.

G2

 

[Mike157]

Thank you for the review Gary. I've also been very impressed by all of the Reate built production/collaboration knives. I've had my eye on this one for awhile also. You may of just pushed me off of the fence. Congratulations on your new blade.

Mike

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Mike, I am truly taken by this knife, size wise it fits perfect, for me at least, I can't praise it enough. While it looks 'fancy' with it's cool inlay, it's quite a solid folder and those inlays make it so, without them, I don't think I'd like it near as much, not for the colours, but for the tactile grip they provide in use.

G2

 

[Sonnydaze]

Well, just to repeat everyone else, Gary, your pics are really outstanding. That folder looks very attracteive and well thought-out. Nice review and statistics.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks, it was a great one to photograph, it's about as good as it gets for a small folder, for me at least. Those 500 will most likely go pretty fast!
G2

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Continued to be impressed by this folder, it may be THE one, only time and future knives will tell

A few shots in the hand, my palm measures about 3 1/2" wide for reference;

I had placed a few drops of Nano 10 weight oil on either side of the blade tang to seep into the bearings and now I can get the blade to fall close with a shake, once unlocked of course it is also much smoother opening now as well.

G2

 

[Krav]

The more I look at this knife the more I think that it's a perfect EDC. Just beautiful knife with a good steel. Nice clean lines not to busy looking. It falls in the perfect area for a excellent carry knife for me, and I'm in the mood for a flipper right now to add to my collection. 👍

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Indeed ! and be aware it is a limited run of 500, mine is # 287

With the blade not so large it really makes, for me, an excellent EDC

The detent is set about perfect as the blade flies open once you reached it's release point and keeps the knife in the handle safely too while closed.

G2

 

[sechip]

Just received #283 and it's a fabulous knife, lightweight, flips fantastic, blade drops on it's own and it isn't even broke in yet!

Perfect EDC size for me and it's not nearly as blingy as the pics might suggest, the only regret that i have is that i didn't pull the trigger sooner!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Nice just 4 below mine, like brothers of steel of sorts...without so much bling and while the images may tend to accentuate the blingness of this, in certain lighting conditions it does shine, not only in performance, but also in looks

G2

 

[sechip]

I'm going to have to pay a little closer attention to your reviews Gary cuz you sure hit the nail on the head as far as this knife goes.

Compared to what the Shiro Ne0n lite's are going for (yes i think it's an apt comparison) this knife is an awesome value at less than half the price.

 

[Krav]

Got one on the way. 👍

 

[sechip]

Got one on the way. 👍

:thumbup: You won't be dissappointed.