REKAT Savant long term results

mtnbkr

mtnbkr

Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
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I've started carrying my REKAT Savant again for some reason. I've had it for a year and a half now and thought I'd share my thoughts. I also have a REKAT Pioneer II that I carried for over a year prior to getting the Savant.

This is/was REKAT's best work IMO. Had they brought the Savant out instead of the Pioneer II and applied the contruction methods to the other knives in their line, they might still be around (ok, and if they promoted their wares and got them into shops).

Construction:
Prior to the Savant, their knives were constructed using steel liners with G10 scales. The lock is their patented Rolling Lock (you can research that if you're not familiar with it). The Savant differs by using Aluminum for the body and smaller, decorative G10 scales. The Rolling Lock is retained. The blade is ATS-34 and .125" thick. I have the clippoint model. The pocket clip is oriented tip up and is attached to the G10 scale (screws go through scale and into frame). The Pioneer's clip was attached to the blade pivot. The Savant has dual thumbstuds, the Pioneer had one. The Savant's shape is much more "ergonomic" than the Pioneer. Being much lighter, it no longer feels as "bulletproof", but has been plenty strong for my EDC chores.

From what I read, the plan was to offer the knife in different colors. Mine is black with a black coated blade. I would have purchased a red/stonewashed version, but it was never made available.

Remarks:
The Savant is the smoothest REKAT I've ever handled. It was smoother NIB than my Pioneer was at any point (even after I polished the friction surfaces). Over a year later, it is smoother than ever and almost as smooth as any linerlock. If I hold the Rolling Lock slide back, I can flick my wrist and open this knife without the thumbstud. With the action this smooth, you would expect some blade play, there is none. It is completely tight laterally and up/down. I have not modified this knife in any way. It is every bit as smooth as a Crawford Carnivour (the custom, not the REKAT version)I handled once (which was the first truly smooth Rolling Lock knife I had seen).

I don't know what the RC rating of the steel is, but it's certainly adequate. It doesn't hold an edge quite as well as my Pioneer, nor does it seem to get as sharp, but it's no slouch either (for the record, my Pioneer seemed to be exceptional in this regard). This could be as much a problem with my sharpening method (and lack of time to do it right these days) as the steel itself.

I'm not crazy about blade coatings, but this one held up reasonbly well. It has worn some on the top edge but the main body of the blade is intact. The coating on the pocket clip has worn off on the edges as well.

The lock has worked quite well for me. A few light spine whacks showed that it works as advertised. I'm concerned about the spring used in the lock mechanism. I had one break in the Pioneer after a year. REKAT sent me a new one for free, but they're no longer around to replace this one. It's a plain coil spring (smaller than the one in a ballpoint pen though). I could probably find something to take it's place.

One of the issues with my Pioneer was a blade stop pin that was too short. It would rattle against the G10 scales until I glued it into place. The Savant does not suffer from this.

Conclusion:

This is a great little knife. It's not flashy or even particularly attractive, but it functions very well as a package. I would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. My only complaint is not being able to get it in the color combo (at the price I paid for this one).

Like I said earlier, this is the type of knife they should've offered instead of the Pioneer II. Imagine a Sifu or Carnivour built like this...

BTW, this is the only daily carry knife that has managed to hang around this long. Most are sold/given away within a few months for various reasons.

Chris
 
I was just thinkin' yesterday how it's a pity REKAT is no more. They REALLY had some impressive designs. The Sifu, Hobbit Warrior, Pocket Hobbit, Carnivores....all terrific AND ORIGINAL designs. I had a chance to handle a Savant a couple of times, and I agree that it was definitely the most refined feeling and well constructed one they'd come out with. Problem was the ones I handled had the action of a cement mixer, and was VERY VERY difficult to open. Probably would break in just fine with use. I once had a Pioneer II that I eventually wound up trading off, but it was a pretty nice package, inspite of the thumbstud being a bit hard to access. I thought that Tanto blade was the neatest I've seen on a folder, still do infact. Not for prying, but definitely thin and controllable.

Makes ya really wish Rekat had done a little better in the market, eh?
 
I though that I might as well reply here.:)
I've got a PioneerII, and I've just been doing some research. Had NO idea REKAT went under. However, this Savant seems to be the 3rd. gen, final, product improvement.
__While the weight is somewhat confidence inspiring on the Pioneer, I think the alloy sounds good. The G10 inserts are removable in order to access the slide-bar and spring? Is there any convex 'belly' to the handle, like a Griptilian, or just plain flat as w/the PII?
You said you broke a spring on your PII? I've had mine apart, and I can't fathom how that could happen(when knife is assembled). Can you elaborate at all?
I 'customized' mine be removing all of the sharp corners of the scales/corners. Primarily, this just made it a LOT more comfortable in the pocket. Two behind the choil, right under the pivot pin,one under the thumb-stud when blade's at rest,and one at rear of the spine above the pivot pin. I also gently beveled the edges all around.
__ Would you say that's been adequately addressed on the Savant? The aluminum doesn't lend itself to that sort of work as with stainless and G10!
I found a net dealer with some available at $90, and you're the only knowledgeable party on it I've found so far. So, I'm sorry to be so 'anal'.
 
Glad to hear you like your Savant. The lock on mine has failed numerous times on me, if the company still existed I'd sent it back, as it is it makes a decent paper weight.

REKAT had some nice ideas but never executed them properly. That is why they are refered to in the past tense.
 
FWIW the first knife i REALLY liked was a SIFU, got a 'smooth' SIFU, didnt care for the finger grooves, and really was happy UNTIL the lock like totally failed, pulled it outta my pocket, was gonna cut something, and before i realised what happened the darned thing cut the pi$$ outta me not once but twice. so i sent it in and they fixed it, it lasted a few weeks and then it broke again, same problem. at that time i looked up how the rolling lock worked, the self described "21st century lock" and it wasnt hard to see this was to me anyway not a viable design for a mass manufactured knife, too many tight tolerances/etc for the thing to work right and to last imho. a little lint, dirt/etc and the thing aint gonna lock. a very poor design imho. the BM axis is 200X better imho, and a simple liner lock is better also, imho, more rugged i think. lock back?? better. if ya want a good big knife the cammilus maxx is again at least 20X the knife, at a cheaper price. just plain and simple a bad design imho. the knives werent bad designs really, though i think the finish wasnt real good, but man that rolling lock was not up to par.

am glad ya had luck w/your REKAT, many many didnt.

i, for one, dont miss REKAT at all, too many good finished knives with good locking systems to fret about them.


greg
 
Originally posted by VictorLouis
The G10 inserts are removable in order to access the slide-bar and spring?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Is there any convex 'belly' to the handle, like a Griptilian, or just plain flat as w/the PII?
Click to expand...

The handle is not flat like the original, there is a pronounced "belly" or fingerguard (can't recall the exact technical term).

You said you broke a spring on your PII? I've had mine apart, and I can't fathom how that could happen(when knife is assembled). Can you elaborate at all?
Click to expand...

It just wore out. I was using it a lot back then and one day, while moving into my new house, the spring broke and I had to manually lock it the rest of the day. No problems though, REKAT sent a new spring and it was as good as new until I retired it (it's part of the "kit" in my 4x4 now).

I 'customized' mine be removing all of the sharp corners of the scales/corners. Primarily, this just made it a LOT more comfortable in the pocket. Two behind the choil, right under the pivot pin,one under the thumb-stud when blade's at rest,and one at rear of the spine above the pivot pin. I also gently beveled the edges all around.
__ Would you say that's been adequately addressed on the Savant? The aluminum doesn't lend itself to that sort of work as with stainless and G10!
Click to expand...

All of the edges on the Savant are rounded and smoothed.

I found a net dealer with some available at $90, and you're the only knowledgeable party on it I've found so far. So, I'm sorry to be so 'anal'.
Click to expand...

If you like it, go for it. There are probably better knives on the market for $90 (I paid less than $90 for mine two years ago), but it's still a neat knife. I still use mine. I don't baby it at all and it has never failed me. I used it last summer to scrape some paint and the edge even held up. It's my beater knife, but I trust it as much as any locking knife.

BTW, I never got an email or anything. I have pretty strict spam filters, to the extent that I rarely see anything other than status emails from vendors I do business with and notifications from the boards I participate on. A private email from someone I don't know would've been ignored outright, sorry.

Talk about your thread ressurection...

Chris
 
I miss REKAT myself. I liked their designs even if the execution left a little to be desired. I still have a Pioneer II, Carnivore Cub and a Bladeforums Carnivore version. I really enjoy using the Bladeforums Carnivore since it sits in the hand just right and loves to cut.
 
I got an automated response telling me about your filter, and that's how I knew to mention it.:)

It seems like they addressed most everything I didn't care for about the PII, then went belly-up!:( I don't know, maybe I'll make an offer, since they ARE discontinued.:D

SIFU, do you think the 'rolling lock' is REALLY the problem, or just their former execution of the design? I just checked out the new Ambush today, and I find it tough to believe that BenchMade would've put their name on it if it didn't WORK. Or, did they just tweak it so much that it is, in effect, an improved design?

Thanks, fellas.
 
I owned a Sifu at one point and while I never had the lock fail on me I had to wonder if it should have been made larger. It seemed to me that with the size of the Sifu if a larger diameter lock cylinder was needed? I handled an Ambush from Benchmade and I was impressed with their execution of the Rolling Lock.
 
I thought that Tanto blade was the neatest I've seen on a folder, still do infact.
Click to expand...

I did too! I still miss that knife. It's just a coincidence, but earlier today I was telling my wife how much I miss that knife!

The blade on that thing was extremely cool. It was one hell of a slicer.
 
is the rolling lock the problem, or was the execution of it the prob?? hmmm, imho a rolling lock from pat crawford is gonna be better than a REKAT just because it is gonna be fitted better, and have closer tolerances. but still it seems to me that the design is gonna have probs with small bits of funk getting in the action, and making it not lock correctly, or lock sporadically. imho the pin probably wasnt big enough for a knife the size of the Sifu, but i really dont know if making it bigger would help, or even if that is feasible, it still would be vulnerable to gunk/etc getting in there i would think.

imho REKAT had some neat stuff, but the entire execution of the product just wasnt up to par, finish was not the best, but my main prob after finding out how the lock works was i just dont think the lock is anything near what its cracked up to be, esp. when a simple liner lock to me seems more reliable/heavy duty.

i too like the tanto they made it was one of the better looking tantos around, and i at one time really liked the sifu, a great big knife, but again i now like the maxx much better.

i myself would be wary of buying any rekat now because if ya do have probs, who can fix the lock?? i guess pat crawford could, but dont know if he would. and with the necc. tight fitting to make it work right, i dont know if anyone could troubleshoot one unless its bob brothers, and he isnt working on them either.

if ya do get one i would be very carefull opening/closing it, no inertia opening, try to be easy on it, keep it clean, lightly lubed, and it might be ok, or it might not, i never abused my sifu, but when talking to others about the lock the gen'l concensus was that inertia opening was really hard on them, with the inertia from that big blade it just seemed to beat the hell outta the pin in short order. why mine failed i have not a clue, again, i flipped it open a few times, but after the first breakdown, i really babied it and it still broke, what can i say? shouldnt have to bay the "21st century lock" anyway, imho.

i used to laugh on the REKAT forum when they would get so pissed if anyone claimed lock probs, if ya are to believe them only one or 2 ever came back which werent 'abused', i guess mine was one of them, they certainly never mentioned abuse when they had the knife, and fixed it for free, so go figure.........? but lordy they really took complaints very personal, though i must say they did fix it in a timely fashion, and for free.

good luck,

greg
 
IMHO the best knife REKAT did was the Hobbit.

Their proposed lightweight full size Warrior would have been equal to the Hobbit based on the prototype I had for awhile.

Missed that one, still have my Hobbit:D

The folders from REKAT didn't move me one way or another. Never bought one or had one provided for eval. If Pat Crawford is doing custom versions you can bet they are functional, reliable, and well executed overall.

GW
 
The REKAT Savant, like the Pioneers, is a good little hard working folder. Been using a swept point model for a couple of years.

Greg,

Agree with you on the Hobbit and the Gaijan Warrior. Too bad the Gaijan project didn't get past the prototype phase - definite improvement on the AM version. I put sheaths on all sixteen protos, managed to score a few of them, and have one left that is available. Contact me at VideoSAS@aol.com if you are interested.
 
From what I could gather online the Rekat Hobbit blade is 5 ¼-10” OAL while the Al Mar Warrior blade is 7- ½ -13” OAL. I was curious on weight as some felt it was too bulky etc... I can see why manufacturing was so difficult; it a rather different design for a knife. Haven't seen any folding knives with this design either.

They seem to be the best designs I know of and I haven't been able to get my hands on one; though maybe the answer is to have something custom made up; if i can get a similar or better handle material etc...

Would love some guidance from anyone in the know:)

Certainly now there are advances in metals and probably other materials.
 
I'm a big fan of REKAT knives -- I have about six of their folders, and their little neck knife. I like them at least as well as my Benchmades, and was sorry to see them go out of business.
 
searched the archives i'm sure, ya dont hear a lot about REKATs these days.

FWIW IIRC the al mar warrior inspired the emerson CQC8 & REKAT made a pocket hobbit folder.
 
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