This is my humble and objective review of my new Randy Doucette Pierce flipper tactical folder with mother of pearl handles, carbon fiber bolsters, jeweled liners and 3 3/8” CPM S30V blade that I am proud to own.
Picture
http://web.mac.com/lacigars/Three_Little_Indians_Custom_Knives/Randy_Doucette.html#44
The knife believe it or not came to me the day after I ordered it from the Three Little Indians Custom knife shop…Remarkable!!! Lawrence Amoruso is a class act and was extremely knowledgeable, confident and answered every one of my discerning questions about the blade. I will attempt to break the knife down into several categories.
Fit and Finish
Randy gives you the best “bang” for your buck out of many custom knife makers and has an impeccable fit, finish, quality and smoothness to his work. The blade is centered perfectly, the mother of pearl handles flow seamlessly into the carbon fiber bolster with no gaps, the interior of the knife is anodized in a blue purple color and “jeweled” inside making it look very similar to knurled trim in a Bentley…only prettier and with titanium no less. I took a flashlight and looked inside the liners and saw this remarkable craftsmanship. File work is done by hand on the jimping of the spine of the blade and is very grippy and not overly sharp…perfect! The handle is very ergonomic and smooth with a curved radius flowing from the transition of the scales down to the gorgeous purple blue titanium liners. The pocket clip is also titanium and anodized and sits high. Interestingly the pocket clip has almost a brushed satin anodized finish to resist scratches and is a surprise on how well thought out it is. It sits low in the pocket and will be my new EDC blade for a very long time. I use my knives and I am proud of it! The most amazing part is the weight at only 5 ounces for a tactical folder that has a 3 3/8 inch blade and is 4.5 inches overall with a very good almost 50/50 weight balance when the knife hits your index finger in the handle.
Opening mechanism
This is the holy grail of flippers and requires no wrist action with a solid ball detent holding the knife in place, but not super tight or annoying. The flipper itself is smooth and could use a little more traction but you get used to it as it is very elegant and a joy to play with and will never wear out your index finger.
You press firmly and it fires out right away…the only modification I did to make this actuation slightly smoother was add Chris Reeve Florinated grease to the inside bronze washers…you heard that right…bronze washers that work! It does not need an IKBS system or bearings as it is smooth as silk now. Thumb studs are anodized and really used more to close the flipper not to open it since the ball detent holding the S30V blade in blade are very secure to build pressure to open it quicker. The thumb studs are also smooth indicating their primary purpose of use is not for opening and provide little thumb traction…Thus it is a flipper…Use the flipper. The beefy liner lock is simply amazing on the blade and locks 50% very secure. It is strong as a tank but surprisingly easy on the finger to unlock as well without punishing your finger…It is flawless…In the hand the blade feels like a fixed blade with very very little side to side blade play.
Blade Grind
I am not an export on judging hollow blade grinds because I am used to Japanese style blades from Murray Carter with a flat grinds. However, I will humbly try to give you my best observations. The blade is made out of CPM S30V and comes out of the box with 3 3/8 inches long and has a gorgeous hollow grind and very nice brushed satin finish that is flawless. The upper portion of the blade is profiled similar to a Benchmade Griptillian with a thicker top leading into a false edge and has lot more belly under it than the Benchmade...It is kind of like a miniature bowie knife or something like a Chris Reeve Sebenza added to the bottom 1/3 of a Benchmade Griptillion in design. It is very good at both slicing and has the thickness to strengthen the blade for tactical purposes up top portion with the hollow grind thinness on the bottom portion to cut. The grind is complicated, marvelous and a site to behold in your hands.
Sharpness
I would give this about an 8 out of 10 sharpness level where a 10 is a razor blade and a 9 is a Sushi knife. It is hair shaving sharp but the angle is a little higher than 20 degrees but lower than 30 degrees so I am guessing 25 or so. I think the edge is very similar to my FFG Spyderco Delica 4 in sharpness but a little better and a bit more keen of an edge. I am not sure how he does it but it seems like a very good balance between edge retention, sharpness with a polished edge that looks beautifully deadly and will make vegetables cry worse than an you will cutting any Onion.
Value
Thee knives start at $550 dollars and I paid $695 for the “pimped” out mother of pearl scales and jeweled liners and carbon fiber bolsters. It is an ABSOLUTE BARGAIN to get something of this level of quality for this price and I think Canadian knife makers in general give you more “product” for your money than American knifemakers with “bigger” names. Another thing that ads to the value is Randy is always available to his customers to talk on the phone and I was very fortunate enough to call him and he picked up the phone on the second ring and was a really down to earth, humble and amazing individual with a big heart and passion for his work. He is one of the few knifemakers that takes custom orders still and turn around time is very reasonable and a lot quicker than others from what I heard.
Cons
The only problem I see is I want more of his knives…A LOT MORE than I can afford right now as they are simply amazing. You have to get one in your hands to realize Randy Doucette is a future legend. He is self taught and gives a fresh perspective into knife making that is very original and elegant. There is no perfect knife…but his knife I would give a score of 97 out of 100. A solid A +
Picture
http://web.mac.com/lacigars/Three_Little_Indians_Custom_Knives/Randy_Doucette.html#44
The knife believe it or not came to me the day after I ordered it from the Three Little Indians Custom knife shop…Remarkable!!! Lawrence Amoruso is a class act and was extremely knowledgeable, confident and answered every one of my discerning questions about the blade. I will attempt to break the knife down into several categories.
Fit and Finish
Randy gives you the best “bang” for your buck out of many custom knife makers and has an impeccable fit, finish, quality and smoothness to his work. The blade is centered perfectly, the mother of pearl handles flow seamlessly into the carbon fiber bolster with no gaps, the interior of the knife is anodized in a blue purple color and “jeweled” inside making it look very similar to knurled trim in a Bentley…only prettier and with titanium no less. I took a flashlight and looked inside the liners and saw this remarkable craftsmanship. File work is done by hand on the jimping of the spine of the blade and is very grippy and not overly sharp…perfect! The handle is very ergonomic and smooth with a curved radius flowing from the transition of the scales down to the gorgeous purple blue titanium liners. The pocket clip is also titanium and anodized and sits high. Interestingly the pocket clip has almost a brushed satin anodized finish to resist scratches and is a surprise on how well thought out it is. It sits low in the pocket and will be my new EDC blade for a very long time. I use my knives and I am proud of it! The most amazing part is the weight at only 5 ounces for a tactical folder that has a 3 3/8 inch blade and is 4.5 inches overall with a very good almost 50/50 weight balance when the knife hits your index finger in the handle.
Opening mechanism
This is the holy grail of flippers and requires no wrist action with a solid ball detent holding the knife in place, but not super tight or annoying. The flipper itself is smooth and could use a little more traction but you get used to it as it is very elegant and a joy to play with and will never wear out your index finger.
You press firmly and it fires out right away…the only modification I did to make this actuation slightly smoother was add Chris Reeve Florinated grease to the inside bronze washers…you heard that right…bronze washers that work! It does not need an IKBS system or bearings as it is smooth as silk now. Thumb studs are anodized and really used more to close the flipper not to open it since the ball detent holding the S30V blade in blade are very secure to build pressure to open it quicker. The thumb studs are also smooth indicating their primary purpose of use is not for opening and provide little thumb traction…Thus it is a flipper…Use the flipper. The beefy liner lock is simply amazing on the blade and locks 50% very secure. It is strong as a tank but surprisingly easy on the finger to unlock as well without punishing your finger…It is flawless…In the hand the blade feels like a fixed blade with very very little side to side blade play.
Blade Grind
I am not an export on judging hollow blade grinds because I am used to Japanese style blades from Murray Carter with a flat grinds. However, I will humbly try to give you my best observations. The blade is made out of CPM S30V and comes out of the box with 3 3/8 inches long and has a gorgeous hollow grind and very nice brushed satin finish that is flawless. The upper portion of the blade is profiled similar to a Benchmade Griptillian with a thicker top leading into a false edge and has lot more belly under it than the Benchmade...It is kind of like a miniature bowie knife or something like a Chris Reeve Sebenza added to the bottom 1/3 of a Benchmade Griptillion in design. It is very good at both slicing and has the thickness to strengthen the blade for tactical purposes up top portion with the hollow grind thinness on the bottom portion to cut. The grind is complicated, marvelous and a site to behold in your hands.
Sharpness
I would give this about an 8 out of 10 sharpness level where a 10 is a razor blade and a 9 is a Sushi knife. It is hair shaving sharp but the angle is a little higher than 20 degrees but lower than 30 degrees so I am guessing 25 or so. I think the edge is very similar to my FFG Spyderco Delica 4 in sharpness but a little better and a bit more keen of an edge. I am not sure how he does it but it seems like a very good balance between edge retention, sharpness with a polished edge that looks beautifully deadly and will make vegetables cry worse than an you will cutting any Onion.
Value
Thee knives start at $550 dollars and I paid $695 for the “pimped” out mother of pearl scales and jeweled liners and carbon fiber bolsters. It is an ABSOLUTE BARGAIN to get something of this level of quality for this price and I think Canadian knife makers in general give you more “product” for your money than American knifemakers with “bigger” names. Another thing that ads to the value is Randy is always available to his customers to talk on the phone and I was very fortunate enough to call him and he picked up the phone on the second ring and was a really down to earth, humble and amazing individual with a big heart and passion for his work. He is one of the few knifemakers that takes custom orders still and turn around time is very reasonable and a lot quicker than others from what I heard.
Cons
The only problem I see is I want more of his knives…A LOT MORE than I can afford right now as they are simply amazing. You have to get one in your hands to realize Randy Doucette is a future legend. He is self taught and gives a fresh perspective into knife making that is very original and elegant. There is no perfect knife…but his knife I would give a score of 97 out of 100. A solid A +
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