Review Sought: William Henry B30 Gentac

T

The Savage Rabbit

Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
351
I've been looking for a review of the B30 Gentac. I'm considering a B30 or a small Damascus Sebenza as a new EDC for the office. I'm very familiar with the Sebenza but have no experience with any William Henry knives. I haven't found a review of the B30 that discusses what it's like to carry and use it.

If anyone knows of any please let me know.
 
Are there any owners out there who, even if they don't want to post a full review, could provide a few comments on the knife's general suitability as an EDC (office and nicer occasions)?
 
I handled one of william henry knives and small sebenza. Sebenza gets my vote, it just feels more robust and better constructed imo, even though I much prefer ZDP-189 over s30v, but since you are getting a damascus blade it shouldn't be an issue for you.
 
I love ZDP-189. I have a Spyderco Chinese Folder in ZDP which is a great package. I don't really like S30v. But I know the small Sebenza is a great knife as I have a plain one. I'm looking for something classy to carry to the office. The WH is classy and I love ZDP, but it's construction is a question mark. The Sebenza is a proven performer and the Damascus and woos inlays class it up. But the pocket clip is the same and the bare titanium looks out of place against my work slacks.

This is a fun problem to have.
 
id also love to know how they perform. i almost picked one up from a member here awhile back. regret it now.
 
I have a B30-A (auto) with CF scales, ZDP-189 at Rc 67. Absolute jewel of a knife. There is no smoother, no more precise knife. Very slender, a delight to hold. The blade stock is thin so this is not a heavy duty knife but i think fine for urban carry as long as your work doesn't require cutting up a lot of things like boxes. For that i'd rather use an inexpensive SanRenMu which are heavier duty than the Wm. Henry knives.
A Sebenza is a big heavy tank which i would prefer over the WH for camping or gardening, etc. use.
To sum up: i've never used my GenTac B30-A, but i love it and would find it 'painful' to sell. It is just so sweet.
roland
 
I just emailed WH about my purchasing dilemma, noting the lack of independent reviews of their knives (in actual use), and suggesting that they participate in the Bladeforums discussions of their products.
 
"Do you feel the laminated ZDP blade couldn't stand up to cutting boxes?"

I think the blade could handle it easily, but the overall construction/weight of the knife tells me it is not intended for heavy use. Rather than affecting the blade, i'd be concerned about lateral torque (i.e. poor user technique) maybe loosening up the pivot or twisting the frame.
I could be completely wrong. It might be way tougher a construction than it's light weight suggests. As you say, i too have never seen a real world use review.
Recently Wm. Henry has brought out a much lower priced line of knives. I wonder if these are more heavy duty regular EDC type knives. If you ever do see a review of these ones, the results might not apply to the older expensive 'jewel-like' ones such as the GenTac.
roland
 
I only own the TZ-12 and can't comment on the other one. Though the given dimensions appear to be the same with a 3" blade and 7" OAL. Tolerances and fit and finish seem to be on the same level as a Sebenza if not higher. I also do like the satin finished titanium as opposed to the rough sandblast that Chris Reeve likes to have on his knives. I've carried it to work, though I didn't cut anything tougher than plastic ties(not the thick zip ties) and some thin cardboard. I'm talking USPS flat rate box kind of thin. Anything thicker and you'd have to exert more force to get through it, which can be difficult given the lack of jimping on the blade and the thin handles.

Haven't had a small Sebenza, but if it's anything like the Large cousin, it'll have respectably thick handles, especially with inlays. The one thing about the William Henry is that it's quite a bit thinner than most knives, so even if the dimensions are the same, the small Sebbie will give you a better grip due to thicker handles. Though I wouldn't choose Damascus for cutting cardboard to be honest. IIRC, Devin Thomas uses AEB-L for his damascus core, and AEB-L should be the same as 13C26, little to no carbides but will take and hold a razor edge easily. S30V or S35VN would be better for cardboard cutting, even though the heat treat doesn't push it as hard as I would like.

Again, if you're sure that the boxes you go through are of the thin variety and doesn't require you to punch a hole through a wall in order to get through it(because some thin pieces can be tough to cut through despite that), the William Henry should do fine. Anything tougher, and I'd go with the Sebenza. But again, I'd drop the damascus if you expect a lot of cardboard or abrasive material.
 
I have a Gayle Bradley Spyderco for cardboard at home. I mention card board as a benchmark for what stresses I expect a knife to withstand.
 
Wouldn't be much point to it unless you actually use it to that extent, or even potentially use it. A Tri-Ad lock can hold a few hundred pounds of pressure directed at the spine, but that offers zero advantage over anything else if all you use the knife for is opening letters;).

Also not sure cardboard is good as a benchmark unless you use a specific kind of cardboard(like I said, USPS flat rate boxes), simply because there's such a wide variety of cardboard in materials used and thickness. I've cut cardboard that was single layer, about as thin as the USPS boxes, but still requires a lot of force to cut through and would blunt my knife edge to hell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top