Rock Creek- Teton Lockback (CAS Hanwei)

Slider817

Slider817

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Mar 26, 2010
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I have been hearing great things for a while about the CAS Hanwei- Rock Creek Knives, and in my limited experience they seem mostly true. I havent seen much info about this knife so I wanted to get this out there.
Recently purchased the Rock Creek- Teton lockback for under $40, and I'll say it now, I am happy with my purchase.
I'll post some pics and give some of my opinions about the knife, please feel free to comment ask ans any questions.
Firstly size is very similar to the Spyderco Delica for reference, except the Teton is quite a bit thicker.
It's somewhat heavy at 4.4oz on my scale, but not too bad on this style knife and the liners are not at all skeletonized, I believe they are stainless steel.
The knife is extremely comfortable in hand and through extended use I think most would find it very comfortable. It is even very comfortable to choke up on the blade.
The knife opens very smoothly, and there is no need to use the nail nick, a light grip on the blade is all you need, and with some practice one hand opening is not an issue.
My only comfort gripe is that in the closed position the exposed bottom of the blade is a bit sharp, a little bit like the old Paramilitary by Spyderco (Now corrected in the Para2). However, since this knife is only tip up right hand carry this does not seems like a major issue because your hand will be coming at the knife from the other side. But, if you like to carry the knife in your pocket, without the pocket clip, this may be an issue. And, the hole left without the pocket clip in is not that obnoxious.
Again this knife is only tip up right hand carry, lefties beware.
The knife clipped does not burry that deep in the pocket, and the clip is overly large in my opinion, but it is of nice quality and would not destroy your pants.
The handle scales are leather, which is a first for me in a folder, but I like them allot, they are very similar to wood, but have a slightly nicer feel, they are textured and give a nice grip.
There is no jimping, but the ergonomics offer a veery strong grip so I do not think that is necessary.
The lockup side-to-side is solid, however, there is a slight back and forth wiggle which I find in most all lockback (Delica included).
The in handle retention is very good, you cant shake it out.
The steel on this knife is HWS-2K which I believe is a proprietary steel made by CAS, I don't have much use with is yet, but it came pretty sharp, and not much time on the strop gave it a wicked edge, don't know what is compares to or how it will hold up, but I believe it is stainless.

Specs. All taken by Myself with A ruler and a Digital Caliper
Overal Length 7.6 inch
Blade Length 3.4 inch
Cutting Edge 3 inch
Blade thickness 3mm
Handle thickness 13mm
Weight 4.4oz

And please, anyone with experience with this knife, or similar, especially any knowledge of the steel please chime in, and feel free to ask any questions or comments.

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I have a number of CAS Hanwei knives including the Teton LB. They are all extremely well made, solid, smooth action knives.
The low priced ones make one think: "how can they be any good at that price ?" But price paid and value received are not always directly related.
I like my Teton better than my Large Classic Sebenza that cost me 14 times as much.
roland
 
rprocter said:
I have a number of CAS Hanwei knives including the Teton LB. They are all extremely well made, solid, smooth action knives.
The low priced ones make one think: "how can they be any good at that price ?" But price paid and value received are not always directly related.
I like my Teton better than my Large Classic Sebenza that cost me 14 times as much.
roland
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Don't get me wrong, I really like my Teton, but I also really like my SAK solidier and Opinel 8 but it does not compare in quality to a Chris Reeve. It is though in my opinion a great value knife, and I would pay allot more for it, but not the $400 I paid for my Umnumzaan, which I also think is a good value for what you get. but value is a very personal term in this context, a knife is a knife, a $10 Opinel can cut pretty similarly to any other knife.
But I think it's a steal at $40, it should be more like $80-100
 
Thanks for the review and detailed pics! I was wondering what that little bugger looked like aside from the stock photos. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Thanks for the review and detailed pics! I was wondering what that little bugger looked like aside from the stock photos. :)
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Me too, but I could find any photos of it online , so I ordered it blind, I was a nervous, but it wasnt too expensive, so I took a chance
 
Note that i did not say that the Teton is a better knife than a Sebenza, merely that i like it better. More comfortable in hand, much sharper blade and plenty strong enough for anything i might want to do with it.
If i was a helicopter pilot and thought i might have to cut my way out of a downed chopper, then i would choose the Sebenza. (or spend the same money and carry 12 Tetons ?)
roland
 
rprocter said:
Note that i did not say that the Teton is a better knife than a Sebenza, merely that i like it better. More comfortable in hand, much sharper blade and plenty strong enough for anything i might want to do with it.
If i was a helicopter pilot and thought i might have to cut my way out of a downed chopper, then i would choose the Sebenza. (or spend the same money and carry 12 Tetons ?)
roland
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Sorry for the strong comment. But I agree that the Teton is more comfortable in use than the Sebenza. But, I don't think it's a very comfortable knife in general. A cold steel AK-47 is one of my favorite in terms of comfort. But the Sebenza is perfection personified.
Ps if I was a pilot I would want a sturdy fixed blade
 
Also, I was thinking about filing down the sharp parts on the bottom of the blade when closed with a metal file and some sharpmaker rods to smooth it out. Do any of you think this will negatively effect lockup?
 
"the sharp parts on the bottom of the blade when closed"
If you mean the back square of the tang, it should likely be left alone.
On my Teton, with the blade open, the blade spine and spring line up so perfectly that you really have to look to see where they meet. I would not want to do anything that would alter this Custom level of fitting.
If i have misunderstood what you mean, you could post a pic showing the area that concerns you.
roland
 
That's exactly what I mean. Thanks, but I was thinking about getting a second one anyway. So I don't mind playing around with one of them. I am also thinking about looking into some of tier other folders if anyone has some pics.
So Please anyone chime in if you thing it will effect the lockup or function of the knife. Not just the looks
 
rprocter said:
"some of tier other folders if anyone has some pics"
Here's pics of my CAS/Ron Lake Collaboration Interframe Gent's knife:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786795
roland
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Beutiful knife, I saw that a while ago in the AG Russel Catolouge and I thought it was the most beutiful knife in the catalogue. This before I heard of CAS, so I though all that money for a knife from an unknown china maker. But now I think I may reconsider
 
Ron Lake makes an identical looking knife but it would cost you an additional $12,000 - $15,000.
I would like to be able to compare the 2, side by side. Would i be able to detect any differences ? And, if so, would i value these differences as worth the same as a new 2011 Toyota Corolla ?
I have over 100 Custom knives, most from well known, well respected custom knifemakers (but none by Ron Lake). Some months ago i bought a few CAS Hanwei knives and was amazed to find all aspects of these knives to be as good as many of my Customs and better than some.
I still buy Customs, but it is now much harder to justify the expense to myself.
That's part of why i like my Teton so much. For $40 you get a knife that rivals many Custom built knives.
roland
 
Overall, looks like a good deal for the money, but the size of that blade pivot doesn't impress me, especially given the width of the blade. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good deal, but I'd be re-pivoting and possibly re-scaling almost immediately if I picked one up. Unless, of course, it's a hidden pivot beneath the scales...
 
I think you are looking at one of the Torx screws that attaches the leather scale. Buy one. I bet you wouldn't change a single thing about it.
The leather scales are thick and treated to make them very stiff. It's a very comfortable attactive handle. The frame is thick enough to make this one strong knife.
roland
 
rprocter said:
I think you are looking at one of the Torx screws that attaches the leather scale. Buy one. I bet you wouldn't change a single thing about it.
The leather scales are thick and treated to make them very stiff. It's a very comfortable attactive handle. The frame is thick enough to make this one strong knife.
roland
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Agreed, the knife Is quite solid and more than good for any reasonable use
 
Ahah, so it IS a hidden pivot!

As to the scales, I don't have anything against leather (it's actually nice to have a handle material that won't crack or chip if it gets dropped on a ladder rung) but my problem with the scales is the "framed" construction where the liners protrude past the scales. I've had folders and fixed blades like that in the past, and just don't like the feel in my hands if I have to actually work with it. I realize they did it so that the leather wouldn't get crushed/bent up around the sides, but I think some natural micarta would look pretty good on there, though unfortunately I'd lose the checkering but such is life. As one who has checkered micarta before...never again. :D
 
The leather on those lock backs is stabilized and the steel is manufactured in their Chinese factory. I think it's comparable to 5Cr14MoV, a stainless variety. The two folders with Lake's name as shown on their site he designed. The other two shown ("Mesa" is one name, I forget the other) have forged blades with the company's HWS-1K, which is comparable to D2.
Steve
 
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