- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
- Messages
- 2,826
After buying and using a number of "bargain" knives, just for the heck of it, I've come to the conclusion that S&W knives have a bad rap.
At the bottom of the bargain heap is...can I have the envelope, please? And the winner is Gerber's Paraframe and some of their other knives [applause], which were unable to defeat many taped packages and blister pacs. The quality of blade steel ranks at the very dredges of the barrel, and the company brilliantly hides the blade steel behind such euphemisms as "400-series" or the dreaded "surgical stainless."
After that comes some of the new CRKT knives with blades made from AUS4. The company never distinguished which models had the newer AUS4 and the older AUS6. I have new knives, such as the M16-13Z (a once great knife for the price; it sported an AUS6 blade and was a comfortable knife to carry and use). Even the newer models made of junk steel could be sharpened. They just never stayed sharp. It was too bad these better-than-average knives were junked with nothing to distinguish the old ones from the new.
Which brings us to Smith & Wesson. My first knife was an aluminum Extreme Ops with a 440C blade that proved to be better than expected. It was five or six bucks and it proved to cut much better than the above knives. It could be easily opened with a flick of the wrist without touching the disc openers. Clearly a bottom-tier knife, it actually cut and sharpened far outside of its class. It still rides with me when I expect to do some dirty cutting that might mar better knives.
Then there are two knives that S&W clearly intended to sell for much more than the five bucks I paid for them at SMKWs. They now sell for a bit more, but I picked up a bunch of them to give away and found myself actually liking them. One is the company's Magnesium Extreme Ops (below). Mine was the original series and sported a magnesium grip and a 440C blade. It flipped open easily, cut very well, held an edge and sharpened with no problem.
Then there were the Hawkbills. These were very well constructed with very nice 440C blades and a solid weight. They originally sold for $86 and came in serrated and plain edges. They perform very well and they hold their edges. The serrated blades do very well for a number of cutting jobs, especially tougher ones.
The bottom line is that some S&Ws can be a bargain. As the quality of some of the other knives slip, and as some of the better quality S&Ws become available at cheaper prices, they offer better blade steel and overall value. I know they have a less than stellar reputation, but I thought I'd ask if anyone else has had either good or bad experiences with these knives.
At the bottom of the bargain heap is...can I have the envelope, please? And the winner is Gerber's Paraframe and some of their other knives [applause], which were unable to defeat many taped packages and blister pacs. The quality of blade steel ranks at the very dredges of the barrel, and the company brilliantly hides the blade steel behind such euphemisms as "400-series" or the dreaded "surgical stainless."
After that comes some of the new CRKT knives with blades made from AUS4. The company never distinguished which models had the newer AUS4 and the older AUS6. I have new knives, such as the M16-13Z (a once great knife for the price; it sported an AUS6 blade and was a comfortable knife to carry and use). Even the newer models made of junk steel could be sharpened. They just never stayed sharp. It was too bad these better-than-average knives were junked with nothing to distinguish the old ones from the new.
Which brings us to Smith & Wesson. My first knife was an aluminum Extreme Ops with a 440C blade that proved to be better than expected. It was five or six bucks and it proved to cut much better than the above knives. It could be easily opened with a flick of the wrist without touching the disc openers. Clearly a bottom-tier knife, it actually cut and sharpened far outside of its class. It still rides with me when I expect to do some dirty cutting that might mar better knives.
Then there are two knives that S&W clearly intended to sell for much more than the five bucks I paid for them at SMKWs. They now sell for a bit more, but I picked up a bunch of them to give away and found myself actually liking them. One is the company's Magnesium Extreme Ops (below). Mine was the original series and sported a magnesium grip and a 440C blade. It flipped open easily, cut very well, held an edge and sharpened with no problem.
Then there were the Hawkbills. These were very well constructed with very nice 440C blades and a solid weight. They originally sold for $86 and came in serrated and plain edges. They perform very well and they hold their edges. The serrated blades do very well for a number of cutting jobs, especially tougher ones.
The bottom line is that some S&Ws can be a bargain. As the quality of some of the other knives slip, and as some of the better quality S&Ws become available at cheaper prices, they offer better blade steel and overall value. I know they have a less than stellar reputation, but I thought I'd ask if anyone else has had either good or bad experiences with these knives.
