S&W SWAT knives?

C

Chewy1

Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Messages
1,564
Hello All

I'm in an area where the two main cities both have a 2.5" knife blade limit. I'm always looking for additional legal carry knives. I ran across the Smith and Wesson Baby Swat over on an online dealer. It says they are 440C, but of course, heat treat and F&F on very important.

Do any of you own any of these?
 
Chewy1 said:
heat treat and F&F on very important.

Do any of you own any of these?
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No but I think if you have any concerns about a knife you buy (ht & FF), then maybe you should just fork out $20 more and get a knife that is well known for having not only good HT&FF but also cutting ability, ergonomics, edge retention, cutting ability, safety, warranty, origin, etc etc. Good luck to your hunt :thumbup:
 
I have owned two knives in that series. NEITHER were very impressive. Good entry level knives, but I would definitely not suggest them if you've had any experience with even decent knife quality. Their large fixed blade in this series, the H.R.T., I broke in half without even trying. Not much quality to be found here.
 
Another vote for buying something a little better. You've been here since '06 - the S&W's probably wouldn't make you happy if you've been around knives that long.

I still have half a dozen S&W's, and they're okay knives to mess around with, but heat treat is a big concern. (Even with several calls, I could never get anyone at Taylor Brands to tell me anything specific about their heat treatment.) You can get a great little Spyderco for not much $$, and not have any problem carrying it in those cities.

~Chris
 
I have one of the smaller SWAT knives and it is tied with my Gerber Mini Fast Draw as the worst knife I own, probably. Handle material is glued on, chews your pants, then comes unglued, 4034 steel, too thick for its length, tiny screw fell out of the knife on its own, just feels really cheap. Feels like it would shatter into at least 15 pieces with one good whack with a tack hammer.
I know they have they have newer designs but IMO, it's crap.
 
You will get what you pay for. If you are looking for a really well made and inexpensive knife, I would look at the Spyderco Byrd line. Great folders for the price.
 
yea get those swat knives out of your mind. their are dozens of knifes way better for not much more cash. id sooner get a byrd and grind the blade down to under 2.5 before a S&W.
 
Got the Byrd Raven already. Thanks for steering a fellow knife-guy away from the S&W. They make a fine pistol, though. :) You're dead-on about the Byrds. My Raven is the bomb, to borrow a phrase.

The Meadowlark, Meadowlark Rescue, and Cara Cara are all on my want list.
 
I have two, the swat II and the extreme ops. I use them a lot. They make very effective paperweights. :D
 
The problem with Smith & Wesson is that only the guns are actually made by them. They They license out the S&W brand to the highest bidder for everything else. Those licensees include Taylor Cutlery, the same company who now owns the Schrade/Old Timer/Uncle Henry brands.

In other words, S&W knives are the best example of the worst Chinese production has to offer. You were smart to go with Byrd instead. I'd also recommend CRKT (with a little caution, as most of their knives are decent or better for the price, but there are some that aren't worth picking up), Kershaw's lower-priced models, and Buck's 420HC offerings when looking at "quality for cheap".

...but you still get what you pay for, even with the high-end of low price sometimes.
 
S&W knives are crap, no matter how alluring their materials might make them seem. 440C is still a decent steel heat-treated well. The 440C on S&W knives is not treated well.

There are plenty of Byrd and Kershaw knives available for a pittance. Look into those.
 
Planterz said:
S&W knives are crap, no matter how alluring their materials might make them seem. 440C is still a decent steel heat-treated well. The 440C on S&W knives is not treated well.

There are plenty of Byrd and Kershaw knives available for a pittance. Look into those.
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My experience exactly. 440C is a great steel, but not when used in S&W knives.
 
I sort of collect S&W knives*. That being said, I wouldn't use ANY of 'em for ANYTHING "serious".

*Copied from my "knife-log":

Smith & Wesson Big Texas Hold 'Em Bowie (440C)
Smith & Wesson HRT/DR Fighter (440C, pe, satin) (x2)
Smith & Wesson HRT Dagger (440C, pe, black)
Smith & Wesson Homeland Security folder CK212 (440C, pe, black)
Smith & Wesson ExtremeOps folder CK43BS (clip-point, ce, black)
Smith & Wesson ExtremeOps folder CK5TBS (tanto, ce, black)
Smith & Wesson Rescue folder SWHRTMG (pe, satin)
 
I've got one S&W knife. It's an Extreme Ops Auto. I live in LaLa land, which means I can't carry it. I can't even walk outside with it. I bought it for just one reason . . . to have an auto in my collection I could play with. I'll enjoy it until the spring breaks. Then I'll throw it away.
 
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