Smith and Wesson knives

fossilhunter

fossilhunter

Joined
Apr 7, 2001
Messages
346
I have felt (and read) alot of negative vibe towards the subject of Smith and Wesson-Taylor Cutlery knives. I can admit to the ownership of only two types of Smith and Wesson knives, (1) a Smith and Wesson SWAT knife modified to stealth automatic from TopLocDoc, and (2) the Smith and Wesson QuickFlick HRT Magnesium series designed by Darrel Ralph (of which I own a few styles), and both IMO are very well designed and built. I carry one of the HRT everyday. It snaps open as fast as any automatic/switchblade knife I own and is extremely sharp and has a rock solid lockup. I cut everything with it! It has never let me down and I must admit I abuse the hell out of it. I was snapping it open real hard one day showing it off to my friend in a parking lot and lost my grip - :( - on the handle and the knife took a nose dive into the pavement - - and embedded itself. Kinda reminded of the Sword in the Stone cartoon or whatever. But anyway I pulled it out and save for the rock that seemed to be fused into the steel around the tip it was still a razor sharp point. I used some carb cleaner to wipe it off as best I could and still use it everyday with no problem and the tip of the knife is still there!! Most knife tips I know of would have snapped off quicker than I knew my knife was flying from my fingertips.

Anyway, sorry to ramble on but I would like to know what some people have against Smith and Wesson. I really seem to like the ones I have.
 
My understanding is that the general dislike towards S&W is that many feel they have been showing bad practise in copying other peoples work and not paying royalty (or whatever)

And also the move about not selling guns to civilians or something, can't recall the exact details.

So i think the general opinion is based upon the feeling that they have sold out and not that they produce x-tremely bad knives.
It might be that the quality is perfectly ok, but i wouldn't buy one.

It does however seem that they are shaping up, Mr. Ralph is supposed to be getting paid/credits for his designs.

I've been somewhat tempted to get a few of his designs.

Btw, care to elaborate on the conversion you had done to your SWAT? maybe even a picture? :)
 
I lost all my interest and taste for Smith and Wesson when they sold to New Foreign owners and are now just "assembled" in the USA. Their tactical shop firearms are 'ok" but the quality of their current standard production firearms are below my expectations for an S&W. And if a Gunmaker cannot make a fine gun, the knives are quite frankly just POS.......wolf
 
I still dont understand why everyone dislikes S&W. I find nothing wrong with any of their new models. I think its more a subconcious preferration(if there is such a word) Like how i dislike buying knives with plasic scales such as zytel as i think, "why should i be paying this much for plastic when i could be getting it in metal for the same price." I know that carbon fiber and other such materials are extremely durable and so and so but its just the way i am. Well if it were up to me i'd buy any of the new S&W's designed by Darrel Ralph anyday:D
 
The HRT Mg is designed by Mike Lamprey with Darrel.

The design is based on this Mike Lamprey folder:
 

Attachments

  • lamprey.jpg
    lamprey.jpg
    18.4 KB · Views: 445
I guess when I hear S&W I think of them from a firearm perspective. Comparing a 1989 Smith semi-auto in any caliber to a 2001 S&W semi-auto in any caliber and the quality difference is glaring and alarming. Now compare QC of a 2001 S$W to a Sig, H&K or a Glock and one sees how low S&W has gone to keep their heads above water. NOW did I say todays Smith's are bad? NOPE, IMO they just are not the same S&W of old and they no longer have their hearts in making a FINE firearm. Now how the hell can they make a FINE knife?.....wolf:confused:
 
S&W was one of the most respected firearm manufacturers in the country. Then they sold out, made a deal with the devil, and created for themselves a spontaneous boycott in the firearms industry. Even if they did their best to make things right, many would never forgive them. They have not done their best to make things right.

It is rumored that the quality of their firearms has gone down in recent years, and that never makes a company look good.

S&W knives are not manufactured by S&W. S&W licensed the name to Taylor Cutlery, and they make the knives. Taylor Cutlery is not a very well respected knife company (think UC), and it is almost universally agreed that the quality of their knives does not even approach the quality of many other popular knife manufacturers such as Spyderco, Cold Steel, Gerber, etc.

S&W knives are labeled as "Made in the USA," but it is rumored that this is not, in fact, true.

Taylor Cutlery, under the S&W label, has been known to rip off designs without giving the true author acknowledged credit or financial reimbursement.

People around these parts bitched a lot more about S&W knives before the recent DDR collaboration was announced.

Before I discovered BFC & quality knives, I received a S&W Swat as a gift and I was thrilled. It was the nicest knife I had ever seen. I mean, it beat the pants off the $5 Jaguar knives I had at the time. Then I start reading here and I find that many people consider S&W knives junk. That got me real curious about what good knives were like. Right now I have a Spyderco, SOG, REKAT, and MT on me. For sentimental reasons I'll always keep that S&W Swat, but I don't expect to ever carry it again.
 
Apart from Taylor cutlery's aforementioned and distasteful practice of blantantly ripping off other company's designs, they simply are not up to the quality level of other knives that sell for the same prices. Yes, they are adequate blades. But yes, you can do better for the same amount of money -- and avoid purchasing a knife that has a licensing agreement with a company whose management did a great deal to set back the cause of legal gun ownership.

I'm going to dispute Jason's comment linking Taylor to United Cutlery, though -- if only because I think United doesn't try to be anything it isn't, unlike Taylor. UC blades are priced at a level roughly comparable to the quality you receive, and they make a variety of fun designs that lure new Knife People (like I was, at one time) into the world of cutlery.

The "Junglee" knives are another good example of price, taste, and quality in conflict. If you can get a Junglee knife on sale, you're fine -- you've gotten an adequate knife at an adequate price. But Junglee blades are priced at a level much higher than the quality one receives -- and many of their designs are indeed obvious copies of other designs by more prominent manufacturers.
 
Not all the S+W knives are made by Taylor. The aforementioned SRT magnesium and fixed blade are made by an overseas maker who builds a lot of knives for some well respected brands. Darrel is not the kind of guy to have his name associated with junk. The HRT is an excellent knife at a good price point. The knives made by Taylor are junk IMHO.
As for the Issue concerning S+Ws ill fated gun agreement with the US government,that was done by the then-English holding company that owned them. S+W is now owned by an American consortium of investors, including the former VP of sales, who is now Pres. The previous agreement is no longer binding, and Atty. General Ashcroft has said publicly that he would not try to hold S+W to it. I hope that the gun/knife public will recognize that fact and lift the unofficial boycott of their products. It would be too bad if we lost one of the few American handgun makers left.
David
 
OK, I was officially on record as a S&W/Taylor Cutlery hater.
Then Darrell Ralph came along and did some collaborations with S&W on a new series of knives called HRT Hostage Rescue Team.
I bought one because the DDR design very highly appealed to me. That would be the large re-curved fixed blade called, IIRC, the "Combat Survival knife" or something along that line. After using it to help process the fallen trees in my back yard after that last tropical storm, I fell for this knife hard. It was an awesome using piece. So, I went back and got a little Wharnecliffe style fixed from the same series called a "Fighter". That blade kicks ass. I would not feel bad carrying it every day if it was the one knife I could have.
So, further intrigued, I bought the Magnesium handle folder mentioned above. Initially I looked at it and went something like this :barf: .
But, it was around $45.00 so I thought I'd give it a fair shake. This also turned out to be a great buy for me.

While I'm still a Taylor hater, DDR thought highly enough of S&W to give them another chance, so I thought "why not?".
I'm very glad I did.
 
Probably the SAME overseas folks making the parts for ALL the S&W firearms. they should say "Assembled in the USA, but we sold out to a group of Foreigners and no longer care about QUALITY" instead of saying "Made in the USA". Just the "Tactical models" are finished off in MA. Soon, English will be the second language spoken at the S&W Academy!!!! S&W Suks.....wolf:mad:
 
Smith&Wesson is no longer owned by the British firm Tonkens . They were bought out by a group of investors and are now Proudly owned by Americans . I can't remember the head investors name but he reportedly put up the lions share of the 50 plus millon to purchase the firm . There are several reports in the gun publications that the HUD deal won't be around much longer under the Bush administration .


Jerry



I should have read more , someone already made this statement . Sorry I just got wound up .
 
The new S&W knives are very well made. THe new HRT with the magnesium hand is one slick puppy.Very fast, smooth,light,and locks up rock solid. I like the 440C blade shape and the grind is near perfect. Everyone that checks it out in the shop is impressed but the fact that S&W climbed in to bed with Clinton a few years ago still leaves a bad taste in their mouth:barf: eventhough S&W is now U.S. owned and have probably have changed their policies. I think they should do some heavy PR work to let people know.;)
 
Originally posted by misque

While I'm still a Taylor hater, DDR thought highly enough of S&W to give them another chance, so I thought "why not?".
I'm very glad I did.
Click to expand...

In the past I have been one of the ones who were very vocal about expressing displeasure over Taylor Cutlery's blatant practice of ripping off legitimate designs. But after learning of the HRT series and talking with Darrel, I had an opportunity to get these knives in hand and try them out for myself. Turns out that they are very good production knives for the money. Similar to CRKT - most bang for the buck, pun not intended! Darrel and myself have flicked one of the HRT flippers to around several hundred openings, and the lock still holds with no play in any direction.

Perhaps one of the difficult things about the HRT series is that a lot of folks know about Taylor ripping off legitimate designs, so they automatically assume that Darrel Ralph was ripped off. Nothing can be farther from the truth!

Today, I'm like Misque. I'm happy with the performance and quality of manufacture of the HRT series, but until Taylor Cutlery permanently changes their business practice - or maybe lack thereof - I still will disapprove.
 
Anyone recall the ages old S&W/Bangor Punta merger?
History repeats itself, and has in fact once again for S&W quite recently.

So they make a few moves to right their wrongs, but then they'll soon again wrong their rights when the dust clears. I've writtin them off a long time ago. There are too many fine knives and firearms within the current marketplace to even consider them. S&W are not friends of freedom in my book, and never will be. I look forward to the day that they fully expire and entirely cease to exist within the induustry.
 
Originally posted by Eric Blair
Anyone recall the ages old S&W/Bangor Punta merger?
History repeats itself, and has in fact once again for S&W quite recently.

So they make a few moves to right their wrongs, but then they'll soon again wrong their rights when the dust clears
Click to expand...

Remember Harly-Davidison? About 20 years ago those suckers leaked! Now they are back to top quality and going strong. For firearms, I think S&W SHOULD go the same route. Rebuild their image, they are too much apart of USA history to let them die. Of course, the sinned tremendously and must atone for it, but I’m hoping to tell my kids about my dad’s S&W revolvers (as old as I am) with the company still around. Just hope they avoid the overpriced, wait-listed, yuppie appeal.

As for knives, (and this post) the other day I was in a knife store and someone was interested in S&W knives (old style). The dealer said they were ok knives but for the money you could get a CRK&T M16Z, which is a hell of a better knife. BTW, the dealer said S&W knives are made in China. Just a rumor or is there more?

I don’t know if gun makers making knives is a good thing or not. Seems like a fad where they use their name on another company’s product to make profit. Colt does the same thing. I don’t know about their recent Cobras, but their early knives strike me as equal to import junk.


Too much more of this and we’ll need to move to Knife Community:)
 
I once was a DIE-HARD S&W fan and I do own many older versions of the REAL smith and Wesson firearm. I just cannot forgive them for their sell-out. Their image is tainted, they have lied, they have cheated, and they have yet to get the word out that things have indeed CHANGED. I live relatively close to them and "used to be" a regular attendee at their world famous and one-time "World renowned" Academy. They have a lot of makin up to do, and this includes cleaning up their entire act to include "their" line of knives.......wolf
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top