Spartan Blades Akribis folders with 3.5" blade of S35VN

RamZar said:
It isn't as thick as it seems. See the picture below where the Sebenza 25 is next to the Akribis (third and fourth from the top):

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Hmm, right you are. The thinner frame elements do make it pretty reasonable in thickness. Swell, now how much and where do I buy one? :)
 
payj said:
I will contact spartan and see what they say. When you tested it did ypu hold it at the tip?
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I just tried it again by holding the tip and blade play up or down and sideways. No issues on mine.

I just remembered and tried how easily it flicks open.
 
Not really a fan of it aesthetically, the scales and clip look awkward to me. The knife looks very handle heavy. the chain ring bolt type hardware looks awkward and takes up space for a longer blade. also the price s35vn is a bit disappointing.

the blade itself looks very functional and nicely designed. PVD all around is a sweet feature.

the chain ring bolt really kills it for me. I'll pass.
 
monger4142 said:
... the chain ring bolt type hardware looks awkward and takes up space ...
the chain ring bolt really kills it for me. I'll pass.
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Agreed. It's an awkward design element making the folder longer than it could be.

However, it's a small issue for me and not a show-stopper.
 
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It makes the knife longer, but the bolt is actually one of the features that attracted me to the knife.
 
Sent mine in for the slight blade play.

I talked to Curtis who is one of the owners. Supperrr nice guy. Didnt even bat an eye about me wanting to send it in. He said it shouldn't do that and will personally fix it and turn around would only be a few days. He also said he will write me a check for the cost of me to get it there. So far the customer service is very good. I would not hesitate to buy one of these of your still on the fence.

I will post back once I get it.
 
Like others I have a Sebenza and an Akribis. They are similar. No blade play on my Akribis. Akribis is smoother, easier to open, and similar F&F. Sebenza has a more solid feel, locks more securely - not sure if it is real or imagined. My opinion is the 2 are very similar. Therefore, differences boil down to preferences. Both are great.
I also have Striders. They are different than either the Sebenza or Akribis. Not as smooth. F&F not quite at the same level. But they are compact relative to the blade size, and they are great in the hand. Striders have different soul as us ol' farts say. There's a place for them all in the collection.
 
Its great to hear about their CS and glad it went very well for you payj. Its definitely still on my list of things to buy.
 
payj said:
Sent mine in for the slight blade play.

I talked to Curtis who is one of the owners. Supperrr nice guy. Didnt even bat an eye about me wanting to send it in. He said it shouldn't do that and will personally fix it and turn around would only be a few days. He also said he will write me a check for the cost of me to get it there. So far the customer service is very good. I would not hesitate to buy one of these of your still on the fence.

I will post back once I get it.
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Nice CS. Please post back when the Akribis comes back.
 
Nice to see their cs is on par. I expect nothing less from what I have seen. I wish I could afford one of these. I think they are a great knife. Damn home remodeling ...
 
I'm really looking forward to more (folders) from Spartan. Their CS is top notch. I called asking about carbon fiber scales (mine had g10). They sold me a set and I had them in hand in 2 days. I asked about other folders and was told they had some in the works, but couldn't say anything more. I really want to see them succeed, and hopefully they can keep up the awesome service.

Now, for the knife - the first thing I did was completely dismantle mine. I can't call it sebenza quality, but its a very good first effort. There are small details, like a turned (rather than hardened and ground) pivot bushing, and fitment of the fasteners to the frame that would never be seen on a CRK. Also, the pocket clip will twist and leave marks on the scale unless the ring bolt is very tight. These are minor issues though, and not enough to curb my enthusiasm for the brand.

Regarding the smoothness - it IS smoother than a sebenza, but its a matter of simple mechanics. The bronze pivot washers are about half the size on the akribis, and the fit is no where near as perfect as a CRK. I think of it like one of the older regular sebenzas with solid washers - just a little loose.

From the looks department, the knife doesn't need to be any thinner - the blade just needs to be slightly thicker to have better visual proportion as a complete package. It feels great in hand, and slices like a champ, but does look a little off.
 
I want to see some images of the Tungsten DLC coating w/ Carbon Fiber. I really had a different idea about the dimensions from the initial marketing pictures they put out - the scales look thick, and the knife looks much bulkier than it actually is in some of their pictures.

People often forget (or never realized) that Spartan Blades serves a different market than CRK's Sebenza... but it's roughly the same Market as CRK's tactical fixed blades. The Akribis was designed for soldiers so they could use them in the field, and then carry them in dress slacks once they returned home. The size of the knife was mission oriented. The dimensions are taken from the human hand - that's why it's not 3", or 4". Knife enthusiasts may not prefer S35VN, but for the Military you would be hard pressed to find a better steel. It has a very high corrosion resistance, and it is super tool steel lest we forget. Both CRK and Spartan Blades are very satisfied with the performance of S35VN, and both makers feel that it's a superior steel to put in a general issue army knife that could theoretically be exposed to every climate on earth and is guaranteed to see hard use.

I have quite a few knives with S35VN now, and it doesn't chip as quickly as S30V or VG-10, it features better corrosion resistance than 3V, and it's not as ridiculously hard as S90V or M4. CRK worked with CPM very closely to develop a steel with high corrosion resistance that still performed on the level of other top end steels, and that is what they got. It's easy to see why it was chosen for a military knife.
 
Awesome! I took a quick look and actually didn't see anything. I think I like your meteorite gray much much more. I was hoping I would like the black though! I wonder what the difference in quality and is between the Gray PVD and the Black Tungsten PVD.
 
A Justice said:
Awesome! I took a quick look and actually didn't see anything. I think I like your meteorite gray much much more. I was hoping I would like the black though! I wonder what the difference in quality and is between the Gray PVD and the Black Tungsten PVD.
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You're right in that most of the pictures of the Tungsten DLC are MIA!

Anyway, from what I gather, the meteorite gray coating is Zirconium Nitride (ZrN) which is super tough and is tougher than the Tungsten DLC Flat Black coating.

Spartan actually coats all metal surfaces:

All surfaces are coated with the best PVD coatings available to protect the working surfaces of the blade and frame.
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Q. - What do you coat your blades with / why?

A. - S35VN does not require a coating, but we beleive a tactical knife should be coated / dulled to minimize shine in the field. While there are many fine coating choices, we decided to put the best available (looking for the best wear resistance, unifority, color, environmentally friendly, etc..), by the process of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). PVD coating is applied in a vacuum chamber with charged metal molecules. During the process, the cleaned blades are negatively charged and the plasma vapor of the metals are positively charged, so the vapor of metals deposit themselves evenly on the blade / parts. Our "SpartaCoat" is currently either a Tungsten DLC (Black) or Zirconium Nitride (Flat Dark Earth). The coating is actually fused to the blade and much harder than the blade, making for a superior coating and scratch resistance. It looks great too!
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Akribis

– Greek for Sharp and Precise, is a fitting name for this finely crafted folding knife. This titanium and S35VN folder is the fruition of intense development and refinement. Spartan set out to create a knife that embodied all that is right in a modern folding knife. Form, function, and craftsmanship are all words that come to mind when you hold this knife. During the development of Akribis, Spartan reached out to the best and brightest in the industry for guidance and technical insight that is very evident when holding this knife. The Akribis was put through a series of refinements, engineering reviews and changes that culminated in this precision cutting tool. The craftsmanship of this folder is self-evident, from the chamfers on the frame to the intricate machining of the blades jimping.
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RamZar said:
You're right in that most of the pictures of the Tungsten DLC are MIA!

Anyway, from what I gather, the meteorite gray coating is Zirconium Nitride (ZrN) which is super tough and is tougher than the Tungsten DLC Flat Black coating.
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From what I understand, ZrN is usually 2700-2900 HV on the Vickers hardness scale, and true Diamond Like Carbon Coatings using PACVD can range from 1,000 - over 3,000 HV. ZrN is usually gold looking, so you can expect that they did not reach maximum hardness with the changes initiated to get a silver hue. What is disappointing for me is that Tungsten carbide amorphous diamond-like carbon is only 1,000 HV. I was always under the impression that new DLC technologies would outperform traditional PVD coatings that were developed in the 80s.

It's hard to speculate though; the application processes and exact formulations vary in industrial coatings. If the ZrN is in fact 2,800HV and the Tungten is only 1,000HV though, it makes me wonder why just a disparity. It could be due to cracking (The Vickers Hardness of S35VN is approximately 725HV at 59RC, so a harder DLC may have been subject to stress cracking due to the larger difference in hardness between the coating and the substrate?. DLC coatings are only a few microns thick, thinner than PVD which may be why the PVD coating can be applied at a higher hardness without facing any problems.). I would like the hear from Curtis about the difference in the two coatings though, it seems odd that they would have two coatings that vary so much in Hardness.
 
It's a nice knife, and they have super customer service, mine had a bit of blade play, and they fixed it and returned it in less than 10 business days.

Overall I like the look, but the handle feels thick to me, and the blade seems short for the handle length, it just looks/feels a bit off in it's proportions. If they cut the g10 thickness in half , or slightly inset the g10 slabs, and added 1/4" to the blade and a bit of blade thickness it would be perfect, but I like a thinner handle so that's personal preference. The jimping is a bit too recessed, and the thumb ramp a little "short" in that not enough of it is exposed when open. Detent holds the blade nice and secure and it's nice and smooth, good lockup, no lock stick. I also thought the last 1/2" of the blade looked thin for a knife that looks like it was designed for hard use. I really like the clip design, so many expensive knives have plain boring clips.
 
I had one, but sent it back, due to side to side play, which annoyed me for a five hundred dollar knife.

dan
 
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