Spartan harsey 3.25.

SVTFreak

SVTFreak

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Mar 8, 2011
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Those who have or have had this knife, what’s your impressions? How’s the build quality? How’s the fit and finish? And, how was sharpening it with no sharpening notch? Thanks y’all.
 
I like the full size better in hand, but they’re built really well, I’ve put mine through a lot.

The no sharpening choil is something people will complain about but it hasn’t been an issue for me you don’t normally start or end cuts there, it sharpens up just fine
 
I adore it. Feels better to me in hand than the big one. Ergos are great, built like a tank, nice snappy action. I love the blade shape. Its a little thicker blade stock than something like a small sebenza but still cuts great. Perfect size for me for city carry. I'm a novice sharpener at best, but I haven't had an issue without a sharpening choil.

-Mike
 
No experience with the small SHF, but I have had the full size in my pocket exclusively since last November. I have used it daily and haven’t spared it from any rough tasks. Absolutely a perfect work knife, not the world’s most “slicey” blade, but as a dedicated worker it excels.

I have had to put a fresh edge on it twice, I was a bit concerned about the lack of a sharpening choil, but it didn’t prove to be an issue for me - and I am far from an authority on sharpening.

Obligatory pic -

https://imgur.com/xnooayt
 
I like the large better, same as CRK's. I recently moved and packed all my knives away for a couple weeks. I had just received a small SHF Warthog, being summer I put it in my pocket. For almost 2 weeks it was the only knife I had that wasn't packed away. While moving and unpacking the knife was used by everyone in the family, left here and there, dirtied up and generally well used. In fact a backspacer screw disappeared while going from hand to hand. It's so smooth and handy I just love it, quite a bit more than a small Sebenza (the CRK's are still packed away). Once the big SHF's came out I put the small away (also because I've gotten a couple more large SHF's since moving). I do prefer the large but for lightweight summer carry, or if I carry a smaller knife it's going to be the 3.25 SHF. I have a few 3" Hinderer's, a couple small Sebenza and other smaller knives. I usually carry larger knives in general but I'll get another small SHF soon, a PJ user. I've been on a SHF kick lately, going for a bakers dozen :D
 
The 3.25 is one of my favorites. Oening is smooth, lockup is solid, everything feels high quality EXCEPT that there are unfinished/sharp corners everywhere on the handle. The outermost edges have been chamfered but everywhere else is hard 90* angles. It doesn't bother me much but I can see that being a probem for some.

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I have both the 3.25 DLT exclusive model and the PJ model. One or the other gets carried most every day - and I have many other choices. Have no sharpening issues and the S45 stays sharp for a relatively long period of time time.…even with daily use. They’re the best easy carry/hard use/relatively compact knives I’ve ever come across!
 
I've had a 3.25 for a few months now. I'll be honest, I haven't used it a ton, I got it for a really good deal and couldn't pass it up because I really like the design. It feels fantastic in the hand and the action is nice. The fit and finish is really good too, just right below CRK in my opinion. I wear a size Large glove and do wish that it the handle was just a tiny bit larger. It fits my hand but locks it into the curves really tight where there's no extra room at all. However I do grab up forward of the "guard" sometimes and grip it like a finger choil.
 
I’m very pleased with mine and regularly rotate it with a couple of small Sebenzas. The large is an awesome knife but in all honesty it’s just too much of a beast for me to use as an EDC.
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My small SHF has better action than my larges, and carries very well. I haven't tried to sharpen it yet, but I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker and don't anticipate any issues. I find my SHFs to be better than my Hinderer XM-18 in every way but one. (My XM is a lefty as am I, but that hasn't messed me up at all with the SHF.) I think the fit and finish is a step below CRK, but better than the Hinderer.
 
JAB said:
I’m very pleased with mine and regularly rotate it with a couple of small Sebenzas. The large is an awesome knife but in all honesty it’s just too much of a beast for me to use as an EDC.
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Thanks for posting that side-by-side, J. I've got two larges--S35VN PJ and and an S45VN Northwest Coast. I really love both and carry them often, but have often wondered about how the 3.25 compares. I like big/little brother pairings of the same model and have several, so I got out some to find that, say, my F95/Neon and 0452/0450 pairings were roughly equivalent to the 4ish/3.25ish sizes of the Spartans. I do sometimes carry those smaller ones solo and they fit just well enough in my thick hands to be useful as lighter/smaller EDCs when the situation calls for something more discreet, though I'm still inclined to carry a larger knife most all of the time.

As to the lack of a sharpening choil, I don't see it as a problem, though I've not put a hone to either of my Harseys so far. Spyderco, which makes damn good knives for sure, has achieved a pretty fair amount of commercial success with blades whose edges run smack into their ricassos.
 
I have an SHF 3.25 and I love it. So much so that I put a decent chunk of money into making it truly mine. I like to think that the SHF would be the end result of Hinderer Knives giving CRK some advice on ergonomics (although the SHF is slightly less refined than offerings from Hinderer and CRK imo). The Spartan customer service is absolutely stupendous too. They custom engraved and anodized my scales and all the hardware for a whopping $25. Seriously, they only charged me $25 to turn plain jane scales into what I'm rocking now. I also thought it was pretty cool that they integrated S45VN into their knives so quickly.

There are a few quirks that I think should be worked on though... Before the custom Damasteel blade, mine had a little bit of lockstick. The screws thread directly into the standoffs and the scales don't have any locating pins, so getting the knife dialed in can take some trial and error when reassembling. The grind could have been a little better at the plunge. That's all I've got. With very little refinement and improvement, I think the SHF could easily be on the same level as Hinderers and CRKs.

Spartan Harsey 3.25 with Compass engraving, blue anodized scales/hardware/standoffs, and a custom Bjorkman's Twist Damasteel blade.
 
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My Black Friday plain Jane 3.5 SHF arrived today. Great build, way stiff out of the box I'm in extreme fidget mode trying to break it in. This knife is the perfect size for me, I have some Benchmade Osbornes which I've carried for at least 10 years the SHF will replace them nicely.
 
The full size I’d just too big for me. The 3.25 is the perfect size for me.
It carries small, if that makes sense and I like it for that reason.
I think the fit and finish is similar to CRK.

It is not as “slicy” as a CRK but gets the job done.

I have two plain Jane’s and a Damascus, I highly recommend!
 
I have a 3.25 Warthog presently. S45 sharpens up nicely.
I've had two of the full size SHF's, one PVD coated and a Sugar skulls. I prefer to carry larger knives but the full size was just a bit too much in pocket. At this time I carry a full size Adamas for a work knife. My hands are between lrg and xl in size. I can see myself owning another full size at some point.
All the SHF's are excellent knives. No sharpening choil is no issue.
I won't be getting rid of the 3.25. It fills the BM 940/Chaves 229 slot just fine. Excellent fit and finish. Equivalent to a CRK with a few sharper edges.
My only issue is no deep carry clip available.
The 3.25 is a knife worth owning!
 
knife_fan said:
I want to try one but not having a steel insert on the lock bar has kept me away.
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Do it. Not sure why people feel this way when it's a proven interface. I've had worse experience with slippage and stick on steel interfaces than I ever did with Ti. My only real gripe with the SHF is the way the edge just sorta fades into the plunge line. A deep carry clip option would be nice as well.
 
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