Spartan SHF Pic Thread. Let’s See ‘Em!

Exit270 said:
I just received my first SHF, plain model, and I have a question regarding the quality. This is my first experience with this brand so I have nothing to compare it to. I’ve never even held one in hand but the price was too good to pass up (eBay, authorized dealer). Upon receiving the knife, I noticed that the blade is not centered and that the action is rather rough. Also, there is a little bit of front to back blade play. If I push the lock bar further in, this goes away. Are these normal for this knife? Otherwise it looks great and feels great but I feel disappointed as this is the most expensive knife I have but I also don’t want to jump to conclusions in case these are common for this knife.
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I must admit, I do find the finer tolerances lacking a bit compared with the competition. For example on my runes - the handle scales marginally misaligned
 
Exit270 said:
I just received my first SHF, plain model, and I have a question regarding the quality. This is my first experience with this brand so I have nothing to compare it to. I’ve never even held one in hand but the price was too good to pass up (eBay, authorized dealer). Upon receiving the knife, I noticed that the blade is not centered and that the action is rather rough. Also, there is a little bit of front to back blade play. If I push the lock bar further in, this goes away. Are these normal for this knife? Otherwise it looks great and feels great but I feel disappointed as this is the most expensive knife I have but I also don’t want to jump to conclusions in case these are common for this knife.
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My honest take is that the SHF is sometimes given an unfair pass on its fit and finish. The whole knife could use a bit of a dehorning. I don't find it as well fitted or finished compared to my CRK from 2019. What it is is a very heavy duty folding knife that should hold up to pretty much anything one should expect from a folder. I really like mine, but I will not go as far as to call the lack of polish a feature and not an area they could improve upon.

I really dig mine. I carry it every day and use it...but I do hope to see a bit more polish on these knives in the future.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
My honest take is that the SHF is sometimes given an unfair pass on its fit and finish. The whole knife could use a bit of a dehorning. I don't find it as well fitted or finished compared to my CRK from 2019. What it is is a very heavy duty folding knife that should hold up to pretty much anything one should expect from a folder. I really like mine, but I will not go as far as to call the lack of polish a feature and not an area they could improve upon.

I really dig mine. I carry it every day and use it...but I do hope to see a bit more polish on these knives in the future.
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That is the conclusion I am coming to. It feels so heavy duty that it is hard not to smile when holding it. I was just caught off guard by the few discrepancies I noted which, in contrast, to the four $30-$40 Chinese brand knives I picked up over the last two months, seemed significant. Granted, the materials on those are not top shelf, but the fit, finish, and lock up are incredible.
I really like the SHF, but I want to love it.
 
Exit270 said:
That is the conclusion I am coming to. It feels so heavy duty that it is hard not to smile when holding it. I was just caught off guard by the few discrepancies I noted which, in contrast, to the four $30-$40 Chinese brand knives I picked up over the last two months, seemed significant. Granted, the materials on those are not top shelf, but the fit, finish, and lock up are incredible.
I really like the SHF, but I want to love it.
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This matches my feelings as well. Sort of the same category as Strider - heavy duty tool - but a little rough around the edges.
 
Exit270 said:
That is the conclusion I am coming to. It feels so heavy duty that it is hard not to smile when holding it. I was just caught off guard by the few discrepancies I noted which, in contrast, to the four $30-$40 Chinese brand knives I picked up over the last two months, seemed significant. Granted, the materials on those are not top shelf, but the fit, finish, and lock up are incredible.
I really like the SHF, but I want to love it.
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Haha yeah it's a hell of a feeling when you have some 30-40-50 dollar knives that have immaculate fit and finish, and then you buy a knife 10 times as expensive and it has more issues than the others. A depressing realization indeed. I'd definitely send it in to Spartan, especially if it has lock rock like you were saying. Send that bad boy in and they'll get it working perfectly for ya. Unfortunately this just happens in the knife game, there's always a few that slip through the cracks without getting noticed before they end up in the customer's hand.
 
My first one had some major lock stick but has gotten way better after using it a lot.
All the rest have been good. Blades are centered and run great.
The only knock is the frames and pocket clips are sharp on the edges.
One day I might smooth them out but the real problem is playing with them. If I just use them when I need a knife they are a great tool.
There's just something about the way they look and feel I can't explain it.
 
LimpCroissant said:
Haha yeah it's a hell of a feeling when you have some 30-40-50 dollar knives that have immaculate fit and finish, and then you buy a knife 10 times as expensive and it has more issues than the others. A depressing realization indeed. I'd definitely send it in to Spartan, especially if it has lock rock like you were saying. Send that bad boy in and they'll get it working perfectly for ya. Unfortunately this just happens in the knife game, there's always a few that slip through the cracks without getting noticed before they end up in the customer's hand.
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I felt adventurous and took it apart. Used some good firearms lube and put it back together. The blade is much more centered now. There is still a little bit of front to back play but I don’t think the lock bar is seating very well. If I intentionally push the lock bar the knife locks up rock solid. Going to use it as is and see if it settles in, if not, I’ll contact Spartan.
 
odexter said:
My first one had some major lock stick but has gotten way better after using it a lot.
All the rest have been good. Blades are centered and run great.
The only knock is the frames and pocket clips are sharp on the edges.
One day I might smooth them out but the real problem is playing with them. If I just use them when I need a knife they are a great tool.
There's just something about the way they look and feel I can't explain it.
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The filler tab on mine is surprisingly sharp.
 
Not sure if this question has been addressed and if it has, I apologize. Is the lock face of SHF carbonized (that is the word correct?)? The SHF that I recently acquired has a bit lock stick, something similar to the couple of Sebenzas that I have/had. This is normal, right?
 
Yes..it was for one of mine. I used a lead pencil and ran it like that for a bit. Now it seems fine. If your worried,give the company a call and let them make a note of it. I'd say it's normal though.I know it's a lot of money to have an imperfect knife but sometimes it's the luck of the draw.I say that because some of my other ran great with no stick and were very flickable right out of the box.So good luck and go cut some things.
 
The only ones I have had some lock stick on were PVD bladed ones. I have an all PVD one with later lockup that can get pretty sticky. I swapped the blades between my PJ handle and the PVD handle, now I have some nice looking color schemes and no lock stick on the PVD handle one 😁
 
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