STRIDER Knives

nn8734 said:
Hello all, my name is nick and I'm a noob to this forum. Im looking to obtain a quality fixed blade with a blade length of appx 5-7 inches in length and one preferrably that's forged. I will be using it as a carry blade for when i go hunting and fishing in the wilderness.

I was thinking about Strider Knives. They have a couple of models that seem appealling. They also seem to be well-made, however I don't know much about them.

What are your opinions on these knives and, for current owners, would you recommend them.

My budget is appx $400.00 max but if the right knife came along I would consider exceeding that by perhaps $100.00.

**If this is the wrong place for this or if there are already many threads devoted to STRIDERS, I apologize in advance***
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Welcome to Blade Forum!

I have quite a few Striders. They are well made. Strider also has very good customer service.

For the last 4 or 5 years Strider has been making their knives from S30V stainless steel. Their S30V blades hold up well. They can take quite a bit of abuse.

I find a number of their designs interesting. The MT-Mod10 Sniper is a very handy, well designed knife.
http://www.plazacutlery.com/Strider/LargeFixedBlades/Strider0830116.htm

Another Strider I like is the Mk1-Mod10.
http://www.plazacutlery.com/Strider/LargeFixedBlades/Strider0830730.htm

Rich
 
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Strider makes sturdy knives. I don't think anyone here disagrees with that.

That being said, they cost too much. I wouldn't call them "overpriced", but before buying one you should be aware that better alternatives exist for the same $$ or even far less.
 
AfterTFD said:
Strider makes sturdy knives. I don't think anyone here disagrees with that.

That being said, they cost too much. I wouldn't call them "overpriced", but before buying one you should be aware that better alternatives exist for the same $$ or even far less.
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They cost too much but you wouldn't call them overpriced? :rolleyes:

Apparently some of us feel they are worth the price or we wouldn't be buying them.
You can cut stuff with a box knife, but Striders have a little more sex appeal.
 
Since you have the ZT folder, you should look at the ZT0100 fixed blade. It is not forged, but it is extremely tough CPM 3V (carbon steel). It has the excellent Ionbond DLC coating to help w/ corrosion. I don't own one, but I plan to acquire one. MSRP is $295.00 but they are available for less.

Here is a past thread that discussed cord-wrapped handles:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552555
 
wutitiz said:
Since you have the ZT folder, you should look at the ZT0100 fixed blade. It is not forged, but it is extremely tough CPM 3V (carbon steel). It has the excellent Ionbond DLC coating to help w/ corrosion. I don't own one, but I plan to acquire one. MSRP is $295.00 but they are available for less.

Here is a past thread that discussed cord-wrapped handles:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552555
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Yeah, i have been looking at them as well. The ZT folder is a great knife. I picked it up new at a gun show for appx 150.00. I have been looking around on the internet and i came across this website:

www.knifetests.com

These guys buy various knives and put them thru what they call "destruction tests". Each test is fully videotaped and posted next to the knife being tested. They beat the living s__t out of each knife until it breaks just to see how far each blade can be pushed until it reaches its breaking point. They subject each knife to a variety of tests such as chopping wood, concrete; stabbing thru steel chairs and metal desk drawers, etc...They royally abused a Strider and eventually (appx 2hrs into the torture test) it broke. But it took one hell of a beating, more so that anyone would expect to put a knife thru. Needless to say , i was impressed.

just some food for thought. They also tested Chris Reeve knives, Cold Steel, Gerber, KBars, etc... I will def. consider that as well.

wutitiz, thanks for posting that wrapped-handle link.
 
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"They" is a regular poster here. I'm a big fan of his tests.

Haha, I'm drunk and accidentally spelled it "testes" the first time.
 
AfterTFD said:
"They" is a regular poster here. I'm a big fan of his tests.

Haha, I'm drunk and accidentally spelled it "testes" the first time.
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HAHA, im glad you told me....lol

yeah, i ended up watching a couple of hours of footage. They do a thorough job and provide an excellent means of knife evaluation.
 
Irezumi said:
There are some incorrect statements in this thread. Strider does make forged knives, they are just more expensive. They don't all have wrapped handles. They come also in g10 and the latest g10 gunner grips are superb. They have a multitude of styles (spear point, tanto, persian, survival type). There is a number of styles that would be suitable for outdoor use. Having said that, there are also a heap of custom knives that would be suitable and you can see many types on in the "customs by maker" on this site.
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this is all 100% correct FWIW.

i have owned 3 strider fixed blades and handled a few more and they are imho excellent knives albeit expensive knives. i like the cord handles, some dont though, depends on what ya wanna use the thing for, will admit for heavy use or skinning a std G10 (or micarta, whatever) handle would probably be better. alll the SKI fixed blades i have owned /handled have been cord wrapped.

are they better than a busse? not imho. i would say for the $$ a busse is as good/better - SKI does have some cool designs though. to me anything is worth the cash if ya really like the design, really with fixed blades if utility is all ya want a $75 greco custom (or various stuff by spydie/BM/etc/etc) will all do the job as good so its more the design i am paying for, though in reality the design may just look better and not actually really work a lot better lol, so if i really like some SKI design it is worth the $$ to me. reeves also makes great fixed blades.

just depends on what ya want they are all great knives.
 
So well, is there something not said?

Well, i wouldn´t spend that much money on any knife. I wouldn´t spend my money on a forged knife just because it is forged.

Forging a knife doesn´t mean, it will be any better than stock removal.

Of course, the factions are disputing this since ever but, i take my information of a dedicated damascus - blade smith.

Modern steel mills produce steel, that can hardly made better through forging.

A carry knife means to me: Of no special use, just in case.

For hunting and fishing means to me: Blade length between 4 to 6" so it is a tool for anything. Who cuts off a fish with a machete?:D

Stainless might be an option, but after carrying carbon blades over two years, skinning hogs with them and edc-ing them with not a single spot of rust by keeping them less clean than my stainless blades, well IMHO it doesn´t has to be stainless.

Summary:

I would go for a production knife at a very much deeper price.

Ka-bars are low settled but Benchmades offer some nice hunting knives, more expensive (Nimravus, CSK II, Outbounder, Rant - knives...).

Or the famous F1 from Fjallkniven. Relativly short but does all and carries everywhere.

Are there any Swamp rats to get? Take a look at them or look at the Scrap yard knives too.

If it has to be special, than look for the maker and what ppl. think and talk about him. It is the shape and geometry of the knife, that cuts. The steel and its treatment just indicates its livetime.
 
With a Busse you have to fool around and buy a sheath. I also much perfer Striders thin, very tough, oxide coating to Busse's thick and not very tough paint job on his blades.
 
Rich357 said:
With a Busse you have to fool around and buy a sheath. I also much perfer Striders thin, very tough, oxide coating to Busse's thick and not very tough paint job on his blades.
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Striders are stainless steel. they do not need coating, and I don't think they have coating, just stripes bead blasted into the blade darkened from heat treat.
 
What's this about Strider making forged knives now? What steel? Who does the forging?
 
If I were spending the money I would look at Busse, Bark river or RAT. A good 4-5 inch blade from any of them would be great.
 
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I had a couple of DBs. The blade grind is too thick for a good cutter. Probably could destroy a car door with it but SOL if you need to whittle a stick. They are made more for tacticle purposes. For a hunting knife I would look at Bark River or Fallkniven. You can get 3 good ones for $400.
 
I've bought, sold, traded, and handled a bunch of fixed blades over the years and the thing for me is how it "feels" in hand. Blade is next Friday-Sunday and I'm sure you could find something you'd like for your price point:D I had a strider, mine was cord wrapped 6" spearpoint, forget the model. Nice knife with a great sheath, but felt too neutral & short to me and if I'd have kept it, I'd have probably wanted to upgrade to a different handle material.

If blade isn't realistic, I recommend shopping around at your local gun & knife shows or finding a dealer in your area where you can handle stuff your interested in.

In the $400-$500 price range you can get a great Busse, Swamp Rat, Scrapyard, Chris Reeve or two. Also, at a lower price point I'd consider RAT Cutlery, or even Benchmade fixed blades. I've never owned one, but the Bark River and ZT fixed blade lines look good as well. If you want a knife you might be betting your life on I'd stick with the Busse, Swamp Rat, or Scrapyard and buy 2 (one as a backup).

GregB
 
I like the Strider and Reeve folders for a nice heavy duty pocket knife but I think both of their fixed blade models for the most part are not that great (except I like the Reeve models with the micarta handles).

I think you are going to have a little trouble finding a forged Strider in your budget.

I like Bill Sanders knives and have two that I have used extensively on hunting fishing and camping trips. Most are in your budget, but I don't think they are forged.

http://www.billsandershandmadeknives.com/

If you want a knife that you will not have to worry about breaking have a look at Shane Sibert's site. I have his Argonaut model and I think it is about as tough as it gets including Busse.

http://www.sibertknives.com/pages/gallery_1.htm
 
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