- Joined
- Jun 5, 2002
- Messages
- 2,761
Hi all.
I have been toying with the idea of getting a Strider for quite some time, and wondered, is their cult following well deserved, is it based on exceptional quality, or is it more marketing and hype. I must admit, their slogan: "High speed tools for hard core individuals" made me a little suspicious that the knives were more driven by hype and image than actual quality. There is certainly an image attached to these knives. So, my question was, is the quality there to back up that image of ruggedness and exceptional build quality. Are they really worth $400 (more than a Sebenza)???
I chose the SNG because i am in love with the Sebenza's frame lock and feel it is the strongest and best executed lock available on a folding knife, most customs included. And, if Strider does indeed make a very strong, rugged knife, their framelock should be extremely well done and strong, and like many of you, i LOVE anything that is made to be supremely rugged and reliable. The Sebenza has always been, to me, the epitome of a strong, well made folding knife, and i was very curious to see if the SNG with its framelock would offer any competition. Well, the answer is a qualified yes. I'll explain.
Flame away, but i am a collector first and a user second, i appreciate knives for what they are, i appreciate them for their design, materials and workmanship, in fact, i love ANY product that is extremely well made with great materials and precision. That being said, the knives i generally use are the cheaper knives i own, Kershaws mostly, a CUDA, mid-priced production, the knives i buy for my collection tend to be fairly expensive and i dont use them, i just cant seem to bring myself to use a $500-$1500 knife, i know, that probably makes me a wussy in some eyes, but its my money and my choice. I enjoy collecting things that appeal to me, and i like to keep these things in flawless condition. Sue me.
I bought the Strider to add to my collection, not to use, heresy i know, the model i bought is from the first run, it has the rainbow (heat?) colored handle and the tiger striped tanto blade. The first thing that i noticed was that the Ti handle has quite a few scratches on it, not deep gouges, but light scratching. Normally, this would be unacceptable for me on a new, high-end knife, and certainly if this were a Chris Reeve, id return it in a heartbeat, but, it is my belief that most if not all Strider SNG's show this light scratching, in fact, i recall seeing a picture of what appeared to be the entire group of these first run SNG's and they were all in a bin, stacked against each other, so, it would seem that when you buy a Strider, youre not getting a smooth, scratch-free, perfect "pretty boy" knife like a Sebenza, and knowing this, the scratching doesnt bother me all that much, since its fairly normal. I would say that their philosophy is to build a very strong, well made knife, one meant to be used, and as such, they prefer to spend their time making the knife work well rather than coddling and protecting it from minor cosmetic damages, and, if you buy their overall philosophy, it makes sense i guess, and the scratches shouldnt matter. So, if you want a pretty, scratch and blemish free knife, you might not want a Strider, but you would definitely be missing out on a very well made, and very "cool" knife, as ill explain.
So, the attention they DON'T pay to preventing scratches, does seem to get used elsehwere. The machining is excellent, the materials are excellent, ie. Ti handle, thick greenish G10, Bos treated S30V blade with excellent grinds, a very sharp and well ground blade. Now, lets get to the heart of the knife. The lock. I would have to say that this lock is as strong as a Sebenza, and i honestly never thought i would say that about any knife. It engages the blade perfectly, not too far to the right, but still having full contact with the blade, put it this way, there is NO WAY this lock can fail. While its true that the knife needed to be opened and closed probably a hundred times before the lock engaged properly, it clearly just needed to break in, like Mick S warns about, and it works well now. Most well made, precision oriented mechanisms do require a break in, so i dont think this is a design flaw, despite what a "trollish" BF member has been saying in the Strider forum. So, i would say that the lock is just about as good as it could be, not BETTER than a Sebenza, but i feel equally strong and well executed. When locked open, the blade has ZERO play in any direction. So, the knife has perfect lockup and no play, which is very confidence inspiring.
While looks arent that crucial on a knife of this type, I do really like the looks of the knife, very different from a Sebenza to be sure, the Sebenza is a smooth, refined, if somewhat plain and "safe" looking knife, the SNG is a very agressive, very rugged looking knife and i find it very appealing. If this makes me a "wannabe", so be it, i like the way the knife looks, i like its agressive character. It looks like it is, rugged.
So, to conclude, is it worth $400? I would have to say that $400 is just about right, its a very well made, very cool knife, as strong a lock as you get, and despite the few scratches, a very satisfying knife to own.
Now the REAL question. Since the knife does already have scratches on it, maybe this one time, ill be able to justify using one of my higher-end knives. Id really like to, i know that by collecting and not using my nicer knives im missing out on some very satisfying experiences, and im hoping i can bring myself to make this a user. Time will tell. In any case, if you like the Sebenza for its build quality, wont mind a few scratches, and like the looks of the SNG, i think youll be quite pleased with this knife. That's one knife nut's opinion anyway.
(Edit) In case you dont know what this knife looks like, here is a pic taken from TAD:
I have been toying with the idea of getting a Strider for quite some time, and wondered, is their cult following well deserved, is it based on exceptional quality, or is it more marketing and hype. I must admit, their slogan: "High speed tools for hard core individuals" made me a little suspicious that the knives were more driven by hype and image than actual quality. There is certainly an image attached to these knives. So, my question was, is the quality there to back up that image of ruggedness and exceptional build quality. Are they really worth $400 (more than a Sebenza)???
I chose the SNG because i am in love with the Sebenza's frame lock and feel it is the strongest and best executed lock available on a folding knife, most customs included. And, if Strider does indeed make a very strong, rugged knife, their framelock should be extremely well done and strong, and like many of you, i LOVE anything that is made to be supremely rugged and reliable. The Sebenza has always been, to me, the epitome of a strong, well made folding knife, and i was very curious to see if the SNG with its framelock would offer any competition. Well, the answer is a qualified yes. I'll explain.
Flame away, but i am a collector first and a user second, i appreciate knives for what they are, i appreciate them for their design, materials and workmanship, in fact, i love ANY product that is extremely well made with great materials and precision. That being said, the knives i generally use are the cheaper knives i own, Kershaws mostly, a CUDA, mid-priced production, the knives i buy for my collection tend to be fairly expensive and i dont use them, i just cant seem to bring myself to use a $500-$1500 knife, i know, that probably makes me a wussy in some eyes, but its my money and my choice. I enjoy collecting things that appeal to me, and i like to keep these things in flawless condition. Sue me.
I bought the Strider to add to my collection, not to use, heresy i know, the model i bought is from the first run, it has the rainbow (heat?) colored handle and the tiger striped tanto blade. The first thing that i noticed was that the Ti handle has quite a few scratches on it, not deep gouges, but light scratching. Normally, this would be unacceptable for me on a new, high-end knife, and certainly if this were a Chris Reeve, id return it in a heartbeat, but, it is my belief that most if not all Strider SNG's show this light scratching, in fact, i recall seeing a picture of what appeared to be the entire group of these first run SNG's and they were all in a bin, stacked against each other, so, it would seem that when you buy a Strider, youre not getting a smooth, scratch-free, perfect "pretty boy" knife like a Sebenza, and knowing this, the scratching doesnt bother me all that much, since its fairly normal. I would say that their philosophy is to build a very strong, well made knife, one meant to be used, and as such, they prefer to spend their time making the knife work well rather than coddling and protecting it from minor cosmetic damages, and, if you buy their overall philosophy, it makes sense i guess, and the scratches shouldnt matter. So, if you want a pretty, scratch and blemish free knife, you might not want a Strider, but you would definitely be missing out on a very well made, and very "cool" knife, as ill explain.
So, the attention they DON'T pay to preventing scratches, does seem to get used elsehwere. The machining is excellent, the materials are excellent, ie. Ti handle, thick greenish G10, Bos treated S30V blade with excellent grinds, a very sharp and well ground blade. Now, lets get to the heart of the knife. The lock. I would have to say that this lock is as strong as a Sebenza, and i honestly never thought i would say that about any knife. It engages the blade perfectly, not too far to the right, but still having full contact with the blade, put it this way, there is NO WAY this lock can fail. While its true that the knife needed to be opened and closed probably a hundred times before the lock engaged properly, it clearly just needed to break in, like Mick S warns about, and it works well now. Most well made, precision oriented mechanisms do require a break in, so i dont think this is a design flaw, despite what a "trollish" BF member has been saying in the Strider forum. So, i would say that the lock is just about as good as it could be, not BETTER than a Sebenza, but i feel equally strong and well executed. When locked open, the blade has ZERO play in any direction. So, the knife has perfect lockup and no play, which is very confidence inspiring.
While looks arent that crucial on a knife of this type, I do really like the looks of the knife, very different from a Sebenza to be sure, the Sebenza is a smooth, refined, if somewhat plain and "safe" looking knife, the SNG is a very agressive, very rugged looking knife and i find it very appealing. If this makes me a "wannabe", so be it, i like the way the knife looks, i like its agressive character. It looks like it is, rugged.
So, to conclude, is it worth $400? I would have to say that $400 is just about right, its a very well made, very cool knife, as strong a lock as you get, and despite the few scratches, a very satisfying knife to own.
Now the REAL question. Since the knife does already have scratches on it, maybe this one time, ill be able to justify using one of my higher-end knives. Id really like to, i know that by collecting and not using my nicer knives im missing out on some very satisfying experiences, and im hoping i can bring myself to make this a user. Time will tell. In any case, if you like the Sebenza for its build quality, wont mind a few scratches, and like the looks of the SNG, i think youll be quite pleased with this knife. That's one knife nut's opinion anyway.
(Edit) In case you dont know what this knife looks like, here is a pic taken from TAD:
I am going to give it a good weeks worth of work and if it preforms as well as I believe it will, I think I will have a hard time waiting for the passaround to be over to see if I win before I will have to have one in my EDC arsenal
There's something about turning your "collection" knife into a user that will feel really good. 