Walking Man
BANNED
- Joined
- May 28, 2003
- Messages
- 9,606
I'm not really a Strider fan, I don't really like the whole cordwrap philosophy, but I've heard a lot about the folders. In a recent passaround, I was lucky enough to handle a PT, which I dislike because the huge clip got in the way, and made it uncomfortable for me, otherwise I like enough to seriously consider a similar knife. That’s when I decided I was going to own an SNG eventually, and here it is. I like it, there are a few things I don’t like about it, but the quality overall is pretty good. I’m not going to address the question if it’s a good value for the money, that’s for you to determine on your own. I bought this tanto on eBay for $335, which includes shipping. I think almost all authorized online dealers are selling for $400. You can take your chances and save money, or go with a deal to get an almost guaranteed perfect transaction. I’ve had a lot of luck with eBay, but you have to be careful and read the feedback. I haven't used this knife much at all, so don't expect a full review, these are only my impression after playing with for sometime during the 24 hours that it was in my possesion.
Things that only slightly bothered me:
1) The thread of the screws are visible on the opposite side. I’ve never seen a knife have such an imperfection before, but it kind of adds to the whole industrial strength theme.
2) Strider stamp is very light towards the top of the name and heavy at the bottom. The same thing is also true of the Strider symbol on the back. Paul Bos got his stamp looking good.
3) Slightly uneven grind. Okay, this really doesn’t bother me at all, but I know it bothers a lot of people, so I’m including this for completeness. On one side the edge gets narrower toward the top, but the other side is just fine, again, it’s plenty good enough for me.
4) Smoothness. It’s not very smooth when you first open and close it, like many other knives. After working it for a while it is actually much better, but still not up to custom quality. Supposedly it’s supposed to get better and better with time, the more the bead blasted surface gets polished.
5) Screws aren’t black. I just wanted to throw this out since many modern tactical knifemakers are painting their screws black. No a problem with me except that the pivot is painted black, and the hardware doesn’t match.
6) Pattern wear, I one piece of cardboard and I already see some wear on the tiger pattern. Don't expect it to stay long, but that shouldn't really be much of a surprise.
(new) 7) I didn't originally include this because I can't even see it in dim light, but it's definately there. There is wide ring of smoothness on the G10. What might have happened, possibly, is they allowed the head of the drill press to hit the G10 while they were drilling. Much more visible in daylight, but really not a big deal.
Things I liked:
1) Most of the edges on this handle are all smooth, the exception being the top back edge of the blade, where you wouldn’t normally touch anyway. This kind of confuses me because you’d think it would be much easier to round that off than the other edges, where there are grooves cut for grip improvement. Don’t get me wrong, the edges aren’t really rounded off, but the sharp corners were rounded so the knife doesn’t bite into you. This is actually my preference, sometime I think handles that are too rounded aren’t secure enough.
I’ve heard a lot about under-finished Striders, but this is not one of them, I’m actually quite impressed.
2) A nice large opening oval. I understand this is a new feature to this generation of SNG, and I am easily able to open this, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have like the smaller oval.
3) Hinderer thingy stabilizer – If I’m going to get a new SNG I might as well get one with all the bells and whistles, especially since they all pretty much cost the same.
4) Fit – It’s good! All of the edges line up as well as Spyderco or Benchmade, which is to say not absolutely perfect, but good enough so that you won’t feel them while you’re working with your knife.
5) It’s pretty. This knife looks pretty nice. It’s designed to look like a machine, being boxy and angular, but the tiger stripes on the blade are well executed, and the flaming on the titanium looks well done also.
6) Bull Pivot. I don’t know that I would have bought a strider folder without this feature. I sometimes wonder about the strength of some folder pivots, even though I’ve never actually had a problem with them. Still, it’s good to know this is a secure knife.
7) Size – It has a good thickness to it. I had a Buck Strider a few years ago that was very uncomfortable for pocket carry, so I traded it off, same thing with a Spyderco Chinook. This is generally a major concern for me, since I really don’t like things poking me in the leg all day. Ever since I handled the PT, I thought its big brother wouldn’t be too bad and I was right, it’s not too thick for me.
(new) 8) It came very sharp, I have a very small cut from where I barely touched the blade.
(new) 9) I like the shape overall, unlike the Buck Strider that I owned, the handle on this one is thinner toward the blade, which makes handling and control this knife very easy.
Overall: Wild thing, I think I like you.
Things that only slightly bothered me:
1) The thread of the screws are visible on the opposite side. I’ve never seen a knife have such an imperfection before, but it kind of adds to the whole industrial strength theme.
2) Strider stamp is very light towards the top of the name and heavy at the bottom. The same thing is also true of the Strider symbol on the back. Paul Bos got his stamp looking good.
3) Slightly uneven grind. Okay, this really doesn’t bother me at all, but I know it bothers a lot of people, so I’m including this for completeness. On one side the edge gets narrower toward the top, but the other side is just fine, again, it’s plenty good enough for me.
4) Smoothness. It’s not very smooth when you first open and close it, like many other knives. After working it for a while it is actually much better, but still not up to custom quality. Supposedly it’s supposed to get better and better with time, the more the bead blasted surface gets polished.
5) Screws aren’t black. I just wanted to throw this out since many modern tactical knifemakers are painting their screws black. No a problem with me except that the pivot is painted black, and the hardware doesn’t match.
6) Pattern wear, I one piece of cardboard and I already see some wear on the tiger pattern. Don't expect it to stay long, but that shouldn't really be much of a surprise.
(new) 7) I didn't originally include this because I can't even see it in dim light, but it's definately there. There is wide ring of smoothness on the G10. What might have happened, possibly, is they allowed the head of the drill press to hit the G10 while they were drilling. Much more visible in daylight, but really not a big deal.
Things I liked:
1) Most of the edges on this handle are all smooth, the exception being the top back edge of the blade, where you wouldn’t normally touch anyway. This kind of confuses me because you’d think it would be much easier to round that off than the other edges, where there are grooves cut for grip improvement. Don’t get me wrong, the edges aren’t really rounded off, but the sharp corners were rounded so the knife doesn’t bite into you. This is actually my preference, sometime I think handles that are too rounded aren’t secure enough.
I’ve heard a lot about under-finished Striders, but this is not one of them, I’m actually quite impressed.
2) A nice large opening oval. I understand this is a new feature to this generation of SNG, and I am easily able to open this, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have like the smaller oval.
3) Hinderer thingy stabilizer – If I’m going to get a new SNG I might as well get one with all the bells and whistles, especially since they all pretty much cost the same.
4) Fit – It’s good! All of the edges line up as well as Spyderco or Benchmade, which is to say not absolutely perfect, but good enough so that you won’t feel them while you’re working with your knife.
5) It’s pretty. This knife looks pretty nice. It’s designed to look like a machine, being boxy and angular, but the tiger stripes on the blade are well executed, and the flaming on the titanium looks well done also.
6) Bull Pivot. I don’t know that I would have bought a strider folder without this feature. I sometimes wonder about the strength of some folder pivots, even though I’ve never actually had a problem with them. Still, it’s good to know this is a secure knife.
7) Size – It has a good thickness to it. I had a Buck Strider a few years ago that was very uncomfortable for pocket carry, so I traded it off, same thing with a Spyderco Chinook. This is generally a major concern for me, since I really don’t like things poking me in the leg all day. Ever since I handled the PT, I thought its big brother wouldn’t be too bad and I was right, it’s not too thick for me.
(new) 8) It came very sharp, I have a very small cut from where I barely touched the blade.
(new) 9) I like the shape overall, unlike the Buck Strider that I owned, the handle on this one is thinner toward the blade, which makes handling and control this knife very easy.
Overall: Wild thing, I think I like you.
