Strider SNG - This Thing ROCKS!!! A Brief Review w/ CRK Comparisons... (Pic Heavy)

[LightGuy]

So I've read lots of things about Strider knives, a lot not good, but most of it was either about the owner or about small QA issues with the knives. Many have also said they are nice but not worth the $$$, and there are better knives out there for the cash.

But something about the design always caught my eye, and just seemed to call my name. After a lot of waiting and much debate, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a new spearpoint SNG from Plaza Cutlery.

Once I got to hold it in my hand, I could truly appreciate this knife. The way it fits so naturally in two distinct and useful positions, the heavy-duty nature of this knife while being relatively light, the rock-solid lock-up and over all solid feeling nature of this knife has me hooked. It's not without it's down-sides, but nothing meaningful enough to me to make me a detracter.

I'll start with the looks. Very few others I've seen are so appealing.. this knife just looks bad...

When it comes to various useful grips/ergonomics, it's going to be hard to beat this one. Even the jimping with just enough rounding on the sharp edges is perfectly done. It's hard to find an uncomfortable grip on this bad boy..it is plenty big for a full-spectrum of hard work uses, but not too big to be uncomfortable to carry.

Lock-up is rock-solid..I also like that it's about 40%. Gives me plenty of confidence and I don't worry that it will eventually be touching the opposite slab...

The grippiness of the G10 slab is one of my favorite aspects of this knife. No slippage will be occuring on this one, yet plenty comfortable at the same time.

Ok, now for some of the down sides.. like it or not, all knives have them.


Blade to handle ratio - definately not up to snuff when compared to a CRK:

Even the relatively tiny small Sebenza 21 gives it a run for its money..

Fit and finish...a few issues, but not a deal-breaker for me.


Stickly lockbar dis-engagement. The dis-engaging of the lockbar is very sticky in comparison to my CRK Zaan which is smooth when dis-engaging - even with the high amount of tension. My initial, uninformed guess was that this was due to the tang alignment with Ti Lockbar - they are not parallel edge to edge like the CRK. However, I now understand that Strider designed the lockbar/tang this way, so it is by design. So I'm not sure why this lockbar sticks so bad. I've had several Ti framelocks, and this is the only one I've had that sticks like this. I guess I'll just need to try the pencil lead trick or some other creative solution to solve the lockbar stickiness..

Clip wasn't touching the Ti slab on the SNG out of the box like the CRK Zaan... I'll need to bend it down (easy fix (hopefully))

Poor name/logo stamping on the SNG. There would NEVER be a CRK that went out the door like this...

In conclusion, this is NOT a knife like a CRK with a perfect fit & finish, impecible QC, and attention to every detail. If this is what you are looking for in a knife, look somewhere other than a Strider. However, if you want a bad little knife that is built to be a hard use folder, feels like it was form-fitted to your hand, and is just plain hard to put down, look no further than the SNG. From the tank-like feel of my SNG, and from the testing (and abuse) others have done with theirs, I have no doubt it will take anything you can dish out, and will take it well.

So that's it. This knife ROCKS!!!

 

[retzius]

Nice knife!

I still think the fit and finish issues are unacceptable at this price point however.

 

[Ankerson]

Nice knife!

I still think the fit and finish issues are unacceptable at this price point however.

The only thng wrong with it was the Strider name stamp, looks like someone slipped a little.

The lockbar /tang is designed that way and always has been.

People who don't know and or never owned them wouldn't know that.

 

[neuron]

The only thng wrong with it was the Strider name stamp, looks like someone slipped a little.

The lockbar /tang is designed that way and always has been.

People who don't know and or never owned them wouldn't know that.

Exactly -- beat me to it.

Congrats to the OP on the new SnG!

 

[Ankerson]

Exactly -- beat me to it.

Congrats to the OP on the new SnG!

Dinging the knife for the way it's designed and calling it a F&F flaw is interesting.

 

[retzius]

Dinging the knife for the way it's designed and calling it a F&F flaw is interesting.

Dude, the logo stamping is terrible and the pocket clip is bad, especially at this price point. It's ok to admit things you like have flaws time to time. If you are going to be objective you have to recognize the good AND the bad. That's how a company improves.

 

[Ankerson]

 

[Ankerson]

Dude, the logo stamping is terrible and the pocket clip is bad, especially at this price point. It's ok to admit things you like have flaws time to time. If you are going to be objective you have to recognize the good AND the bad. That's how a company improves.

The clip is fine, most people who really use them ended up bending them out to loosen them because they used to be very tight so I suspect Strider adjusted that some since the last few I have seen have some room like that.

I remember a thread about it, saying how hard it was to get them out of pocket because of that, and they are if they are tight, you would pull your pants up to your chin trying to get it out.

 

[retzius]

The clip is fine, most people who really use them ended up bending them out to loosen them because they used to be very tight so I suspect Strider adjusted that some since the last few I have seen have some room like that.

I remember a thread about it, saying how hard it was to get them out of pocket because of that, and they are if they are tight, you would pull your pants up to your chin trying to get it out.

And the logo stamping?

Was that done purposely to decrease it's reflectivity in a combat environment?

 

[Ankerson]

And the logo stamping?

Was that done purposely to decrease it's reflectivity in a combat environment?

That was a screw up, obvious that someone stamped it and slipped some.

Like I said before that was the only thing wrong with it.

If it wasn't for that it would be perfect, they are really improving in the F&F department, from what I saw here and the last few new ones I have seen.

F&F is starting to rival CRK IMO.

And remember Striders are Mid Tech knives with a lot of hand fitting and work that is done by hand.

 

[retzius]

I've heard that if they develop blade play it is to give the blade slight mobility to aid it's extrication after stabbing an enemy.





J/k

 

[neuron]

Dinging the knife for the way it's designed and calling it a F&F flaw is interesting.

Yeah, no kidding. Seems to be the way things go in any thread mentioning Strider, though...not much one can do except try to correct the misinformation when it seems possible/fruitful to do so.

 

[Ankerson]

Yeah, no kidding. Seems to be the way things go in any thread mentioning Strider, though...not much one can do except try to correct the misinformation when it seems possible/fruitful to do so.

Yeah I know.

Since they don't have a forum here anymore all we can do is try.....

 

[misterjuiceman]

The logo stamping is disappointing for this price-point. the lock-up is perfect; Mick knows what he's doing there. you want the blade tang to engage the lockbar from the point which is farthest away from the blade-stop (the thumb stud that touches the titanium frame slab). this optimizes the lock-up and is what every maker should be doing.

 

[IGotStabbed]

Great review, seems like an awesome knife! But at that price points we really shouldn't see the issues you saw.

 

[Ankerson]

The logo stamping is disappointing for this price-point. the lock-up is perfect; Mick knows what he's doing there. you want the blade tang to engage the lockbar from the point which is farthest away from the blade-stop (the thumb stud that touches the titanium frame slab). this optimizes the lock-up and is what every maker should be doing.

They are very well designed for what they are ment to be used for and the conditions they are ment to be used.

Not many knives that you can bury in the dirt or sand etc, dig it back up, tap it a few times and get solid lockup.

 

[misterjuiceman]

They are very well designed for what they are ment to be used for and the conditions they are ment to be used.

Not many knives that you can bury in the dirt or sand etc, dig it back up, tap it a few times and get solid lockup.

I think they're very well designed, but I think for the price they should have better QC. I can think of several knives that are approximately the same price as a production Strider that could do that. Chris Reeve's Umnumzaan absolutely can, and the Sebenza, too. I'd also say Kirby Lambert's folders, Rick Hinderer's XM line, Tim Galyean's Pro-Series knives, Todd Begg's MIG (there's some videos on Youtube testing exactly this with some IKBS knives), Jim Burke's production Rockstar and Runt, etc.

I don't think burying a folder in the dirt and sand and being able to get solid lockup is all that impressive. Mick and Duane designed the PT/SNG/SMF very well, but at the end of the day, it's still a framelock, it's no more or less impervious to sand and dirt than any other. If anything, the integral back spacer makes it worse for sand and dirt, since it's more of a PITA to clean.

Like I've said, the knives have a great design, and WILL WORK. the issues all seem to be superficial, but to me, for $400, they should really be doing a better job with that. I'd definitely consider buying one of their custom offerings, since they seem to offer much nicer F&F, but with the same general design. I just can't justify spending that much and having that sort of F&F, when a $30 Spyderco doesn't have those issues.

 

[Ankerson]

I think they're very well designed, but I think for the price they should have better QC. I can think of several knives that are approximately the same price as a production Strider that could do that. Chris Reeve's Umnumzaan absolutely can, and the Sebenza, too. I'd also say Kirby Lambert's folders, Rick Hinderer's XM line, Tim Galyean's Pro-Series knives, Todd Begg's MIG (there's some videos on Youtube testing exactly this with some IKBS knives), Jim Burke's production Rockstar and Runt, etc.

I don't think burying a folder in the dirt and sand and being able to get solid lockup is all that impressive. Mick and Duane designed the PT/SNG/SMF very well, but at the end of the day, it's still a framelock, it's no more or less impervious to sand and dirt than any other. If anything, the integral back spacer makes it worse for sand and dirt, since it's more of a PITA to clean.

Like I've said, the knives have a great design, and WILL WORK. the issues all seem to be superficial, but to me, for $400, they should really be doing a better job with that. I'd definitely consider buying one of their custom offerings, since they seem to offer much nicer F&F, but with the same general design. I just can't justify spending that much and having that sort of F&F, when a $30 Spyderco doesn't have those issues.

It's easy to get perfect F&F when knives are made by the thousands on CNC machines, something most people will never understand.

Looks at the typical SAK, they make thousands of them everyday......

The more mechanized the process is the tighter the tolerances are and the CHEAPER the knives tend to be.

Knives that have a lot of human interaction, work done by hand tends to be more expensive than ones that are just run down the line made by machines.

Mid Techs and Customs tend to cost more than that $30 knife that you mentioned because it takes more time and labor to make them, and the materials cost more too in general.

That is the difference between Production and Mid Techs and Customs.

The only thing wrong that that SnG was the Logo Stamp, the rest of the knife is perfect.

 

[retzius]

As a counter point, I would expect a Strider that's produced with "a lot of human interaction" to not have a glaringly obvious cosmetic flaw...

Shouldnt all that "human interaction" pick that up?

 

[Ankerson]

As a counter point, I would expect a Strider that's produced with "a lot of human interaction" to not have a glaringly obvious cosmetic flaw...

Shouldn't all that "human interaction" pick that up?

I would think so.

Not making excuses for that at all, but things do get missed I guess from time to time.

Nobody is perfect 100% of time, not even the cooke cutter knives made by the thousands are 100% perfect 100% of the time, things do happen.

Not even the standard that some tend to use, CRK aren't perfect 100% of the time, things happen, things get by the quality checks.