strider

So has the original question ever been answered? I use my SNG in ways that I won't use my other folders, and it performes fine. What is overrated though? Strider makes no claims that thier folders will chop through steel plates or anything like that. I used mine to hack through 4 gauge metal cable, and it needed sharpening, but it did it pretty easily. I have chopped at firewood, but after a while the knife was dull, and I didn't get very far. I didn't think that was what a folder was used for anyway. Cliff's reviews informative but they don't help a guy like me. Either way, to answer the original question. No they are not overrated. They are expensive though. Is the price worth the hype? If you like it, then buy it. If you don't, then don't buy one. There are other really nice folders out there. Strider folders are the choice of many guys like me (Military/Police) and we love em'. There is a nice little corner in the market for us who use them. I work with guys who have never heard of Strider though. They carry Benchmade, and Spyderco and other production knives out there. I am pretty sure that in my experience, my SNG will outlast most of thier folders though. I am biased though. I have real world experience with mine, and have been carrying and collecting for 6 years now. It is the only folder that has lasted 6 months in my pocket. :D
 
I contacted Bob Dozier because quite frankly I think cracking a K2 off in a piece of wood and sticking a video up on the internet is pointless, he didn't contend it, and expressed no desire to see it done. But of course if Razorback, STR, Clark or any other makers wish to contend that a knife of theirs in D2 with similar profile to the Agent actually needs a vice to break the tip off, I will readily video tape it breaking in wood - just provide one, I'll break it in wood and then return it.

If you actually read the review, of which the tip portion was a small part, the entire point of it was to let the reader know inspite of the label as a tactical/utility knife, the point was fairly thin and D2 not a flexible steel so care would need to be taken in use, and even light prying with the tip could be problematic so methods would need to be altered accordingly so holes in wood would want to be cut instead of leveraged out, or digging kept very shallow.


-Cliff
 
USAFSP said:
. Strider folders are the choice of many guys like me (Military/Police) and we love em'. There is a nice little corner in the market for us who use them. I work with guys who have never heard of Strider though. They carry Benchmade, and Spyderco and other production knives out there. I am pretty sure that in my experience, my SNG will outlast most of thier folders though. I am biased though. I have real world experience with mine, and have been carrying and collecting for 6 years now. It is the only folder that has lasted 6 months in my pocket. :D
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Just kidding about the underwear (I think)....I've been carrying knives for 40yrs, 15 of those in the Army and a good bit of that 15 as Infantry, and abused quite a few knives...most folders are not worth the same price as a good fixed blade when it comes to taking abuse...I have a Benchmade AFCK from the first run (what, 10yrs ago?) and it is still going strong...actually, aside from some wear on the blackening on the stainless clip, it looks near new and functions like new, despite years of cutting stuff better left to power tools (Gill-liner, if anyone out there works aviation), being dropped open and closed on concrete, hanging the clip on an obstacle and bending it 90deg (straightened right up and back in service), and any other abuse you can think of while working a flightline for your bosses in heavy airlift....
 
USAFSP said:
What is overrated though?
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Can you find the performance of the knife in question to be exceeded by another knife of similar cost, or at least matched by a more inexpensive one. If so, and the knife in question is promoted for reasons of performance then it is over rated.

When you find someone promoting any knife, the first thing you should ask is which knives is it being compared to. How many high end customs have being compared to the Strider, or even how many of the high end productions like Axis locks in M2 from Benchmade, or the more robust Spyderco designs.

I would in fact be curious as to which tasks you can do with a Strider SnG which are *supported* by Strider as acceptable use, that can't be done with something like the Rat Trap which isn't even promoted as a heavy use tactical, but a light to medium use utility knife.

-Cliff
 
these type of threads always end the same way with a call for comparison testing so all can see. to my knowledge no one ever puts up though.

imagine what would happen if the $100 bm afck turned out to be stronger than the $500 strider. :( now that would be bad for business.

on another note did anyone ever take the cs trailmaster challenge?

or the busse challenge?
 
I think the biggest misconception is that the performance of the knife is supposed to reflect the price. Well you would think it does, but with Strider knives, it is about the hype behind the name. I bought it, and would again. Yes Cliff, there are other knives on the market that will perform as well, or dare I say better than a Strider. However they are not a Strider. Ya know what I mean? You have to pay to play. The Rat Trap looks awesome, and sounds like a tank. It may be as good as an SNG. If it is as good as the rest of SRK's knives then it probably is just as good. However you can't buy a Strider for that price. I don't think Strider is going to lower thier prices. Guess what though? I would buy another at the full price. Why? Because I love Strider knives, and they are worth it to me, and are not overrated. Overpriced maybe, but how many do I need? I have one, and use it for everything. If I ever lost my SNG I would buy another.
 
USAFSP said:
I think the biggest misconception is that the performance of the knife is supposed to reflect the price. Well you would think it does, but with Strider knives, it is about the hype behind the name. I bought it, and would again. Yes Cliff, there are other knives on the market that will perform as well, or dare I say better than a Strider. However they are not a Strider. Ya know what I mean? You have to pay to play. The Rat Trap looks awesome, and sounds like a tank. It may be as good as an SNG. If it is as good as the rest of SRK's knives then it probably is just as good. However you can't buy a Strider for that price. I don't think Strider is going to lower thier prices. Guess what though? I would buy another at the full price. Why? Because I love Strider knives, and they are worth it to me, and are not overrated. Overpriced maybe, but how many do I need? I have one, and use it for everything. If I ever lost my SNG I would buy another.
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Now THAT is brand loyalty...even if a cheaper and better knife were found, he would buy the name with the most hype....me, I get the absolute best I can afford, and if that is something held with the toes while filed by hand by a poor tribesman in Bophuthatswana whose name I will never know, I still will know I got the best...and probably gave my money to someone who both deserved it and needed it....I have nothing against Strider, having never touched one...never wanted to, either, as a single look at most of the line shows a knife guaranteed to be a pain in the hand during use...tools should fit the hand, not the other way around...as to their quality, I have no idea....but if I cannot use it, the quality is a moot point....I certainly would never buy anything just for the name....never....not on shirts, jeans, or my 6yr old underwear, much less a very expensive knife....
 
these type of threads always end the same way with a call for comparison testing so all can see. to my knowledge no one ever puts up though.
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A couple of months ago I started a fund raiser to buy a strider and have Spyderco break it. With Sal it was a no go, but there wherre a bunch of people interested, another day or two we could have had the funds to do it.
 
DaveH said:
A couple of months ago I started a fund raiser to buy a strider and have Spyderco break it. With Sal it was a no go, but there wherre a bunch of people interested, another day or two we could have had the funds to do it.
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Of course, if the knife press were more objective and less hype, we wouldn't need such a test....the late Tactical Knives early on did some decent tests side by side, but I think they bit the hand that fed them....today, I see that pap in "GUNS" about knives, and think "what great ad copy they write"...and the gun articles are getting just as bad and very short....MSGT Kim Breed used to do some decent tests...is he still at it? Tests don't have to be side by side...just consistant....flex the edge, stab the point, light pry to the side, cut rope, cut through a large chunk of wood (with larger knives)....etc etc....
 
mtngunr said:
Of course, if the knife press were more objective and less hype, we wouldn't need such a test...
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Ever seen a bad review in a magazine? I haven't.
Tactical Knives is funny. You can always find an ad for whatever product they're testing somewhere in the magazine - sometimes they actually have the ad on the facing page as the review. :rolleyes:

Gun rags are the same. Gun Tests Magazine had given bad marks, but they were flaky and not exactly scientific and the mag was expensive.

What can I say - no journalistic integrity.
 
fulloflead said:
Ever seen a bad review in a magazine? I haven't.
. . . Gun rags are the same. Gun Tests Magazine had given bad marks, but they were flaky and not exactly scientific and the mag was expensive.

What can I say - no journalistic integrity.
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Too true.

One funny story about an author who gagged on delivering the party line. Couple years ago there was a review of an off-off-brand .45 in a gun mag. Rave, rave, wonderful, super, etc. etc. Lovely pictures. Then in the one column end of the "review" on page 87, the author casually tells you: 1) the piece never fired a clip without at least one misfire; 2) the slide jammed in the recoil position on round 67; 3) they hammered the slide back into battery, but the piece totally ceased to function on round 73. Wow, I'd sure buy that .45!!! :barf:
 
USAFSP said:
I think the biggest misconception is that the performance of the knife is supposed to reflect the price.
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No that just shows popularity mainly, plus issues like profit tolerances and so forth.

Note I said, *IF* the knife is promoted for its performance, if it is promoted because it's cool, and its users think it's cool, then it is rated just as it is promoted.

Wow, there are knives at ~1/4 the price with equal or better performance and you still buy Strider - and people accuse me of being maker biased.

Show me knives that exceed the performance of my "favorites" at 1/4 the price and guess what, I will suddenly have new favorites.

The Rat Tramp isn't really a tank, it isn't designed with the same scope of work as the rest of the SR knives, it is similar to a Spyderco Military, the new Busse folder is likely to be tank spec'ed.

-Cliff
 
When it comes to high dollar knives, you have to factor in "pride in ownership"
A Yugo will get you to work like a BMW, but who gets the edge in pride in ownership?
Face it, there are folks out there with disposable income. If having the uberknife of the day makes them happy, good for them. If they can spend $300 bucks in a go-go bar and not worry, why should they worry about spending the same amount on the UKOD ( uber knife of the day)?

It's a knife. Look for decent steel, good geometry that matches your needs and an overall design that pleases you. Spending more doesn't necessarily make it a better knife. But it may please you more.
:D

As far as the magazines go, it is a business. They are there to make money. How much advertising revenue could they expect if they trashed the advertiser's products? One hand washes the other.
It is up to the reader to look for what isn't said, and makers that are never reviewed.
I think it is called 'reading between the lines'
Consumer reports can be impartial because they don't accept advertising.
FWIW, I see Mr. Breed posting in Shop Talk. You could prolly get his email and ask him a few questions, yourself.
 
Who is arguing that people should not by knives if it makes them happy, however I don't see a lot of makers promoting their knives as "I don't offer superior performance, but my knives are hella cool." Who could argue those knives were over rated, you can't even define a rating for that anyway.

-Cliff
 
A lot of the "hard use", hard core", "high speed" makers target the mall ninjas, who probably account for 90% of sales. Many military people cannot or will not pay that kind of money. What it boils down to is having something that others do not; an exotic "toy". Ask a person who has a Strider to borrow it to open a paint can: the look of horror on their face is priceless. But it is being used by high speed operators in Europe!!!!

Gee whiz; nothing like buying a $400 folder and being too afraid to cut anything with it except to post pics of it endlessly on several forums on the internet. Then state that "it is the greatest indestructable terrorist chopper/slicer ever made". :rolleyes:
 
Bohica2u said:
Ask a person who has a Strider to borrow it to open a paint can: the look of horror on their face is priceless.
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In general, time and time again you can find tasks which are "abusive" to these high end knives, that are easily performed by more inexpensive knives. Most times such claims will be made because the people making them have never actually done it with a variety of knives and thus don't really realize that they are making such a direct statement of inferiority.

-Cliff
 
It comes down to the fact that the SNG has performed as advertized for me. I have used it to do some chores that are designed for a fixed blade, and have had no issues. I carried a Strider fixed blade in the desert, and wanted that same quality in a folder for an EDC. I got just that. I can't say that I have done pressure cut tests, and spine whacks, or whatever. I can say it is tough as nails, and I have no regrets. I would order another one for a Just-In-Case knife, but I just orderd a DDR custom, so I am sure that is worth the money I paid for it. I don't have a disposable income, and need to save for these toys, but I don't mind spending the money for quality.
 
Bohica2u said:
A lot of the "hard use", hard core", "high speed" makers target the mall ninjas, who probably account for 90% of sales. Many military people cannot or will not pay that kind of money. What it boils down to is having something that others do not; an exotic "toy". Ask a person who has a Strider to borrow it to open a paint can: the look of horror on their face is priceless. But it is being used by high speed operators in Europe!!!!

Gee whiz; nothing like buying a $400 folder and being too afraid to cut anything with it except to post pics of it endlessly on several forums on the internet. Then state that "it is the greatest indestructable terrorist chopper/slicer ever made". :rolleyes:
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I am guessing you don't speak from experience with a Strider :p I would let you open a paint can with my SNG. No questions asked. I am only an E-5 and I can afford what I use. As for your mall ninja comment, the only few guys I know that carry Strider folders and fixed blades would laugh at that comment. Including now. I am lauging :D Here is a post I found elsewhere on this forum. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3033192&postcount=50
 
Well gee whiz, I guess the Air Farce Survival knife we carried and used doesn't "make the cut" with the Strider types. Even the Rescue Swimmers ditched their fixed blades, which they carried on thier legs, for the BM auto.

If ANYONE who needed a knife in a crisis or line of duty, it would be a Rescue Swimmer. Pilots who have punched out over the ocean get tangled up in their chutes. Then the swimmers have to cut them out and quite possibly get themselves out of danger too. Even the rigging from a sinking ship or boat can create a hazard for a swimmer.

There was only one crewman that I saw that carried a big honkin' fixed blade on his right leg. Of course we heckled the guy unmercifully because he was only a radio operator on the helo. SAKs and small folders were the norm in aviation. I worked for E-7's to E-9's who were in aviation since the 1950's and never did I hear of a story of someone "hacking" their way out of a crashed helo with a knife. In fact, we tried not to crash our aircraft at all, even while flying in storms. We have big windows that pop/kick out if we needed to get out.

In a nutshell, I don't put up with BS promotions of a "hard use" knife. I agree with what Cliff is doing and hope he keeps it up. I hear a lot of "high speed" talk, but no "low drag" walk.
 
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