What are your thoughts on Kizer?

[LEGION 12]

This won't end well.

 

[knarfeng]

Yes it will. 54 posts removed. Infraction for trolling issued.

There is good information and discussion in the thread. Please continue with that.

 

[stonproject]

Yes it will. 54 posts removed. Infraction for trolling issued.

There is good information and discussion in the thread. Please continue with that.

Thanks knar.

You guys seen the kizer mistrial? Looks incredible. if anyone has one id love to hear what you think.

 

[bflying]

Yes it will. 54 posts removed. Infraction for trolling issued.

There is good information and discussion in the thread. Please continue with that.

Thank you for that. Let's kick things back off with a pic of my current carry duo. In case anyone wondered, the Kizer is the one without the hole.

 

[Hackenslash]

Thanks knar.

You guys seen the kizer mistrial? Looks incredible. if anyone has one id love to hear what you think.

I've got a Kizer Mistral and it's a nice little knife.
View attachment 624453
It's got the usual Kizer quality and nice fit and finish. It's really more of a Gentleman's knife than anything.
I have a couple of minor issues with it...The anodization is nice and the red/black G10 is nice but together they look a little like Walt Disney threw up. It's just a little loud and maybe even tacky, which becomes an issue in the realm of a Gentleman's knife because we all know Gentlemen are color coordinated I think Mesenzo has some versions he sells that have no anodizing and I think they look a lot better. I've considered having mine sent out to be stripped, or send it to Sketchen Scales to have some plain black or blue G10 scales made.
Also, be aware this is a two handed opener. Mine is fairly tight and requires a fair degree of force to deploy. I tried loosening the pivot and it developed a little side to side movement fairly quickly. The thumb hole isn't really accesible enough to be a one-handed opener either. Maybe after enough time it might break in and open more easily.
All in all, it's another win for Kizer.

 

[Velitrius]

Little Bro came back from the SHOT show with a full color Kizer catalog. Nice catalog, but had nothing that really struck my fancy.

There was one that kinda looked like a Mah Eraser that was catchy, but I'd just as soon get the Eraser. (I called it the "Meh Eraser")

So those are my thoughts I guess.

 

[brancron]

In case anyone is interested (that Alfred person certainly was), Kizer is part of a larger company called Yangdong Tuobituo Industrial Co., Ltd. This is their website: http://www.tbt-gd.com/ (That's why Kizer's website has "tbt" in the address: http://www.kizer-tbt.com/)

More info: http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/cnganglian

The address of their corporate headquarters is: Haoming Building, No. 6 Huacheng Avenue, Pearl River New City, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

The address of their factory, about three hours away from the corporate office, is: No. 1 Jianshan Industrial Zone, Yashao Town, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China.

Kizer is to Tuobituo what Zero Tolerance is to KAI, essentially. I've suggested to Kizer's US Representative (David, who is here on the forums) that people would like to learn more about Kizer and the company. I think it could only help them to open up. But they don't appear to have anything to hide; they're just busy making knives.

 

[Comeuppance]

I've come incredibly close to buying several of their Vanguard series, but they seem to only make those in ~3.5" blade sizes. I like my modern locking folders 3.75" and up, so here's hoping they expand the line a bit more. I was oooing and ahhhing at the Broken Skull from Cold Steel offering such good steel for the money, but, honestly, Kizer has been offering better for cheaper for years...

 

[Spydesense]

I finally picked up a Gemini several weeks ago and just like I had heard, I wasn't disappointed. F&F are perfect and yes, the quality is that of more expensive knives for sure.

I just happened to run across this modded Flashbang on the Exchange this evening (about an hour after I told myself that I was NOT buying any knives for awhile), and could not pass it up! I had never even heard of this model. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this one!



I was just looking at Kizer knives on the BladeHQ website. I never knew the had so many different models available now and also on the way!

 

[rje58]

Does anybody have any experience or comments on any of these three specific Kizer models?

Kizer Vanguard Series Sovereign Flipper Black/Blue G-10 (3.6" Stonewash) V4423A2

Kizer Vanguard Series Bolt Knife Red/Black G-10 (3.5" Gray) V4412A2

Kizer Cutlery Ki405 Folding Knife Black/Red G-10 (3.5" Satin)

Thanks in advance.

 

[bflying]

Does anybody have any experience or comments on any of these three specific Kizer models?

Kizer Vanguard Series Sovereign Flipper Black/Blue G-10 (3.6" Stonewash) V4423A2

Kizer Vanguard Series Bolt Knife Red/Black G-10 (3.5" Gray) V4412A2

Kizer Cutlery Ki405 Folding Knife Black/Red G-10 (3.5" Satin)

Thanks in advance.

The Vanguard Sovereign was in a recent passaround. I was really impressed, especially for the price. But I ended up buying the 3452 at more than twice the price, mostly because of the amazing action. Manual on bearings, but all three specimens that I brought in open as if they are assisted, but not. No matter how much pressure is applied to the flipper, blade rolls out smooth to full lockup. Simply cannot describe without actually experiencing.

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

i just received my kizer rogue today, its fantastic, no issues whatsoever. this knife looks like its going to be a great edc and a great alternative to the spyderco yojimbo.

 

[rje58]

I love my Spyderco Yohimbo 2! What about the Rogue do you prefer over the Yohimbo? I prefer the G10 on the Yohimbo, just because I am not usually a fan of metal scales, too many bad experiences with them (in general). Do you see S35V as significantly better than S30V? The price difference between the two seems quite minimal, either way.

Thanks in advance for your input.

i just received my kizer rogue today, its fantastic, no issues whatsoever. this knife looks like its going to be a great edc and a great alternative to the spyderco yojimbo.

Thanks for the info, Bflying!

The Vanguard Sovereign was in a recent passaround. I was really impressed, especially for the price. But I ended up buying the 3452 at more than twice the price, mostly because of the amazing action.

 

[JeremiahWeaver09]

I love my Spyderco Yohimbo 2! What about the Rogue do you prefer over the Yohimbo? I prefer the G10 on the Yohimbo, just because I am not usually a fan of metal scales, too many bad experiences with them (in general). Do you see S35V as significantly better than S30V? The price difference between the two seems quite minimal, either way.

im a huge spyderco fan but i never warmed up to the yojimbo for some reason. one thing that really bothered me about it was that the compression lock bites my finger all the time if im not careful and i hate that. the rogue is a bit more compact and it is much sleeker. if you look at the pics you can see the handle has much smoother lines compared to the yojimbo. all the edges on the rogue are smooth. i usually prefer g10 but the rogue feels great in the hand, the rogue definitely feels better overall in my hand than the yojimbo. im not much of a steel junky, so the difference in steels is not really important to me, im sure they are both decent.

 

[rje58]

Jeremiah, thanks for the great info and the comparison photos!

I have both a Yohimbo 2 and PM2 with the compression lock, and I've never had that issue with them biting my finger. The Yohimbo 2 does seem to like to slice my fingers up with its blade, but that is more likely me being clumsy and careless. It rarely seems to happen with my other blades, though...?

im a huge spyderco fan but i never warmed up to the yojimbo for some reason. one thing that really bothered me about it was that the compression lock bites my finger all the time if im not careful and i hate that. the rogue is a bit more compact and it is much sleeker. if you look at the pics you can see the handle has much smoother lines compared to the yojimbo. all the edges on the rogue are smooth. i usually prefer g10 but the rogue feels great in the hand, the rogue definitely feels better overall in my hand than the yojimbo. im not much of a steel junky, so the difference in steels is not really important to me, im sure they are both decent.

 

[Hackenslash]

im a huge spyderco fan but i never warmed up to the yojimbo for some reason. one thing that really bothered me about it was that the compression lock bites my finger all the time if im not careful and i hate that. the rogue is a bit more compact and it is much sleeker. if you look at the pics you can see the handle has much smoother lines compared to the yojimbo. all the edges on the rogue are smooth. i usually prefer g10 but the rogue feels great in the hand, the rogue definitely feels better overall in my hand than the yojimbo. im not much of a steel junky, so the difference in steels is not really important to me, im sure they are both decent.

I never warmed up to the Yojo2 either. I don't care for the forced grip that the pronounced choils on the Yojo2 handle creates. Normally, for this kind of knife, I'd prefer a G10 handle for the grip, but the Rogue has one of the best titanium grips that I've ever felt. Its hard to see in any pictures, but the inside of the Rogues handle has little scallops almost all the way around. They're not incredibly tactile; very subtle, but between those and the sharp grooves the Rogue has one of the most positive Ti grips I've ever felt. I give the Rogue handle a big edge over the Yojo2, but bear in mind I have average sized hands. YMMV. Also the Yojo has a very fat pocket profile which is necessary due to the Spyderhole, but not my preference for carry. I know S35VN is supposed to be better than S30V, but I've never been able to tell a difference in the real world so the steel is a toss-up to me. I gotta give the edge to the Yojo2 for the compression lock, although I went through several PM2's before I found a compression lock with no blade play...

Anyway, if you're on the fence I don't think you can go wrong with either knife. I find the Rogue to be a little better executed and a lot better value.

 

[cnm123]

Does anybody have any experience or comments on any of these three specific Kizer models?

Kizer Vanguard Series Sovereign Flipper Black/Blue G-10 (3.6" Stonewash) V4423A2

Kizer Vanguard Series Bolt Knife Red/Black G-10 (3.5" Gray) V4412A2

Kizer Cutlery Ki405 Folding Knife Black/Red G-10 (3.5" Satin)

Thanks in advance.

I got the 405 last year. I love it! flips really smooth and i really like the blade shape. It's a little blocky, but it feels like a high end knife for $100+. The G-10 would be a little to smooth without the carved texture in it.

So I bought the 4412 last month. A little cheaper, not a flipper, but I liked the harpoon shaped, coated blade.
Not nearly as impressed. The action is stiff. I've lubed it, adjusted the pivot, and worked the blade and still it's better but still not great. It's a little hard to describe the action/lockup. It's just not "crisp" or smooth the way I like a knife.
It came sharp. I like the scales, it looks good, it's a good size for what it's worth.

 

[stick-stuck]

Very small world, I'm up here too. Yup Catskills qualifies as upstate! Hey, what do you think of the Kizer splinter?

 

[Grandmaster]

I really like my Kizer, it flips so smooth, better than my Hinderer, I'm looking at Reate now, to add to my collection, just have to wait sice I just bought OTF Ultratech, but the kizer is great knife