What's a strider custom?

S

Scottcityman

Joined
May 5, 2011
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Is a ddc or msc strider really just a regular production strider but with a handground blade? Then they call it a custom knife. As opposed to Hinderer gen. III which IS a custom built knife EXCEPT for the blade? Thanks for any help..
 
Scottcityman said:
Is a ddc or msc strider really just a regular production strider but with a handground blade? Then they call it a custom knife. As opposed to Hinderer gen. III which IS a custom built knife EXCEPT for the blade? Thanks for any help..
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Huh? :confused:

The Hinderer Gen IIIs that have non-hand-ground (CNC'ed) blades are no more "custom built" than what you're calling "regular production" Striders. Although there's plenty of hand-fitting/assembly that goes into both, they're both still considered high-end production knives.* The situation with customs is identical as well: for both custom Hinderer XMs and MSCs/DDCs, the principal thing that distinguishes them from the "regular" models is the hand-ground blade.

* There are, to be sure, a lot of terms you'll see floating around to describe whatever category you want to place normal CRKs, Striders, Hinderers, and so forth in: high-end production, semi-production, semi-custom, mid-tech, and so forth. But however you slice it, if you're going to be consistent in your terminology you should use the same classification for the non-hand-ground Hinderers/Striders, and the same classification for the hand-ground ones (at least for these, it's widely agreed upon that "custom" is the proper designation).
 
For an answer, let's look at one of my personal favorite Strider distributer's... Blue Line Gear, picked simply because I had Ryan's page up already.

http://www.bluelinegear.com/p-616-msc-smf.aspx

Looks like there was some custom work done on both the Ti frame and carbon fiber scale. However, every Strider folder has a substantial amount of hand fitting, so the lockup will be just right. That's the nature of the frame lock, as I understand it.
 
Scottcityman said:
Is a ddc or msc strider really just a regular production strider but with a handground blade? Then they call it a custom knife. As opposed to Hinderer gen. III which IS a custom built knife EXCEPT for the blade? Thanks for any help..
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That's so funny I can't even respond........
 
I will approach the question from a different angle. Here are a few that are the best in the business making full blown custom folders. All hand made most with IKBS. These are the best of the best when your looking to throw down some serious money for a full blown custom tactical folder...... David Mosier, Kirby Lambert, Les George, Larry Chew.
 
I'm looking to get one of the "Strider Customs". I absolutely love the "nightmare grinds". Is it just the grind and carbon fiber, different ti look/design which makes it more "custom" I understand they all are somewhat hand finished/put together, but what justifies the cost difference?
 
lemmuhj said:
I'm looking to get one of the "Strider Customs". I absolutely love the "nightmare grinds". Is it just the grind and carbon fiber, different ti look/design which makes it more "custom" I understand they all are somewhat hand finished/put together, but what justifies the cost difference?
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With a Mick Strider custom (and pretty much any other custom knife, for that matter), the main thing that you're paying for -- in other words, the thing that's primarily responsible for the difference in cost between the custom knife and a production knife with similar materials -- is the labor of the knifemaker. The more skilled and well-known a maker is, the more his time is worth/the more he can charge for his services. Obviously, this isn't unique to knifemaking. The same principles apply in any domain where skill and reputation are major determinants of prices, whether it's buying/commissioning a work of art, hiring a band/photographer for an event, picking an architect to design your house, and so forth.

(Also, a different grind may seem like it's only a minor difference, but it's something that takes hours of labor -- especially for something as complex and unique as Mick's nightmare grind!)
 
I had a DDC briefly and didnt see much difference in the fit and finish from a production Strider. I compared it against my DGG SMF and couldn't find anything better other than a razor wire finish on the blade of the custom. When you pick up a custom knife, it should ooze quality and craftsmanship. The DDC did not jump out any better than the production knife. I might of spent a additional $75.00 over the cost of a production Strider for the custom Strider but never $250.00. I sent it back. Other custom knife makers are noticeably better for the same amount of money. Save your money and buy a production Strider if thats the look your after
 
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mystro said:
I had a DDC briefly and didnt see much difference in the fit and finish from a production Strider. I compared it for over a hour against my DGG SMF and couldn't find anything better other than a razor wire finish on the blade of the custom. When you pick up a custom knife, it should ooze quality and craftsmanship. The DDC did not jump out any better than the production knife. I might of spent a additional $75.00 over the cost of a production Strider for the custom Strider but never $250.00. I sent it back. Other custom knife makers are noticeably better for the same amount of money. Save your money and buy a production Strider if thats the look your after
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WOW...very interesting.
 
lemmuhj said:
WOW...very interesting.
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You know what... I just did a search to look at some DDC knives, because I became interested after hearing that they are apparently exactly like the standard models. I knew that Mr Dwyer tends to use exotic alloys in his custom knives, and was going to make a post stating such.

Apparently mystro's DDC was also in CMP Rex 121(HC) steel. A very exotic steel in the knife world as I understand it.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...G-in-the-ultimate-of-super-steels-CMP-REX-121!

Not exactly the same story that he told above...
 
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neuron said:
With a Mick Strider custom (and pretty much any other custom knife, for that matter), the main thing that you're paying for -- in other words, the thing that's primarily responsible for the difference in cost between the custom knife and a production knife with similar materials -- is the labor of the knifemaker. The more skilled and well-known a maker is, the more his time is worth/the more he can charge for his services. Obviously, this isn't unique to knifemaking. The same principles apply in any domain where skill and reputation are major determinants of prices, whether it's buying/commissioning a work of art, hiring a band/photographer for an event, picking an architect to design your house, and so forth.

(Also, a different grind may seem like it's only a minor difference, but it's something that takes hours of labor -- especially for something as complex and unique as Mick's nightmare grind!)
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hm... same knife, same design, different grind, substantial increase in price & maybe different handle material/pattern.
I agree all that labor & treating each individually makes them costly, but in general, machine should be more accurate/precise when it comes to performing specific task, so seems like we are paying for stripping division of labor and desiring less precision... so far I still can't get myself together to do that.
 
There are not machines that are able to do every thing that a human can do. A custom knife is about the artistry that goes into grinding it. If you honestly cannot appreciate the human touch, perhaps a custom knife isn't what you should be looking at.
 
scouter27 said:
There are not machines that are able to do every thing that a human can do. A custom knife is about the artistry that goes into grinding it. If you honestly cannot appreciate the human touch, perhaps a custom knife isn't what you should be looking at.
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Well said. If all one is looking for is a knife that is well-made, precisely ground, uses excellent materials, and so forth, there are numerous production knives/brands that will do a great job of satisfying those criteria. There's nothing wrong with that, of course; different people simply place different values on the various things that go into a knife (materials, precision, labor by/connection to a particular craftsman, etc.).
 
scouter27 said:
Not exactly the same story that he told above...
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How do you mean?? I sent the DDC back while I bought a production DGG SMF from a different dealer. I also had a SMF CC.
I've had enough Striders to make a educated decision.
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Strideredge-1.jpg
SMFGGwood.jpg
 
mystro said:
How do you mean?? I sent the DDC back while I bought a production DGG SMF from a different dealer. I also had a SMF CC.
I've had enough Striders to make a educated decision.
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I mean you stated that you didn't see any difference between the DDC you purchased and a production Strider. Show me a Production Strider made of Rex 121. You play it off like the additional cost was strictly because it was signed Duane Dwyer. That is simply untrue. Mr Dwyer Has done some amazing things with amazing steels. He even helped create one of the greatest steels to ever hit the knife industry. If he wants a little more for his knives (made of exotic steels) I think he has earned that right.

Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of money SKI looses (so to speak) on individual military and LE sales as well as organization/agency purchases. Shoot, they even GIVE AWAY knives to troops. They don't flaunt it, but they also don't employ me, so I can if I want :P
 
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