What's special about the Hi-Jinx

[bld522]

As a newby knife enthusiast, I would be curious as to what knife, particularly from those who don't seem to like this one, would they buy(instead) in the $300.00 level.

Oh, that's easy. A William Henry E10. I prefer knives that are designed more for cutting than for bludgeoning.

 

[cigarrodog]

Going to work. Have a response and will get back to this learning experience later tonight. Thanks for the feedback all.

 

[DrFish]

This blade is super special guys. It is the answer to the question: What's special about the Hi-Jinx?

They took a LOT of material out for the internal stop pin. I always wonder at the logic of having think blade stock and then removing so much around the pivot.

I do like the races they've put in for the bearings.

Oh. And very jealous of the biltong.

 

[bld522]

They took a LOT of material out for the internal stop pin. I always wonder at the logic of having think blade stock and then removing so much around the pivot.

That's an interesting observation. Removing a lot of material around the pivot to incorporate the internal stop pin appears to be a fairly common practice. Here's a borrowed picture of a Spyderco Southard blade for comparison. As you can see, the Southard also employs an internal stop pin:

It's worth noting that the plunge lines on both the Southard and the Hi Jinx come extremely close to the stop pin cutouts when their blades are fully deployed. A Southard blade failed at this precise location for reasons which have yet to be determined. The obvious question is whether the proximity of the plunge line to the stop pin cutout creates a weak area in the blade.

 

[RamZar]

That's an interesting observation. Removing a LOT of material around the pivot to incorporate the internal stop pin appears to be a fairly common practice. Here's a borrowed picture of a Spyderco Southard blade for comparison. As you can see, the Southard also employs an internal stop pin:

It's also worth noting that the plunge lines on both the Southard and the Hi Jinx come extremely close to the stop pin cutouts when their blades are fully deployed. A Southard blade failed at this precise location for reasons which have yet to be determined. The obvious question is whether the proximity of the plunge line to the stop pin cutout creates a weak area in the blade.

We never found out why that Southard broke but it seems to be too thin in one corner.

Here's the thread: Spyderco Southard blade failure with pics

 

[bld522]

Yep. It looks awfully thin in one corner of the Hi Jinx blade as well. I am confident, however, that Sal will get to the bottom of it and let us know what he finds out. He's already noted that it's the only instance of this type of breakage he's aware of, so it could just be an anomaly.

 

[DrFish]

That's an interesting observation. Removing a lot of material around the pivot to incorporate the internal stop pin appears to be a fairly common practice. Here's a borrowed picture of a Spyderco Southard blade for comparison. As you can see, the Southard also employs an internal stop pin:

It's worth noting that the plunge lines on both the Southard and the Hi Jinx come extremely close to the stop pin cutouts when their blades are fully deployed. A Southard blade failed at this precise location for reasons which have yet to be determined. The obvious question is whether the proximity of the plunge line to the stop pin cutout creates a weak area in the blade.

It is a very common practice and one I don't fully understand. It seems as if it weakens the blade and limits the diameter of your washer/bearing system. It does give a lot more design flexibility, especially for flippers, but I don't see it as a rational choice if you are making the rest of the knife look so beefy.

 

[austonh]

I don't own a Hi Jynx nor do I intend to buy one when Lionsteel will be releasing their own Ti flipper at the end of this year, but I have read through all 8 pages of responses thus far.

It's sad to see so much negativity as a knife company tries to do something different and introduce a top tier knife into their portfolio. They are without question looking towards the ZT business model a bit, but that's a great thing. The more companies that offer high end knives, the more entrants into the marketplace and the more competitive the prices become. Also, with ZT in mind, the more LE knives they release, the better their basic line has become. Just this year ZT released some of their value based knives with bearings, which is absolutely fantastic! How many guys out there wanted to jump on the whole flipper/bearings knives but didn't want to break the bank?

CRKT's bread and butter will always be their value knives that sell in high quantities, but if they want to offer higher end knives it will only serve to increase their presence in the knife community, improve their offerings at all price points and force other knife companies to lower the prices. At some point in this craziness, supply will meet demand, demand will fall and those still engrossed in the knife community will feast on insane quality at truly reasonable prices.

It's sad to see that a few of the knives slipped up on quality control, I hope that they can learn from those examples and work to do better next time. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs!

 

[cigarrodog]

Going to work. Have a response and will get back to this learning experience later tonight. Thanks for the feedback all.

My knife orientation currently is to accompany my CC. Meaning that I wanted something beefy with tactical leanings. Of course aesthetics are part of my personal equation. In my short time of acquiring different knives, I bought a ZT 0550(love it), BM 940-1(Meh), Para 2(bought 5- love em), and a CRK SEB 21(like not love yet). The Hi Jinx(what a nice, thick blade, but too soon to tell, similar in heft to the ZT(did I mention that I love it?). The ZT and the Para 2s are my cup of tea. I'm just starting. That William Henry? Yes.

I appreciate, good or bad, everyone's comments on the Hi Jinx, but it would be nice and richer if the knocks were leavened with what is right about what I think is a cool knife. Thanks.

I'd start with this WH



And end with this one

 

[bld522]

I'd start with this WH

View attachment 453048

And end with this one

View attachment 453049

Now you're talking! :thumbup:

 

[Nellem]

When raising concern about how much material has been taken out for the stop-pin, and how close that comes to the edge keep in mind that this blade is very thick, thicker than the blade of my XM-24 for example. With the strength in the z-direction I cannot see this blade break like the blade of the Southard. How many Southard breaks like that has been reported considering how many are in use every day?

Many here compare the HJ to a ZT. I have and had ZT's too and I love them but this knife has something special about it: I can take it everywhere and take it out anywhere without the shock and horror caused by big black tacticals. This knife is smooth and shiny and doesn't look intimidating at all. People react very differently to it. It is a gentleman's tactical. I know some gets a kick out of trashing that description but as someone who has to move in and out of different corporate settings daily I appreciate that description and how the HJ embodies that.

 

[bld522]

How many Southard breaks like that has been reported considering how many are in use every day?

Yep. It looks awfully thin in one corner of the Hi Jinx blade as well. I am confident, however, that Sal will get to the bottom of it and let us know what he finds out. He's already noted that it's the only instance of this type of breakage he's aware of, so it could just be an anomaly.

It's always helpful to read the previous posts before you create new ones.

As far as whether or not the "negative" posts are warranted, I'd simply say that CRKT has an image problem. They are generally not spoken of in the same breath as ZT or Spyderco or Benchmade. I'm not sure what can be done about that. I suggest they create a new trademark for their high-end knives much the same way KAI did with ZT. Moreover, I'm not about to speak of CRKT in the same breath with those other companies until they start making full production runs of their high-end knives and they produce more than one knife at a time. An annual run of ~500 units of a single model doesn't make them a major player in my eyes nor does it make them worthy of garnering an Overall Knife of the Year Award from the world's most prestigious cutlery magazine. The Overall Knife of the Year for only 525 people? Please!

When CRKT becomes a serious contender in the high-quality knife arena, I'll start taking them seriously. But as far as I'm concerned, they're not there yet.

PS: Before the flaming begins, try to keep in mind that the only EDC I carry every day and never rotate is an Eros I keep in the coin compartment of my wallet. So AFAIC, there's definitely a legitimate value proposition to be made for purchasing CRKT knives. But does that proposition hold up for CRKT knives that cost $200 or $300 or $400 or more? Not for me. YMMV.

 

[Nellem]

 

[Nellem]

The Overall Knife of the Year for only 525 people? Please!

Go check the recent winners of Overall Knife of the Year ... and how many of those ZT 0777's, 0888's and 0454's do you see going around? Should they also be disqualified as the Hi Jinx because of their scarcity?

 

[bld522]

Go check the recent winners of the Overall Knife of the Year award . . . how many high end knives does that company produce? Do you really think that award should be given to a company whose entire annual high-quality knife production amounts to only one sprint run a year?

 

[straitr]

When raising concern about how much material has been taken out for the stop-pin, and how close that comes to the edge keep in mind that this blade is very thick, thicker than the blade of my XM-24 for example. With the strength in the z-direction I cannot see this blade break like the blade of the Southard. How many Southard breaks like that has been reported considering how many are in use every day?

Many here compare the HJ to a ZT. I have and had ZT's too and I love them but this knife has something special about it: I can take it everywhere and take it out anywhere without the shock and horror caused by big black tacticals. This knife is smooth and shiny and doesn't look intimidating at all. People react very differently to it. It is a gentleman's tactical. I know some gets a kick out of trashing that description but as someone who has to move in and out of different corporate settings daily I appreciate that description and how the HJ embodies that.

I can't speak for everyone else, but when I compared the Hijinx to ZT, I was thinking about the 801, in which the all titanium version is very similar and also comes across as a more gentlemanly folder.

I too work in a corporate setting, and recently bought a Sebenza with similar thoughts in mind.

 

[bpeezer]

Go check the recent winners of the Overall Knife of the Year award . . . how many high end knives does that company produce every year? And do you really think that award should be given to a company that only produces one sprint run a year?

I don't see how that's valid at all, it's Overall Knife of the Year not Most Consistent Producer of Awesome Limited Edition Knives.

 

[bld522]

Maybe not. But in terms of serving the high-quality knife community, I'll take ZT (or Spyderco or Benchmade or CRK, for that matter) over CRKT any day of the week. As far as I'm concerned, they've earned my loyalty and my dollars.

 

[Nellem]

Maybe not. But in terms of serving the high-quality knife community, I'll take ZT (or Spyderco or Benchmade or CRK, for that matter) over CRKT any day of the week. As far as I'm concerned, they've earned my loyalty and my dollars.

A great knife is a great knife. Quality is quality. I don't care what name is on a knife ... if it meets my standards I'll take it if I want it. Why should CRKT not be allowed to make high-end knives? Where does such a rule come from? For a first try they did exceptionally well. It is not a perfect knife. It is not a Sebenza imo, but it could have been damn close to that if LionSteel just focussed a little bit more on getting the fit and finish right. CRKT is onto something and I want to give them all the space in the universe to get it right because it can only be a good thing for all of us. Why jump on CRKT and try to squash this effort? I don't get it bld522?

 

[Kohai999]

Maybe not. But in terms of serving the high-quality knife community, I'll take ZT (or Spyderco or Benchmade or CRK, for that matter) over CRKT any day of the week. As far as I'm concerned, they've earned my loyalty and my dollars.

How has ZT earned your loyalty? Besides purchasing the knives, how do you display this loyalty?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson