Which production knives reach semi-custom levels?

+1 for Mcusta

The designs are not to everyone's taste, but the quality is excellent and very good value for money.
 
+another vote for the Sage 2. Spent some time looking at it with a 5x Pentax loupe. Looked pretty dang flawless to me.
 
Kershaw Nakamura, Ti Leek, Ti JYDII, Volt, Speedform, OCC Aniv, Random and Mini Tasks.

Btw " customs" in the OP are more in the "mid-tech" category as are many of the recommendations.
 
Out of my collection a few knives really shine as being far above average in overall fit, finish and smooth/reliable operation.

First off ofcourse the Sebenza but thats kind of just a given, however I also recieved a Burke production Rockstar a while back which is quite close to perfection. As to the true value knives that also display such quality:

Spyderco Sage 2

Kershaw Volt

Kershaw Ti Tyrade

Al Mar mini SERE 2000.

Those are the cream of the crop in my collection. Of course not every example of any given knife is going to be as good as another, as there are always good and bad examples of any specific knife. There are a few other knives in my collection that I believe are also exceptional, however they can't quite hang with the knives above.


In all honesty the customs that I do own are not quite up to par in the fit and finish department of the knives I just listed. Granted I only own 3 truly custom knives but all have had some "issues" that kept them from reaching their full potentional.
 
Gotta say the Chris Reeve knives are machined more precisely than any other knife I have. Piece of cake to take apart and reassemble. High quality cutting tools.

Spyderco Gayle Bradley. The machining is pretty good. I can take it apart and it aligns perfectly when I reassemble it - zero fidgeting. This is very rare for me with production knives.
The ergos, steel and grind make this my top performing folder for what I need out of a knife.

ZT 0301. Holy crap... this thing is the real deal.
 
heekma said:
Howdy folks,

So-Lo's post got me thinking, which production knives approach--or even almost reach--semi-custom levels of fit and finish?
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I think some of the more expensive knives from the major, full-production companies offer 90% of the fit and finish of limited-production company offerings selling for 2x the price. The larger companies have economies of scale that help keep their prices low.
 
tiguy7 said:
My gold class Benchmades, William Henry folders, and CRK Sebenza all approach the custom knife standards, but some of them cost more than a custom.
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This mirrors my experience. +1

  • The William Henry stuff is custom quality, but it's priced that way also. I own a bunch of them, and yet force myself to buy the ones I "really like", since they are high end production and don't hold their value in resale market so well.
  • The Benchmade Gold class makes me cringe with their pricing, for a high-end production knife. I'd always rather have a custom made knife at about any of the Gold class price points... with one (there may be more) exception... the carbon fiber Griptilian in CPM M4 which I bought. Still overpriced by at least $70, but what the hell.
  • Chris Reeve's production is indeed production, but he's not boasting when he says he holds closer tolerances than 90%+ of custom knives. You can see this in action when you disassemble, and then try to reassemble... very tight tolerances. I appreciate what he does ... appeals to my engineer's brain. And I put my some of my knife $$ where my opinion is... lost count, but probably own 12 folders from CRK. Only the Harsey designed fixed blade is appealing... not sure I see the logic in his bigger fixed blades being S30V. I would prefer those like the older models... black coated A2, which is appropriately tough run all the way to Rc60. Wish he'd go ahead and run his S30V folders at least 1 Rc point higher, or offer S90V as an option. Maybe S35VN will be a steel to watch in the CRK shop.
  • I don't feel like the Zero Tolerance knives rise to the level of custom, but the one I own seems to be better built than the typical $100 Benchmade. The ZT0350 I have is nifty, if not too fat/tall, and the novelty factor of the Elmax edge is main appeal. I'm skeptical this multi-piece blade could take a side load... but should research their bonding method (brazing?). I'd like to handle one of their frame locks, but none of the designs, handle materials, appeal enough for me to drop the $$, and that damned simple looking nut on the pivot looks really cheap.

This has turned into an interesting :thumbup:, and potentially expensive thread. Here I am, barfing up more $$ ==> :barf:
 
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There really is no such thing as custom quality, because there are some not so hot handmades and customs out there. Unfortunately I had a few of them. Still, I have to agree with a company like Moki matching up with the subset of top name custom makers for the most part. I would certainly hope Rocksteads do for the price, but haven't seen one in person.
 
hardheart said:
There really is no such thing as custom quality, because there are some not so hot handmades and customs out there.
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I have purchased three fully custom, handmade knives from well known makers with good reputations, and I can say that the fit and finish was nowhere near that of my Sebenza or William Henry on any of them.

I bought a Strider SnG before I knew much about the company on hype, and it had worse fit and finish than a Spyderco Tenacious.

If you want real quality, Chris Reeve Knives are hard to beat. William Henry knives are really nice, as well, albeit a bit fragile feeling.
 
Knife Outlet said:
What does "semi custom" mean?
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I'm guessing that the OP is basing his question based on the Sebenza as the semi-custom benchmark?

heekma said:
Howdy folks,

So-Lo's post got me thinking, which production knives approach--or even almost reach--semi-custom levels of fit and finish?

For the record, this isn't a back-handed way of saying knives like the Sebenza, Ummnumzaan, Strider, etc. aren't worth the money. I know there's an emotional (pride, satisfaction), intellectual (apprecation) and economic investment in these kinds of purchases, I fully understand and agree with them.

I don't have a CRK--want one though--but I do have a Strider along with a varied collection of Benchmades and Kershaws.

On the Benchmade side, I think the Snody Gravitators as well as the Skirmish come about as close to CRK quality as a production knife can come. Not quite all ther way there, but all things considered, pretty damned close.

I don't think all Benchmades reach this point, not by any stretch. I do think the couple I listed do though. Which Spydercos and Kershaws do members think reach this point as well?

This post isn't meant to imply that certain models from manufacturers are the equal of the semi-custom manufacturers, but rather to celebrate the models that production companies really went above and beyond on, the special ones that are the exceptions to their general rules of materials, design, fit and finish.

Best,

Heekma
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