Which Ti Framelock??

DaveReb

DaveReb

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Sep 15, 2007
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Christmas is coming and it's time to buy myself a present. I want to get a Ti framelock with a 3" blade length plus or minus, and have narrowed my choices to: Strider PTcc, Small Micarta Sebenza, Bradley Alias II BT, or a Burke Pro Rockstar. I ve owned all of these knives at one time or another and in terms of ergo's the Strider PT is my favorite, but availabiity is a issue. The Sebenza in terms of Longevity is the one to get, I like the fact the lock faces are hardened for wear resistance, plus the top notch build quality..this guy is pricey though especially since I want the micarta version. I had an Alias II and liked the ergo's and the price! Plus I like g10 and the Bt model has the coated blade(not to crazy about), and a black G10 scale....like the Pt. If money gets to be an issue this is the one that tops the list. Lastly is the Burke Pro Rockstar..this is the only one I haven't owned and am curious to the build quality, as well as how it compares in size to the Sebe, and PT..it looks alot more robust...plus I like CPM 154. But how big is it? weight? and how does it carry in the pocket?
Anyways these are my choices, if you have any other alternatives that I'm missing I'd like to hear about them. I'm open to your opinions about my choices, good or bad. I'm also interested in comparison pics especially with the Rockstar, so if you got'em post'em...lol.

Davereb
 
I like your choices. How about a hinderer xm-18? Good luck finding one before Christmas though
 
The small Micarta Sebenza should be your choice. You'll have the option to clip it to your pocket over the PT-CC and even though the actually cutting edge is longer on the benza it seems more sheeple friendly than the Strider. Plus it's just a great knife!
 
Id take the Sebenza from the knives you metioned.

The Sebs are hard to beat :thumbup:
 
I would also take the Sebenza over anything you've mentioned. I've had a PT-CC and it does fit my hand well. But it's just too small to be useful to me. The blade length on any of the PT models is too short for some of the cutting I do.

OTOH, my 2nd fav carry from my Sebenzas is my small micarta classic. It's very easy to grip with the micarta inserts, rides comfortably down in pocket or IWB, and it's easy to maintain both the edge and the knife itself. And as mentioned above, Sebenzas just seem to be more "friendly" when you're in uncertain territory.

I don't have any experience with Bradley or Burke so I can't speak one way or the other about them. Another option is the new Spyderco Sage in a Ti framelock configuration. I don't think it's been released yet, but it should be in the first half of 2009. IIRC, it's already listed in Spyderco's online catalog and there are pix by Deacon on Spyderco's company forum.
 
Allex said:
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=45243 :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Wow. Blackwater Lum Tanto ... another nice one. :cool:

However, DaveReb, where are you going with this? You're already familiar with the others. If the Sebenza does have a drawback, it's so well-known a quantity, the Rockstar might be a good idea if only for the novelty over the others, a new knife, a new design. Why buy another model of the same old toy?
\
I would say give the new kid on the block a chance, if you can get hold of one to see it in your hand.
 
Get the Rock Star and both get something new not talked about much and then you can come here and tell us all about it before the price goes up. :D

If you already had the others and let em go I'd say you've answered your questions on whether to get them or not. Of course we've all done this but sometimes it takes twice to realize you just don't mesh together well enough for the relationship to last.

The RockStar has all the makings of a good folder. Its the perfect size. The checkered design should add some nice grip to give your thumb a better purchase to get it out of the pocket and the blade steel is one with few problems related with it. It looks like a great blade shape too. I am certainly curious about it. Questions like, is it an open design, is there a bushing in the pivot, weight, ti slab thickness? Maybe you can tell us all that after xmas?? :thumbup:

STR
 
heres one noones said yet. have you looked at the buck mayo knives? the tnt is a personal favorite of mine, and the smaller version, the waimea is about the size of a small sebenza. and you cant go wrong with the heat treat by Paul Bos. just something to let you think over.
 
Here's a few others not mentioned...

Kershaw leek Ti-framelock/ZDP-189
Kershaw mini cyclone Ti-framelock/ZDP-189
BUCK 172 MAYO TNT Ti-Framelock/S30V
Blade-Tech Lightfoot Rijbak Hunter
A. G. Russell Frame-Lock Spear Point
 
There is a good article about the Rockstar in the newest issue of Tactical Knives Magazine. The blade length is 3 1/8", while the titanium handles and blade are all 1/8" thick. I would suppose weight to be around 5 ounces. One you may have already looked at, or maybe not, is the Kershaw Tyrade. This is a heavier and beefier knife than the ones you mentioned. Cost would be around that of the Alias as the Tyrade goes for $200 + online. The titanium handles are THICK on this one. I think about .165" thick, and they are carbo nitrated a bronze color with some carbon fiber inserts. Blade is a composite of 154CM on top and CPM D2 at the cutting edge and is nearly as thick as the titanium handles, and is 3.6" in length. The weight is around 6.8 ounces. It does have the Speed-Safe mechanisim. I've had a couple of these but ended up selling one and then giving one to my son. I can tell you that the lockup is excellent on these knives, as is the fit and finish. Everything lines up as it should. I have my third one arriving tomorrow so I'm a little excited. The only real problem I had with this knife concerns the pocket clip as it is too big and flashy for me. Instead I had STR make a foldover clip that places the entire knife in my pocket so it is unseen except for the clip. Anyway, sounds like you have good taste in knives no matter which way you turn.

Btw, don't know what your limit is , but Pat Crawford is making some awesome Kasper framelocks!:thumbup::D
 
Titanium framelocks are my favorite type of knife so I have many listed here.

I have a small classic Sebenza, a Bradley Alias, a Kershaw Mini-Cyclone Ti-ZDP, CRKT small S-2, and also just got a Burke Rockstar. If I had to pick I would probably pick the Sebenza or Rockstar.

The Rockstar is a great knife and really feels like a custom. I will take some pictures and post them later tonight. I will also post some pics comparing it to my small classic sebenza. It is a wider and overall larger knife than the small Sebenza even though the blade lengths are close to each other. The pics will show it better than I can explain it.
 
Thanks guys for all the input:thumbup:...and yes i'm fishing for info on the new guy on the block the... Burke Rockstar. So I'd love to see some pics of it as well as shots with a small Sebe, so I get an idea of the size.
As for some of the other blades, i.e. BM mini skirmish I want to keep the blade length closer to the 3" mark due to local carry restrictions.
I hoping to pull the trigger on one of these blades over the next week or too..

Thanks Again
DaveR
 
The SnG is technically 3.5" but actually has a 3" cutting edge. IMHO Striders are good sebby's are classier though.
 
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