- Joined
- Nov 30, 2006
- Messages
- 351
[Note: The site was taken down or crashed while I was finishing editing. I'm now posting about an hour later from my phone. I'm too tired to do all of that again. It is what it is.]
A while back I was considering buying a Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21 with inlay and damascus or a William Henry Gentac as my weekday/office knife. I was disappointed to find that there were almost no useful reviews on the Gentac folder beyond showing how pretty they are. There were a few exceptions to that statement but not many. I ended up buying the CRK in raindrop pattern with ebony inlays and silver fittings.
However, my wife recently bought me the Gentac "Blackbird" for my birthday. I instantly realized that I would lose all right to complain about a lack of reviews if I did not post one myself.
The question I had about the Gentac was whether it could actually be used as an everyday knife for your average office dweller. Our pocket knife tasks are obviously not demanding in any way. More often than not I have to go out of my way to find reasons to use my knife. So, a Randal Made skinner it need not be. But a flimsy knife with a weak lock and a brittle and thin blade all slathered in gold and diamonds isn't going to open mail, boxes, be gratuitously fondled during conference calls, open random packages in the break room, or any of the other little things it can help with in the 10 hours its in the pocket between home and the office. These weekday knives do get scratched. They do come in handy when you least expect it. So, for $650 I wanted to know if a William Henry Gentac was a delicate piece of jewelery or a real knife. No one seemed to have much direct experience.
I have carried it for two weeks and can give a short report on what I've found. In a nut shell, the Gentac is a real knife for moderate use. Though I usualy open mail, boxes, and other packaging materials with it, it can do a lot more. I think the knife could cut through, say, a leather belt quite easily and I wouldn't hesitate to do it. But if that is the type of material you need to cut often, I'd get something that feels sturdier just in case you get sloppy, twist halfway through, and tweak something.
Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was that the knife is indeed "pretty." I won't spend time describing it because pictures will follow. The next thing I noticed was how light it is. My benchmark for a light pocket knife is the Spyderco Bob Lum Chinese Folder. That's 2.8 ounces. The Gentac is 1.6 ounces. It positively disappears into your pocket. When you have to wear slacks, that can matter as the Gayle Bradley feels like a Single Action Army hanging from your hip, pulling the edge of the pocket down. In fact, I'd say that despite being almost half as light as the Chinese Folder, the Gentac can do anything that the Chinese Folder can do.
The third thing that I noticed was quite disappointing. The geometry of the blade, to handle, to thumb stud, to pivot made this one blade that did not want to be deployed with the thumb stud. It was VERY difficult go deploy the blade one-handed and I thought that was total bullish!t. I figured it might be the type of knife whose geometry you had to "learn." Hold it like this, put your thumb here, push like this. To some extent that was true. But it still simply didnt' work. I cut my thumb twice when the knife turned in my hand and my thumb ran over the edge while trying to open it. BUT, after two weeks I can finally report that the knife has worked in so that the pivoting action is firm but smooth. It is now actually nice. So, if you get a William Henry and the knife seems impossible to open. Don't dispair. Keep working the action. It needs to break in like a Les Baer.
The edge is scary sharp. The blade is a laminate comprised of a cutting core of ZDP189 at 67 RC sandwiched between to slim slabs of stainless. The frame and bolsters are titanium. The scales are smooth carbon fiber. The thumb stud and button contain blue Spinel gems set in 14k gold. It's a tiny bit of gold so it doesn't look like a pimp's knife. Classy, but understated. This knife is number 30 out of 250. It's marked on the front edge of the front bolster. This model is called the " Blackbird" presumably due to the carbon fiber and tungsten coated blade.
I've really only used it to open my mail at work, open UPS boxes at home, spread cream cheese on a bagel and spear some fruit, cut tags, cut cigars, open scores of random packages, and basically keep me company. The lock feels strong. The button engages as thoroughly as a Protech Sprint, Stinger, or Godson (those are the only other button locks I have). The blade is as sturdy as it needs to be to. If you plan to twist, hack, chop, or pry look elsewhere. The frame is sturdy. The finishes are also durable. The titanium will scratch but WH didn't put a mirror polish on it so it isn't all that noticeable. The tungston coating on the blade is supposed to be very hard. I cut through several cardboard boxes with it and didn't notice any wear. I did that with my Sebenza and noticed a bit of wear appear on the damascus. A bit of marring, really. Bathe dark etching lightened in places.
Is this an every day knife for the light to moderate user. YES. If that is the role you are looking to fill. You can confidently consider a William Henry Gentac.
Now let's make with the pictures.
Here are a few pictures to show relative size. Bottom to Top (photos came out upside down) Military, Gayle Bradley, Small Sebenza 21, Gentac, Rookie, Dragonfly.
Comparisons to the Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21
The Gentac is significantly thinner and lighter than the sebenza.
You can see the line between the ZDP189 cutting core and the softer, more flexible stainless in which it is laminated.
One of the coolest features is that the pocket clip, which appears to be annodized or blued, attaches to the butt of the knife. This way, NONE of the handle protrudes from your pocket. Who cares? The other people at the deposition, the bank, etc.
Photo of the carbon fiber, titanium, and the fancy stud and button.
A while back I was considering buying a Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21 with inlay and damascus or a William Henry Gentac as my weekday/office knife. I was disappointed to find that there were almost no useful reviews on the Gentac folder beyond showing how pretty they are. There were a few exceptions to that statement but not many. I ended up buying the CRK in raindrop pattern with ebony inlays and silver fittings.
However, my wife recently bought me the Gentac "Blackbird" for my birthday. I instantly realized that I would lose all right to complain about a lack of reviews if I did not post one myself.
The question I had about the Gentac was whether it could actually be used as an everyday knife for your average office dweller. Our pocket knife tasks are obviously not demanding in any way. More often than not I have to go out of my way to find reasons to use my knife. So, a Randal Made skinner it need not be. But a flimsy knife with a weak lock and a brittle and thin blade all slathered in gold and diamonds isn't going to open mail, boxes, be gratuitously fondled during conference calls, open random packages in the break room, or any of the other little things it can help with in the 10 hours its in the pocket between home and the office. These weekday knives do get scratched. They do come in handy when you least expect it. So, for $650 I wanted to know if a William Henry Gentac was a delicate piece of jewelery or a real knife. No one seemed to have much direct experience.
I have carried it for two weeks and can give a short report on what I've found. In a nut shell, the Gentac is a real knife for moderate use. Though I usualy open mail, boxes, and other packaging materials with it, it can do a lot more. I think the knife could cut through, say, a leather belt quite easily and I wouldn't hesitate to do it. But if that is the type of material you need to cut often, I'd get something that feels sturdier just in case you get sloppy, twist halfway through, and tweak something.
Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was that the knife is indeed "pretty." I won't spend time describing it because pictures will follow. The next thing I noticed was how light it is. My benchmark for a light pocket knife is the Spyderco Bob Lum Chinese Folder. That's 2.8 ounces. The Gentac is 1.6 ounces. It positively disappears into your pocket. When you have to wear slacks, that can matter as the Gayle Bradley feels like a Single Action Army hanging from your hip, pulling the edge of the pocket down. In fact, I'd say that despite being almost half as light as the Chinese Folder, the Gentac can do anything that the Chinese Folder can do.
The third thing that I noticed was quite disappointing. The geometry of the blade, to handle, to thumb stud, to pivot made this one blade that did not want to be deployed with the thumb stud. It was VERY difficult go deploy the blade one-handed and I thought that was total bullish!t. I figured it might be the type of knife whose geometry you had to "learn." Hold it like this, put your thumb here, push like this. To some extent that was true. But it still simply didnt' work. I cut my thumb twice when the knife turned in my hand and my thumb ran over the edge while trying to open it. BUT, after two weeks I can finally report that the knife has worked in so that the pivoting action is firm but smooth. It is now actually nice. So, if you get a William Henry and the knife seems impossible to open. Don't dispair. Keep working the action. It needs to break in like a Les Baer.
The edge is scary sharp. The blade is a laminate comprised of a cutting core of ZDP189 at 67 RC sandwiched between to slim slabs of stainless. The frame and bolsters are titanium. The scales are smooth carbon fiber. The thumb stud and button contain blue Spinel gems set in 14k gold. It's a tiny bit of gold so it doesn't look like a pimp's knife. Classy, but understated. This knife is number 30 out of 250. It's marked on the front edge of the front bolster. This model is called the " Blackbird" presumably due to the carbon fiber and tungsten coated blade.
I've really only used it to open my mail at work, open UPS boxes at home, spread cream cheese on a bagel and spear some fruit, cut tags, cut cigars, open scores of random packages, and basically keep me company. The lock feels strong. The button engages as thoroughly as a Protech Sprint, Stinger, or Godson (those are the only other button locks I have). The blade is as sturdy as it needs to be to. If you plan to twist, hack, chop, or pry look elsewhere. The frame is sturdy. The finishes are also durable. The titanium will scratch but WH didn't put a mirror polish on it so it isn't all that noticeable. The tungston coating on the blade is supposed to be very hard. I cut through several cardboard boxes with it and didn't notice any wear. I did that with my Sebenza and noticed a bit of wear appear on the damascus. A bit of marring, really. Bathe dark etching lightened in places.
Is this an every day knife for the light to moderate user. YES. If that is the role you are looking to fill. You can confidently consider a William Henry Gentac.
Now let's make with the pictures.
Here are a few pictures to show relative size. Bottom to Top (photos came out upside down) Military, Gayle Bradley, Small Sebenza 21, Gentac, Rookie, Dragonfly.
Comparisons to the Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21
The Gentac is significantly thinner and lighter than the sebenza.
You can see the line between the ZDP189 cutting core and the softer, more flexible stainless in which it is laminated.
One of the coolest features is that the pocket clip, which appears to be annodized or blued, attaches to the butt of the knife. This way, NONE of the handle protrudes from your pocket. Who cares? The other people at the deposition, the bank, etc.
Photo of the carbon fiber, titanium, and the fancy stud and button.
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