Wilson Combat "Eagle" Les George Collaboration

[BWilson678]

This is a short review including first impressions of Wilson's new flipper. I will start off by saying that pictures or words don't do this beauty justice, you really need to hold/touch/feel/flip/carry to get what has been accomplished with the creation of this knife. The below area will be extremely picture heavy and includes some comparisons of an obvious competitor in the Hinderer xm18. I'm a big fan of flippers and that's my preferred method of opening any folder that sees carry use - on that end the Eagle truly shines. It literally flies open with ZERO wrist flick needed. One firm press on the flipper action and it opens regardless of how your holding the knife (gravity is no issue) and the detent is plenty strong so that you'll feel secure (no whoopsies guaranteed). Upon opening the Wilson box other than how great the Eagle looks what really jumps out is just how light and thin it is - it almost seems impossibly light. When in hand it feels extremely robust and well made but literally disappears in both slacks and jeans (I've carried in both the past two days). The quality is apparent at every angle and you can tell Wilson/Les spent countless hours pouring over every tiny detail - I will even go so far as to say its a production that feels custom made. I will add a video tomorrow demonstrating the ease and speed of opening but trust me, it's impressive. The most common question or at least one that will be frequently asked "Is this knife really worth $500 plus?" and I'll answer that with a few key points:

Rating Scale (1-10) for simplicity


Quality Rating - 10
It's extremely well done with air tight fit and finish. The attention to detail is apparent from the first glance.

EDC Rating - 10
Unbelievably thin and light, literally disappears in your pocket. I can't stress enough how important being thin and flat is to EDC in my opinion.

Deployment Rating - 9
It takes a slightly stronger push of the index finger than I'm accustom to but deployment is both smooth and very fast.

Blade Steel Rating - 9
Carpenter CTS-XHP was the choice here and I've read nothing but good things about the strength and durability.

Customer Service - 10
Anyone who has ever dealt with Wilson Combat knows their customer service is unparalleled. This company will bend over backwards to make the customer happy and that is a value that can't be replaced when it comes to warranty on a high end product.

Overall as you can tell I'm enthralled with the "Eagle" and it will be in my EDC rotation for years to come!

A few XM-18 comparison shots so you can see how thin it is/overall size.

[video=youtube_share;mT0-xPoUfoI]http://youtu.be/mT0-xPoUfoI[/video]

This one can be bought from Wilson Combat directly at the below link but I don't expect the stock to last very long so my advice is GET IT WHILE YOU CAN FELLAS!

MSRP - $524.95
OA Length - 8.5"
Blade Length - 3.6"
Weight - 4.8oz

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Wilson-...=1677911383-Knife_11_07_2012&utm_medium=email

 

[BWilson678]

Added video to show flipping action/size.

 

[Ken44]

I definitely like it better than an XM. The straighter handle would give you many more cutting options.
I tried an XM once in a pass around, and did not like the handle at all. It was great for straight stab cuts, and pull cuts, but had to much rear handle drop for other types of cuts.
Thanks for the review.

 

[flash900]

Thanks for the vid and review -- well done!

Is that the 3.5 inch XM for comparison?

Did you move the clip, and is that a Hinderer style stabilizer peeking out from underneath it?

 

[BWilson678]

Thanks for the vid and review -- well done!

Is that the 3.5 inch XM for comparison?

Did you move the clip, and is that a Hinderer style lock peeking out from underneath it?

Thanks man, hope it helped! That is a 3.5" XM and I did move the clip on it. As for Hinderer style lock it very well may be but I couldn't say for sure.

 

[BWilson678]

Update - Carried it almost everyday and still 100% happy I snagged one.