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Post by Student of Sword on Oct 17, 2011 17:01:22 GMT
Beside the well known controversy concerning Strider's military background, their knives seem to be solidly built. What are your opinion? Are they overpriced? If so, are they slightly overpriced or very overpriced?
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Post by steelhound on Oct 17, 2011 17:15:00 GMT
A serviceman who had returned from Iraq let me handle his Strider knife a few years ago, and while it may have seen a lot of use, I wasn't very impressed with it. It actually looked like a cheap Pakistani folder. The action was very loose and the knife itself seemed clunky to me. Maybe this is the design for sandy environments, but I didn't see anything about his knife that even came close to justifying the price.
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Talon
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Posts: 2,554
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Post by Talon on Oct 17, 2011 17:25:42 GMT
aside from not really being a fan of the tactical look,for me they are way overpriced for what they are,for me a knife is a cutting and piercing tool,not a pry bar, and as long as there is a thick enough spine (4 or 5mm) then any decent carbon steel knife with a good heat treat will stand up to any abuse a knife should be expected to take,ie cutting/battoning/piercing so to me,nope i think they are way overpriced,and a bit gimmicky if im being honest,there are plenty of designs out there for half the price which i would rather buy
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Oct 17, 2011 17:43:30 GMT
They are mediumly overpriced but they are very solidly built. You can abuse them quite a bit compared to a lot of other folders (maybe only tri-ads can as well) I think they are a bit heavy though ~ but hey, not many knives take the beating.
BMs got the axis lock that is nice and tough, but most models are gentlemen/edc carry. CS has the tri-ad lock but only uses Aus8 (think American Lawman) I'm thinking you might want to look at the Zero Tolerance knives...these look worlds better.
There were a few QC problems on some Strider blades, mainly blade cracking from overpressing the thumbstuds...and they have very poor customer service~
At their price range, I'd consider a CRK; ...otherwise a ZT can handle anything a Strider can at a much better price (sides they look way better)
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Post by Student of Sword on Oct 18, 2011 16:29:17 GMT
Thanks guys. I am leaning more and more toward CRK too, for folders anyway. And ZT definitely is more bang-for-the-buck. What's about fixed blades? Another expensive one I have been looking at is Crusader Forge.
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Oct 18, 2011 19:05:13 GMT
Ugh..no way at least not for their advertized tactical. .25" thick fixed blades? Man that's a bit too thick. And that firesteel notch or whatever...wtf especially on the Oberman. I think it's a bit problem like the notch on the buck hoodlum...just WHY? far too deep and located where no one wants it Spartan knives are pretty optimized - you get the military discount; like the Ares and Nyx; Horkos looks cool (don't think it'll work as well in combat) I know Odingaard carries some ESEE 3s. The 4's cool too (handled that one) I have an ESEE 5 - .25" is again too thick - makes for a good survival knife... would suck for any sort of defense I don't like the CR fixed combats mostly because of serrations ~ may be your thing How about some Fallknivens? I got an S1...and wow. They've got a lot to choose from, and I wouldn't say no to a Thor, Njord and others. The weight on the fallkniven militaries are very very good for their blade lengths and that VG10 laminated steel even had Noss stumped for a bit. Don't really know much about custom makers - better ask Se'b for that edit: gawd, I can't believe I forgot Busses, Scrapyards, and swamp rats.... check all their models out (you'll find most are discontinued but they're always surfacing on the busses sales subforums ( www.bladeforums.com/forums/forum ... s-For-Sale). Battle Mistress looks ridiculous but some models are freaking awesome
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Oct 19, 2011 1:52:35 GMT
I don't know much about the Strider controversies. One thing I know is that Mr. Strider was told to gt*o of bladeforums many years ago because of his conduct overthere. Beside that, I think their knife don't look great and they seem quite expensive for what they are. IMO, they seem to be to knives what Cold Steel swords are to... well, swords. Large, often overbuilt and often too expensive. They are probably made to look cool and tough, and to be abused just for the heck of it. Personnaly, if I needed a big combat folder, I'd go with a Spyderco Military or Police, or one of Cold Steel 4-5'' folders. I hear great things about these blades, especially those from Spyderco. I might also think about that Spyderco Fred Perrin short fixed-blade knife. BTW please take note that I haven't held any of the knives that I just named Taking my words with a pinch of salt is well-advised. Also, take note that, although I have made a custom knife makers list, I currently have only two custom-made knives. So my knowledge of who is good, or not, is limited. Personnaly, I know that most custom knives that I have seen were more expensive than their closest production counterpart. Personnaly, if I had to carry around a knife as a military, I'd prefer to not carry an expensive, unique, custom-made blade.
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Post by steelhound on Oct 19, 2011 2:03:11 GMT
Good call on the Spyderco Military, Sebastian. I'd rather pick up two of those and maybe a KaBar BK2 for the same money as a Strider folder. If a sandy environment is not a concern, I'd also recommend a Spyderco Manix 2 - it's a solid knife with a heavy duty blade and a good locking mechanism (which takes a minute or two to get used to). I've been carrying one for some time now and am very happy with it.
For fixed blades SoS, have you looked at the Kabar/Becker BK5? Nice sized blade for utility or combat, and not that expensive. I hear the sheath kind of sucks but you could always make a kydex one for it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2011 10:13:36 GMT
People should do an internet search on the guy's history and the whole sorry saga - then decide for themselves whether his actions show any honesty, integrity, and ethics, and then decide whether they choose to buy his products. Nuff said...
Personally, I'd go with Sebastian's recommendations too.
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Oct 20, 2011 19:33:41 GMT
I actually had no idea about any Strider controversies until you mentioned them Se'b. Had to google it up...an interesting read to say the least. www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... ning-to-do.
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Post by Bogus on Oct 21, 2011 4:26:51 GMT
Wow, epic threadnought! Interesting stuff, to say the least.
IMO any knife that costs over $150 is way overpriced, so that should answer the question.
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Post by CivilSavage on Dec 20, 2011 6:20:55 GMT
Are Strider knives overpriced? Not to his fanboys, but to those of us not caught up in that particular hobby they very much are.. Are they anything special? Not really. Are the designs greatly innovative...some, maybe, but overall they are not. I used to spend time over at the one forum that you could speak no ill of Mick Strider or his knives. There was almost a shrinelike aura of worshipfullness towards the guy, who I knew and still no nothing about, nor ever care to know. I have never been a fan of expensive knives, folders or the combination of expensive folders. I don't find his knives to remotely attractive, even in the tacticool sense. Personally i would never buy one...even used. MMV for tohers and apparently does.
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