Are Striders worth their price?
Kevin Caitiff
deals.
But are they really worth the money?
I've been eyeballing the MT-L, and it's priced at roughly $600 CDN. - Which
is almost twice the amount I am willing to spend on any knife.
What are your opinions on Striders?
Thanks,
Kevin
carmine
then yes, Striders are worth the money. They have produced a masterful
marketing campaign, with the complicity of a few knife and gun magazines,
for those that like big black tactical knives that are generally used for
such strenuous tasks as opening envelopes or sharpening pencils.
That alone should be worth six hundred bucks.
David Zincavage
soldier. Flat unconcealed tang handles wrapped in paracord are a heck of a
lot inferior in grip ergonomics to nice old fashioned tangs inside handles
of leather rings or micarta or whatever. Those let-it-all-hang-out tang
knives are a lot cheaper and easier to make, but just compare the price of
this knife to a new Randall No. 1 or an authentic quite collectible WWII MK2
in excellent condition.
"Kevin Caitiff" <kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
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A.T. Barr
Yeah, Right!
A.T.
David Zincavage wrote:
--
"Don't you buy no ugly knife."
New knives added 9.11.02
http://customknives.com/a.t.barr/availableknives.htm
Kevin Caitiff
But I still feel that I'm willing to pay their price... And I am. I'm
ordering several Striders this week.
I love simplicity. I love strength. And Striders _seem_ to have both.
As for performance... That'd take years to determine. And I just don't
plan on living that much longer.
More opinions please, (I know everyone has their opinion on Striders :) )
Kevin
hjkl
<kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>[...] (I know everyone has their opinion on Striders :) )
DAMN RIGHT I DO! ...uh, what's a Strider?
:-)
Rawhide Clyde
<kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>I'd really like to get a Strider. And I've been emailing around for good
>deals. But are they really worth the money?
They have a very loyal customer base. I watched them sell beaucoup of
e'm at the last Blade show. In the states some models are especially
hard to get and Striders in general don't last long on the secondary
market. As I understand it they bring a real premium in Japan. As for
your original question...I dunno, to each his own.
Stay Safe,
Clyde
hjkl
<kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>I'd really like to get a Strider. And I've been emailing around for good
>deals.
>But are they really worth the money?
In that general price range, I'd get a Chris Reeve instead.
Kevin Caitiff
I'm sorry, I didn't understand that sentence.
Do you mean that Striders don't sell well in some places, or do you mean
that they sell too well in some places?
"Rawhide Clyde" <cwpa...@NOSPAMmindspring.com> wrote in message
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Kevin Caitiff
I've found TWO so far on the web.
Corwin
> "... Striders in general don't last long on the secondary market."
>
> I'm sorry, I didn't understand that sentence.
> Do you mean that Striders don't sell well in some places, or do you mean
> that they sell too well in some places?
Striders sell really fast on the secondary market. People that use striders
seem to just swear by them...
I personally think they're overpriced.
Nunya Business
collect Frost knives or those stupid Fantasy knives they have on Ebay.
Anyone can take a stock piece of ATS-34, cut it out in a
mostly-geometrical shape that looks "tactical" wrap $0.89 worth of
parachute cord around it a knife.
Their marketing genius is what's TRULY astounding, because what
they've done is POSITIONED themselves in the high-end market and they
make sure their knives are never really in abundance...
I don't buy knives that expensive... yet.
And when I do I'll buy something a little more refined with some
hand-craftsmanship, thought-out design and just a little TLC.
Maybe Striders ARE good knives. I'd pay $125 for one. I bought a Buck
Strider for $90. NOW you're talkin'!
Rawhide Clyde <cwpa...@NOSPAMmindspring.com> wrote in message news:<7k21oukikt62die36...@4ax.com>...
Steve
independent, unbiased performance testing, especially with the very real
likelihood of their receiving a poor review due to a catastrophic failure
while undergoing some rigorous abuse. Besides, it's a lot easier to simply
claim your knife is the best rather than actually proving it is.
Stephen
expensive for what they are
the tiger patterning on the blade looks nice though
but 700US?? for a cord wrapped handle knife is a little steep
Stephen
part time knifemaker
"
Jeffry Johnston
: >I know everyone has their opinion on Striders :)
: DAMN RIGHT I DO! ...uh, what's a Strider? :-)
I'll second that! :) -Alvin
Ok, enough BS, here's -my- algorithm:
Is/are the blade/s considered a tool steel?
If no... the knife sucks. ;)
If yes... Is the price like department store, hardware store or
second hand store prices?
If no... then stop there, not interested at all. :/
How hard is/are the blade/s or if differentially hardened the
blade's/' edge/s?
If less than 60hrc... then it/they might as well be non-"tool
steel" blade/s so it sucks. ;)
What's the edge geometry? If it's been left thick like a hatchet
or a cleaver and it really is a hachet or a cleaver, ok continue,
if it's supposed to be a knife with a grind like that, then forget
it, it sucks. ;)
Easy huh? :)
Alvin in AZ
Kevin Caitiff
That certainly says something about Striders.
What if we ignore the price?
Basically, I'm looking for a great large military-style, fixed-blade knife.
And Striders seem to be them... The price is steep, but does that take away
from the knife itself?
If you ignored the price of a Strider, how would you rank it up against
knives from Chris Reeve, Rob Simonich, Randall etc? (I think Busse would be
in a seperate class by themselves)
brianWE
Yeah...had a look. The tiger stripes must be worth something. Two
dollars ? Cord wrapping should save a bunch. Face it....it is a CHEAP
alternative to a real handle. Yeah, sure..takes some skill to wrap
like that. But, really, why not do a real handle? Takes MORE skill ?
As for "remarkably expensive"...can't agree. "Obscenely expensive "
might be a better description.
There are blokes making REAL custom knives for less.
Nevertheless....the hype is gonna make these blokes RICH.
Lucky bastards! Wish I had the talent to screw the market like that :)
brianWE
Smart people should be grateful there are dumb
people like us...
If it wasn't for us, they would only be average.
Corwin
> dollars ? Cord wrapping should save a bunch. Face it....it is a CHEAP
> alternative to a real handle. Yeah, sure..takes some skill to wrap
> like that. But, really, why not do a real handle? Takes MORE skill ?
> As for "remarkably expensive"...can't agree. "Obscenely expensive "
> might be a better description.
> There are blokes making REAL custom knives for less.
> Nevertheless....the hype is gonna make these blokes RICH.
> Lucky bastards! Wish I had the talent to screw the market like that :)
>
>
> brianWE
>
> Smart people should be grateful there are dumb
> people like us...
> If it wasn't for us, they would only be average.
No Doubt.. there are excellent custom makers (especially the less well-known
ones) that will custom make a knife to your EXACT specs for much less than
that. And if you're lucky enough to find one that's local to you you can
meet him and see examples of his work and find out for yourself if its worth
it. A lot of custom makers will crank out a knife like that (you might even
be able to ask him to copy it) for under $200US and it'll probably have
better heat treating (if u pick 'em right).
neL
Rawhide Clyde
gives me pleasure to own them. Plus I like the way they smell :)
Strider's hold their value very well and I could turn them quickly.
Each model is designed with specific performance characteristics in
mind. They have a helluva guarantee and the heat treating is done by
one of the best on planet earth, Paul Bos. Their worth is a very
individual thing, as with any commodity with broad ranges of quality,
performance and price-point. Strider's are a good hard use
semi-production blade that in certain environments and situations
might just perform as well as a custom made blade. Course I might just
be trying to rationalize my own purchase decisions...
Stay Safe,
Clyde
hjkl
>How can you ignore the price? I mean, some Busse's cost less! If you
>want to save money, get a Swamp Rat
...or two.
Nunya Business
BKT
"Kevin Caitiff" <kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:<30dg9.4953$hK5.1...@news20.bellglobal.com>...
SLR Ltd
blade knives.
If you like them, I can give you a deal on one.
http://www.target-masters.net/
Leowyn
Kevin Caitiff
I've especially been looking at the Dobermann II's today. I'd get one ASAP,
but the N690 steel leaves me with questions.
I'll be sure to contact you if I decide to get one,
Kevin
"SLR Ltd" <slr...@visi.com> wrote in message
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brianWE
> Here, check out the Extreema Ratio knives. They're large, mulitary style fixed
>blade knives.
> If you like them, I can give you a deal on one.
>http://www.target-masters.net/
>
Hey! Had one of those in my knife HD photo gallery for a few
years.....do you, by any chance, know anyone who has used one? For
ANYTHING?
brianWE
Sometimes I wish I had died young.
At least I would be used to it,by now.
Kevin Caitiff
I've decided to get something from Extrema-Ratio, specifically the Dobermann
II.
But I have several questions about the material used in them, can you help
me?
Thanks,
Kevin
"SLR Ltd" <slr...@visi.com> wrote in message
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Kevin Caitiff
"Kevin Caitiff" <kevin....@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
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Cliff Stamp
[Strider]
> Yeah...had a look. The tiger stripes must be worth something. Two dollars
> ?
It is just scale, so yes.
> Cord wrapping should save a bunch. Face it....it is a CHEAP alternative to
> a real handle.
They offer G10 grips, the cord ones significantly out sell them according to
Strider.
On Fri, 13 Sep 2002, Jeffry Johnston wrote:
[Strider]
> Is/are the blade/s considered a tool steel?
ATS-34
> If yes... Is the price like department store, hardware store or
> second hand store prices?
If you shop while under the influence of heavy narcotics.
> How hard is/are the blade/s or if differentially hardened the
> blade's/' edge/s?
59-61 RC, uniform.
> What's the edge geometry?
~22 degrees per side, edge thickness of ~0.035 on some of the smaller,
~0.045" on the larger ones.
As for my opinions in general :
The steel is ATS-34 at 59-61 RC, a solid choice for a fillet knife, but not
for a heavy use blade because of the very low impact toughness and
ductility. The grip ergonomics are low for the cord wrap, and the G10 if
their grips are similar to the Buck/Strider. The security is high if you can
stand the discomfort. The cord wrap is not very tolerable to use in
contaminated conditions. Get a Micarta grip dirty and you can scrub it
clean with dirt/sand if you have to and then rinse it off. Get something
into the cord and you have a much more difficult process. Overall, they
don't really offer anything that you can't find elsewhere for a lot less.
What used to impress me with them was the frank way in which they talked
about performance and the guarantee. However if you are negative then the
personal ranting starts quickly and heavily. You can be attacked simply
asking a question about performance. Now you could argue that maybe I am
biased because I was ranted at because of doing some work that they had done
to promote their blades and seeing them fail grossly. The knives are also
promoted not based on their abilities but frequently because of the
individuals who use them (our knives are BAD ASS because BAD ASS people use
them). Quite frankly a product should stand on its own and the reasons
should be obvious to the maker and be able to be expressed to the customer.
Lastly, and this is a personal matter, many of the comments made by Strider
just strike me as well, not something that leads me with a lot of
confidence. When asked about performance Mick would only address it in
email, he would not discuss the testing they had done in public. Compare
this with Busse who actually does live demonstrations, not to mention being
quite frank about what their knives can do. As well, and this is even more
personal, a lot of the Strider comments (from Mick and Duane) are, well,
judge for yourself :
"... go run a mile at a six minute pace, let me punch you in the face a few
times, and finally, Ill kick you in the balls. At this point, the last thing
you want is your dick in your hand."
This is in regards to people wanting a more ergonomics grip. I would look
for a maker who could discuss issues of security and ergonomics without
having to rant about dicks, balls and punching people in the face. This
attitude does impress a lot of people. Personally, I find that the louder
and more boisterous your are, in general, the less substance there is to
what is being said. The point he was making was that they make their knives
with security first and foremost so that the knife will be stable in hand
even when your control is low (high stress). Of course that statement isn't
as promotional as the one I quoted, which says something about the market.
It isn't also 100%. Lots of makers sell tactical knives and ergonomics is
something that they view strongly.
In short, if you want a Strider to have a Strider then by all means buy one.
There are many that prefer them over everything else and you might turn out
to be one of them.
--
Cliff Stamp
sst...@physics.mun.ca http://www.physics.mun.ca:80/~sstamp/
The one unforgivable sin, the offence against one's own integrity,
is to accept anything at all simply on authority -- Maureen Johnson Long
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. -- Publilius Syrus
Tattoo
of the mags but if they are so bad then why do so many LEO and Military
swear by them. You get what you pay for !
I have a few striders in my collection and thety preform as well as anything
out there.
--
Usual Suspect aka Tattoo
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