Hi Kev! Would you happen to know the size of drop bear bearing i opened mine up and they are plastic bearings. I see alot of wear in mine and wanted to change to skiffs but they are not listed on the skiff site.
I will tell it like it is, "Skiff Bearings Rule!" They're the best. I have been using them for years. If you want your Folders to be super smooth and fast, you get Skiff Bearings. I agree with you! :-) Peace, Stiletto :-)
At first i was super skeptical about bearing swaps. Untill i took the guts to try it, it was hella expensive, since im from europe. Shipping is like 20usd, and then toll and taxes, so i actually paid double the price. But man oh man, what a diffrence it makes!! First i bought for my Fox Chilin, which had steel bearings, that felt like getting a new high end knife, then i bought for my Kizer Sheepdog, that made it feel like a 200 dollar knife. Then i put a set in my F5.5, also was like getting a new knife. Tried it in a civivi Conspirator, didnt make a diffrence. So it sure depends on knife. But it sure as hell isnt my last set of Skiff bearings to buy! :)
I have 60+ knives and every knife that has bearings has Skiffs in them. If a knife is shipping to me, I order bearings before the knife is here. If I know the size. If I dont，as soon as I receive the knife I take it apart and put the bearings through the skiff card and order. Besides perfectly smooth and round ceramic bearings. The phosphor bronze cage is the main difference between these and factory. Deflection in anything hurts smoothness and consistency. Skiffs don't deflect much. They also have additional balls which gives them a larger contact patch to help with lateral stability. Making skiffs almost as torsionally stiff as bushings. Best upgrade you can make. Noticeable improvement in any knife.
You are right about the bearings. When there are few of them, the contact area with the blade and washers is smaller, so the bearings leave a deeper mark. And these recesses are felt during operation.
Thanks so much for this most comprehensive video about skiff bearings. And especially for answering the question on which way bearings go in. I will definitely be checking them out. I know i have some with a little side to side like you did with the f5.5.
Been watching your channel since day 1 and swapping bearings that long also, had some good luck in the past with Gillian’s if Skiffs didn’t improve but not enough to keep two or three brands in stock and 9/10 times skiffs work best and have never failed once installed. Cracks me up how some people get their panties in a wad over bearing swapping, to me spending another 15 bucks to slightly improve a knife I just spent 500 on makes perfect sense, thanks as always Kev 😎
I've been using skiffs for a while I pretty much put them in every knife except button lock or crossbars cuz they swing either way. Sometimes I do put in button and crossbar locks but usually liner lock,lock bar for the smooth drop shut, the bearings have centered knives that had other bearings making knife off center, once I put skiffs in it's like a new premium knife solidifies the knife and ive purchased everything all the tools ect.. they have, except there knives lol..too expensive much for me. I just use Altoids tin for my bearing card and bearings, what I like is the full cage bearings it just brings the knife to a solid feeling knife. However there are some knives that come already perfect and I don't need to put skiffs in. I'm a skiffs fan man lmao 🤣
I have found that CJRB/Artisan has a major problem with overtightening their knives and causing dimpled liners/washers with their stock bearings. Switching their knives to Skiffs has made the most impact on knife action for me than any other brand. I always flip the hardened washers on knives that have them so I don't have to wear down a new track and get rid of the dimples left from the factory, but it sucks with liner/budget knives because that's not an option. I have also found that Skiffs in a knife with 5mm 3/64 bearings makes more of an impact than Skiffs in a knife with 5mm 1/16 bearings. I do wish Skiff made 4mm 3/64 bearings, as I have found then in quite a few smaller knives and there's no option for upgrade on those.
Anyone that knows of Kevin aka Lefty, knows he is King Skiff. That's just fact, to me! It matters alot! I have the weird old Graham gmt Razel, was eh before Skiffs. With Skiff bearings! It went from eh, to a speed tank!
Smoothness and stability is mainly what they seem to provide. But just as if not often more important is fresh hardened steel washers that the bearings usually need to roll on. Often Chinese manufacturers appear to have deliberately machined a track into the steel washers on a brand new knife, which seems like a mistake.... it can cause uneven rolling and janky pivot movement because that track is often done poorly. Even if you put Skiffs in, bad washers will still leave the knife with janky action, and the biggest improvement you can get may not actually be bearings, but flipping to a fresh side of the washer or new steel washers completely. Skiff should definitely consider manufacturing quality hardened steel replacement washers. Or, what about possibly ceramic or tungsten carbide washers 🤔 ....possibly subject to fracture under excessive pressure, but definitely would give the smoothest most long lasting action.
If their steel always buy skiffs. If their decent ceramics prolly won't notice much of a change in smoothness but stability absolutely. Still worth it. ( Forgot to add this ) I work in extreme dust where glass batch is mixed and skiff hold up just as well as washers would. I actually had a pair of plastic ceramic bearings fail because of the dust/wear
Hell ya , you finally for the matador ! I love the design and I'll have to say it is Oester design for the handle, mostly but the blade is Pena all the way to me at least. Itnis similar to the Maxace Kestrel , the Ti and CF version and I like that knife, being a front flipper and I like front flippers it's obviously different but the Matador has a cool square and I thought ud like it a bit more because of that. But also you gotta try that new Panchenko knife the Rook , I think that one really seems like a knife that defines him as a maker, kinda like the Trisect did.
Do wish Skiff had a regular phosphorus bronze washers, like the Spyderco type. Know not yr thing, but I'd buy them, alot of them! Hardened Stainless Steel washers too! Yea, is a taco thing, but isn't patented
Best action I've ever felt is on Skiffs. I have Shiros, Koenig, you name it. My full Ti XM-18 on Skiffs beats all of them. Lol, I was wondering if you had something going with them. I thought it was a bit strange that you just had $300 worth of random size Skiffs laying around.
I was gonna leave a comment just like this one. I have tons of knives with and without skiffs and my full ti xm-18 with skiffs is by far the smoothest. It’s like the bearings were made for it.
I've put skiffs in a few of my knives in 2 of the knives I put them in just because I was pimping the knives out with mokuti and figured why not go all the way it didn't really change the action on those 2 now on the other hand I put skiffs in my sparrow strix and I totally feel like the action got better it didn't drop like I wanted it to but with the skiffs it does I always use that LEFTY code when I buy them Great video man 👍 oh did put some in ky buzz but that's just because it's your knife and it felt like the right thing to do 😂 sry for the long comment man ✌️
Hey there. I wanna put skiffs on my Kershaw heist, but I don't have the measuring tool to figure out which ones it needs. And I don't know if it'll even matter if it's on skiffs instead of washers
Anyone know if they have any for the para 3? I’m seeing comments when I searched saying no they won’t fit the factory washers are too thin however I just bought this knife used on EBay and it definitely has bearings in it. I have other knives with bearings and I have several other para 2’s and another para 3 so I know what they feel like. These things are gritty as hell though almost more of a bumpy feeling. If someone makes some that fit I’d rather just swap them out if I’m going to disassemble it. If not I’ll have to tear it down take a look and see what they have done in there. Hopefully they didn’t do something that ruined the knife.
@@LeftyEDC i contacted skiff bearings and they said they weren’t sure which ones would even fit it. I grabbed my para 2 and put it side by side both being black g-10 equal versions. I’m leaning very hard to this being a fake. 1 the bearings and I can see them with a magnifying glass so I’m 100% is has bearings. 2 the lanyard hole is recessed where my legit para 2 is flush. 3 the liners don’t look right. They have more of a blasted or aluminum color or greyish to them where my para 2 just looks like the rest of the metal but with more of a brushed pattern to it. 4 the box looks off because the red on my real one is a bold bright red where this one is a orangish turn or faded look but that could just be age or sun fade. 5 according to the part number on the order it should be S45v when I search online but this one says S30v. 6 the lettering looks different and when you shine light on it it has a blue purple tint like a sharpie where the original does not. 7 the blade angle seems a little steeper with some slight burrs on the edge. I don’t know if the seller knew or did it intentionally but I find through online searching that Amazon had sold some fakes with ball bearings in them. What’s crazy is aside from the roughness in the bearing the thing actually looks good and has a good lockup and everything. Sucks but I bought it for work so I’ll just use it for whatever and it is what it is.
I also put Skiffs on my bearing knives..... Skiff FAT WASHERS! I'm totally a washer guy. The fat washers work better on knives with low to medium lock bar tension. I think that's why you're one of the few knife review channels I still watch... opposites attract 😉
You would think less surface area equals less friction which should make the action better. Apparently it doesn't work that way and I'm just a dumb dumb. Lol
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Thank you so much for watching and following along. I have such a blast bringing new content to you and am always open to chatting, so feel free to reach out anytime!
-Kev
Hi Kev! Would you happen to know the size of drop bear bearing i opened mine up and they are plastic bearings. I see alot of wear in mine and wanted to change to skiffs but they are not listed on the skiff site.
@@beejaibakchoyi don’t. But maybe skiff has it on their site
@@beejaibakchoyI believe they are 5mm 3/64 I just ordered a set to swap mine out. I’ll update if they’re the right size after I get them
I will tell it like it is, "Skiff Bearings Rule!" They're the best. I have been using them for years. If you want your Folders to be super smooth and fast, you get Skiff Bearings. I agree with you! :-) Peace, Stiletto :-)
"You don't want a whole lot of lube caked up on your balls. You can just feel it." Couldn't agree more.
😭came to the comments as soon as I heard this
At first i was super skeptical about bearing swaps. Untill i took the guts to try it, it was hella expensive, since im from europe. Shipping is like 20usd, and then toll and taxes, so i actually paid double the price. But man oh man, what a diffrence it makes!!
First i bought for my Fox Chilin, which had steel bearings, that felt like getting a new high end knife, then i bought for my Kizer Sheepdog, that made it feel like a 200 dollar knife. Then i put a set in my F5.5, also was like getting a new knife.
Tried it in a civivi Conspirator, didnt make a diffrence. So it sure depends on knife. But it sure as hell isnt my last set of Skiff bearings to buy! :)
I have 60+ knives and every knife that has bearings has Skiffs in them. If a knife is shipping to me, I order bearings before the knife is here. If I know the size. If I dont，as soon as I receive the knife I take it apart and put the bearings through the skiff card and order. Besides perfectly smooth and round ceramic bearings. The phosphor bronze cage is the main difference between these and factory. Deflection in anything hurts smoothness and consistency. Skiffs don't deflect much. They also have additional balls which gives them a larger contact patch to help with lateral stability. Making skiffs almost as torsionally stiff as bushings. Best upgrade you can make. Noticeable improvement in any knife.
Great summary
60??? Nice collection 😅
You are right about the bearings. When there are few of them, the contact area with the blade and washers is smaller, so the bearings leave a deeper mark. And these recesses are felt during operation.
Thanks so much for this most comprehensive video about skiff bearings. And especially for answering the question on which way bearings go in. I will definitely be checking them out. I know i have some with a little side to side like you did with the f5.5.
A 40+ minute video about skiff bearings 😂 this needs to be linked in your description titled " why skiff bearings" 😍
Good idea haha
Been watching your channel since day 1 and swapping bearings that long also, had some good luck in the past with Gillian’s if Skiffs didn’t improve but not enough to keep two or three brands in stock and 9/10 times skiffs work best and have never failed once installed. Cracks me up how some people get their panties in a wad over bearing swapping, to me spending another 15 bucks to slightly improve a knife I just spent 500 on makes perfect sense, thanks as always Kev 😎
Thanks for sharing, I agree with the stamped bearing and the gunk, and just bad fit.
Glad that I discovered skiff bearings thru u lefty. Been amazing to order from and just make all my knives so buttery smooth
Awesome!
I've been using skiffs for a while I pretty much put them in every knife except button lock or crossbars cuz they swing either way. Sometimes I do put in button and crossbar locks but usually liner lock,lock bar for the smooth drop shut, the bearings have centered knives that had other bearings making knife off center, once I put skiffs in it's like a new premium knife solidifies the knife and ive purchased everything all the tools ect.. they have, except there knives lol..too expensive much for me. I just use Altoids tin for my bearing card and bearings, what I like is the full cage bearings it just brings the knife to a solid feeling knife. However there are some knives that come already perfect and I don't need to put skiffs in. I'm a skiffs fan man lmao 🤣
Don't think I'm a nerd just yet but I am getting there . Lol
I have found that CJRB/Artisan has a major problem with overtightening their knives and causing dimpled liners/washers with their stock bearings. Switching their knives to Skiffs has made the most impact on knife action for me than any other brand. I always flip the hardened washers on knives that have them so I don't have to wear down a new track and get rid of the dimples left from the factory, but it sucks with liner/budget knives because that's not an option.
I have also found that Skiffs in a knife with 5mm 3/64 bearings makes more of an impact than Skiffs in a knife with 5mm 1/16 bearings. I do wish Skiff made 4mm 3/64 bearings, as I have found then in quite a few smaller knives and there's no option for upgrade on those.
Anyone that knows of Kevin aka Lefty, knows he is King Skiff. That's just fact, to me! It matters alot! I have the weird old Graham gmt Razel, was eh before Skiffs. With Skiff bearings! It went from eh, to a speed tank!
Skiffs are great! Especially if the stock bearings are steel. Or if there’s additional balls for improved stability
Smoothness and stability is mainly what they seem to provide. But just as if not often more important is fresh hardened steel washers that the bearings usually need to roll on. Often Chinese manufacturers appear to have deliberately machined a track into the steel washers on a brand new knife, which seems like a mistake.... it can cause uneven rolling and janky pivot movement because that track is often done poorly. Even if you put Skiffs in, bad washers will still leave the knife with janky action, and the biggest improvement you can get may not actually be bearings, but flipping to a fresh side of the washer or new steel washers completely.
Skiff should definitely consider manufacturing quality hardened steel replacement washers.
Or, what about possibly ceramic or tungsten carbide washers 🤔 ....possibly subject to fracture under excessive pressure, but definitely would give the smoothest most long lasting action.
Interesting. Yea i always flip them
If their steel always buy skiffs. If their decent ceramics prolly won't notice much of a change in smoothness but stability absolutely. Still worth it. ( Forgot to add this ) I work in extreme dust where glass batch is mixed and skiff hold up just as well as washers would. I actually had a pair of plastic ceramic bearings fail because of the dust/wear
Thanks for the info. Cool to know
Hell ya , you finally for the matador ! I love the design and I'll have to say it is Oester design for the handle, mostly but the blade is Pena all the way to me at least. Itnis similar to the Maxace Kestrel , the Ti and CF version and I like that knife, being a front flipper and I like front flippers it's obviously different but the Matador has a cool square and I thought ud like it a bit more because of that. But also you gotta try that new Panchenko knife the Rook , I think that one really seems like a knife that defines him as a maker, kinda like the Trisect did.
Do wish Skiff had a regular phosphorus bronze washers, like the Spyderco type. Know not yr thing, but I'd buy them, alot of them! Hardened Stainless Steel washers too! Yea, is a taco thing, but isn't patented
You can buy them for literally 1 dollar online. They would be the same, maybe just polished more.
Love em, have em in MOST my knives too. Super good ! 👌🏼💙✌🏼
Best action I've ever felt is on Skiffs. I have Shiros, Koenig, you name it. My full Ti XM-18 on Skiffs beats all of them.
Lol, I was wondering if you had something going with them. I thought it was a bit strange that you just had $300 worth of random size Skiffs laying around.
I was gonna leave a comment just like this one. I have tons of knives with and without skiffs and my full ti xm-18 with skiffs is by far the smoothest. It’s like the bearings were made for it.
Actually most of those are from me buying them. Don’t really need a lot of sizes. 90% of what i buy takes like 3 sizes.
Anyone know size for Grimsmo norseman?
I've put skiffs in a few of my knives in 2 of the knives I put them in just because I was pimping the knives out with mokuti and figured why not go all the way it didn't really change the action on those 2 now on the other hand I put skiffs in my sparrow strix and I totally feel like the action got better it didn't drop like I wanted it to but with the skiffs it does I always use that LEFTY code when I buy them Great video man 👍 oh did put some in ky buzz but that's just because it's your knife and it felt like the right thing to do 😂 sry for the long comment man ✌️
You left the knife oil out right? Better that way...
@hawleyfromhell I always put kpl in my knife if I have it apart I've never tried it without oil so im not sure how it would act
Put skiffs on my pony stout and it's a true delight
Excellent content!
Hey there. I wanna put skiffs on my Kershaw heist, but I don't have the measuring tool to figure out which ones it needs. And I don't know if it'll even matter if it's on skiffs instead of washers
U can’t swap washers to skiffs. Only bearings to washers. Doesn’t work the other way. Bearings are Too thick
@@LeftyEDC bummer, thank you for the info.
Ever get that WindRiver?
Nope and they kinda fell off the map
Love skiffs 👊🏻💙🔥😎
Real cool video thank you for the info
Anyone know if they have any for the para 3?
I’m seeing comments when I searched saying no they won’t fit the factory washers are too thin however I just bought this knife used on EBay and it definitely has bearings in it. I have other knives with bearings and I have several other para 2’s and another para 3 so I know what they feel like. These things are gritty as hell though almost more of a bumpy feeling. If someone makes some that fit I’d rather just swap them out if I’m going to disassemble it. If not I’ll have to tear it down take a look and see what they have done in there. Hopefully they didn’t do something that ruined the knife.
Never seen bearings in a para 3
@@LeftyEDC i contacted skiff bearings and they said they weren’t sure which ones would even fit it.
I grabbed my para 2 and put it side by side both being black g-10 equal versions.
I’m leaning very hard to this being a fake.
1 the bearings and I can see them with a magnifying glass so I’m 100% is has bearings.
2 the lanyard hole is recessed where my legit para 2 is flush.
3 the liners don’t look right. They have more of a blasted or aluminum color or greyish to them where my para 2 just looks like the rest of the metal but with more of a brushed pattern to it.
4 the box looks off because the red on my real one is a bold bright red where this one is a orangish turn or faded look but that could just be age or sun fade.
5 according to the part number on the order it should be S45v when I search online but this one says S30v.
6 the lettering looks different and when you shine light on it it has a blue purple tint like a sharpie where the original does not.
7 the blade angle seems a little steeper with some slight burrs on the edge.
I don’t know if the seller knew or did it intentionally but I find through online searching that Amazon had sold some fakes with ball bearings in them. What’s crazy is aside from the roughness in the bearing the thing actually looks good and has a good lockup and everything. Sucks but I bought it for work so I’ll just use it for whatever and it is what it is.
I also put Skiffs on my bearing knives..... Skiff FAT WASHERS! I'm totally a washer guy. The fat washers work better on knives with low to medium lock bar tension. I think that's why you're one of the few knife review channels I still watch... opposites attract 😉
Haha thats awesome! Skiffs are skiffs though. Should have mentioned the washers
I’ve been loving the washers too. They’ve worked great on my Hinderers
Was flipping my tuya mutt when u pulled it out haha. Did u say recently there were murmurs of more Ti F5.5’s coming back? 👀
Idk anything about ti f5.5’s. Sorry
@@LeftyEDC oh okay that must have been someone else. I know u probs won’t but If u ever wanna let urs go lmk.
I put these in my Silverado also jk no but Brest bearings I wish he made car parts too lol
You would think less surface area equals less friction which should make the action better. Apparently it doesn't work that way and I'm just a dumb dumb. Lol
Yea but less surface area equals wobbly which is bad
Goddamn it bro… now I want to change all my knifes to Skiff bearings. 😑💸
You definitely don't want pressure on your balls. But I'm not sure I would want more balls.
I need to just drop $160 or so on skiffs so I can switch out some of my knives.
Honestly sometimes its like getting a new knife
Shirogorov uses steel and they have better actions than 99% of what is on the market.
They use steel bearings or cages? I don’t believe either but 🤷♂️
I don't know why you have to be so coy about it. Do you like Skiff bearings or no? 😉
Hate em
🐿️