I think this was prior to the Conor McGregor vs. Khalid Khabib (or whatever his name is) fight. I could be wrong. I don't watch MMA but I know Conor is Irish.
@@SeemsLogical This was actually right before the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (serial domestic abuser) and Conor McGregor (trash talking Irishman).
cryptocognomen I'm still laughin at this. Tomorrow Nick will be quoted at church. (I gotta figure out how to make that happen... but yeah. It's gonna happen.)
Nick I was recently lost in the woods and starving luckily I had a cold steel which I was able to pound into a tree then stand on to reach the food stash that I had previously put there
Kevin cleary you couldn't have carried over a rock or two? And don't say you were too weak to do so, if that were the case, you wouldn't have been able hammer the damn thing in. Plus, like he said, in every day Life is unnecessary, every day Life doesn't involve starving in the woods.
I'm a mechanical watch guy myself, with a small (5 piece) collection. However, I have bought and recommended quartz for members of my family who care more about accuracy, reliability and cost. If they don't love the idea of a little mechanical machine on their wrist, then it doesn't make sense for them to have it because I think it's cool.
What a time to be alive. I've seen black and white TV give way to color give way to cable give way to HD cable, the birth and mass proliferation of the internet, mobile/smart phones being fucking everywhere, and china making excellent knives.
Great video as always. The only one I disagree on is the dislike of a Stonewash. To me, it's not that ugly, improves rust resistance noticeably, and is great at hiding wear. Realistically, nobody is gonna abuse a knife to enough of an extent that the finish on it goes from a satin to a Stonewash like you suggested. I break down a lot of cardboard, and that finish is great for disguising the times I've hit a staple or dropped it. Living in a humid area by the coast, I've had plenty of stainless knives develop rust spots, but not the acid stonewashed ones. Sometimes they get them on the edge itself, which is how I know it's the finish that's protecting it, not a different steel to some of the others. Interestingly, I think that blades with a higher polish are more 'scary' looking than black stonewashing is. Might be because I live in the UK, where just about any knife is considered a weapon, but I'd rather have something matte black like a stonewash just because it doesn't catch the eye as much due to the lack of shine. To me that seems kinda important when doing cutting tasks in a crowd of sheeple. That said, I love a shiny knife on anything that isn't a beater. A lot of my favourite knives are shiny because, as you said, the sheen of steel is beautiful. It also shows up grinds a lot better, which is great on a higher end knife with lovely, sharp grind lines. But that's just my two cents on the issue. Stonewash is functional, satin is beautiful.
I sort of agree with the quartz thing, however once working in a place that has absurd amounts of electromagnetic radiation and other electrical "spill over". I learned to wear mechanical watches and then kinetic. I love the mechanicals, however the Kinetic is where it's at. No batteries to purchase ever and no worries about leaving the watch in the drawer for the weekend, it won't lose time, like a mechanical. I've had a Seiko Ti model for nearly a decade and it's the most worry free watch I've ever owned. I would purchase another if something bad happened to it. Now I'm off to acid stonewash a bunch of Shivers, which by the way looks kinda cool, but more importantly adds a little rust protection on a high carbon steel for those who edc the knives and don't exactly take care of them. If I send you one, I'll make sure to mirror polish and then lightly sand blast so you can spend a few minutes every day oiling it.
Yup. You shouldn't be using an expensive folder with a ridiculous locking mechanism for anything that would need it. Buy some beater Moras for 15 bucks and abuse the hell out of them. Keep your folder for its convenience, action, and your personal taste for what you carry on light duty.
So you're saying the Tri-Ad lock is as necessary for normal knife functioning as bronze-phosphor washers? *ducking and running for cover while wearing pre-distressed jeans*
In my opinion acid washed blades are a good compromise between black "tactical" blades and shiny polished one I dont realy want a blade thats realy dark and "scary" looking but i dont want one that has more bling to it than the weird lovechild between Mr.T and a Discoball
I see this whole thing as a diy project, as in for the most part (I'm looking at you cold steel), you can put a nice acid wash or a stone wash or a wishy washy wash on your knife so you can make it your own. Of course, this would void warranty 99.9% of the time. Also, don't come crying to me about messing up your chris reeve with a failed acid wash, opinels are cheap enough for any of us to stupidly experiment on
They are indeed. And as long as you remember they are slip-joints (and that they are knives not pry bars) they'll handle most if not all the everyday jobs you're likely to encounter.
Lock strength doesn't matter all that much....but having an extremely strong lock still just makes me feel good every time I use my knife so I'm just gonna keep using cold steel. Also CTS XHP is a great steel so win win
Even if you are batoning with a folder it wouldn't matter how strong the lock is if you're doing it right. That's because you're supposed to release the lock on the folder to baton with it.
My opinion on price. Put the Delica, PM2, and the shelischeich Bowie against each other. Are you going to notice one going dull faster? Is one going to break? Is one more or less comfortable? The delica is probably going to dull faster than the others, but besides that, what are you buying for $100+? You're buying the fun of owning a cool knife. And there's nothing wrong with that, I like cool stuff. But it's silly to pretend that a $300 knife made of S35VN is better than a $150 knife made of the same stuff. 50% of the stuff I do with my pocket knife would be done just as well with a disposable razor blade. But I use a 150 benchmade 940 knife because I like it and using it is something that brings me joy. But I'm not going to BS myself that I couldn't do everything with a Rat-2 instead.
That's a pretty silly argument, imo. The Slysz Bowie honestly has some pretty amazing F&F, and I love it far more than almost every other Spydie. I rarely have to sharpen it as well. Heat treatment is almost always perfect, and it's endured some pretty brutal labor. I used it to pry an old rusted over window open, which snapped my PM2 the night before.
Amazing F&F. Pocket Jewelry. And congrats on breaking a $130 knife on a job better suited for a $10 prybar. Using any knife to pry has to be regarded as abuse, and unless you broke the handle (in which case, we come back to don't use a folding knife), you would be better served with a cheaper knife with a less hard, and therefore brittle, blade.
Barney The Dinosaur They have this new thing, now- they call them "prybars" Just busting ur balls- I've done similar dumb crap with many of mine- necessity is a mother!
Totally agree on the acid etch thing. People ask me to do that to SAK parts and I just say no I don't do that. Why make the part ugly and have worse action and open up the surface to potential rust.
I agree with what you said, except if I have folder that's longer than 3", I like knowing the hinge and lock are stronger. The big blade is more apt to be used hard to cut and pry.
You make me miss my best friend’s mother, an Italian Jewish lady from the Bronx. She was a great cook and we played hundreds of games of Backgammon together. So whatever I’m doin’ I can put any of your videos on while I’m doing something else, and have some good memories. Thanks for being you, Nick!☝🏼😬
I had an extremely scary sharp SOG trident lock fail on me while making holes into plastic that cut into the bone of my finger. Lock strength is very important to me now.
The lock strength is just nice to have. When camping, your fixed blade is usually with your stuff in the backpack, and it's nice to be able to cut some wood or whatever without digging through your belongings and not worry about the knife. And these Tri-Ads handle batoning very well indeed.
I've had a lock sort-of fail on me in the past and get this--it was a Cold Steel lock-back Voyager. To be fair, it was an older pre-triad lock-back. What caused it was a tiny amount of pocket lint (about the size of a grain of rice) that somehow got between the lock-bar and blade causing it to fail to lock when opened--the lock bar wouldn't drop down into place as the lint acted as a blocking wedge. My own controversial views: Lanyard beads -especially skull beads are for man-children that never grew out of their 13-year old mall ninja phase; Forced homemade patina's look terrible--every bit as fake as your acid wash example; Sharpening is a basic life skill everyone should know; Japanese "high-end" kitchen knives are for the most part, overly fragile, "artsy" trash that will chip when used on anything harder than a refrigerated carrot. IMO they have little place in Western cooking. Also, plain carbon steel kitchen knives belong in the bad old days of the past.
1. Never. I've never had a lock of any kind fail, and I work my knives. 2.Unfortunately domestic made knives cost more, we're paying inflated prices for prestige. 3.Here I disagree, Black Knives Matter! 4. Agreed, Ganzo Firebird knives are superior at the cost. 5. Batteries wear out=no time. Get a nice self winding watch from Accutron.
Lock strength on stuff like Tri-Ads and AXIS locks are more about piece of mind and confidence while using. I've had frame locks and liner locks fail. They're close to your $20 exemption, but from big name makers. In the spirit of naming names it was a Gerber Remix and a CRKT Squid and CRKT Swindle. Swindle was twisting through a hard block of cheese, the Squid and Remix only locked up about 70% of the time they were deployed.
What about six of my nine zt's locks failing from a spine tap, not a whack mind you. The angle on the tang where it engages the lockbar is cut too steep causing the lockbar to slip off the tang with minimal stress placed on the knife's spine. Are these knives I can trust? They are failing from the type of spine taps I've seen you do on several of your videos.
I wear mechanical watches exclusively. I put up with having to reset it every so often because it’s fast. I do this because I like having a little fully mechanical machine on my wrist. That being said, he’s totally right. Performance and accuracy wise, quartz kills it every time, unless you’re using an Omega with a master chronometer moment or a Grand Seiko with a spring drive movement.
I've been saying the same thing for years in forums-The return on knives over $250ish really decreases.. I still like having a strong lock even though I use my knives to cut..
I regularly carry my $200+ knives. It really is just a matter of perspective. When I started collecting knives about four years ago, I was afraid to carry even my Paramilitary 2, as it was the most expensive knife I had ever purchased (at the time). Nowadays I consider it one of my beater knives. There are also lots of $200+ knives that are very much not art pieces. My Benchmade Crooked River cost about that much, and I put it in the same beater knife category as my PM2...Though I feel I over payed for the Crooked River by at least $50
Christopher Backus problem with European police (outside the UK where effectively it's an even bigger problem). They can confiscate your knife without the requirement to give you a reason. Should you want it back you have to go through criminal court to do so. Should you lose this, you risk a criminal record for carrying a deadly weapon. So I only carry my budget knives as I know police will take any chance to score a free premium blade through this law.
Do you think there's a big difference between acid washing the blade and the handle? I mean the slysz bowie you have on the table there could be polished titanium. I guess it depends on the grade but you get the idea.
I've had boker kwaikens fail under regular piercing use in soft material. My buddy had his zt0562 fail opening a package. Both errors with production which made us buy more expensive knives that are cared for more during production
Nick: linner locks are a real problem in low temperatures and the folder can close onto your fingers. A back lock is always safer and it will work flawlessly in as low as -54 degrees C (my experience). Best from Greenland.
I have had two lock failures in my life and they were on cheaply built crap. One was a liner lock and the other was a frame lock. I won't buy a CRKT to this day because of the failure on a K.I.S.S. frame lock. However, I agree that lock strength has been overplayed. Fixed blades should be used in "hard use" situations.
Having just read what I previously wrote, there is one caveat, however. I do value sturdiness. No matter how much I paid for its, I will not be pleased if it gives up too easily. I remember the old Timex adds. "Takes a licking, but keeps on ticking!" It's been a long time since that was true!
My (American) ZT 0808 was $200. I used it to cut into some cheapo plastic packaging. The blade chipped and the tip broke. My (Chinese) Schrade 501 was $15. I used it to cut through a heavy truck strap (the industrial ones, not the nylon ones you get at Wal-Mart). Slight blade wiggle. adjusted it with my Torx screw. Wiggle's gone and lock's tight.
I've had a knife-lock fail on me, however it was not over 30 dollars (although it was on a big sale and in SEK/Swedish Crowns and not USD so I don't know exactly how it matched up to USD at the time). I did not abuse it at all. It was a somewhat slow decline of just getting way out of center and being unable to be fixed with tweaking to the point it scraped the edge of the blade against the handle when closing. I still could use it for a little while as a fixed blade when I was too uncomfortable folding it until it just wasn't worth it anymore as it got worse and worse. I only lightly used it and not that much either before I scrapped it due to these problems. A large part of the issues were due to the quality of the knife and lock though, and not the lock-system itself. But like I said, it was less than 30 USD "or so".
Distressed lol i once bought ab aluminum canera case at half off. Because it had a big scratch on the front. A year later i couldn't figure out which one was the original scratch
My Contego lock failed on me, saw the bone. Benchmade paid for it but I don't trust axis locks anymore. So I bought a 4 max. And I'm 12 and a half thank you very much!
I may be the only person in the world that didn't find the Triad lock hard to use, even one handed. I don't get all the hate, but hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinions.
Nick Shabazz I didn't even know the Triad lock system had fanboys, though given that this is the internet, I probably should have guessed. The more inane a subject, the more furor it seemingly ignites. Thanks for the reply, appreciate your work. Keep the videos rolling, haven't seen one yet I didn't enjoy.
I've honestly come to a point with folding knives that I prefer less expensive ones. While people constantly trash Aus 8, 420 hc, ctsbd1, etc, I find knives in the 30-60 dollar range preform very well as long as heat treating is done correctly. Sure, I may have to sharpen my aus 8 a little more, but it is faster and eaiser to sharpen than d2, 154, etc. I spend less time getting the edge I want and notice only small amounts of different for my every day needs. Also, if I lose or sometimes even give away, a raven, tenacious, rat 1, etc, I don't have cry about it. I just order another and move on. Basically, if you're a collector, that is great, but I'm not sure your every day man is really going to notice any real difference.
I basically agree about lock strength - any well-made knife should hold up to normal use, and the differing breaking points are abstract distinctions. That said, I have had a ZT framelock fail on me...I got an (apparently defective) 0450 that closed on my me minutes after unboxing. I was gleefully flipping my new knife when pressure on the back from my second finger closed the blade on my thumb.
I am not a big watch guy, the only ones I've owned are the cheap casios and recently, a seiko 5. I have to say I really expected to break it while playing basket ball, climbing a mountain, or skateboarding, but it has survived all of those so far. That said I've only had it for a few months, so who knows how long until it breaks. Anyways, to me there are only 4 things I care about in a watch, 1: it tells the time. 2: It looks nice. 3: Its fairly durable. 4: Its fairly comfortable. For a watch that cost me 50 bucks to meet all of those completely, and be mechanical automatic movement which is pretty neat, I don't really see any reason (for a guy like me who isn't super into watches) to care at all weather a watch is quarts or automatic.
I refuse to buy or carry liner/frame lock knives. I've had them fail and cut me. The way you grip the knife can easily compromise the holding power, especially during hard use(when lock failure is the most dangerous). Just two cents but I don't comment often; this is a deeply held opinion
Hi Nick, I think I agree with just about everything you say here, particularly regarding the knives. I also agree, in principle, about watches. I have an old Omega Seamaster that my father bought in about 1960. I bit the bullet & had it completely refurbished - new mainspring, the works - about 5 years ago. It wasn't cheap! I wear it on a piece of nylon webbing around my neck. The old man would probably be horrified but I work with ceramics (often up to my armpits in mud) & use power tools a lot. My mode of carry keeps this little gem safe from the daily rigours. It keeps adequate time for my purposes as long as I remember to wind it. If I need hair splitting accuracy I have a stop watch app on my iPod. That said, I have an old Swiss stop watch which I use for developing film. At intervals as small as 1/10th of a second I am buggered if I can pick the difference between the mechanical stop watch & the iPod app! I like the fact that I can give the mechanical a couple of winds & get to work without having to worry about battery charge... Horses for courses.
In answer to your question, at 1 min 22 secs - the pathetically flimsy lock springs in my 940 failed for the second time in two years with very gentle fruit-peeling, pencil sharpening use. As you said, the Benchmade Anthem lock-spring system may be better if they were implemented for all Benchmades. But as this is financially and practically un-feasable, the entire Benchmade range of knives will have to make do with an inherently 'weak-by-design' by lock system.
I've never had any poor experiences with axis lock springs, but I only have one Benchmade knife. All of my other axis locks are inexpensive Chinese knock offs. Maybe it's because they use beefier springs than Benchmade
I've got one and it is always a conversation starter. I tell people that I'm saving up to buy a watch that has 2 hands next time. It's quite accurate too!
There are some really good Quartz watches out there, like the Oceanus Casio that is on my wrist. day-in-day out, but I do have a small collection of Automatics, which I wear for best, simply because I love the technical design and functionality of these wonderful works of art. My EDC knife is a Spyderco, with Titanium sides and CPM M4 Tool Steel blade. I am seriously considering a Benchmade Infidel Dual-function OTF in flat black, if only because I like the 'threatening' design and it might be useful for self defence one day!
My cold steel purchase was more to do with steel and cool factor than lock strength but it's nice to know it's sturdy. With that said I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of amount of lock strength needed. If I need strength I'll use a fixed blade and even then it's not full proof depending on the abuse. Well done Nick
I agree with you all across the table. I buy my knives to use for certain tasks weather they cost $50 or $250 & if they get use marks, so be it because they're tools & not status symbols. Same with a watch whatever the cost, they can both be used as a navigation tool if they stop telling time. They can be used as sundials too!
In all cases where I need a folding knife my victorinox does me just fine, so I totally agree with the lock strength thing. I have had a lock fail on me though, on a leatherman skeletool, and yes I was abusing it, used my victorinox cyber tool to fix it. As you say, when I need strength I use a fixed blade.
Agree that there's a curve of diminishing returns, and also a step-off point where you move from a tool to art. I also _hate_ this Deadpool/Fallout left in the woods for a year look. But I think some makers such as Gavko or TK do a remarkable job of getting a non-distressed distressed look. That said, I'm stonewashed to death. I love me some satin blades, I just like the look of steel.
Mechanical watches these days are good for showing appreciation to the craft of watchsmiths/clockmakers and keeping it alive as a craft, as well as simply liking the idea of them. It's also fun sitting there and watching the little spinny things go around. But yeah, a £20 digital Casio watch or something will tell the time just as well - if not better - for a fraction of a fraction of the cost.
The mechanical aspect of luxury watches is akin to the quality aspects of higher-end folders being more pleasurable to own and use, than say, your VG-10 Delica in the EDC knife world (as you suggested in an earlier brilliant Delica video of yours). My 2017 Rolex Datejust 41 w/ proprietary Rolex COSC-certified movement is accurate to within +/- 2 seconds a day; with a >70-hr power reserve. Phenomenal in performance as far as mechanical automatics, yet still not quite as perfect in functionality to that of a cheap quartz-powered movement in a resin case... Yet it is far more pleasurable to own and wear, and makes daily living just that much more special. Not a counterpoint to anything you've said - I think you may or even have previously stated as such in the aforementioned Delica video... Just my comment/take to this superb video! Thanks Nick! -Sid
I'm like 4 years late to this. 1, I mostly agree. I've never had a lock fail on decent knife I've paid decent money for. Even the people in the comments who claim the lock is important cite design factors that aren't about raw strength. I'd say here that most people like a certain margin of safety in a locking knife though, so we'll tend to favor a little bit stronger design for hard use. Say we're more likely to favor liner locks in light use knives and maybe an Axis or Compression or good old back lock for harder use. 2, It's not from experience since I have never spent anywhere near as much on a knife as Nick but its pretty easy to prove even in theory. Exhibit A the Chris Reeve Mnandi. Not a thing wrong with the knife (I hope, I want to buy one some day), but if you buy a base model its made from S45V. If you spend extra $$ they'll switch you to Damasteel which is objectively a WORSE steel. 3, I agree on distressed knife finishes. In fact I probably have stronger feelings on this than Nick. I generally want everything polished and shiny. He's more tolerant of stone washed and patterned finishes than me. 4, I mostly agree. One caveat though. People like his buddy Pete from Cedric and Aida who keep track of rockwell hardness (that giant spreadsheet he shares for free under his videos) seem to indicate that even fairly expensive Chinese makers tend to not really optimally heat treat their knives. In fact when it comes to running a steel type as hard as recommended it seems the tendency is Chris Reeve>>Spyderco>>Benchmade>>ZT>>> anything from China. Like M390 from a Chinese maker (we're talking someone good like Kizer) might be run at like 54 RC. Of course this is just one area. I once owned a $15 Ganzo with an Axis lock that was objectively almost as well quality controlled as a Benchmade (and it was in 440C so the heat treat was also probably excellent), and I accidentally bought a fake Benchmade 943 Osborne a year or two ago on Ebay and the first indication I had that it was a counterfeit was ironically that the QC was BETTER than on either of the 2 real 940 series Osbornes that I previously bought. 5, Not only do I agree, I feel stronger about this than Nick does in practice. I really don't prefer mechanical watches, and while if I were rich enough I could waste tens of thousands on watches, I don't really ever want to own another mechanical watch.
Round 1: I had the lock on a 0562cf completely fail on me. Folded under almost no pressure on the spine, luckily the flipper tab prevented me from getting cut. Sent it to ZT and they fixed the issue with a new lock bar insert. But 99.9% of the time this shouldn't be an issue. Round 2: Spot on. Round 3: I agree with this except for KAIs blackwash, I'm a sucker for some blackwash. Other than that I prefer a nice satin or stonewash. Round 4: 100% agree Round 5: I agree, but I'm not passionate enough about watches to care honestly.
I'm someone that buys used, and I still just have to agree with your acid wash point lmfao I want more of these types of videos! Love your content brother
I totally agree. I think it's better to have a lock that has better action and reasonable lock strength for edc. I sold off all my small cold steel knives because honestly it's not necessary. But but on knife like the Rajah 2 , a tri ad lock is a necessity and I am using it as it designed which is hacking through the jungle.
Nick, I just recently ordered a Spyderco Delica and a Spyderco Dragonfly. I'm looking forward to getting them and trying them out. I agree with most of your points in this video. Particularly that paying over $300 for a knife is somewhat ridiculous. My edc is still the Kershaw Oso Sweet, but I want to check out the Spyderco knives and some others. Happy collecting.
Agree 100% on diminishing returns. The most expensive folder I've bought is 595 but I did then drop another 300 in customizing it. I've done so fully aware that none of those 300-800 dollar knives give me anything my ZTs don't except for something different or exclusive. As far as your 4th point I disagree. Now, I have no issues with Taiwan, good to go there. But China? At work I buy a few million dollars a year worth of raw materials (steel) from China. Our other suppliers in Germany, Austria, and some limited US companies can't keep up so we're forced to use the Chinese mills. We have to perform independent destructive testing on every batch because the material certs they send you aren't worth the paper they are printed one. We're not even buying high-end steels all the time. Some of it is simple 41xx series and they still botch the heat treat. I doubt I would ever use a $300 Chinese knife hard enough to find out that the materials weren't as advertised and I just don't want to take that chance.
I don't disagree with you about the quartz watches.., but I don't put much value in splitting nanoseconds or whatever. For my purposes (and, I think most peoples) a watch that loses a minute a week is fine. I'm not a pilot or computer tech. Adjusting the watch a couple times a month is simply not a huge bother. As long as it runs, and keeps relatively good time, I'm happy.
I had a Spyderco Police model lockback fail on me while stabbing a tire I won't buy any lockback knives any more.......also if you keep a lockback knife in your pocket and lint gets into the locking pocket in the blade, it won't completely lock up cause the lint will be trapped in there this doesn't happen with liner locks or compression locks because there's somewhere for the lint to go instead of getting trapped in the locking pocket of the blade
I used to prefer mechanical watches, and chronographs in particular. Now, I prefer digital watches, set to the 24hr time, with solar charging and time set by the radio signal from the atomic clock. I also like to have the say of the week showing. I often have to log the time an event occurs or when a check was done and I am not permitted to use a smart watch or carry a mobile phone, since I work in secure facilities. I often work enough that I forget what day it is and I have gone to work too many times on weekends thinking it was a week day. As an old guy who once liked everything analog, I have adapted to digital.
Another entertaining review, Nick! I agree with your view on mechanical watches--quartz are less expensive less needing of maintenance and ultimately--less fun. I rotate out my EDC watches like my knives, and split time between a yellow monster Seiko (kinetic). an eco-drive Citizen and a Valjoux caliber Deep Blue. Also agree with your take on acid wash..it feels grubby and is paying extra to make unattractive. Keep up the good work!
I agree that 99% of watch wearers could easily buy and wear one quartz watch. I wear quartz beater watches for work frequently. I do still have a passion for the truly amazing nature of mechanical watches that started when I saw my great grandfathers pocket watch and my grandfathers wristwatch, both of which I have inherited. Horology is a study that intrigues me, but even I admit that watch addiction, and for that matter all addiction, is a serious problem.
Truth. Of all the expensive hobbies I've ever allowed myself to be sucked into, watch collecting is the most ruinous. I've recently bought a grail piece and now I've sort of sworn off it entirely - buy once, cry once.
Also, speaking of quartz watches, it seems like Seiko has some solar radio-controlled titanium watches that directly compete with the Oceanus. I'd love to see a review of one of those if you can afford it or get a loaner.
The S30V variant of the Kershaw Blur is $150 MSRP, $75 street price. I'd argue gains drop of pretty steeply from there. I'm not saying there aren't gains to be had, just that when you look at a folding knife as a tool, there's not much a $300+ folder can do that a sub-$100 knife -- made with quality steel, in the USA, by a company that backs up their knives with a lifetime warranty, free replacement parts, and even $10 broken blade replacements -- can't do.
I find mechanical watches to be incredibly impressive, which is what drew me into the watch thing from the beginning. I just don’t get any of the amazement from quartz watches, which is why I don’t own any. My watches do keep excellent time but I don’t just wear them for that purpose. I wear them primarily because they are engineering marvels that I can wear on my wrist and I love the way they look. For people who don’t have that same appreciation for mechanical watches and who simply want a basic, low maintenance tool for keeping time, then of course quartz will probably offer them the best possible value for their money. But for me, a great deal of the value comes from how impressed I am by the mechanisms at work and the engineering of mechanical watches.
The triad lock keeps the blade from folding up on my fingers when I'm stabbing pig carcasses and car hoods.
I've done that with a buck 110. Had it for about 3 years, ended up sharpening it enough that it had a bit of a recurve when I gave it away.
also the triad lock is the best when trying to field dress a Buick
+will boss I laughed way harder at this than I should have.
I put the pig carcasses on my cars hood. Then start the stabbing process.
Sour
Now that's efficiency right there.
Two daily cutting chores in one go!
"That's not a problem with the knife.. That's a problem with the YOU".... CLASSIC!!!!
"serial domestic abuser is getting into a fight with a trash talking irishman" the absolute best description I've heard in my entire life.
I still sont get it who is he talking about
All 13 of us find it very offensive
I think this was prior to the Conor McGregor vs. Khalid Khabib (or whatever his name is) fight. I could be wrong. I don't watch MMA but I know Conor is Irish.
@@SeemsLogical This was actually right before the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (serial domestic abuser) and Conor McGregor (trash talking Irishman).
@@DieYuppieScum91 thanks for the clarification.
"Nuttier than a bag of squirrel turds"
This is why I love your videos. Keep up the outstanding videos Nick, always appreciate you and what you do!
cryptocognomen I'm still laughin at this. Tomorrow Nick will be quoted at church.
(I gotta figure out how to make that happen... but yeah. It's gonna happen.)
Nick I was recently lost in the woods and starving luckily I had a cold steel which I was able to pound into a tree then stand on to reach the food stash that I had previously put there
Kevin, what episode was that? 26 or 27? Riveting wilderness series man! When's the next one coming? 😉😜🤣🤣
Kevin cleary you couldn't have carried over a rock or two? And don't say you were too weak to do so, if that were the case, you wouldn't have been able hammer the damn thing in. Plus, like he said, in every day Life is unnecessary, every day Life doesn't involve starving in the woods.
and it's a good thing he left a map with the food stash at the exact location he knew he would be lost at...lol
where2tour all part of his brilliant plan. Almost so smart that you'd think he wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place
Haha
I'm a mechanical watch guy myself, with a small (5 piece) collection. However, I have bought and recommended quartz for members of my family who care more about accuracy, reliability and cost. If they don't love the idea of a little mechanical machine on their wrist, then it doesn't make sense for them to have it because I think it's cool.
To me that’s the appeal of mechanical watches as well. You have a self operating machine that requires nothing else added to it to work indefinitely
@@mikewithers472 same. Love that its very old tech that you can still use today.
Sure.if they just want a watch that look nice it's perfectly fine
What a time to be alive. I've seen black and white TV give way to color give way to cable give way to HD cable, the birth and mass proliferation of the internet, mobile/smart phones being fucking everywhere, and china making excellent knives.
So true! Some of us can appreciate just how damn good we have it. Spoiled for choice is what we say down South...
Great video as always. The only one I disagree on is the dislike of a Stonewash. To me, it's not that ugly, improves rust resistance noticeably, and is great at hiding wear. Realistically, nobody is gonna abuse a knife to enough of an extent that the finish on it goes from a satin to a Stonewash like you suggested. I break down a lot of cardboard, and that finish is great for disguising the times I've hit a staple or dropped it. Living in a humid area by the coast, I've had plenty of stainless knives develop rust spots, but not the acid stonewashed ones. Sometimes they get them on the edge itself, which is how I know it's the finish that's protecting it, not a different steel to some of the others.
Interestingly, I think that blades with a higher polish are more 'scary' looking than black stonewashing is. Might be because I live in the UK, where just about any knife is considered a weapon, but I'd rather have something matte black like a stonewash just because it doesn't catch the eye as much due to the lack of shine. To me that seems kinda important when doing cutting tasks in a crowd of sheeple.
That said, I love a shiny knife on anything that isn't a beater. A lot of my favourite knives are shiny because, as you said, the sheen of steel is beautiful. It also shows up grinds a lot better, which is great on a higher end knife with lovely, sharp grind lines.
But that's just my two cents on the issue. Stonewash is functional, satin is beautiful.
1:24 that action sounded beautiful.
SHLLLLLLLLLLLACK
I sort of agree with the quartz thing, however once working in a place that has absurd amounts of electromagnetic radiation and other electrical "spill over". I learned to wear mechanical watches and then kinetic. I love the mechanicals, however the Kinetic is where it's at. No batteries to purchase ever and no worries about leaving the watch in the drawer for the weekend, it won't lose time, like a mechanical. I've had a Seiko Ti model for nearly a decade and it's the most worry free watch I've ever owned. I would purchase another if something bad happened to it.
Now I'm off to acid stonewash a bunch of Shivers, which by the way looks kinda cool, but more importantly adds a little rust protection on a high carbon steel for those who edc the knives and don't exactly take care of them. If I send you one, I'll make sure to mirror polish and then lightly sand blast so you can spend a few minutes every day oiling it.
Yup. You shouldn't be using an expensive folder with a ridiculous locking mechanism for anything that would need it.
Buy some beater Moras for 15 bucks and abuse the hell out of them. Keep your folder for its convenience, action, and your personal taste for what you carry on light duty.
So you're saying the Tri-Ad lock is as necessary for normal knife functioning as bronze-phosphor washers?
*ducking and running for cover while wearing pre-distressed jeans*
+Charles Collier 🤣
In my opinion acid washed blades are a good compromise between black "tactical" blades and shiny polished one
I dont realy want a blade thats realy dark and "scary" looking but i dont want one that has more bling to it than the weird lovechild between Mr.T and a Discoball
So no Rockstead knives then?
Same, I love the look of acid wash. Not to fond of very shiny high-polish blades.
HÆRRIS stonewash is better! Mirror stonewash is the best.
Now, what's annoying is high gloss black blades...
I see this whole thing as a diy project, as in for the most part (I'm looking at you cold steel), you can put a nice acid wash or a stone wash or a wishy washy wash on your knife so you can make it your own. Of course, this would void warranty 99.9% of the time. Also, don't come crying to me about messing up your chris reeve with a failed acid wash, opinels are cheap enough for any of us to stupidly experiment on
Slipjoints are perfectly good knives.
(flinches in anticipation of a stoning)
They are indeed. And as long as you remember they are slip-joints (and that they are knives not pry bars) they'll handle most if not all the everyday jobs you're likely to encounter.
Lock strength doesn't matter all that much....but having an extremely strong lock still just makes me feel good every time I use my knife so I'm just gonna keep using cold steel. Also CTS XHP is a great steel so win win
The TacForce marketing department called and want to use that catchy slogan in 2018:
TacForce!! We're Unsafe, That's What We Do!! 😉
Nick you forgot to talk about the danger zones of the curve of diminishing returns like going into Medford knives introduces a negative curve.
Even if you are batoning with a folder it wouldn't matter how strong the lock is if you're doing it right. That's because you're supposed to release the lock on the folder to baton with it.
My opinion on price. Put the Delica, PM2, and the shelischeich Bowie against each other. Are you going to notice one going dull faster? Is one going to break? Is one more or less comfortable?
The delica is probably going to dull faster than the others, but besides that, what are you buying for $100+? You're buying the fun of owning a cool knife. And there's nothing wrong with that, I like cool stuff. But it's silly to pretend that a $300 knife made of S35VN is better than a $150 knife made of the same stuff.
50% of the stuff I do with my pocket knife would be done just as well with a disposable razor blade. But I use a 150 benchmade 940 knife because I like it and using it is something that brings me joy. But I'm not going to BS myself that I couldn't do everything with a Rat-2 instead.
That's a pretty silly argument, imo. The Slysz Bowie honestly has some pretty amazing F&F, and I love it far more than almost every other Spydie. I rarely have to sharpen it as well. Heat treatment is almost always perfect, and it's endured some pretty brutal labor. I used it to pry an old rusted over window open, which snapped my PM2 the night before.
AzureBeat I love my Rat 2. Just sayin.
Amazing F&F. Pocket Jewelry.
And congrats on breaking a $130 knife on a job better suited for a $10 prybar. Using any knife to pry has to be regarded as abuse, and unless you broke the handle (in which case, we come back to don't use a folding knife), you would be better served with a cheaper knife with a less hard, and therefore brittle, blade.
Barney The Dinosaur They have this new thing, now- they call them "prybars" Just busting ur balls- I've done similar dumb crap with many of mine- necessity is a mother!
@@barneythedinosaur9760 You sound like a slow learner.
Totally agree on the acid etch thing. People ask me to do that to SAK parts and I just say no I don't do that. Why make the part ugly and have worse action and open up the surface to potential rust.
I agree with what you said, except if I have folder that's longer than 3", I like knowing the hinge and lock are stronger. The big blade is more apt to be used hard to cut and pry.
I basically agree with all of this. Good job!
Advanced Knife Bro Hey bro! Looks like no one escapes the nick xD
Gear reviewers inevitably dabble in “philosophy” videos.
Hands down, sir, yours are some of the best.
You make me miss my best friend’s mother, an Italian Jewish lady from the Bronx. She was a great cook and we played hundreds of games of Backgammon together. So whatever I’m doin’ I can put any of your videos on while I’m doing something else, and have some good memories. Thanks for being you, Nick!☝🏼😬
I had an extremely scary sharp SOG trident lock fail on me while making holes into plastic that cut into the bone of my finger. Lock strength is very important to me now.
The lock strength is just nice to have. When camping, your fixed blade is usually with your stuff in the backpack, and it's nice to be able to cut some wood or whatever without digging through your belongings and not worry about the knife.
And these Tri-Ads handle batoning very well indeed.
I've had a lock sort-of fail on me in the past and get this--it was a Cold Steel lock-back Voyager. To be fair, it was an older pre-triad lock-back. What caused it was a tiny amount of pocket lint (about the size of a grain of rice) that somehow got between the lock-bar and blade causing it to fail to lock when opened--the lock bar wouldn't drop down into place as the lint acted as a blocking wedge.
My own controversial views:
Lanyard beads -especially skull beads are for man-children that never grew out of their 13-year old mall ninja phase;
Forced homemade patina's look terrible--every bit as fake as your acid wash example;
Sharpening is a basic life skill everyone should know;
Japanese "high-end" kitchen knives are for the most part, overly fragile, "artsy" trash that will chip when used on anything harder than a refrigerated carrot. IMO they have little place in Western cooking. Also, plain carbon steel kitchen knives belong in the bad old days of the past.
1. Never. I've never had a lock of any kind fail, and I work my knives.
2.Unfortunately domestic made knives cost more, we're paying inflated prices for prestige.
3.Here I disagree, Black Knives Matter!
4. Agreed, Ganzo Firebird knives are superior at the cost.
5. Batteries wear out=no time. Get a nice self winding watch from Accutron.
Lock strength on stuff like Tri-Ads and AXIS locks are more about piece of mind and confidence while using.
I've had frame locks and liner locks fail. They're close to your $20 exemption, but from big name makers. In the spirit of naming names it was a Gerber Remix and a CRKT Squid and CRKT Swindle. Swindle was twisting through a hard block of cheese, the Squid and Remix only locked up about 70% of the time they were deployed.
Love your take on incremental improvements. Statistically, the biggest increase in anything is going from zero to one.
What about six of my nine zt's locks failing from a spine tap, not a whack mind you. The angle on the tang where it engages the lockbar is cut too steep causing the lockbar to slip off the tang with minimal stress placed on the knife's spine. Are these knives I can trust? They are failing from the type of spine taps I've seen you do on several of your videos.
I wear mechanical watches exclusively. I put up with having to reset it every so often because it’s fast. I do this because I like having a little fully mechanical machine on my wrist. That being said, he’s totally right. Performance and accuracy wise, quartz kills it every time, unless you’re using an Omega with a master chronometer moment or a Grand Seiko with a spring drive movement.
I've been saying the same thing for years in forums-The return on knives over $250ish really decreases..
I still like having a strong lock even though I use my knives to cut..
Damnit Nick your intros are gold
Nick, in many ways, this is the best video on your channel. Exceptional job. Fun and honest. And accurate.
I don't bother with knives over $120. I'd be way too nervous to carry it. Beyond $200, it's an art piece.
I regularly carry my $200+ knives. It really is just a matter of perspective. When I started collecting knives about four years ago, I was afraid to carry even my Paramilitary 2, as it was the most expensive knife I had ever purchased (at the time). Nowadays I consider it one of my beater knives.
There are also lots of $200+ knives that are very much not art pieces. My Benchmade Crooked River cost about that much, and I put it in the same beater knife category as my PM2...Though I feel I over payed for the Crooked River by at least $50
But the Spyderco PM2 is the best knife. You are really missing out. This thing is a workhorse! Is $175ish.
Christopher Backus problem with European police (outside the UK where effectively it's an even bigger problem). They can confiscate your knife without the requirement to give you a reason. Should you want it back you have to go through criminal court to do so. Should you lose this, you risk a criminal record for carrying a deadly weapon. So I only carry my budget knives as I know police will take any chance to score a free premium blade through this law.
That's in CAD, Pm2 USD is $125 of so.
Bob Mc big mac 170 to 240 euros here for the PM2 (depending on the finish). I'll let you convert that to USD yourself.
Do you think there's a big difference between acid washing the blade and the handle? I mean the slysz bowie you have on the table there could be polished titanium. I guess it depends on the grade but you get the idea.
I completely agree with all you've just said, I was really surprised at how much I liked my Kizer mini domin when I got it...
I've had boker kwaikens fail under regular piercing use in soft material. My buddy had his zt0562 fail opening a package. Both errors with production which made us buy more expensive knives that are cared for more during production
Nick: linner locks are a real problem in low temperatures and the folder can close onto your fingers. A back lock is always safer and it will work flawlessly in as low as -54 degrees C (my experience). Best from Greenland.
I have had two lock failures in my life and they were on cheaply built crap. One was a liner lock and the other was a frame lock. I won't buy a CRKT to this day because of the failure on a K.I.S.S. frame lock. However, I agree that lock strength has been overplayed. Fixed blades should be used in "hard use" situations.
I liked how you left the watch on the table the whole time. It gives the viewer an idea how much effort it takes to make an 11 min video.
Having just read what I previously wrote, there is one caveat, however. I do value sturdiness. No matter how much I paid for its, I will not be pleased if it gives up too easily. I remember the old Timex adds. "Takes a licking, but keeps on ticking!" It's been a long time since that was true!
My (American) ZT 0808 was $200. I used it to cut into some cheapo plastic packaging. The blade chipped and the tip broke.
My (Chinese) Schrade 501 was $15. I used it to cut through a heavy truck strap (the industrial ones, not the nylon ones you get at Wal-Mart). Slight blade wiggle. adjusted it with my Torx screw. Wiggle's gone and lock's tight.
"Nuttier than a bag of squirrel turds." One for the ages.
I've had a knife-lock fail on me, however it was not over 30 dollars (although it was on a big sale and in SEK/Swedish Crowns and not USD so I don't know exactly how it matched up to USD at the time).
I did not abuse it at all. It was a somewhat slow decline of just getting way out of center and being unable to be fixed with tweaking to the point it scraped the edge of the blade against the handle when closing. I still could use it for a little while as a fixed blade when I was too uncomfortable folding it until it just wasn't worth it anymore as it got worse and worse.
I only lightly used it and not that much either before I scrapped it due to these problems. A large part of the issues were due to the quality of the knife and lock though, and not the lock-system itself. But like I said, it was less than 30 USD "or so".
Here’s my controversial statement: I buy what I like. That’s all.
Distressed lol i once bought ab aluminum canera case at half off. Because it had a big scratch on the front. A year later i couldn't figure out which one was the original scratch
My Contego lock failed on me, saw the bone. Benchmade paid for it but I don't trust axis locks anymore. So I bought a 4 max. And I'm 12 and a half thank you very much!
What you said about the "distressed look"
Some people just like it, acid wash and stone wash can just look good for some people.
I may be the only person in the world that didn't find the Triad lock hard to use, even one handed. I don't get all the hate, but hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinions.
I don't hate it at all, it's a fine lock. It's just not the second coming like many fanboys seem to believe!
Nick Shabazz I didn't even know the Triad lock system had fanboys, though given that this is the internet, I probably should have guessed. The more inane a subject, the more furor it seemingly ignites.
Thanks for the reply, appreciate your work. Keep the videos rolling, haven't seen one yet I didn't enjoy.
you can modify the back spring so it's easier to use without affecting it's strength . The ApostleP offers it .
Nick- I found this more good analysis than controversial.
I've honestly come to a point with folding knives that I prefer less expensive ones. While people constantly trash Aus 8, 420 hc, ctsbd1, etc, I find knives in the 30-60 dollar range preform very well as long as heat treating is done correctly. Sure, I may have to sharpen my aus 8 a little more, but it is faster and eaiser to sharpen than d2, 154, etc. I spend less time getting the edge I want and notice only small amounts of different for my every day needs. Also, if I lose or sometimes even give away, a raven, tenacious, rat 1, etc, I don't have cry about it. I just order another and move on. Basically, if you're a collector, that is great, but I'm not sure your every day man is really going to notice any real difference.
hahaha.. I love your personality Nick! I've bought knives based on your reviews with no complaints. Keep um coming!
How do you feel about solar powered watches? Personally I have a a Pulsar Solar which I love but would be interested in your opinion
I've been looking at that Liong Mah for a while now, I'm so glad it's on your table, looking forward to the review!
Advanced Knife Bro sheds a tear at the comment about baton-ing
At least he's testing for an audience!
Also dang nick is spicy in this video lol
Nick Shabazz You and AKB are my two favorite knife reviewers; keep up the great videos!
I basically agree about lock strength - any well-made knife should hold up to normal use, and the differing breaking points are abstract distinctions. That said, I have had a ZT framelock fail on me...I got an (apparently defective) 0450 that closed on my me minutes after unboxing. I was gleefully flipping my new knife when pressure on the back from my second finger closed the blade on my thumb.
I am not a big watch guy, the only ones I've owned are the cheap casios and recently, a seiko 5. I have to say I really expected to break it while playing basket ball, climbing a mountain, or skateboarding, but it has survived all of those so far. That said I've only had it for a few months, so who knows how long until it breaks. Anyways, to me there are only 4 things I care about in a watch, 1: it tells the time. 2: It looks nice. 3: Its fairly durable. 4: Its fairly comfortable. For a watch that cost me 50 bucks to meet all of those completely, and be mechanical automatic movement which is pretty neat, I don't really see any reason (for a guy like me who isn't super into watches) to care at all weather a watch is quarts or automatic.
you are absolutely right about watches. I wear a panerai luminor GMT but a quartz is easier in everyday use
What is the second knife from the left. The titanium Spyderco?
Fashion is weird. If you put a hole in your pants the value goes down. If someone manufactures the pants with a hole then the value jumps up.
most of the improvements past 300.00 or so are aesthetic - different coatings/finishes, more elaborate milling, etc.
I agree with the quartz statement.
But what do you think about High Accuracy Quartz wathches Nick?
I refuse to buy or carry liner/frame lock knives. I've had them fail and cut me. The way you grip the knife can easily compromise the holding power, especially during hard use(when lock failure is the most dangerous). Just two cents but I don't comment often; this is a deeply held opinion
Hi Nick, I think I agree with just about everything you say here, particularly regarding the knives. I also agree, in principle, about watches. I have an old Omega Seamaster that my father bought in about 1960. I bit the bullet & had it completely refurbished - new mainspring, the works - about 5 years ago. It wasn't cheap! I wear it on a piece of nylon webbing around my neck. The old man would probably be horrified but I work with ceramics (often up to my armpits in mud) & use power tools a lot. My mode of carry keeps this little gem safe from the daily rigours. It keeps adequate time for my purposes as long as I remember to wind it. If I need hair splitting accuracy I have a stop watch app on my iPod. That said, I have an old Swiss stop watch which I use for developing film. At intervals as small as 1/10th of a second I am buggered if I can pick the difference between the mechanical stop watch & the iPod app! I like the fact that I can give the mechanical a couple of winds & get to work without having to worry about battery charge... Horses for courses.
Agree with everything, but the acid stone wash finish... I love me some dirty douchey blades.
The Z hunter, poor poor Z Hunter! You speak so badly of the little guy! Give the him a break, not every knife can be born a Sebenza!
In answer to your question, at 1 min 22 secs - the pathetically flimsy lock springs in my 940 failed for the second time in two years with very gentle fruit-peeling, pencil sharpening use. As you said, the Benchmade Anthem lock-spring system may be better if they were implemented for all Benchmades. But as this is financially and practically un-feasable, the entire Benchmade range of knives will have to make do with an inherently 'weak-by-design' by lock system.
I've never had any poor experiences with axis lock springs, but I only have one Benchmade knife. All of my other axis locks are inexpensive Chinese knock offs. Maybe it's because they use beefier springs than Benchmade
Christopher Backus - maybe you're right..!!
Nick, what do you think of the Luch one hand watch?? I mean, besides the fact it's not quartz
+Will Seward I’ve got a Meistersinger on the table now. Impressive.
I've got one and it is always a conversation starter. I tell people that I'm saving up to buy a watch that has 2 hands next time. It's quite accurate too!
Ohh man great video idea. Gonna steal this one!
Controversial view #1 I found both videos equally enjoyable. I must disclose, I do not own a tactical tomahawk.
There are some really good Quartz watches out there, like the Oceanus Casio that is on my wrist. day-in-day out, but I do have a small collection of Automatics, which I wear for best, simply because I love the technical design and functionality of these wonderful works of art. My EDC knife is a Spyderco, with Titanium sides and CPM M4 Tool Steel blade. I am seriously considering a Benchmade Infidel Dual-function OTF in flat black, if only because I like the 'threatening' design and it might be useful for self defence one day!
Couldn't agree more with everything said
My cold steel purchase was more to do with steel and cool factor than lock strength but it's nice to know it's sturdy. With that said I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of amount of lock strength needed. If I need strength I'll use a fixed blade and even then it's not full proof depending on the abuse. Well done Nick
I agree with you all across the table. I buy my knives to use for certain tasks weather they cost $50 or $250
& if they get use marks, so be it because they're tools & not status symbols. Same with a watch whatever
the cost, they can both be used as a navigation tool if they stop telling time. They can be used as sundials too!
In all cases where I need a folding knife my victorinox does me just fine, so I totally agree with the lock strength thing. I have had a lock fail on me though, on a leatherman skeletool, and yes I was abusing it, used my victorinox cyber tool to fix it. As you say, when I need strength I use a fixed blade.
Agree that there's a curve of diminishing returns, and also a step-off point where you move from a tool to art. I also _hate_ this Deadpool/Fallout left in the woods for a year look. But I think some makers such as Gavko or TK do a remarkable job of getting a non-distressed distressed look. That said, I'm stonewashed to death. I love me some satin blades, I just like the look of steel.
Mechanical watches these days are good for showing appreciation to the craft of watchsmiths/clockmakers and keeping it alive as a craft, as well as simply liking the idea of them. It's also fun sitting there and watching the little spinny things go around. But yeah, a £20 digital Casio watch or something will tell the time just as well - if not better - for a fraction of a fraction of the cost.
The mechanical aspect of luxury watches is akin to the quality aspects of higher-end folders being more pleasurable to own and use, than say, your VG-10 Delica in the EDC knife world (as you suggested in an earlier brilliant Delica video of yours).
My 2017 Rolex Datejust 41 w/ proprietary Rolex COSC-certified movement is accurate to within +/- 2 seconds a day; with a >70-hr power reserve. Phenomenal in performance as far as mechanical automatics, yet still not quite as perfect in functionality to that of a cheap quartz-powered movement in a resin case...
Yet it is far more pleasurable to own and wear, and makes daily living just that much more special.
Not a counterpoint to anything you've said - I think you may or even have previously stated as such in the aforementioned Delica video...
Just my comment/take to this superb video! Thanks Nick!
-Sid
I'm like 4 years late to this.
1, I mostly agree. I've never had a lock fail on decent knife I've paid decent money for. Even the people in the comments who claim the lock is important cite design factors that aren't about raw strength. I'd say here that most people like a certain margin of safety in a locking knife though, so we'll tend to favor a little bit stronger design for hard use. Say we're more likely to favor liner locks in light use knives and maybe an Axis or Compression or good old back lock for harder use.
2, It's not from experience since I have never spent anywhere near as much on a knife as Nick but its pretty easy to prove even in theory. Exhibit A the Chris Reeve Mnandi. Not a thing wrong with the knife (I hope, I want to buy one some day), but if you buy a base model its made from S45V. If you spend extra $$ they'll switch you to Damasteel which is objectively a WORSE steel.
3, I agree on distressed knife finishes. In fact I probably have stronger feelings on this than Nick. I generally want everything polished and shiny. He's more tolerant of stone washed and patterned finishes than me.
4, I mostly agree. One caveat though. People like his buddy Pete from Cedric and Aida who keep track of rockwell hardness (that giant spreadsheet he shares for free under his videos) seem to indicate that even fairly expensive Chinese makers tend to not really optimally heat treat their knives. In fact when it comes to running a steel type as hard as recommended it seems the tendency is Chris Reeve>>Spyderco>>Benchmade>>ZT>>> anything from China. Like M390 from a Chinese maker (we're talking someone good like Kizer) might be run at like 54 RC. Of course this is just one area. I once owned a $15 Ganzo with an Axis lock that was objectively almost as well quality controlled as a Benchmade (and it was in 440C so the heat treat was also probably excellent), and I accidentally bought a fake Benchmade 943 Osborne a year or two ago on Ebay and the first indication I had that it was a counterfeit was ironically that the QC was BETTER than on either of the 2 real 940 series Osbornes that I previously bought.
5, Not only do I agree, I feel stronger about this than Nick does in practice. I really don't prefer mechanical watches, and while if I were rich enough I could waste tens of thousands on watches, I don't really ever want to own another mechanical watch.
Round 1: I had the lock on a 0562cf completely fail on me. Folded under almost no pressure on the spine, luckily the flipper tab prevented me from getting cut. Sent it to ZT and they fixed the issue with a new lock bar insert. But 99.9% of the time this shouldn't be an issue.
Round 2: Spot on.
Round 3: I agree with this except for KAIs blackwash, I'm a sucker for some blackwash. Other than that I prefer a nice satin or stonewash.
Round 4: 100% agree
Round 5: I agree, but I'm not passionate enough about watches to care honestly.
I'm someone that buys used, and I still just have to agree with your acid wash point lmfao I want more of these types of videos! Love your content brother
Re: Watches. Receiving joy from something has value, too. How much that joy costs and how much you're willing or able to spend is a personal choice.
I totally agree. I think it's better to have a lock that has better action and reasonable lock strength for edc.
I sold off all my small cold steel knives because honestly it's not necessary. But but on knife like the Rajah 2 , a tri ad lock is a necessity and I am using it as it designed which is hacking through the jungle.
To point #2, you are right that you do not /necessarily/ get better over 300. But you CAN do much better if you pick the right choosing.
Nick, is that Boker available on BladeHQ?
I kinda like acid wash on certain knives 🤔
Nick, I just recently ordered a Spyderco Delica and a Spyderco Dragonfly. I'm looking forward to getting them and trying them out. I agree with most of your points in this video. Particularly that paying over $300 for a knife is somewhat ridiculous. My edc is still the Kershaw Oso Sweet, but I want to check out the Spyderco knives and some others. Happy collecting.
For watches, I prefer the Timex Ironman. I like the digital display, the durability, and for $40 the cost is very reasonable.
Nick, how do you feel about those "kinetic" watches?
Agree 100% on diminishing returns. The most expensive folder I've bought is 595 but I did then drop another 300 in customizing it.
I've done so fully aware that none of those 300-800 dollar knives give me anything my ZTs don't except for something different or exclusive.
As far as your 4th point I disagree. Now, I have no issues with Taiwan, good to go there. But China? At work I buy a few million dollars a year worth of raw materials (steel) from China. Our other suppliers in Germany, Austria, and some limited US companies can't keep up so we're forced to use the Chinese mills. We have to perform independent destructive testing on every batch because the material certs they send you aren't worth the paper they are printed one. We're not even buying high-end steels all the time. Some of it is simple 41xx series and they still botch the heat treat. I doubt I would ever use a $300 Chinese knife hard enough to find out that the materials weren't as advertised and I just don't want to take that chance.
Agree about the jeans, not the the blade. To me acid wash just looks cool on some blades. Great video as always!
I don't disagree with you about the quartz watches.., but I don't put much value in splitting nanoseconds or whatever. For my purposes (and, I think most peoples) a watch that loses a minute a week is fine. I'm not a pilot or computer tech. Adjusting the watch a couple times a month is simply not a huge bother. As long as it runs, and keeps relatively good time, I'm happy.
I had a Spyderco Police model lockback fail on me while stabbing a tire
I won't buy any lockback knives any more.......also if you keep a lockback knife in your pocket and lint gets into the locking pocket in the blade, it won't completely lock up cause the lint will be trapped in there
this doesn't happen with liner locks or compression locks because there's somewhere for the lint to go instead of getting trapped in the locking pocket of the blade
I used to prefer mechanical watches, and chronographs in particular. Now, I prefer digital watches, set to the 24hr time, with solar charging and time set by the radio signal from the atomic clock. I also like to have the say of the week showing. I often have to log the time an event occurs or when a check was done and I am not permitted to use a smart watch or carry a mobile phone, since I work in secure facilities. I often work enough that I forget what day it is and I have gone to work too many times on weekends thinking it was a week day. As an old guy who once liked everything analog, I have adapted to digital.
Another entertaining review, Nick! I agree with your view on mechanical watches--quartz are less expensive less needing of maintenance and ultimately--less fun. I rotate out my EDC watches like my knives, and split time between a yellow monster Seiko (kinetic). an eco-drive Citizen and a Valjoux caliber Deep Blue. Also agree with your take on acid wash..it feels grubby and is paying extra to make unattractive. Keep up the good work!
Wow. Agree 100 percent with every point. Grand Seiko quartz watches are pieces of true art and mechanical mastery.
I agree that 99% of watch wearers could easily buy and wear one quartz watch. I wear quartz beater watches for work frequently. I do still have a passion for the truly amazing nature of mechanical watches that started when I saw my great grandfathers pocket watch and my grandfathers wristwatch, both of which I have inherited. Horology is a study that intrigues me, but even I admit that watch addiction, and for that matter all addiction, is a serious problem.
Truth. Of all the expensive hobbies I've ever allowed myself to be sucked into, watch collecting is the most ruinous. I've recently bought a grail piece and now I've sort of sworn off it entirely - buy once, cry once.
Also, speaking of quartz watches, it seems like Seiko has some solar radio-controlled titanium watches that directly compete with the Oceanus. I'd love to see a review of one of those if you can afford it or get a loaner.
You called the Z Hunter terrible. Is it opposite day or something?
The S30V variant of the Kershaw Blur is $150 MSRP, $75 street price. I'd argue gains drop of pretty steeply from there. I'm not saying there aren't gains to be had, just that when you look at a folding knife as a tool, there's not much a $300+ folder can do that a sub-$100 knife -- made with quality steel, in the USA, by a company that backs up their knives with a lifetime warranty, free replacement parts, and even $10 broken blade replacements -- can't do.
I find mechanical watches to be incredibly impressive, which is what drew me into the watch thing from the beginning. I just don’t get any of the amazement from quartz watches, which is why I don’t own any. My watches do keep excellent time but I don’t just wear them for that purpose. I wear them primarily because they are engineering marvels that I can wear on my wrist and I love the way they look.
For people who don’t have that same appreciation for mechanical watches and who simply want a basic, low maintenance tool for keeping time, then of course quartz will probably offer them the best possible value for their money. But for me, a great deal of the value comes from how impressed I am by the mechanisms at work and the engineering of mechanical watches.