Here's maybe a weird use for this material:
If you get a completely smooth foam mat (instead of textured as seen in the photo) you can use spray glue and glue down a sheet of sandpaper. (Or multiple sheets of different grit levels)
Then, on the sandpaper, you can sharpen your knife by hand and give it a strong convex edge instead of a v-edge that you would get from a stone or plate. The "give" of the foam allows the convex shape to be formed in the steel.
CRKT continues to be an enigma wrapped in a mystery. I have to imagine each day in the office there is utter chaos. If it's not wild designs it's huge swings from "everything in 8CR" to "you asked for premium steels so now only premium steels"
Dungeon Crawler Carl... ::: spoiler spoiler
Based on the first couple chapters (I'm only to page 130), I'd say Carl should have had a knife when he entered the dungeon. :)
:::
Yes, pressing the button fully releases the blade and the action is very smooth.
So it's very easy to wrist-flick open and drop closed. Very little actually wrist movement needed. If you aim the knife down, it'll fall open easily with the button pressed. Same for closing if you hold it upward.
The sort of modified spey blade shape of the Yonder is different indeed. I was intrigued by it because I have only 2 other knives with spey blades (both of which are more classic in shape). For sure the Yonder is not for everyone.
The Maximal with it's classic drop-point blade is really good. A no-brainer for recommending to people who are not sure what knife to get first. I'd say the Yonder is for a first knife person who's a bit of an odd duck 😅 or for a second knife for someone who wants something a little bit different but not too different.
Except for the first image, everything else is hot linked from my flickr account, so at least I knew where they were but I had to manually re-create all the links.
One thing to note about the Iridium: it is not an assisted open knife. However, as mentioned, the crossbar lock is very fidget friendly and you can very easily get a hang of pulling back on the lock and flicking the knife blade open to deploy the blade and having it lock in place at the end of your hand movement. Same to close it. You can also open and close it a variety of ways with the thumbstuds. A bit of practice and you'll get the hang of it.
I agree with @dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world. The Iridium and the Ontario Rat would be my choices. I have the Ontario Rat 2 (a 3" version instead of the 3.5" that is the Rat 1) and it's rock solid. A great choice.
I don't have an Iridium but I do have other Kershaw knives with their crossbar lock (their marketing name being the Duralock) and they're also excellent.
You cannot go wrong with either of those.
And yes, the crossbar lock design has a lot of different marketing names: AXIS lock (Benchmade), Duralock (Kershaw), Pivot Lock (Gerber), Able Lock (Hogue), Clutch Lock (Kizer), Glyde Lock (QSP) etc. But many companies just use the term crossbar lock.
The usual answer is either a heat gun or a soldering iron tip to heat the threadlocker that is probably in there. But @dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world is not a usual person 😂
In the $25-50 range, the world is your oyster, in the knife world that is for sure. Especially if seatbelt cutter and glass breaker are not requirements. And honestly, most of the glass breaker tips you see on knives don't actually do a good job doing that. (No experience with your particular knife, just an overall observation).
If you were to look at just KnifeCenter.com and just knives that are in stock today, you get 950+ choices for knives in your price range with blades between 3" and 4" in length.
If you like the combo edge (partially serrated) there are lots of options as well. I don't think you can filter on that option though so you'll have to look through.
For trying different lock types (the term for the lock on your knife is: liner lock) you can also filter on the left side. I would highly recommend something with an AXIS/Crossbar lock because they are a lot of fun/very fidget friendly. :) But there are also lots of great knives with liner locks in that list too.
Feel free to ask any questions about brands, styles, etc. once you dig into the list. (Of course, you can buy most of these elsewhere if you have a favorite spot, but the KnifeCenter website is great for filtering/sorting etc. so at least you can get a handle on what's out there.)
The one nice thing about having 2 sets of torx drivers is that now you have 2 sets of torx drivers! 😁 One can wander off into some hidden area of a junk drawer or a forgotten tool box or something and you'll have a backup!
In all seriousness, if you do get it apart, snap a couple pictures and post a follow-up. There's good info in a tear-down, even if someone never buys the same knife, it's good to see how things work.
And if you get to the point where you would like any recommendations for a replacement, post that as well. :)
It appears, from the photos online, that what is holding the knife together is the pivot screw at the front (which you said you can take out) and 2 sets of screws at the back. One set right by the glass breaker and one set right behind the belt cutter. You may need to have 2 torx bit screw drivers, one on each side of the pair of screws turning in opposite directions. Likely there is a barrel with threads on both ends in between the two sets of screws and the barrel is free to spin internally. So you have to leverage one screw driver against the other to loosen them.
This knife is an assisted open knife, so perhaps the spring mechanism inside has figured out how to wiggle itself free (or whatever was holding the spring in place has broken). It might be challenging to put it all back together if you can sort out what might be happening.
If you don't have additional torx bits and a driver, the cost of those is going to be some good percentage of an exact replacement. Certainly there's value in learning how this thing is put together, but it might not be repairable in a cost-effective way.
I chuck them all in a cheap plastic bin (approx 6 quarts or 5.6 liters) that sits on my dresser. I sorta keep all the same brands "together" but the moment I go fishing for a different knife, it all gets jumbled up. It's sort of a LIFO system and the knives at the bottom of the pile rarely get used.
Of course, remembering to put them back is also a challenge which is why I have 8 sitting on my desk right now instead of back in the bin where they should be.
Not a great system, not even a good system, but a system none-the-less.
Woah! You have been busy! That Humbolt is a heck of a chopper. Given the amount of batoning we do around these parts, it's very tempting
I'm glad I'm not the only one to read it that way. 😂
Here's maybe a weird use for this material: If you get a completely smooth foam mat (instead of textured as seen in the photo) you can use spray glue and glue down a sheet of sandpaper. (Or multiple sheets of different grit levels)
Then, on the sandpaper, you can sharpen your knife by hand and give it a strong convex edge instead of a v-edge that you would get from a stone or plate. The "give" of the foam allows the convex shape to be formed in the steel.
CRKT continues to be an enigma wrapped in a mystery. I have to imagine each day in the office there is utter chaos. If it's not wild designs it's huge swings from "everything in 8CR" to "you asked for premium steels so now only premium steels"
Anyway, thanks for the review. Not sure if you found this article but it goes into some of the background on the design inspiration: https://www.crkt.com/community/blog/a-second-chance-at-brilliance-meet-the-gravitic-flip
Oh, and Ted has also turned the sharpie into a karambit. He has a consistent design philosophy for sure!
https://spartanbladesusa.com/shop-all/spartan-blades-pen-protector-red/
Dungeon Crawler Carl... ::: spoiler spoiler
Based on the first couple chapters (I'm only to page 130), I'd say Carl should have had a knife when he entered the dungeon. :) :::
Yes, pressing the button fully releases the blade and the action is very smooth. So it's very easy to wrist-flick open and drop closed. Very little actually wrist movement needed. If you aim the knife down, it'll fall open easily with the button pressed. Same for closing if you hold it upward.
Live and learn indeed. This is important to show, IMHO, and I appreciate you doing so.
The sort of modified spey blade shape of the Yonder is different indeed. I was intrigued by it because I have only 2 other knives with spey blades (both of which are more classic in shape). For sure the Yonder is not for everyone.
The Maximal with it's classic drop-point blade is really good. A no-brainer for recommending to people who are not sure what knife to get first. I'd say the Yonder is for a first knife person who's a bit of an odd duck 😅 or for a second knife for someone who wants something a little bit different but not too different.
That's basically what I ended up doing the second time around. :)
This is excellent. Done and done.
Except for the first image, everything else is hot linked from my flickr account, so at least I knew where they were but I had to manually re-create all the links.
One thing to note about the Iridium: it is not an assisted open knife. However, as mentioned, the crossbar lock is very fidget friendly and you can very easily get a hang of pulling back on the lock and flicking the knife blade open to deploy the blade and having it lock in place at the end of your hand movement. Same to close it. You can also open and close it a variety of ways with the thumbstuds. A bit of practice and you'll get the hang of it.
I agree with @dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world. The Iridium and the Ontario Rat would be my choices. I have the Ontario Rat 2 (a 3" version instead of the 3.5" that is the Rat 1) and it's rock solid. A great choice.
I don't have an Iridium but I do have other Kershaw knives with their crossbar lock (their marketing name being the Duralock) and they're also excellent.
You cannot go wrong with either of those.
And yes, the crossbar lock design has a lot of different marketing names: AXIS lock (Benchmade), Duralock (Kershaw), Pivot Lock (Gerber), Able Lock (Hogue), Clutch Lock (Kizer), Glyde Lock (QSP) etc. But many companies just use the term crossbar lock.
The usual answer is either a heat gun or a soldering iron tip to heat the threadlocker that is probably in there. But @dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world is not a usual person 😂
In the $25-50 range, the world is your oyster, in the knife world that is for sure. Especially if seatbelt cutter and glass breaker are not requirements. And honestly, most of the glass breaker tips you see on knives don't actually do a good job doing that. (No experience with your particular knife, just an overall observation).
If you were to look at just KnifeCenter.com and just knives that are in stock today, you get 950+ choices for knives in your price range with blades between 3" and 4" in length.
https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?a=folder&instock=t&max_blade=4&max_price=50&min_blade=3&min_price=25&sortType=defaultDe
If you like the combo edge (partially serrated) there are lots of options as well. I don't think you can filter on that option though so you'll have to look through.
For trying different lock types (the term for the lock on your knife is: liner lock) you can also filter on the left side. I would highly recommend something with an AXIS/Crossbar lock because they are a lot of fun/very fidget friendly. :) But there are also lots of great knives with liner locks in that list too.
Feel free to ask any questions about brands, styles, etc. once you dig into the list. (Of course, you can buy most of these elsewhere if you have a favorite spot, but the KnifeCenter website is great for filtering/sorting etc. so at least you can get a handle on what's out there.)
The one nice thing about having 2 sets of torx drivers is that now you have 2 sets of torx drivers! 😁 One can wander off into some hidden area of a junk drawer or a forgotten tool box or something and you'll have a backup!
In all seriousness, if you do get it apart, snap a couple pictures and post a follow-up. There's good info in a tear-down, even if someone never buys the same knife, it's good to see how things work.
And if you get to the point where you would like any recommendations for a replacement, post that as well. :)
It appears, from the photos online, that what is holding the knife together is the pivot screw at the front (which you said you can take out) and 2 sets of screws at the back. One set right by the glass breaker and one set right behind the belt cutter. You may need to have 2 torx bit screw drivers, one on each side of the pair of screws turning in opposite directions. Likely there is a barrel with threads on both ends in between the two sets of screws and the barrel is free to spin internally. So you have to leverage one screw driver against the other to loosen them.
This knife is an assisted open knife, so perhaps the spring mechanism inside has figured out how to wiggle itself free (or whatever was holding the spring in place has broken). It might be challenging to put it all back together if you can sort out what might be happening.
If you don't have additional torx bits and a driver, the cost of those is going to be some good percentage of an exact replacement. Certainly there's value in learning how this thing is put together, but it might not be repairable in a cost-effective way.
Do you carry the Izula inside your pocket and/or waistband or do you carry it on a belt?
So, you need a belt and suspenders to keep the slacks from falling down? 😆
I like the idea of copper scales, and the patina they get, but not the weight. Just not my thing.
I chuck them all in a cheap plastic bin (approx 6 quarts or 5.6 liters) that sits on my dresser. I sorta keep all the same brands "together" but the moment I go fishing for a different knife, it all gets jumbled up. It's sort of a LIFO system and the knives at the bottom of the pile rarely get used. Of course, remembering to put them back is also a challenge which is why I have 8 sitting on my desk right now instead of back in the bin where they should be.
Not a great system, not even a good system, but a system none-the-less.