HEST/F initial impressions

Status
Not open for further replies.
- How much are PVD coatings? It may be cheaper to cerakote the clip.

I would say to coat a clip would be about $250 or so. The process is very expensive and uses a lot of power. It's pretty mind blowing. I still would rather go with ceramic coating since its waaaay cheaper and you can change colors easily. You can also do camo patterns, etc...
 
Last edited:
thanks for the info and pics - as i was reading all the comments about coating the clip was thinking about it

and

I bet if someone asked him that nutnfancy dude would dura coat it for you and sign it - then it would be double collectible - :rolleyes:
 
jforbush- I'm not sure what coating it is. I haven't really looked into it since I'm not getting an LE. I caught on late about this knife. It looks to me to be Boron nitride maybe. Would be a good choice for a blade since things don't really stick well to it and it's pretty hard. It's used mostly in the mold business to keep injection materials from sticking. I don't know how hard it is compared to other coatings that don't have lubricity properties. RYP- was this coating sprayed on or Vapor'd?
 
As far as Cerakote goes...I am an applicator of it and Duracoat. I might Cerakote my pocket clip and my liners black.

I am on the side of Boron as well....it is not Cerakote, Duracoat or Hydro-dip. Does not look like DLC either.
 
As far as Cerakote goes...I am an applicator of it and Duracoat. I might Cerakote my pocket clip and my liners black.

I am on the side of Boron as well....it is not Cerakote, Duracoat or Hydro-dip. Does not look like DLC either.

Duracoat is weaksauce. Just a fancy paint. :D
 
I just received my Limited Edition HEST folder. I was only able to enjoy it about 10 minutes before the pocket clip broke on me. Straight out of the box the clip was loose, not tight against or even touching the handle of the knife. I was considering taking the clip off to tighten it (as I do with most of my folders), but it broke before I even had a chance to. I must have caught my pants pocket funny or something, I've never had an issue like this before and I've been carrying folders for 20 years. I just went to pull it out once and the clip snapped right in half, I felt no give or anything, it must have been quite brittle.

I sent an e-mail to customer service and will hopefully be taken care of, just a little disappointed that after all this waiting I can't really carry the knife now, after only pulling it from my pocket 5 times. I haven't even had a chance to cut anything.

Besides the gap problem (mine is fairly significant, but it'd be hard to get anything under there to do much damage) and the clip, I guess I'm pleased so far. Feels solid.

Just wanted to give everyone a head's up about the possibility of a very brittle pocket clip. Hopefully you won't have that problem, but watch out
 
Th coating on the LE is vapor deposition for all the right reasons. The production model has MilSpec phosphate coating cuz its going to get bashed. The LE MR DP has two shots of coating to give that black on grey look.
 
I'm cool with it, it's not the first clip that's broken on me (the others were because i was readjusting them too far and/or bad materials), i just need a new clip. :) I want to carry this bad boy
 
And thanks to you. I have to say, despite some relatively minor issues, this is a pretty bad ass knife.

I guess since this is the "initial impression" thread, I'll give you mine

I for one, was initially worried about the lock being so directly behind the pivot pin, but with that thick metal frame, there's plenty of contact and surface area. When I heard about it "auto opening", "waving" out of your pocket, I got a little scared, I'm not much for that kind of thing. Pleasantly I find it does not unless I really, really want it to. With a normal pocket draw, i find no tendency to "wave" open. I like that. I thought it might be too big (I generally like them smaller), but it's actually a very pocket-friendly size. When i heard about the rotoblock spinning down on it's own under hard draw, i got a bit scared, not much for that either. Again, i find it pleasantly does not. with only a 1/3 of a turn i can engage it, but it doesn't try to spin on it's own in my experience. I was worried the cut-out for the locking side might have also been too deep, as the 551 appears to be. Seeing it now, there's lot's of material left, this should be a good, strong lock. So those were some possible pitfalls I saw, cleverly avoided. touche

Don't know about some of you, but for me, this one was a bit of a rollercoaster ride.

Sitting here with the knife, with a broken clip (thanks for the new one coming RYP :D) and a bit of a gap between the tip and handle when closed (it's a tad of an eyesore, but I don't feel it's at all a danger), i can't help but appreciate it. Sure, some of these things should have probably been corrected before the knife was "finalized," but stuff does happen, we all know that.

Remember that knife you carried for 10 years, where you had to perhaps replace this or that, or it developed some strange quirk so that only you could operate it? these things build character in a knife. I think the idea of this folder started with character as well. if you cross your eyes really hard you can see that these minor mishaps the HEST is experiencing are your ticket to a knife with character before it even hits your doorstep. well, maybe the 2nd time it hits your doorstep :D

all in all though, this knife is a great size, excellent fit and finish, feels great in any grip, has some neat and useful features, and is a tank for sure. I'm glad i rode the rollercoaster

besides, how can you not love this:
 
Remember that knife you carried for 10 years, where you had to perhaps replace this or that, or it developed some strange quirk....

Not quite 10, but I've been carrying the same Emerson Commander for about 9 years. No quirks to speak of. It's in my pocket as I type. I was (still am) hoping the HEST/F would serve me just as well. I'm not a collector. In fact, I only own three knives. A Buck that I bought shortly after high-school, the Emerson Commander that my wife bought me years ago and an Izula I bought last year. I've always been happy with my selections and hope that I will continue to be.
 
Last edited:
I may take you up on this!

Where are you located? I'm in the orange county area. Send it!

Shit... I'll do the clip and titanium handle black if you want free of charge. I'm itching to use this new ceramic I have and since I don't have mine yet I need a knife to coat! I'll post a progress thread. You can be the first coated HEST folder! haha :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top