I had to do it. My curiosity got the best of me. A $70 Strider clone on [a non-BF dealer's site] with full titanium scales and D2 blade. I thought I would get it, take it out of the box, laugh and ship it back, counting the experience as a waste of my time. However, I am strangely impressed! Just as the review from the guy below states, I too have bought, sold and own high end knives. Hoback, Hinderer, Medford, etc. So I am not exactly a newbie. I am very picky with my knives. I cannot believe the apparent quality of this clone. I have not tested the steel and have not taken the knife apart, however, for $70 I am rather astonished. Any comments?
This was a review of the knife:
I am a pocket knife enthusiast and collector, and my collection ranges from cheap production knives to high-end custom models. I’ve owned my fair share of Strider knives, including the Strider PT, the Strider SNG, and the Buck Strider SBMF (a linerlock SMF, more or less). Here’s the thing about Strider Knives — they have always had atrocious fit and finish (even the high end custom models), and my particular PT and SNG have lock rock on top of that. My inquiries about this lock rock to Strider Knives went unanswered (and yes, they were in operation at the time).
Ever since Strider Knives went out of business a few years ago, genuine Striders have shot up in price. A Gen 3 PT will go for over $500 on the secondary market, and that’s the cheapest of the genuine Strider Knives out there. And this is strange: yes, Strider Knives have great ergonomics. Yes, the Strider SMF was the issue knife for MARSOC Det 1. But does all of that justify the asking price, especially in light of the fact that all the Striders I have possessed or handled have had issues (some of which are fairly significant)? No.
Like many I bought the Eafengrow EF225 out of sheer curiosity. My example came with a fully-centered blade, no lock stick, no lock rock, and fit and finish that is better than that of a real Strider. The steel is Chinese D2, and other reviewers have noted that it performs better than much of the stuff out there from China claiming to be D2 — in other words, it probably truly is D2, with a decent heat treat at that. My particular example has titanium scales all around, but I understand that there’s also a version with a carbon fiber scale on the presentation side. The titanium is nicely stonewashed and the convex curvature of the scales makes them very ergonomic to grasp. The pivot requires no adjustment, and the blade easily flicks out with minimum effort on my part. Lockup is steady at about 30%.
Let’s talk about the lock for a second here. I always laugh a little when framelock folders are advertised as hard use knives. Amongst modern folding knife lock mechanisms, framelocks are second only to liner locks in weakness — they fail much more readily than a backlock, a straplock, an Axis lock, and so on down the line. No one in his or her right mind should be using a framelock for hard use purposes. Fortunately for the fingers of knife collectors everywhere, the vast majority of Strider knives will never see anything resembling hard use — especially now that they’re too scarce and high-priced for that. And the Eafengrow EF225 will likely never be used for more than opening boxes, and other tasks of that nature.
And that leads to my conclusion. The Eafengrow EF225 is a technically better knife than the Strider SMFs I’ve handled in every way. It’s also (a) readily available, and (b) is easily 1/6 the cost of a true Strider SMF. It is completely unmarked — it bears no garish logos or markings of any kind. I would rather have this knife than a real Strider SMF, anyday. Hey, Eafengrow — would you guys do us all a favor and make a Strider PT clone as well?
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