- Joined
- Jan 1, 2019
- Messages
- 340
I like a strong, snappy detent. I want my knife to stay closed when not in use, and snap open when I want to use it. Most knives still require proper finger technique but a few don't. That said, I stay within the $100 and under club. Here are some notable recent examples from knives I own, have purchased as gifts for others, or have handled for more than a minute:
Kershaw Fraxion - AMAZING! This sub-$30 manual flipper from Kershaw has a very strong detent. One reviewer called it a "Little Hitler Detent" because it can be rough on the finger when new. In my experience, it quickly smoothed out with relubing and regular use. However, it stayed wonderfully snappy and stays closed for loose carry in a pocket. A+
Ganzo FH11 - Decent. The action is good and the detent is decent. It is fairly reliable. The scales needed a little DIY chamfering but I was surprised by the quality.
Ganzo FH41 - Terrible. I got this because it looked like a more ergonomic version of the FH11. Not only was I wrong, the detent here is incredibly weak. Even after a lot of tinkering, it still shakes out with a salt-shaker motion.
Ruike Fang - Terrible. This is a pretty knife and it feels good in hand. The action is buttery smooth but the detent is horribly weak. Any more force than a spring breeze will shake it out. I returned the knife.
Bestech Spike - Decent. The action is okay and the detent is fairly good. The inner edge of the scales needed a little DIY chamfering and I was unable to disassemble the knife for tinkering due to soft screws and extreme thread-locker.
Bestech Beluga D2 - Great. This knife has a very nice detent and good action.
Bestech Beluga 12C27 - Bad. I got this based on my experiences with the D2 version. I was sorely disappointed. The action is inferior and the detent is weak. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there are some differences beyond the blade steel here. On this version, it looks like the bearings are housed in some kind of bronze washers. The bearings on the D2 version are housed in some kind of polymer washers. This one has the same thread-locker problem as the Spike and uses a free-spinning pivot. The D2 version was easy to disassemble and does not have a free-spinning pivot.
Kershaw Fraxion - AMAZING! This sub-$30 manual flipper from Kershaw has a very strong detent. One reviewer called it a "Little Hitler Detent" because it can be rough on the finger when new. In my experience, it quickly smoothed out with relubing and regular use. However, it stayed wonderfully snappy and stays closed for loose carry in a pocket. A+
Ganzo FH11 - Decent. The action is good and the detent is decent. It is fairly reliable. The scales needed a little DIY chamfering but I was surprised by the quality.
Ganzo FH41 - Terrible. I got this because it looked like a more ergonomic version of the FH11. Not only was I wrong, the detent here is incredibly weak. Even after a lot of tinkering, it still shakes out with a salt-shaker motion.
Ruike Fang - Terrible. This is a pretty knife and it feels good in hand. The action is buttery smooth but the detent is horribly weak. Any more force than a spring breeze will shake it out. I returned the knife.
Bestech Spike - Decent. The action is okay and the detent is fairly good. The inner edge of the scales needed a little DIY chamfering and I was unable to disassemble the knife for tinkering due to soft screws and extreme thread-locker.
Bestech Beluga D2 - Great. This knife has a very nice detent and good action.
Bestech Beluga 12C27 - Bad. I got this based on my experiences with the D2 version. I was sorely disappointed. The action is inferior and the detent is weak. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there are some differences beyond the blade steel here. On this version, it looks like the bearings are housed in some kind of bronze washers. The bearings on the D2 version are housed in some kind of polymer washers. This one has the same thread-locker problem as the Spike and uses a free-spinning pivot. The D2 version was easy to disassemble and does not have a free-spinning pivot.
I've not experienced a price correlation with detent strength .