Lionsteel--are they all this good?!

rover

rover

Joined
Jul 9, 2004
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I've been a knife lover for over 30 years and by this time I am pretty picky and I know what I like. I own less than 10 knives outsides of gifts I'm so dang picky.

Recently picked up the Lionsteel/Williams collaborations and I am shocked by the quality and design. It's a huge knife that carries better than a SAK, weighs nothing, is faster than an auto and as tight as a Rolls Royce. No stick, no wiggle, nothing that isn't awesome. It is really going to mess with my standards for customs.

Are they all this good? Never really looked into the company before the Williams collab and I imagine they make other good stuff. You guys got anything by Lionsteel? How do you like them?
 
I have a Lionsteel HEST fixed blade and it's superb. I've been impressed with the owners knowledge of steel and knife use as well when reading his posts.
 
My Euro Barlow is nice!

OZF 001
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Sweet piece of steel right there.
Lionsteel did not win blade show manufacturing awards for no reason.
I have a few of their knives, and besides nitpicking on details I have very little complaints on them.
Their alu handle anodizing could be a bit more rough for extra grip.
The ROK has a double detent, but then again so has ZT's 0562...
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The only slip-up they made that I am aware of recently, is their QC missed some poor heat treated M390.
 
I've never owned a Lionsteel knife, but they and Fox Cutlery are based out of Maniago, Italy. I'm not sure if they let anyone in the factory(ies), but it's worth a trip to the town for the views (Italian alps) and a trip to the local Coltellerie. The wife obliged, and ended up really enjoying the side trip.

Ended up buying a couple of Fox knives and regretted not picking up a Lionsteel.

Disclaimer: If you do this, make sure you know the knife laws for both Italy and your own country. :)
 
microbe said:
The only slip-up they made that I am aware of recently, is their QC missed some poor heat treated M390.
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Is there some evidence that these were isolated incidents? The information I have is from three different knives across a considerable amount of time that tested as low as 50.9 HRC. All three knives tested below 57.

They apparently outsource the heat treatment, and need to have a serious discussion with that company. At present, I cannot justify buying any of their M390 products. M390 at <57 HRC would probably be outperformed by 154CM.
 
I own a LionSteel SR1 and a Spyderco LionSpy, which is based on (or at least similar to) the design of the SR1.

I like them both and think they are well-made but they are the only LionSteel knives that I own and cannot comment on any others.
 
Comeuppance said:
Is there some evidence that these were isolated incidents? The information I have is from three different knives across a considerable amount of time that tested as low as 50.9 HRC. All three knives tested below 57.

They apparently outsource the heat treatment, and need to have a serious discussion with that company. At present, I cannot justify buying any of their M390 products. M390 at <57 HRC would probably be outperformed by 154CM.
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I had a Euro Barlow that would never hold a fine edge. I couldn't work it out until this whole hooha started.
 
Does not matter how geat those qyality points mentioned in the OP are, the super soft HT of M390 alone, if indeed is the case, shall be sufficient for many people to write the brand off of their nooks.
 
I bought the Best Man model (M390) at Blade. I have yet to use it for anything other than opening an envelope. So, don't know whether there is a heat treat issue and ultimately edge retention (sharpness). It is a nice medium slze slip joint. I only own this knife and the small Opera (D2) made by Lionsteel. I like the Small Opera.

Added: Should the edge retention issue arise with future sharpenings of the Best Man, I will be hesitant to purchase more of their knives or recommend them to others. This is really important for their company and it's future. A HRC of 50 is less than what Victorinox does with their SAKs.
 
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I have been impressed by everything I have seen and handled coming out of Italy for me you can't go wrong with Maserin, LionSteel, Fox, or Viper. I might be forgetting some of the Italian makers but those are the big 4 that I know off hand.
 
I currently own 5 Lionsteel knives and have been very impressed with build quality. All but one are M390 (Kur not in pic is Sleipner). All are users and I have not seen any evidence of the rumored "soft M390". All of them hold a fine, durable edge and sharpen well when they need a touch up.
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My interest in Lionsteel started with Molletta and his fixed blade designs for Nexus/others and then when he started doing the folders tre knives,never looked back,some very innovative stuff super well done machining, the world would be a sad place without Lionsteel- thanks Gianni and Michelle and the rest of the Lionsteel crew
 
I’ve got an SR-22 that utilizes Sleipner steel.

LionSteel-SR-22A-Flipper-Integral-Red-Al-Black-BHQ-85205-er-side-large.jpg


I don’t collect knives as a rule. This knife was bought with every intention of being carried every day. But when I got it, I seriously considered putting it in a drawer. Man what a beautiful knife.

But yeah, no. Beautiful or not, I bought it with the intention to carry, and carry it I do.

Common complaints are that that aluminum handle is slippery. It is. If it’s wet and you’re stroking it. But if you’re holding it like you should, the knife has curves that compliment my grip and even with wet hands, the knife goes no place. You can even choke up on the blade if absolute grip is needed. I’m surprised so many people talk about this.

Another complaint is the Sleipner. I don’t know. I need a knife that slices well, and the edge of the SR-22 is not made to be “slicy.” It’s thick and it’s aggressive. I ground down the edge and gave it a very shallow angle. It’s freaking awesome. It slices like a champ and doesn’t seem to chip at all. Much better than my S30 V. I like it! I’m surprised.

I have no idea how long it’ll hold an edge though, or for that matter if it’ll rust. I maintain my edge regularly. The one thing that does drive me nuts is when I’m playing with it, flicking it open and closed, sometimes the lock activates if I’m flicking it right handed. Now the lock is a nice feature, and who cares when you’re messing around, but it does take away from the “fun” factor.

I’ve overcome that by using my left hand when “playing” with it. The geometry of it never sees it locking when I’m using my left hand. I’ve never been more proficient with a knife in my left hand because of it lol!

I really like my SR22. A lot. But I really beat up on a knife, and will be sorry to see it accumulating war wounds. I would not be surprised if I replaced this one with another Lionsteel when the time comes though, it’s a great knife.
 
Comeuppance said:
Is there some evidence that these were isolated incidents? The information I have is from three different knives across a considerable amount of time that tested as low as 50.9 HRC. All three knives tested below 57.

They apparently outsource the heat treatment, and need to have a serious discussion with that company. At present, I cannot justify buying any of their M390 products. M390 at <57 HRC would probably be outperformed by 154CM.
Click to expand...

Well the M390 on my ROK seems just fine to me. Just like my other 3 Lionsteel knives. With how many of your Lionsteel knives steel you actually have issues?
 
Sleipner is a proprietary variant of D2 from what I understand and you can typically expect it to preform much the same.
 
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