My Strider

Locutus D'Borg

Locutus D'Borg

Platinum Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
5,185
I guess I should start with a disclaimer: I am vaguely aware of the criticism of Mick Strider from years ago. And I completely understand that some won't own a Strider OR Emerson because of the antics of their namesakes. For whatever reason, I buy knives for intrinsic characteristics unrelated to issues of their founders. Maybe this is morally wrong, I don't know. So if readers have such concerns and would not own one, respectfully, this post may not be for you. You are probably a better person than me.

Anyway, this is a PT from the latest drop. CPM 154, and the whole knife is stonewashed. I live in Cali so 3" blade lengths are necessary, at least in my county.

I think this is a fantastic knife. I have owned a couple of Hinderer XM-18 3"ers many years ago and mechanically it is on par if not better. Zero blade play, it feels like a fixed blade it is so strong when open. I am not a hard use guy; I cut up boxes, etc. But this little guy is strong AF.

When I first saw the unique shape of Strider handles, I thought they looked like a rifle stock and could not imagine that it would be comfortable. It is very comfortable. My hands are medium to small, so the PT fits like the proverbial glove. It could use a couple more choils...lol.

I am not a fan of frame locks; out of my 29 knives I only own 2: this and a Pena X. My reasons are aesthetic (I prefer both sides of a knife to look similar, with the obvious exception of clip) AND use (I don't like having to be concerned about squeezing the lockbar). What I like about this Strider is that both sides look the same other than the lock bar and clip (no insert on the show side).

In sum, the Strider PT is a stripped down, minimalist cutting machine. It has everything I want and nothing else. It is the opposite of my William Henry's, which I love for other reasons. It will cut paper but I would not use it to slice tomatoes unless I want to make ketchup. But it is tough.

That's all. Thank you for reading.

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I always like the feel of Striders. Never owned a real one personally but the Buck version was oddly comfortable. One of those things to me that by appearance it shouldn't feel that good jn the had but it just does. My only complaint was the price.
 
I purchased an SnG in 2014 before I knew about the fake name and stolen valor issue. I sold mine to pay bills my then wife racked up. I regretted it. While I loved the ergonomics of the handle, I wasn't a fan of the choil, and the blade was a bit more obtuse than I like. I ended up selling most of my "hard use/overbuilt" knives as I also didn't like the heft.

I probably would love a Strider with a thinner handle and thinner grind. However, the stolen valor thing sits very, very poorly with me, having many family members who actually served in the military, and one (my grandfather) whom performed a truly valorous act in WWII.

I try to think of myself as a person of integrity. Its really a shame because I otherwise think its a great design. What makes it worse is most people in the knife community know about this, and he has (as far as I know) made no apologies. I can forgive, to a point, a person/company who may have had integrity issues but has taken strides to make it right.

I won't judge you for owning the knife, especially if you purchased it without knowing. It is not my right to judge, but I cannot support further purchases. Enjoy your knives.
 
K.O.D. said:
I purchased an SnG in 2014 before I knew about the fake name and stolen valor issue. I sold mine to pay bills my then wife racked up. I regretted it. While I loved the ergonomics of the handle, I wasn't a fan of the choil, and the blade was a bit more obtuse than I like. I ended up selling most of my "hard use/overbuilt" knives as I also didn't like the heft.

I probably would love a Strider with a thinner handle and thinner grind. However, the stolen valor thing sits very, very poorly with me, having many family members who actually served in the military, and one (my grandfather) whom performed a truly valorous act in WWII.

I try to think of myself as a person of integrity. Its really a shame because I otherwise think its a great design. What makes it worse is most people in the knife community know about this, and he has (as far as I know) made no apologies. I can forgive, to a point, a person/company who may have had integrity issues but has taken strides to make it right.

I won't judge you for owning the knife, especially if you purchased it without knowing. It is not my right to judge, but I cannot support further purchases. Enjoy your knives.
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You can’t fix “delusional”, and Micky Burger is delusional. Not trying to derail anything here, if people like the knives they’re free to do what they want.. but understanding that all the hype about the marketing was built on a lie, and that a portion of every dollar spent on them goes in his pocket, the choice is easy for me to say “pass”. That is all.
 
K.O.D. said:
I won't judge you for owning the knife, especially if you purchased it without knowing. It is not my right to judge, but I cannot support further purchases. Enjoy your knives.
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This exactly.

I have several Striders and M. Strider customs, and all were purchased long before Mickey's douchebaggery made itself apparent. Hell, I probably single-handedly put his kids through college, but again - before his true colors were known.

While I still like the knives, I no longer gush about them and I certainly don't post threads about them extolling their virtues.
 
shane45-1911 said:
This exactly.

I have several Striders and M. Strider customs, and all were purchased long before Mickey's douchebaggery made itself apparent. Hell, I probably single-handedly put his kids through college, but again - before his true colors were known.

While I still like the knives, I no longer gush about them and I certainly don't post threads about them extolling their virtues.
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Exactly how I feel. Again, its too bad, they are nice knives, and a great design ergonomically. Its too bad Mickey came to believe his own lies.
 
shane45-1911 said:
This exactly.

I have several Striders and M. Strider customs, and all were purchased long before Mickey's douchebaggery made itself apparent. Hell, I probably single-handedly put his kids through college, but again - before his true colors were known.

While I still like the knives, I no longer gush about them and I certainly don't post threads about them extolling their virtues.
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Still a free country. I spent 21 years in the Army and more elsewhere in the Gov. So while I understand stolen valor issues and respect those that can't buy Striders, I like my knife and and am happy to extol its virtues.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
Still a free country. I spent 21 years in the Army and more elsewhere in the Gov. So while I understand stolen valor issues and respect those that can't buy Striders, I like my knife and and am happy to extol its virtues.
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I truly don't understand this mentality. So many other great knives from so many honest makers, and people still selfishly support their own best interests.

Who we choose to support in this hobby is more important than the knives themselves.

Bro, I have never had an issue with you. But your statement makes me sad on so many levels.
 
I reserve judgment about the maker, I do prefer relatively small batch USA-made knives, and as long as those boxes are ticked I'm happy to try out anything. That said, there aren't too many Striders that excite me much, but the PT is definitely one of them. I'm not a fan of the production models with the weird pivots and nonsensical lanyard hole placement in the blade path. The PT seems to solve both of those problems very nicely, with a better pivot (IMO) and no lanyard hole at all. The only Strider I currently own is the Performance series SMF which solves both those problems as well. Ergos are awesome on every Strider I've handled IMO though, I just can't get over the lanyard hole and pivot issues on most models. Hope to own a PT or Per-T some day!
 
I'm surprised that you own this. Not because of the man behind it, but because the rest of the pieces in your collection that I've seen posted are elegant and classy. I haven't handled one of these, but to me, to quote Scarface, "it looks like somebody's nightmare".
 
Absent the issues, I'd have owned Striders years ago. I like several of the designs. But I learned of them early on and I just can't get past them, personally.

That said, my limited experience here with Locutus D'Borg Locutus D'Borg has shown him to be one of the good guys, and so I am not prepared to throw him to the wolves over this. I'm sure I've done things in my life he'd raise an eyebrow or two over.

Enjoy the new blade.
 
Ditto on last post, the OP seems like a great guy from my observations. I think we have to separate the maker from the product, but that's just my opinion. How many great makers of anything in history have been just deplorable people. But I understand that this hits home for many who served, and respect their positions as well.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
I guess I should start with a disclaimer: I am vaguely aware of the criticism of Mick Strider from years ago. And I completely understand that some won't own a Strider OR Emerson because of the antics of their namesakes. For whatever reason, I buy knives for intrinsic characteristics unrelated to issues of their founders. Maybe this is morally wrong, I don't know. So if readers have such concerns and would not own one, respectfully, this post may not be for you. You are probably a better person than me.

Anyway, this is a PT from the latest drop. CPM 154, and the whole knife is stonewashed. I live in Cali so 3" blade lengths are necessary, at least in my county.

I think this is a fantastic knife. I have owned a couple of Hinderer XM-18 3"ers many years ago and mechanically it is on par if not better. Zero blade play, it feels like a fixed blade it is so strong when open. I am not a hard use guy; I cut up boxes, etc. But this little guy is strong AF.

When I first saw the unique shape of Strider handles, I thought they looked like a rifle stock and could not imagine that it would be comfortable. It is very comfortable. My hands are medium to small, so the PT fits like the proverbial glove. It could use a couple more choils...lol.

I am not a fan of frame locks; out of my 29 knives I only own 2: this and a Pena X. My reasons are aesthetic (I prefer both sides of a knife to look similar, with the obvious exception of clip) AND use (I don't like having to be concerned about squeezing the lockbar). What I like about this Strider is that both sides look the same other than the lock bar and clip (no insert on the show side).

In sum, the Strider PT is a stripped down, minimalist cutting machine. It has everything I want and nothing else. It is the opposite of my William Henry's, which I love for other reasons. It will cut paper but I would not use it to slice tomatoes unless I want to make ketchup. But it is tough.

That's all. Thank you for reading.

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My friend, if you are happy with your purchase, then I am happy for you
 
Blues said:
Absent the issues, I'd have owned Striders years ago. I like several of the designs. But I learned of them early on and I just can't get past them, personally.

That said, my limited experience here with Locutus D'Borg Locutus D'Borg has shown him to be one of the good guys, and so I am not prepared to throw him to the wolves over this. I'm sure I've done things in my life he'd raise an eyebrow or two over.

Enjoy the new blade.
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Thank you, Blues. I tried to preface this thread to avoid the whole Mick thing, but like with most of my endeavors, I failed. Please stop or delete this thread if you believe it is taking a bad turn. I defer to you on this.

To anyone else, I apologize for any agitation it may have caused.

Best regards.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
Thank you, Blues. I tried to preface this thread to avoid the whole Mick thing, but like with most of my endeavors, I failed. Please stop or delete this thread if you believe it is taking a bad turn. I defer to you on this.

To anyone else, I apologize for any agitation it may have caused.

Best regards.
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No need. Everyone's being on good behavior (so far)...

...it's actually quite refreshing.
 
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