O.k. lets hear it on Paragon knives

not2sharp

not2sharp

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Messages
20,399
we almost never talk about these folks. Does anyone have any experience with their products?
 
Paragon's stuff isn't too bad- I like their versions of the Harley Bowies!
Again, I havent really had the chance to put one of their knives to work at all, so I'm going on the ones I've briefly handled. (dislaimer)

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Runs With Scissors
AKTI# A000107
 
I had a paragon slick clip folder. Zytel handle, 3" tanto comboedge. The knife was real sharp out of the box, grind lines were good and handle was super comfortable. I kind of wish I had kept it....

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Brian
AKTI# A000991
What's the best folk dance for my monkey?
 
I think some people avoid Paragon for some certain reasons. I have heard from reliable sources that a few makers have not been paid for designs they did for Paragon. George Herron and Larry Harley are the two that I have heard were not compensated for their designs. As I said, I heard this second hand, but the source is reliable. If this is indeed true, then Paragon is a company I will not buy from no matter how good they might be.


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Richard
icq 61363141
Just some knife pictures
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=110070&a=4518795
UPDATED and REVISED
 
Larry Harley told me in no uncertain terms that Paragon screwed him on the Bowies and that skinner.

Now, Larry may not be the most articulate gent in the world but his integrity and skills have never been questioned. Nor his guts (he kills pigs with his knives).

I won't have anything to do with Paragon.

As a bonus, his prices on handmade stock-removal ATS34 versions of his goods aren't bad at all (less than double a Paragon) and will be far better.

The ergos on his pieces are unique, he's the best in the world at the "Gorilla Grip" (aka "Hammer") and his pieces "lock into your hand" like nothing else. For hard-target stabs, there's nothing better.

Jim
 
Well I've said it before and I will say it again. Paragon has some good looking designs on their auto line, but poor craftsmanship. I have yet to pick up a Paragon auto that was tight. Everyone I have seen has been loose, and I have tried quite a few. I related this story once before. I live about 45 minutes away from the Hendersonville N.C. factory. I went up there one morning back this summer to see if Paragon would sell to individuals. As I was looking at their front opener I commented that there seemed to be a lot of play in the blade. I was told by the individual helping me that that was normal, no otf made was tight,and Paragons were the tightest. At this point I commented that the Combat Talon II I had in a belt sheath must be a defective knife as the lockup was solid. As I pulled the CTII out the individual helping me suddenly remembered an appointment he had and ushered me out the door. I wouldn't mind the play if they were honest about it, but I HATE someone lying right to my face! I'm just glad I had my CTII with me!!!
Guess you can tell my opinion on Paragon.

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Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13
 
Art, I'm not surprised. Low integrity usually shows through elsewhere.

Ponder this a sec: with attitudes like that, would you trust your life with their heat-treat processes? Remember, if they overfill the ovens to pack as many pieces in as possible, some of the ones at the edge are gonna get a "God only knows" actual process.

Noooo thanks.

Jim
 
Let's see if I got this straight.
1) They have low integrity
2) They have ripped off several knifemakers
3) They produce low quality poorly fitted
products
4) They have poor customer service
5) They have inconsistent heat treatment

If they are this bad then why are they still in business? Don't get me wrong, I am not defending them; but someone is buying their stuff, and their knives are expensive, so it is not the ...mart crowd. Have they discovered that they can sell junk to us by investing primarily in advertising? If so why haven't we heard about it on this forum. You would think we would have quite a few upset first time buyers.

As I write this I am looking at the inside back cover of Tactical Knives 2001, which features an X-O Lite ad. Paragon attributes the design to Randal King (Is he getting ripped-off too?), and the design looks interesting until I noticed the liner lock-up at the bottom of the page. Has anyone experienced failures with these?

Good, or bad, this company merits more of our attention.
 
I don't fully agree in on the quality issue. I found the fixed bladed to be of reasonably good quality. The autos were a far cry from microtech for quality which is probably what most auto fans use for comparison.
As for why they're in business. There are all levels of knife manufacturers and collectors. Quality seems to have nothing to do with a companys success or failure and paragon knives are simply better than some worse than others.
Integrity? That means something to some of us
and as mentioned in the first post paragon isn't discussed much so therefore a lot of people have never heard of the knifemaker payment issue. Maybe if more heard the story it would have an impact on sales. Maybe most people just don't care.


[This message has been edited by TomW (edited 10-28-2000).]
 
I only had the one, I got it as a gift. I had no idea that they were not paying the designers for their ideas. I will not buy one ever now, for that reason. Thanks for the info guys.

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Brian
AKTI# A000991
What's the best folk dance for my monkey?
 
Tom,
right you are, as I did use Microtech for comparison on the auto's. Once you have had MT nothing else match's up! As to why they are still in buisness, they sell between the Taiwan cheapies and the higher end stuff;i.e. Microtech. I have seen people at gun shows refuse to pay for a Microtech and yet shell out half or more for a Paragon. One thing Paragon has going for them is their designs. The Corby is one of the best looking auto's I have seen. Imagine that knife being built by Microtech! I think people are drawn to the designs of the knives and some are new to auto's and haven't had much expierence with auto's. Paragon also builds knives for other companies; the Al Mar SERE and SERT are both Paragon products.
My opinion of Paragon remains the same. It will take some heavy duty changing on the part of Paragon for me to change in my thoughts.

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Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13
 
Wasn't Paragon the one that got started with that knife/slingshot gizmo? As I recall you would open the knife, stick it into some wood, screw the slingshot into the butt and you had a highly effective and accurate weapon
wink.gif
. This may not have been their first offering, but it's the one that brought them to my attention. A friend of mine was thinking about buying one until I talked him out of it. Regardless of the quality, it was a dumb idea. You want a knife, buy a knife. You want a wrist-rocket, buy a wrist-rocket. Not to mention the safety factor -- imagine some goofball buying one of these things, reefing back on the slingshot and having the poorly seated blade come flying back at him!
 
Kirch,

Despite the dumb advertising picture the knife blade does not and should not be extended to operate the sling shot. It also came equiped with a couple of nicely done take down bolts (arrows) - something like Aitor used in their Jungle king Series, but, better done. That is probably why we haven't had a large number of fatalities found with Paragon X-9 Parabows sticking out of their foreheads.
smile.gif


 
I thought that Randall King was the driving force behind Paragon. I remember reading somewhere that he was scaling back on his custom work to launching and managing Paragon.
 
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