Spartan Blades? Yay or nay?

M

Metal Made Fox

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I'm looking to invest in a fixed blade later on in a month or so. I'm a folder guy myself and only have like 2 fixed blades in my decreasing collection. I do a lot of hiking and extreme outdoor activities. I need a good fixed blade for mostly utility/survival use maybe a little bit of minor bushcraft too. Anyways I really like the looks of the Spartan Blades Horkos, Ares, and Nyx. I was thinking of getting one. Now keep in mind that this fixed blade purchase will be my only one. I don't ever plan on owning anymore fixed blades. So, I would consider this more of an investment rather than a purchase. Bottom line is I need a good LIGHTWEIGHT medium to large sized personal fixed blade to have with me on all my outdoor adventures. The Spartan Blades are light, good looking, and seem like very well made knives. How do you guys like them? How does their S35VN steel hold up to hard use? Does it chip a lot like S30V?

Oh and also if you had to choose between the Horkos, Ares, and Nyx for my type of use which one would you go with? To be honest I like them all equally so it's a tough choice.

Thanks guys! :)
 
Check out the "can your knife support your weight?" Thread in general knife forum. Read the whole thing its epic I promise :cool:
 
They are good blades. I do own few. I'm not a mall ninja and refuse to engage in can your knife support you weight thread. Met the owners a few times at the Gathering, and they are good people. Pro police, military. Don't let some over zealous reviewer discourage you. I like thier designs, but you can get many comparible knives for the same money, or less. If you like the styling, and are good with the price, go for it.
 
How well do they stand behind their products? I was checking out their warranty on their site and to be honest I found it a bit too conditional and uncaring.

For example they only warrant the original owner of the knife and ask for a receipt along with the returned knife to prove it. I hate it when companies do that! They also list many scenarios in which the knife would not be covered. If I'm going to be paying over $300 for a fixed blade then I would like it to have a real no nonsense, no questions asked, "you break it, we fix it" warranty like Busse and ESEE does. Has anyone ever had to deal with their customer service? I mostly judge a knife company not by what products they make but how they stand behind their knives and treat their customers. To be frank Spartan's warranty does not impress me. But I could be wrong maybe that's just the fine print and in reality the people at Spartan really do warrant their products and not the original buyer.
 
I can't speak on the larger knives yet, but I own and really like the Enyo and the Phobos (Sheepsfoot version of the Enyo, now retired) which are necker/EDC knives. Nice sharp edges, IonBond DLC coated and these came with included Okuden kydex sheaths (Brian Wagner/Okuden.net). I also can't speak on their warranty as I haven't had an issue with my 2, but I'm a major Busse knife fan and I trust these two also. :thumbup: I'm thinking of picking up a larger Spartan knife at BLADE this year, but not sure yet which one it might be.

The folks at Spartan are hella nice guys too, so give 'em a call and ask questions! :) I'm sure that they'd be happy to answer all ya got.
 
I haven't bought a spartan blade yet but I'm very tempted to, even more so that they are produced here in N.C :D
 
i HAD one just to say i have one, but for the price to usability ratio i want impressed, but that's just me. I sold it so i can get some extra $$$ for my TB Bodega funds, to me that's a knife worth every penny
 
MNofUSN said:
i HAD one just to say i have one, but for the price to usability ratio i want impressed, but that's just me. I sold it so i can get some extra $$$ for my TB Bodega funds, to me that's a knife worth every penny
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I want a bodega myself, but I do feel the bodega is a bit overpriced for what you get. Its very much a production knife. From what ive read the blades arent even ground in the begg shop and are outsourced. Im sure its a great knife and I want one REALLY bad. But I could have a knife made to my exact specs for the price of an entry level bodega. Thats hard to swallow.


Metal Made Fox said:
How well do they stand behind their products? I was checking out their warranty on their site and to be honest I found it a bit too conditional and uncaring.

For example they only warrant the original owner of the knife and ask for a receipt along with the returned knife to prove it. I hate it when companies do that! They also list many scenarios in which the knife would not be covered. If I'm going to be paying over $300 for a fixed blade then I would like it to have a real no nonsense, no questions asked, "you break it, we fix it" warranty like Busse and ESEE does. Has anyone ever had to deal with their customer service? I mostly judge a knife company not by what products they make but how they stand behind their knives and treat their customers. To be frank Spartan's warranty does not impress me. But I could be wrong maybe that's just the fine print and in reality the people at Spartan really do warrant their products and not the original buyer.
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I would contact spartan or see what people have said about actually dealing with their warranty. A few different companies have thos same stated rules yet rarely enforce them. I would hope its more of a deter those from abusing the warranty. Because many many people abuse knives and ask the company to fix their mistake. From some of the things Ive seen people blame companies for, id have a warranty like that too.
 
If you are worried about a warranty just get an ESEE. My 3 mil is my primary outdoors knife its light and tough, now that being said I would LOVE to own a Harsey Hunter. That knife is a grail of mine however one I am not likely to ever own because when I look at spending that much money on a knife I look custom.
 
I've had the Horkos and Nyx. Horkos design was ok, the Nyx not so much imho. The optional Okuden sheaths I bought with them were superb, however. The materials are top notch but I still feel these knives are over-priced. If you have money to burn and many other blades to choose from in your collection then go for it I guess. If you're shopping for your one-and-only fixed blade, OP, then I'd say look elsewhere. For "utility/survival with some bushcraft" there are far better choices out there, many of them much more affordable too.
 
Would I be better off with a Busse for this price range? Out of all 3 I think I like the Ares just a hair more.

I actually have an ESEE 3 that's up for sale right now. It's no doubt a great little knife but I need something bigger. I have also had an ESEE 4 before but I just couldn't really get used to it and it was still a tad small for me. The Spartan knives seem more up my alley in terms of ergos, size, weight, and of course "cool factor".
 
Anymore thoughts? I'm thinking of just picking up a Busse, Swamp Rat or Scrapyard and calling it a day.
 
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PatrickKnight said:
If you are worried about a warranty just get an ESEE. My 3 mil is my primary outdoors knife its light and tough, now that being said I would LOVE to own a Harsey Hunter. That knife is a grail of mine however one I am not likely to ever own because when I look at spending that much money on a knife I look custom.
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Are you aware that Bill Harsey hand grinds each and every one of those knives that bear his name? Explains/justifies the price for me. In contrast...look at what Rick Hinderer's hand ground knives fetch in the marketplace...
 
1SHOT1KILL said:
Are you aware that Bill Harsey hand grinds each and every one of those knives that bear his name? Explains/justifies the price for me. In contrast...look at what Rick Hinderer's hand ground knives fetch in the marketplace...
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Oh I had no idea about that. Dangit, that completely changes my thoughts on them I thought Bill Harsey just designed it didnt know he had any part of making the knife itself.
 
I was informed of this after I inquired about the price. :D

Harsey Spartan.jpg

Groundhog Day again.
Spent the day doing the final grind on 30 blades (Spartan Harsey Hunters) because I didn't want to face that job on Monday morning.

The next person who says, "but you must love what you do!" may need medical attention.

(Quoted w/o permission from his FB page)
 
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PatrickKnight said:
Oh I had no idea about that. Dangit, that completely changes my thoughts on them I thought Bill Harsey just designed it didnt know he had any part of making the knife itself.
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Me neither!!
Thanks for the info, 1SHOT1KILL. :thumbup:
 
I own every knife (I believe) that Spartan Blades has produced. Bill Harsey is in collaboration in many of these. I also have the discontinued models for investment purposes. Look at Blade Show later this month and see the new collaborations they are going with. You will be surprised with 2 of them. There warranty is great.
 
It seems like you've kinda fallen in love with those Spartan Blades so I'd get one otherwise you'll always be thinking about it. Everyone has a ESEE, even SwampRats, but rarely do I see a Spartan knife. To me that adds to the coolness factor. I have the little Enyo myself and I love it. Out of the three you chose, I'd go with the Horkos because it looks like it could easily fill the role of survival/utility/fighter while the Ares seems more like just a fighter. Of course, I believe any of the three would serve you well.
 
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