Strider WB First Impressions.

Hey David,thank you for your honesty.It is and will always be appreciated by me.If I were you ,I would not feel as though you betrayed anyone by holding back.You have helped a lot of people and provided a wealth of knowledge.Thank you.My post was'nt a defense of strider.I want to make that clear.If I spent $325 for one,I would have to use it to protect myself from my wife.If I wanted a knife like this ,I would make it myself.Say $20 for the 1/4" ats34(i could probably do better).The grind is minimal so 1 belt+1hour of my time.($20-hey I'm giving myself $17.50 for my hour.Not bad)Paul Bos heat treat($20-the quote I heard from Tom Mayo was $60 for 20 blades=$3 apiece)But I'll say $20 since I'm only sending one.I would probably satin finish because I dont like beadblast.$42.50 not including my time.Will it be a strider?Same steel same heat treat.It wont say Strider.So I guess it wont really be a Srider,but for under$50 it will be close enough for me.I guess what I am saying is anyone with a belt sander and a mailing address can produce a great blade as long as people like Paul Bos are around.Just a little food for thought...
 
Gentleman,
All good posts and articulately stated POV.
IMHO, I use Strider when I don't want to Break my Brend, or scuff my Emerson or Chip my MD.
As far as the Expoxy issue goes I've been doing it all wrong I guess.
I been expoxying my hands each time I use the knife to enhance grip retention and indexing potential. Thanks for clarifying !
seriously, it all boils down to preferances.
But there is something hopefully we can all agree on is... There not as nice to look
as other knives out there !

Lighten up !
Later !
biggrin.gif



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"This is the law:
There is no possible victory in defense, The Sword is more important than the shield, And skill is more important than either, The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental."

 
Ronald Reagan surely I did not mean to imply that all knives would be so easy to make.This knife in particular would be easy to clone because of the minimal grind.Grinding equals work.But it is work that I enjoy.Also since Strider farms out their heat treat to Paul Bos one could probably get a similar heat treat from them.Like I said, it is only food for thought.Some of us cant or won't spend$300+ on a tool/knife.My point is if you have a problem with the price of an item and can do it yourself cheaper, why not?But I did'nt mean to say a Strider was not worth $325.If my money situation was different and I had extra cash lying around maybe $325 would be okay.Either way,the Strider sure seems bombproof,and the company seems to take care of their customers.That goes a long way in my book.My statement "anyone with a belt sander and a mailing address could make a quality knife" wasn't directed at Strider.It was meant more as a compliment to Paul Bos and to inspire doityourselfers to give knifemaking a try.My knifemaking comments in the previous post were a little off the cuff and weren't meant to imply that making a knife is a piece of cake.It is hard work.I have made a quite a few knives and many are knockoffs or my take on a certain design.I don't sell them so I don't feel that I am hurting the maker because I would not have purchased the knife in the first place.Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery IMO.And each time I make one I learn a little more about knives and what works for me and what doesn't.


[This message has been edited by Ben E Hana (edited 02-13-2000).]
 
Ben E Hana,

Thanks for the clarification. I now understand fully where you are coming from and appreciate your response.

Paul
 
Tamishigiri-
I use Strider when I don't want to Break my Brend, or scuff my Emerson or Chip my MD.
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To paraphrase... It has a place in you roster. Perfect.


As far as the Expoxy issue goes I've been doing it all wrong I guess. I been expoxying my hands each time I use the knife to enhance grip retention and indexing potential. Thanks for clarifying !
Click to expand...

smile.gif
smile.gif


seriously, it all boils down to preferances.
Could not agree more, though I may never understand another's preferences.

But there is something hopefully we can all agree on is... There not as nice to look as other knives out there !
Click to expand...

To each his own, and they are not for me....

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

Talonite Information and Resource Page, including other cobalt materials.

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.
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Click to expand...
 
MDP

Don't bother about the "sticking to your guns " thing.
We forgive you.
Nevertheless, some of us won't support you again.....ever
smile.gif

Mate !

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BrianWE

I don't want to be right all the time......I just want US to be right more often.
 
brian-
Given the responses I have received in the "One Million Dollar Utility Knife" thread, your comment is very timely.
 
Concerning Marion's tone with this blade that does not indicate a bias, a bias is a preset attitude that leads to false data collecting or presentation so as to skew the results from the truth. Marion not liking the blade for performance reasons is not a bias, if however Marion didn't like Strider because of past dealings this could cause a bias - however I don't think he is the type of person to lie so as to make a blade look bad.

In regards to his tone, Marion and I have exchanged emails on this matter and it is my opinion that information should be presented even if it was all negative with no attempt to fluff it up. The fact is that I get emails on a regular basis with very descriptive negative reviews some including gross failures, and yes I am talking about high end blades, these people don't want to post because of reactions like Marion is seeing here.

If you don't agree with Marion's argument, that's fine, but there is no need to discuss him, the focus should be on the blade.

As for Marion's comments about the blade, I will wait until I handle it to comment in any detail but I can see where he is coming from on most issues. For example I could not agree stronger that there is no excuse for a handle that is not comfortable. Micarta and G10 make very durable handles that at the same time are very ergonomic.

One thing I am curious about is regarding the argument that the cord could serve an emergency use, I can see this, but I wonder about the functionality of the bare tanged blade.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 02-14-2000).]
 
Cliff are you saying that it is unreasonable to post a simple question asking whether or not there is more to the story?When one of my friends seems to be talking or acting out of character I usually do a reality check to see whats up.For example,if I read a review by you that seemed too soft or otherwise out of character from what you usually do,I would probably post accordingly.There really aren't any hard and fast rules around here people post from the gut often times.To make a statement that the review should only be questioned not the reviewer.Where is this rule?I guess I didn't get the memo.
troy
 
speaking of strider knives,
i just met duane of strider at the
knife expo 2000 in buena park, ca
yesterday.
nice guy.
got to see the whole line up.
and a few things you don't normally
get to see.
their g10 handle are a bit blocky,
but they will shape them to
fit your hand. they give a good feeling
of strength and heft in the hand.
they had some cute little neck knives
there as well. i was going to get one,
but this custom damascus piece caught
my eye and i had to have it (an evans).
i also got to check out the protype
folder that buck did for them.
it's going to be one heck of a sturdy
folder!!! might be the first buck knife
i buy in quite some time.
anyway,
show was great, knives where great.
biggrin.gif

-matt

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"if i had had fore time, i would have written more briefly"
 
I reread everything and I do believe it was my comments being addressed.Even if I'm wrong I still have a few comments about what Cliff said.Knife testing is an art not a science when done by human hands.Therefore I believe that a knife reviewer becomes an important component to the knife review.If I interview an author,I would be very disappointed if I were told I could ask questions about the story but not the writers motivation.I would feel cheated.Another analogy is:when you test a knife you in essence become a knife testing machine.Questioning the reviewer provides a means (even if somewhat limited)of checking the calibration of the machine.Discussing the results only can be innacurate.I threw a couple of questions out to David.I even gave him an out by saying I could be wrong.He didn't dodge the question and now I have even more respect for him because I asked the questions.You are a straight shooter David I would never doubt your integrity.
Cliff any thoughts on this(not Davids integrity):should the review be separated from the reviewer.How far?How much?All the time?Please let us know I think this is very important.
troy
 
Just so we're clear about exactly what it is about a knife we don't like ... it is clear that Marion doesn't like cordwrapped handles or speedbump guards, and anyone who's been following these forums for a while has probably noticed he doesn't like sharpened pry bars much.
smile.gif


Maybe he isn't the ideal person to test such a knife, but he's got one available ... why shouldn't he test it, for what it's worth? Then those of us who love sharpened pry bars with cordwrapped handles and speedbump guards can find out what someone who hates that kind of knife thinks of one particular knife of that kind.

I'm not sure how useful that information will be -- I'm planning to take it with a grain of salt myself -- but at the least it should be interesting reading. Kind of like reading a review of a Pollack painting written by someone who hates modern art ... it's bound to be entertaining, if nothing else....



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-Cougar Allen :{)
--------------------------------------
This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.
 
Matt, nice to hear about the Strider folder. I have been looking for such for awhile now. Busse Combat also has one in the works but that is a ways off.

Cougar :

Then those of us who love sharpened pry bars with cordwrapped handles and speedbump guards can find out what someone who hates that kind of knife thinks of one particular knife of that kind.
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My feelings exactly. I will often give my blades to people with very different needs and perspectives so as to examine this very thing. All it does is enlarge the scope of work. I have often learned much from doing this.

Ben :

Knife testing is an art not a science when done by human hands.
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All experimentation is influenced by the people who do it. There is no way to eliminate the human influence, all you can do is reduce it and more importantly determine the magnitude of the effect that it makes.

should the review be separated from the reviewer.How far?How much?All the time?
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This is not a trival situation to deal with. There are two basic cases. First when you note a bias. For example I have seen many reviews posted where I know the person was simply outright lying and has never even done the work being described.

What to do in such situation?

The worst thing I can think of would be to accuse the person of lying. What would this gain? Well it would start a dispute which would turn into a flame war. I can't see someone lying turning around and admitting it so it would just get really ugly really fast.

What I generally do is simply offer any work that I have done on the subject, or extrapolate from other simliar work (which is very rare as this is prone to error so I generally will not contradict someone based on this unless the difference is radically severe) and the reader now has the difficulty of determining who to believe.

The other case is where there is a strong variation in opinion because the scope of work is different. For example Marion stated :

This knife is a prybar. One quarter inch thick with short grinds, and lots of untouched stock. Personally I figure that if one wants a prybar, go to your local store and buy one for $5.
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I carry two blades on me for exactly this purpose. One is a very strong/tough knife (F1) and one a very high performance cutting blade (Phil Wilson custom). I could discuss this in detail and thus illustrate why I would want the prybar abilities of the Strider and why they are valuable to me without ever discussing Marion (which I will do in the review).

Ben :

If I read a review by you that seemed too soft or otherwise out of character from what you usually do,I would probably post accordingly
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Awhile ago I posted my review of the Basic, shortly after I recieved a few emails asking why I had not done a few things I often do such as heavy prying. I did not take this as an offence because it was a reasonable question. The answer was simply because I was planning on lending the blade out and wanted it in one piece and will do the heavier work when it comes back. However if someone had accused me of biasing the review by eliminating work that would fail the Basic so as to curry favor with Jerry Busse I would have reacted very differently.

A lot of it is quite simply in how you phrase the statement.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 02-15-2000).]
 
Hey Matt, did you get to handle the Buck/Strider folder?I saw a really good picture of it and I think Buck will sell a lot of these.I hope whoever gets ahold of one of these first will post a review.
troy
 
hey ben,
yeah i did get to play with it a bit.
it's definitely going to be a hard use
folder. it's fairly thick. it's not
going to be one of those sleek fit in your
pocket and not even know its there knives.
it had a tanto style blade, though duane
said there will be other options available.
g10 scales with double titanium liners. the
thickest i've seen on a folder. liner lock
by the way. in handling with it, i didn't
even notice, but duane pointed out that the
blade had a little bit of play in it. he then said that the pivot was going to be
doubled in size to prevent that on the
production models. like i said before,
i haven't purchased a buck knife in a long
time. but i will buy one of these when it
becomes available. this knife will be able
to take a beating.
cliff might even have a hard time trying to
break this one!!!
wink.gif

thanx,
-matt
tongue.gif


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"if i had had fore time, i would have written more briefly"
 
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