Which companies have you abandoned for the sake of Reate?

SavageSick

SavageSick

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Mar 24, 2017
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Personally, I've called quits to Chris Reeve Knives (CRK), Benchmade (BM), and Custom Knife Factory (CKF).

For the longest time, I thought CRK made the best frame locks... until I discovered Reate.

During the CKF craze back in 2015-2016, I thought they offered the best bang-to-buck; however, I'd soon notice the inevitable centering issues that would arise from a couple of flips. I've owned the Gratch, T90, and Ratata; while they're all easy on the eyes, they just didn't have that silky action to that of Reate flippers.

As for Benchmade, their attempts to develop framelocks has only had me disappointed. The 781 Anthem still has me eyeballing, but my Future is easily light-years ahead.

I love you, Reate! Keep em' coming! :D
 
Until they make more knives I'm actually interested, none.
 
I haven't abandoned any either but then I mostly buy Reate, Kizer and Liong Mah with the odd other one here and there.

My next purchase outside those will probably be a Shirogorov Neon.
 
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I've never owned a Reate. I'm not opposed to the idea; but, now that I'm basically retired from knife buying, it probably won't be happening in the near future.
(Who knows - maybe I'll get offered one in trade)
 
I know what you're getting at here, but "abandoned" would not be the term for me personally.

My experience with the $350-$450 knife market has been very positive across multiple brands. Some products offer things that others do not. Some people may assign a higher priority to one aspect or element a manufacture offers over another.

Specific to Reate, I sold two lower spec folders to purchase my Torrent. Given the M390, blade shape, length, and overall craftsman ship I consider that decision a good one - an upgrade. I love the knife for it's smooth action (in both directions) and substantial build. It plays the role of my high tech ZT, if that makes sense. The harpoon blade and finger choil are so very good and the fit/finish is amazing. Carried my Torrent yesterday and really enjoyed it. I'm proud to own one.

At the end of last week I did sell one from my collection for a new Mini Horizon D in bronze and carbon fiber. Have had my eye on it and justified making space for one. Bought it new and it was worth the money to me. It was not a impulse decision, rather a solid upgrade to the knife it replaced.

Based on my experience, both my Torrent and MHD set a high standard for build quality and materials. Both were in the $350 range, both were upgrades of the knives they replaced, and both were solid buys.

All that said, my moves to attain these Reates were not a function of abandoning the other folders (or companies). Simply making upgrades to certain pieces in my collection - and I'm glad I did.
 
hhmoore said:
I've never owned a Reate. I'm not opposed to the idea; but, now that I'm basically retired from knife buying, it probably won't be happening in the near future.
(Who knows - maybe I'll get offered one in trade)
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Then you simply haven't held one! :D
 
Eagle Scout said:
I know what you're getting at here, but "abandoned" would not be the term for me personally.

My experience with the $350-$450 knife market has been very positive across multiple brands. Some products offer things that others do not. Some people may assign a higher priority to one aspect or element a manufacture offers over another.

Specific to Reate, I sold two lower spec folders to purchase my Torrent. Given the M390, blade shape, length, and overall craftsman ship I consider that decision a good one - an upgrade. I love the knife for it's smooth action (in both directions) and substantial build. It plays the role of my high tech ZT, if that makes sense. The harpoon blade and finger choil are so very good and the fit/finish is amazing. Carried my Torrent yesterday and really enjoyed it. I'm proud to own one.

At the end of last week I did sell one from my collection for a new Mini Horizon D in bronze and carbon fiber. Have had my eye on it and justified making space for one. Bought it new and it was worth the money to me. It was not a impulse decision, rather a solid upgrade to the knife it replaced.

Based on my experience, both my Torrent and MHD set a high standard for build quality and materials. Both were in the $350 range, both were upgrades of the knives they replaced, and both were solid buys.

All that said, my moves to attain these Reates were not a function of abandoning the other folders (or companies). Simply making upgrades to certain pieces in my collection - and I'm glad I did.
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I don't mean to sound like a [Reate] fanboy, but the bang-to-buck ratio is far too great to overlook - definitely a causal factor into my purchases.
 
SavageSick said:
Personally, I've called quits to Chris Reeve Knives (CRK), Benchmade (BM), and Custom Knife Factory (CKF).

For the longest time, I thought CRK made the best frame locks... until I discovered Reate.

During the CKF craze back in 2015-2016, I thought they offered the best bang-to-buck; however, I'd soon notice the inevitable centering issues that would arise from a couple of flips. I've owned the Gratch, T90, and Ratata; while they're all easy on the eyes, they just didn't have that silky action to that of Reate flippers.

As for Benchmade, their attempts to develop framelocks has only had me disappointed. The 781 Anthem still has me eyeballing, but my Future is easily light-years ahead.

I love you, Reate! Keep em' coming! :D
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Savage, where can i find me one like that?
 
reate is one of the best. but I can't buy too many at the cost anymore. I still love most of my other knives. reate doesn't really make the styles im interested in now.

my favorite is my reate horizon d in carbonfiber. amazing action, quality and tolerances. but again, not really my style knife anymore.
 
SavageSick said:
Then you simply haven't held one! :D
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Incorrect...but the one I did have in hand didn't wow me. There are a few models that appeal to me; but, for the time being, my fun money is going to other hobbies/obsessions.

SavageSick said:
I don't mean to sound like a [Reate] fanboy
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You do...but that's okay.

SavageSick said:
the bang-to-buck ratio is far too great to overlook
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At $350+, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the bang to buck ratio. I'm sure I'll try another one at some point; but, I'll be honest...once I pass the $400 mark, I don't like being disappointed in a knife.
 
New to knife collecting so not much experience but i have had my eye on a couple Reate models. I’m currently going through a Rike phase right now, how do they (Reate) compare in regards to fit and finish?
 
That's funny; "bang for buck" is currently one of Reate's weaknesses in my opinion. Now, the Hills at $150 and Horizon B at $175...that was some real bang for the buck! I was all over the early Reates and own most of them. Lately, as more and more models release in the >$400 range, I find my knife dollars going elsewhere.

I did pick up a Lanny because I'm a sucker for bolsters and micarta, but I haven't found an original Reate design too compelling to pass up since a Wave was on clearance at BladeHQ at the end of '16.

The competition is stiff in the $400-$600 range and you're on the edge of getting a true custom from a lesser known designer. I don't need another 3.75", 6 ounce Titanium-Frame-Lock-Flipper production knife, and that seems to be the standard issue Reate these days.

I'm not trying to rain on the OP's enthusiasm, but the crazy good value days for Reate have come and gone.

Now, if they were to offer a 3", 3 ounce knife with their typical high quality, they'd have my interest back!
 
Tesseract2112 said:
New to knife collecting so not much experience but i have had my eye on a couple Reate models. I’m currently going through a Rike phase right now, how do they (Reate) compare in regards to fit and finish?
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I've handled a couple of Rikes and found their quality to be very good but just a bit behind Reate. Nothing significant, but it's there. I'd put Rike about on par with WE, and a little ahead of Kizer and Bestech.

Like Reate, I find Rike a little overpriced, particularly given some of the mid-tech knives originating in the US. They both make fine knives though so if you're cool with the price tag and overseas service/support, you should be happy with your knife.
 
I agree with your assessment of the quality levels of the top Chinese manufacturers. We are really fortunate to have them as well some the better US manufacturers to choose from at this time! It is really getting tough to choose where to spend your money. I think the companies you mentioned are pushing ZT; but ZT still has some good value in my mind in some of there models.
 
I have pretty much abandoned Kizer and somewhat WE Knives for Reate. Reate is the best of the bunch in my opinion! I still follow ZT as they make good knives with a value proposition in my mind. You just have to look carefully at each model, but they are a step above Kizer in my opinion.
 
I have owned 5 Reate knives and currently own just 1. I like their knives a lot and their fit and finish is solid for the price points, however they are way too similar to ZT in most respects for me which is why I also only own 1 ZT after owning over 10. I just kept the ones that to me were the best they made. For the Reate that was the future which IMO was the absolute best bang for the buck knife I’ve probably ever seen having custom quality and high dollar materials at a high end production price. The ZT being a basic 0850 which is the smoothest ZT I’ve ever had and has premium materials in a lightweight package with a very cool easy to disengage lock design.

Now I find that for a slightly higher price I can get a thorburn or even a shiro neon which are lightweight and essentially perfect again in my opinion knives.

Also on a separate note looking at the new knives coming down the pike with lesser quality steels and lesser quality designs (save for the Kirby lambert which if they use premium materials may be worth it) just aren’t that appealing to me.

To answer the OP’s question, I haven’t abandoned any because of Reate, however I have nearly abandoned most production knives in general unless something really grabs me.
 
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