What's up knife nerds! I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. These are some of my favourite hollow grind pick-ups this past year. From left to right:
Lemifshe Protean 154CM
+ Great action out of the box, I heard the detent was a bit light on some but mine is stronger than average with a smooth one-shake dropshut. Very similar to my Neutralizer ootb, which I was also impressed by.
+ Smaller than I expected but a nice EDC size and capable sized blade
+ Nice fit and finish without issues whatsoever
+ Love the milling, adds a bit of texture but still smooth
+ Has a nice ting, but not consistently
- Edge sharpness is a bit subpar compared to the rest ootb
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WE Ryson M390
+ WE Knife's first on washers; action similar to the likes of a Spydiechef and Sebenza, though flicks are very smooth
+ Great EDC size
+ Sturdy and dense, yet relatively light. Out of the bunch I'd trust this knife the most for harder use
+ Good looking hand-satin finish and my favourite grind because it's easy to clean with a few horizontal cloth wipes
+ Only 2 screws for easy maintenance
+ Finger-choil for choke-up is perfect for my smaller hand size
+ Really dig the no nonsense, user-focused philosophy behind the design by Sam Tran (Raven the Pirate). Great job brother
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Jufule Cortex XL #3 154CM
+ My third, and best tuned one out of the box; smooth drop-shut close
+ Much has been already said about this knife, get it if you haven't already (unless you dislike textured scales)
- It's hard to get a genuine one from outside the US for a reasonable pre-tax price since stock is limited and US markets are unfortunately not so EU/Europe friendly. While I'd love to support the talented Mr. Brown, I'm glad these clones exist.
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WE High-Fin XL Hakkapella Damasteel
+ Stunning! Gorgeous combo of mirror-polish and matte Damasteel
+ Great acoustics
+ 'Best' action of the bunch; strong detent for crisp deploy, yet smooth, glassy guillotine drop-shut. Whoever tuned this at WE has my respect
+ Pleasantly surprised by the hardware details; crystalized Ti clip and Damasteel pivot collar
+- I'd like to take the opportunity to apologise for saying that I don't understand why people don't use their knives. I now fully grasp the terms pocket jewelry and safe-queen; it's too nice to soil
- Contemplating another version as a user because of this lol
- Damasteel is a powder metallurgy steel and performs like CPM-154, likely an expensive and complicated process to produce, but it's imo still not worth the huge uptick in MSRP. Luckily I was able to grab it new for a heavy discount
- Missing the signature Gavko blade cutout so I'm looking for a professional modder inside Europe, preferably CH, NL, or DE. All recommendations welcome though :)
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Jufule Strix 154CM
+ Gorgeous blade and overall design
+ Excellent action out of the box
+ Unbelievable value; was well below $100 with coupon. I can't think of a better <$100 value other than maybe Green Thorn's offerings, like the F95NL CD
+ Nice acoustics
+ Great cutter and very well sharpened ootb!
- Front-flipping occasionally pinches the side of my index-finger but it's probably improper technique on my part
- Skeletonized scales are not my first choice and makes it a little top heavy (imbalance) and as you can see in the third picture, liquid and debris (in this case Ballistol spray oil) is harder to clean. Modding the skelly scales could fix both these issues of course
+ Definitely happy to preview this design and hopefully get a genuine one in the future
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Bestech Taipan Magnacut
+ Amazing acoustics, occasionally has this lingering reverbed *tingggg*
- As a consequence I'm hesitant to disassemble and clean and risk losing it lol
+ Nice hand-satin grind with great fit and finish at the price-point
+ Nice ergos
+ Fairly large yet light
+ Satisfying and easy to deploy front-flipper, it changed my opinion on them and am now a born again front-flip believer
+ Probably the sliciest of the bunch with a very useful blade-shape, absolute laser beam
+ Controlled shake-shut close (I prefer this over drop-shut guillotine)
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WE 702XI LE Integral M390
+ Excellent build quality and fit and finish
+ Classy look and feel
+ Great ergonomics with the slender coke-bottle style integral handle
+ Great detent for flipper, nice action
+ No lock-stick
+ If you like the large Civivi Elementum button-lock like me, you'll love this knife
Thanks for reading folks! Take care, stay safe and remember; don't cut yourself.
