Spyderco's Folding Karambit

[Stick Dummy]

dearnis,

You get what you pay for.............

If price is an issue, save for a little while longer and get something of better quality.

Incidently, its really too bad you could not down and train with Seig's group on the past Wed, or Friday. We had a great time and I could have let you grope a couple Karambits and experience the difference between a POS ripoff like the M-yucks and the "Big Dogs" of the field.

 

[Guro Harold]

Even worse the ring is tight and doesn't allow good motion. Overall, despite the quality I like in Spyderco, I'm not impressed with the design.

Is the ring designed for individuals with big hands?

 

[OULobo]

Is the ring designed for individuals with big hands?

I got my finger through it without too much trouble, but I couldn't grip the handle and have the ring rest in the "sweet spot", if you know what I mean.

StickDummy: I usually agree with you, especially on performance, but I have come to find that the amount of time I wear a blade and the situations I sometimes get into often propegate losing or "permently hiding" a blade. With that being the case I would rather not be losing or hiding a $250 blade.

 

[Stick Dummy]

OUlobo

:lol: Thats what they make knife lanyards for...................


If you have LARGE "paws", then the Blade-Tech Tarani design may better suit you as the safety ring is significantly larger in diameter. Its slightly slower to deploy, but somebody on another site posted some pix showing a presentation from the pocket, ala two hand pistol draw that when i tried it worked amazingly well!

The only way to truely get a Karambit to fit perfect is to have it handmade.

 

[arnisandyz]

Even worse the ring is tight and doesn't allow good motion. Overall, despite the quality I like in Spyderco, I'm not impressed with the design.

the Emerson ring is also a little small (I like it, but i have small hands). In addition, the G10 scales are pretty grabby, so if you like spinning it in extended position its a bit abrasive.

 

[arnisador]

There was a lanyard discussion on Eskrima Digest not long ago. I am reluctant to get tied down to anything, myself!

 

[Stick Dummy]

Arnisador,


That comment was a poor attempt at humor on my part...........

The Spyderco is an interesting design , yet to me by design is not a true Karambit.

The safety ring on the versions I have seen illustrated here and there does not look like extension & retraction could be accomplished at speed.

Blade orientation to the handle also seems less than desirable for most of the Pencak Silat techniques that I am aware of.

 

[OULobo]

In terms of silat techniques, so could be accomplished with the folders, but not all (no spins or reverse slices). The rest could be applied with a folder, but any old school silat guy would complain right off the bat about the length, shape and the lack of rear barbs.

 

[dearnis.com]

You get what you pay for, but.....
You mean to tell me that sooo much R&D went into the kerambit it justifies, say in the emerson line, an MSRP nearly $100 higher than many of his other blades. Quality is fine, and emerson makes a good blade, but me thinks there is just a bit of price boosting going on due to the trendyness of the design!

 

[arnisandyz]

You get what you pay for, but.....
You mean to tell me that sooo much R&D went into the kerambit it justifies, say in the emerson line, an MSRP nearly $100 higher than many of his other blades. Quality is fine, and emerson makes a good blade, but me thinks there is just a bit of price boosting going on due to the trendyness of the design!

I work for an Advertising & Marketing Firm and from experiences, I am most certain the increased price is due to the popularity and hype of the kerambit and not all R&D, material costs. Basically if people are willing to pay 'x' amount, then that is what is charged. Alot of effort goes into studying market trends, surveying competition etc, to try and determine what the retail price should be. Usually if demand is high, so is the price. In many cases, manufacturers price themselves over the "sweet spot" (balance of selling more units for less $ or less units for more $) and then lower thier prices to bring it back to a more favorable margin. Sometimes its quality or exclusivity (custom knife) that justifies a higher price. IMHO - the Emerson is a well made production knife, but they missed the mark on the $240 retail.

 

[OULobo]

You get what you pay for, but.....
You mean to tell me that sooo much R&D went into the kerambit it justifies, say in the emerson line, an MSRP nearly $100 higher than many of his other blades. Quality is fine, and emerson makes a good blade, but me thinks there is just a bit of price boosting going on due to the trendyness of the design!

This is soooo true. That is why I am not jumping up and buying any of the expensive ones right now. Give it a little time for the hype to wear off, helped by time for people to realize that it's not as easy a design to handle without training. The fact is that the karambit's advantages are not intuitive. It is a short range wep, with limited obvious attack methods. The real question is how long will the big companies have to loose money before they swallw thier pride and reduce the price, or will they just cancel the design and call it a limited run collectors peice.

 

[OUMoose]

I always chuckle under my breath when someone picks up the stryder that's been waiting for me at the local toy store and holds it saber grip (point out), looking around like they're hot... well, you know...

Still haven't found anyone who had the Emerson in stock to play with, but that price tag others have mentioned is still looking awful nasty.

 

[dearnis.com]

Which brings us back to why I have been playing with the cheap knock-offs. Something else to consider; if you are carrying a $200+ custom/semi-custom blade for defensive purposes, and actually deploy it (not necessarily cut with it) it is going into an evidence locker for a long time, regardless of how "right" you may have been.
Thoughts?

 

[Stick Dummy]

Yeppers, what ever floats your boat I guess.

I have a buddy that travels pretty extensively, and purchases some cheap paring/ steak knives at Big Lots, or Dollar General, and then disposes of them before the air trip home..............


Tools & Training are alike, you get what you pay for.

 

[arnisandyz]

Which brings us back to why I have been playing with the cheap knock-offs. Something else to consider; if you are carrying a $200+ custom/semi-custom blade for defensive purposes, and actually deploy it (not necessarily cut with it) it is going into an evidence locker for a long time, regardless of how "right" you may have been.
Thoughts?

Problem with the cheap knock offs is the quality. Is the mechanism, opening or locking, going to fail under pressure? Compare the quality of the knockoffs to the original and make your best assumption. I'm not saying the original is failproof, but I personally would trust it more. Is that worth an extra $180? to me it is. I look at it like insurance, some people do fine without it, I'd rather be covered. If your cheapo knife fails you, you might not be around to claim it (in evidence)!

 

[dearnis.com]

Very true.....but as I think I posted above, I could not get the liner lock to fail (kevlar glove, beat spine on workbench test...unscientific I know....)
more on the topic to follow