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Product Description
Our second collaboration with Tashi Bharucha, the Heat Seeker is a production version of one of his most popular custom knives. From its skeletonized, aggressively angled handle to its wide trailing-point blade, it’s instantly recognizable Read More
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On my first attempt, the knife was seized by Canadian Border Services. Drop came through and sent me another for no additional fees.
Overall the knife is a beauty with great action. Very eye catching. The cf version, which I chose, is a great weight for edc.
I absolutely love this knife - the build quality is epic. I love the small flipper tab it works perfectly but it’s size keeps the lines on this when closed beautifully streamlined. I got the carbon fibre.
Yes the flipper tab is a little sharp, but only if you're playing with your tool, does it become a problem. Some saying "it's impossible to open with one hand" no, not even close. Maybe this is your first flipper, or you've never worked a day with your hands, or maybe you got a lemon, but mine flies out like a rocket. No pain, given I'm not doing over and over again 15 times in a row, which you shouldn't be doing with your tool anyway! Get a zippo if you wanna flip, flick things open and closed!
Yes, it shipped from China, took several weeks to arrive, and the box was squashed. Yes, it would have been nice if the length of the shipping had been clear up front.
But the knife itself is very nice. I've had a Reate Future and T-4000, and this is my favorite Tashi design as a practical user knife. It's a familiar handle shape for him, but it feels like it has been refined to a point of great ergonomic performance as well as looks, and mated with a blade shape that suits it well and is practical for a wide range of pocket knife uses. I don't have experience with the steel, but I understand it is very similar to CPM154, with is fine with me.
Manufacturing quality is excellent, as evidenced by the smooth seam along the spine. Overall, I'm very happy with it for the price I paid (I got in during the pre-Christmas sale). Some minor niggles:
I'd prefer not to have the slight recurve in the grind, but it is so slight, that it would probably sharpen out if you use a stone.
Some people have said that the detente is too strong and it's hard to flip. I don't find that - it has a good crisp action. However, the flipper tab is a little sharp on your finger. Not a problem for practical use, but could get sore if you're using it as a fidget-flipper.
Aesthetically, the massdrop logo does nothing for it. I have the carbon fiber version, and I much appreciate the fact that they took the effort to remove the main screws from the titanium scale in that version. It would have been nice if they'd taken it a bit further and hidden the screws for the clip and lockbar insert, as well as darkening the handle screws on the CF side. That, along with a more subtle logos would have made it a cleaner and more attractive design, but at this price point, it's not a big issue for me.
My favorite folding knife OF ALL TIME despite it's flaws
What I love
- Beautiful Tashi design, very sleek, clean, elegant lines and yet still functional. Some people get hung up over not having a traditional sharpening choil but I think it is just fine the way it is. There is a very slight recurve on blade edge. Looks beautiful opened and closed. 5 stars upfront just for looks - the heart wants what the heart wants.
- Exceptional workmanship from Reate, this thing is very well made. Perfectly centered. Hand polished satin blade is a work of art. Titanium handle is so seamless, tolerances are so fine, it feels like an integral handle even though its not.
- I like how the flipper tab doesn't protrude much and the arched handle shape allows the hand to stay out of the way for flat cutting board type usage like a typical chef's knife.
- Handle shape is a bit angular yet contoured and is actually comfortable and ergonomic, allowing for grip adjustment without any finger grooves/cut-outs forcing finger placement. Should fit most hands except for people with Hulk hands.
What could be better
- I found the flipper sharp but not as bad as some reviews make it out to be (just my opinion that its tolerable, I understand why some people find it really sharp because it surprised me at first as well!). The pivot placement relative to the flipper surface angle makes opening the knife a little bit different from typical flippers. The best way I found to open it is to rotationally flick the flipper from top part of flipper tab (like spinning a sprocket wheel rather than flipping a light switch), rather than pushing into the flipper tab which makes it dig into your finger tip giving that sharp feeling. The sharp flipper tab may have actually been part of the design to give traction to finger when spinning rather than flipping the tab. Would not consider this a fun flipping toy, its more a cutting tool. You flip out when you need to use it and then put it away.
- Takes some effort to access lock bar to close knife. Wouldn't recommending closing this knife with one hand by using technique where you rest thumb on lock bar and have your thumbnail catch flipper/unsharpened portion of blade on the way down. The flipper shape and the angle of blade when overcoming the detente in closing makes this method a low error margin/high risk endeavour. Can be done with practice but I prefer my thumb the way it is.
- Flipping action was a touch stiff at first but after working in a bit, it was perfectly acceptable.
- One major hotspot hitting forefinger on handle corner where lockbar cut away starts in knife. Corner was not chamfered. Not very noticeable unless gripping tightly or under prolonged use. The tip of angular pocket clip is the other hotspot.
- My box arrived crushed too. Yeah, packaging could be better. Tracking was fine for me, shipping took 3 weeks. Shipping tracking info depends on where you live. So that's shipping, not the knife, and won't affect my rating.
What I hate
- I said it before, I'll say it again. That Massdrop logo on the blade is like a turd cherry topping this delicious piece of metal art. Please omit in the next run. I would buy another piece just to see it gone. Minus one star for that.
- [Edit 10 Dec 2019] They just discounted the price from $280 to $200. Previous price was a tad high in my view but I still bought. $200 is good value. But changing the pricing like this is a serious snub to the people who joined the drop in March this year, who paid $280 up front and waited ~6 months for delivery (albeit they got a $10 coupon and a serialized piece with aluminium cert.... woah!). I will have to reconsider joining any future drops at DROP since doing so has serious disadvantages (paying up front and waiting for months for delivery, possible changes from prototypes in final version, not seeing final version product reviews before buying, not getting it on discount when they can't move the product because it was priced high to begin with). Looking back, rather than joining a drop, I would have been better off waiting for the sale when it was in stock on almost every purchase I've made at DROP so far.
- [Edit 03 Jan 2020] I bought another one while they were on sale and received it today. This knife is just so damn beautiful. Perfectly centered, perfectly symmetrical blade and handle, even under a magnifying glass. I love it. Hurry up and take my money! :p
ToucanYours is third review I've read on review pages for four different knives that has expressed some variation of the idea: prepaying in advance of the product drop makes no sense and I'm not likely to do so in the future. And I heartily support that. I resolved that I was done pre-paying during the simultaneous Spyderco SG2 and original Perpetua run debacles. I made an exception for the Thresher because I wanted one, and because Mike Gavac seemed like he was going to be very involved with the project, which he was.
Otherwise though, I've never bought a Drop product until it's been in-stock. And it's been just fine. I haven't had to wait any longer than people who prepaid, and if I really don't want to pay the extra $10 or $20, I just find the knife I want on EBay. In fact, I check there first now because I almost always find what I'm looking for either brand new or very nearly, and if it often isn't significantly cheaper, and it's almost always a little less expensive. And it doesn't take a month to ship.