Those Partners are nice indeed, the CRKTs and Kershaws of this generation.
Pretty knives with hefty billboarding.
On the clipside it even says on the ricasso …
Hehe, better you look for yourselves
Give me a clean one with only the SRM logo and blade steel on the blade and the product number on the inside of the handle.
And thumb studs plese, like on the 930x series.
P.S. If you like the design, look for the Otter Mercator. This one seems to be a cleverly modernized version.
It’s kind of sad that Kershaw and CRKT have fallen so far behind. They still put out cool designs but assisted actions and overpriced 8Cr13Mov are pretty lame in 2021. Sanrenmu’s 12C27 will cut circles around 8Cr13Mov.
I just used a $20ish Sanrenmu in 12C27 to cut up enough cardboard to completely fill a kitchen-sized trash bag. The edge still looks good. A quick stropping and it’ll be good to go for tomorrow’s EDC.
It’s like the irony of 14C28N. It was developed at Kershaw’s behest for exclusive use in their knives. It ended up being a fantastic budget steel and the exclusivity eventually ended. Now, Chinese companies are using 14C28N in budget knives priced to compete with Kershaw’s Chinese-made knives in 8Cr13Mov. (Coincidentally, I’m pretty sure Ruike and Real Steel are both manufactured by Sanrenmu.)
@xevious
Bringing back a post from July (page 159)
You got very defensive when another member and myself were trying to warn you about this new brand offering S35VN at a cheap price.
Here’s why I was saying I would pick a cheap Kizer S35VN over this any day and why people were warning you, have a look at 2.45mins (and yes, of course now the manufacturer plays the “I didn’t know” story and AFTER being caught, makes it right)
Your main goal was to try S35VN. That didn’t happen with the Asher.
The Work Sharp Precision Adjust knife sharpener. It is really easy to use, and puts on a super sharp blade. I re-sharpened three blades in no time, and they are all razor sharp again.
I have ruined blade angles, and scratched the sides of blades in the past using other sharpening tools. Not anymore with the Work Sharp.
This has been a consistent problem with new or unknown brands on AliExpress (etc.). I remember a similar situation with the GoComma knives in “D2”. (They were actually 8Cr13Mov.) Let’s also remember the drama with Eafengrow getting caught with false steel stamps and claiming the same thing.
Beyond steel identity, there is also heat treatment to consider. If a company is in the position to be selling knives with fake steel stamps, are they in a position to have their blades properly treated? With a mediocre heat treatment, S35VN or M390 might not hold a better edge than 9Cr18Mov or 14C28N. In fact, 9Cr18Mov with an exceptional heat treatment can perform as well as mass-market renditions of super steels. Check out this cut testing on Civivi’s 9Cr18Mov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MGsyodJkI
My usual advice on new or unknown brands is to wait for testing before spending.
I agree with you on the heat treatment, blade geometry, etc…
Honestly, when I buy from a new and unknown brand on Aliexpress, clone or not, I am kind of expecting that, especially if the price seems too good.
However, this is not a company on AE, it’s a new brand, founded by an American, trying to establish themselves as a new brand for “western countries”.
I think they might have shut themselves on the foot. Personally, a new brand that tries to establish themselves and starts by lying about their steel on their first offering loses my trust (and I don’t buy for a second their “we didn’t know, the steel supplier lied to us” story).
I agree. If they are lying, then good riddance. If they are telling the truth, then this is a double tragedy. Because Eagengrow had so recently claimed the same story after getting caught with fake steel stamps, and hasn’t seemed to appreciably change their ways; I don’t know who is going to trust this new company.
An important lesson here is that if you want to start a new knife company, you need to know the market. You need to know that this sort of thing can and does happen. You need to make sure that the people you are dealing with to make your product are both trustworthy and reliable. If there is any question, you need to be performing spot checks before batches hit the market.