Darrell Ralph by S&W ??

[Robocop]

I recently began searching for another knife called the Paragee made by Outdoor Edge which was a Darrell Ralph design. I really like Darrells products however do not have the cash to collect his custom offerings. The Paragee is no longer made however Smith & Wesson does make another Darrell Ralph design in this knife
http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2831&MMP=1012978307

It is very similiar to the Paragee here with both being a framelock and AUS-8 blade
http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/outdoor/order1.html

So can anyone give any details of this knife? I am hoping it may be as smooth and reliable as the Paragee and being a Darrell Ralph design as well maybe I will like it as much as I did my Paragee.

The main reason I wanted another Paragee was it was the first I had seen with the stone washed blade. This blade did not show scratches at all and held up very well while simply looking very unique. I am not sure as to the S&W as it states their blade is bead blasted?? Is bead blasting the same as the stonewashed finish?

 

[BruiseLee]

I bought a couple of these. I liked them so much I bought the version with the thumb stud, too, the FL1. Then, I got some more with the urban camo finish, kept 1 for myself and gave 2 away to good friends.

We all like them. Do a search on bladeforums.com, people there liked them a lot, too, and they know as much about edged tools as anybody!

Strong lockup. Nice blade profile. Supposed to be 440C. The only negatives I can say about the knives are 1) the flat metal sides make it less grippy than other knives might be that are textured Zytel or Kraton 2) They are made by Taylor LLC which has a less than enviable reputation overall in terms of quality and ethics 3) they are made in China not in the good old US of A.

They aren't expensive knives. For the money you can't go wrong IMHO.

 

[Robocop]

Well after signing up on other knife forums I found out quickly that the original Paragee I was looking for was very hard to find. I will say the maker offered to try and repair the original one I had and I did not even purchase it from him.....plus I had if for at least 5 years already. What a classy guy Darrell Ralph is for trying to help out.

I was able to salvage some screws form other things and did get my old Paragee back to its original working order.

I never did try the S&W model however I did find the Kershaw Vapor that was similiar in size and also a frame lock design. I really like this knife and it was cheap enough I do not mind beating on it daily. I carry it on duty for now and it does what I ask it to do. I had forgotten this thread however I may try the S&W just to see how it does. Much like lights one can never have too many knives anyway.

 

[BruiseLee]

I never did try the S&W model however I did find the Kershaw Vapor that was similiar in size and also a frame lock design. I really like this knife and it was cheap enough I do not mind beating on it daily. I carry it on duty for now and it does what I ask it to do.

I have a Kershaw Vapor II, too. I like it very much and find it's grip shape a bit more ergonomic. However, it's a smaller knife which may be a plus or a minus depending on what you want to do with it.

The main problem I have with the Vapor II is it has a thumb stud on only one side, making it a right hand only knife.