Great idea/design - the SuperKnife

[daloosh]

OK, I'm sold, you guys have convinced me.

I was thinking about those disposable ones countycomm is selling for like a buck fifty or so. While those are probably good for the bailout bag, the superknife appears much more daily-use friendly.

And Don, it's not a real knife, it's a box cutter on steroids. (I wonder if Marion Jones is involved...)

daloosh

 

[_mike_]

daloosh,

I think you will really like the SuperKnife. I have had mine for several years and seem to grab it more than my Bucks, Benchmades, CRKT's, Victorinox's, and Kershaws.

Like others have mentioned, 95% of my day to day cutting needs are handled fine by the SuperKnife. I use the Stanley Extra Heavy Duty (part #11-931) utility blades. They are thicker than the light duty ones, hardly any flex and darn hard to break. Also, I think changing the blade or turning it around to use the other end (even having to use a tool) is less time consuming than sharpening a knife. I am more likely to be carrying the blade change tool on my keychain and utility blades are everywhere ... than have access to a knife sharpener. If nothing else, changing the blade is no more involved than sharpening a knife.

When I got mine I think they were located in Arizona, maybe even made them there. Hopefully they haven't changed how they make them. In any case, it's a really handy and stout little cutting tool.

I also have one of the cheaper Husky type clones ....... no comparison. The SuperKnife outshines it in materials and operation. Needless to say I will not be getting anymore of the clones, ever.


Good luck,
Mike

 

[daloosh]

Thanks Mike,

I'm gonna get a blue one and a red one, straightaway! I can see how my regular knives will get little use, and it is a drag to sharpen knives.

I think the Husky's aren't refined enough, as well as heavier and bulkier, according to Wingerr. And you've confirmed that for me. So it's the Superknife for me!

daloosh

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:I've got both the SuperKnife and the Husky version, and the SuperKnife is way better in terms of construction and ergonomics.
Craftsman is having a sale on their version starting July 11th, which includes a pouch for $6.29; I'll be getting one also, to complete the collection /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Oooo... double thanks for that comparison and news about the Sears Craftsman sale.

Now that I've had more time with the two samples - I have found distinct material differences between the two.

I think (hope) the Red one is a newer version -
see these two (for direct) comparison photos:

Note the liner-lock is different - on the blue the liner is a full piece on one side of the scale - whereas the red has a liner that's more embedded in the handles so it does not show on the photo of the back/spine.

As far as action is concerned I have already noted the difference. The Red is mechanically a lot better than the Blue - overall the red's feel is more solid and positive.

As already described the Red had a very positive ball-bearing dedent - definite click close. So the Red is held closed by both friction as well as the ball-bearing dedent.

In fact I would go as far as to say that the Red rivals some of my better liner-locks. Whereas the Blue does NOT.

In fact I have found a problem with the Blue and had to return it:

It does not do it all the time - but very occassionally it will not lock-up.

Because I have figured out why it was doing this (very occassionally) I could make it repeat - but in real-life it is less likely to occur.

I don't think this is a common or inherent fault -
I've put it down to simple sample variation.

 

[Wingerr]

Interesting- didn't know they have two versions out. Mine is pretty old, and is like your red one, so it looks like they may have gone to the blue design later on.
However, mine doesn't have the ball bearing detent in the closed position that you refer to; it's strictly friction holding it shut. If I don't have the pivot tensioned up, it can very easily be flicked open due to the mass of the blade holder.
With this in mind, I wonder if red is the one to order from AGR, or is it just a random smattering of versions they have..

 

[markdi]

do you have to have the tool to change the blade ?
will a little hex wrench work ?

 

[Wingerr]

On mine, it's a standard hex, albeit a tiny one, something about 2.5mm or so. So, if you lose the tool, it's not a big deal, if you have a set of hex heys.
You do want to make sure you tighten it up fully, or else you risk developing play on the blade, or losing the little screw. I thought I could leave it just snug and be able to use my small Leatherman screwdriver to change the blade, but decided that wasn't a good idea, after almost losing the screw. Luckily I found it, and made sure it was torqued down properly from then on.

 

[markdi]

mine does not click closed but you can feel something releasing when you first start opening it
mine looks like the red one in the pictures

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:
Interesting- didn't know they have two versions out. Mine is pretty old, and is like your red one, so it looks like they may have gone to the blue design later on.
However, mine doesn't have the ball bearing detent in the closed position that you refer to; it's strictly friction holding it shut. If I don't have the pivot tensioned up, it can very easily be flicked open due to the mass of the blade holder.
With this in mind, I wonder if red is the one to order from AGR, or is it just a random smattering of versions they have..

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks again for that information.

It was just a guess - from assuming the better one was the newer version..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

The Red one definitely has a ball-bearing detent -
I had also checked the Blue one for that, since I could not feel one initially - I definitely could see one.

I am a bit surprised that at this day and age a liner-lock (even cheap one) does not have a ball-bearing detent.

Perhaps my Red one is a Mk 1.5? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The other thing that I noted was that the Blue seemed easy to disengage the lock - I mentioned that in the first impressions - about touching and moving the lock when just moving it around to take pictures.

This definitely does not happen on the Red - the liner-lock just seems more solid and positive - whereas in comparison the Blue liner-lock feels twangy and less secure.

It's a shame if the Blue might be the newer version, (discounting the variation in samples) -
I think that's retrograde step from the Red design.....

 

[Wingerr]

Sears apparently doesn't sell knives in their stores anymore, at least not in NY. Online only, except maybe in Indiana. Too dangerous for us, I guess.

Has anyone in the other states seen one in person?
Craftsman version

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:
Sears apparently doesn't sell knives in their stores anymore, at least not in NY.
Has anyone in the other states seen one in person?
Craftsman version

[/ QUOTE ]

Because of Wingerr's post I phoned ahead to my local Sears (Atlanta, GA) - they had 4 in stock - when I went they had the knives in red, blue and black....
and it is on sale for $6.99

The red was similar to the pale almost tending to pink red anodization of my "good" SuperKnife - the checkering makes it looks a bit darker. The anodized black was sort of translucent with a shade of blue-green when the light is held right.

Compared to the red SuperKnife -

Craftsman is a tool-less blade change - quite a clever method -

BUT the problem with this is the blade can be jiggled in the holder - since there has to be some tolerance for fitting - the movement is mostly up-down in line with the blade, but there is some side-to-side - I think the blade supplied is thinner than the one on the SuperKnife (which may be "contractor" grade) so the Craftsman might (I'm not sure) be able to take the thicker blades, in which case this may minimize any blade movement in the holder - but this is just my guess - if the thicker blades will fit at all.

The Superknife blade holder is solid with absolutely no play what-so-ever.

Closed - the knives are about the same length -

BUT - the Craftsman's blade protudes a lot more than the SuperKnife, making the Craftsman much wider closed.

Although the knives are comparable in thickness -
with the Superknife seeming a bit thicker -

A complaint I have heard about is the thumb-stud on the Craftsman (and Husky) -
it protrudes quite a bit beyond the scales - so the likelihood of it catching on something is quite high - not only that the tab for the blade change release also sticks out. If one tries to open the knife two-handed - (especially since one-handed opening may well be difficult for some see below) - one may well accidentally pull against the blade release tab - which opens the blade holder.....

The Craftsman feels quite bit heavier - due to its substantial - oversized backspring -
I don't think this is over-engineering - it's just to accomodate the thick blade holder.

As a consequence of this - the thumb-stud needs quite a hefty push to open the Craftsman one-handed.
It is NOT easy on my sample - this is not only due to the hefty backspring - but also a fairly sharp corner/transition from the rounded tang - in fact there appears to actually be a lip/discontinuity that makes overcoming the initial force difficult.

Look carefully at the tang end of the Craftsman one can see this "lip" - why is it there? Because it really makes opening the knife quite difficult.

Overall I much prefer the SuperKnife - at least this one (red) sample - its action and lock have a lot better feel than the Craftsman. Even though the SuperKnife requires a tool (simple hex key) to change blades this is a much more preferable trade-off for the solid no play blade-holder, in comparison to the the looser blade in the Craftsman.

 

[Wingerr]

Thanks for the excellent comparo-

Seems like it's got most of the same characteristics as my Husky. I was hoping it's a little better finished than the Husky though, which I thought might have been the cause of the notchy opening action. From the looks of that thumbstud, I'll probably see if it'd be worth removing it.

Surprising that the Craftsman is thinner than the SK though. I had the impression the Husky is thicker, but don't have it on hand to compare right now.

Sounds like it's still decent for the price though, considering you get the pouch and spare blades thrown in.

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:Sounds like it's still decent for the price though, considering you get the pouch and spare blades thrown in.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Craftsman is so difficult to open one-handed that just in the course of the first evening reviewing the knife I bruised my thumb from opening the knife.

Even though the sale price is good at $6.99 - I intend to return the Craftsman as I much prefer the SuperKnife,
and will wait a while hoping that the new SK2 Roundel (tool-less change) version of the SuperKnife will drop in price

 

[Wingerr]

If it's the same as the Husky, I found it fairly easy to open it one handed if I just grasped the blade at the retainer using my thumb and forefinger, and just pivoted it open that way. I just removed the thumbstud entirely, since trying to use it was just an exercise in futility, as you found out.
I didn't have problems with play in the blades on the Husky, but it seems like it'd be easy enough to put a piece of paper in there to shim it up, and get it as tight as you need. You should probably be able to get zero play that way.
The SK2 seems nice, except I don't think I'd like the longer length compared to the standard version.

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:The SK2 seems nice, except I don't think I'd like the longer length compared to the standard version.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point - but that increase in closed length is probably not a major problem for me - as my at home, clipped to my pocket, EDC is the same 4" closed length.

I phoned SuperKnife and confirmed that the full side liner style as in the blue one I received is the newer and current version.

They do still have some of the older style as described for my red version, and can supply those if requested, as long as they have remaining stock.

The newer SK2 Roundel (tool-less change) follows the newer style of a full side-liner.

As my older style red sample of one was so much better than the newer style blue sample I received -
I just hope the blue I returned was simply due to sample variation, and the newer style (including the SK2) behaves more like the red one I have.......

 

[Wingerr]

Compensating factor is the clip position allows the new one to ride lower in the pocket, so that's a plus.

Did you return the blue one to AGR, or send it to SK for an exchange? I've got a bunch coming in; it'll be interesting what the SK lottery turns up-

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:Did you return the blue one to AGR, or send it to SK for an exchange? I've got a bunch coming in; it'll be interesting what the SK lottery turns up-

[/ QUOTE ]

I returned the blue to AG.

If you do get the different versions - it would be really interesting to hear your impressions, if there are any differences in action and usage for you.

 

[fuelblender]

$15.00 for the set at THE HOME DEPOT: Brass and rosewood!

 

[Wingerr]

Got the Craftsman versions in the mail yesterday, and it's not as rough as my Husky one, but still has too steep a ramp to overcome when opening. I may just go and grind down the profile of the cam to make it easier. Just have to find a tiny hex wrench to take it apart; looks like it's about 1.5mm or so. I'll probably remove the thumbstud or grind it down to a minimum, along with some of the blade latch tab, to keep it as low profile as possible. Then, I think it'd work pretty well.

No play on the blade with mine; it's locked down nicely by the retainer.
I found that there's no hard stop on the blade when closed, so if you force the blade past its natural resting point, the blade will contact the inner edge of the lock. With normal use, it's not a problem, but I'd prefer a hard stop that didn't involve the blade..

 

[sidespill]

I have the craftsman version and it is kinda tuff to push the thumbstud to open the knife. One method that works everytime for me is holding the knife tip up then whipping my wrist down. Some may say it puts wear on a knife but it's a ten dollar knife so I'm not so concerned.