Assisted Opening 1045 vs Vallotton 440A

[bikerdoc]

View attachment 475842

So, I decided to follow up on my A/O thread and ordered a Tiger Run 1045 A/O (top pic) and a Gerber Vallotton A/O (botttom pic)

!5 and 19 dollars respectively.

Both sharp out of the box. They each got a 3 foot piece of oak to debark and stiple.

Neither is going to replace my Spyderco Native and Endura for EDC, nor will they replace the bunch of old carbon folders for whittling.

But I was pleased with both.

The Valloton is a quiet action, with a tight lockup due to the F.A.S.T. system.

The Valloton is a light sturdy 440A. Did a good job on the oak and still does not need a touch up.

The Tiger run is a clunky, heavy, well made piece, with a fast, noisy, almost annoying opening action. The liner lock is sturdy.
They must have got the heat treat right because it also did well on the oak and stayed sharp.

I was a fun test. The 1045 will go in the tackle box and the Valloton will reside in the truck console.

I think I am over my curiosity of assisted openers.

 

[The Highlander]

If these are your first A/O knives, I think you should check out some of Kershaw's offerings. I recommend an S30V Blur, perhaps followed up with a Needs Work, one of the many flavors of Leek, and perhaps an S30V Avalanche. The blur is one of my all time favorite mid-range production folding knives, and is on par with many of my spydercos. (I'd rather have a Spyderco, but that's merely personal preference)

edit: just re-read my post, not telling you to buy all those per-se, rather you should consider purchasing the blur and perhaps trying/buying some of the other knives as well

 

[millertyme]

I thought I liked Spyderco until the tip of the blade on my stainless Delica broke off and I asked them about fixing it. They don't replace blades and would have charged me to re-profile the broken tip. The serrations on my Kershaw Blur broke off, I emailed them, sent them the knife, and they sent me a new one with a different profile per my request.

I really liked my Spyderco and was simply disappointed in ther customer service. The Kershaw has a great A/O and a great warranty behind their products.

 

[JShirley]

How did the tip of your Delica break?

 

[bikerdoc]

edit: just re-read my post, not telling you to buy all those per-se, rather you should consider purchasing the blur and perhaps trying/buying some of the other knives as well

HIGHLANDER,
I understand what you are saying my friend.
S30v and VG10 are my favorite stainless and 1095 and its variants my favorite carbon steels.

This was a experiment in A/O with low end steels, nothing more.

Millertyme,
Also curious how you broke the tip?

 

[The Highlander]

I too am curious. I've definitely put many a spyderco through their paces and on occassion have abused them. (Hell I've stabbed one of my tenacious's through all sorts of materials with ZERO tip damage) Spyderco has excellent customer service and I could only see them denying a replacement for an overtly abused knife.

@Bikerdoc- Good stuff.

 

[Limeyfellow]

I guess he could have been trying to lever cinder blocks out of place with the thing. That's going to be quite some abuse or a serious metal flaw in the blade. The later they typically will fix.

 

[DT Guy]

Pardon my ignorance, but is 1045 the blade material or the maker? If the material, what brand is that? Looks like a sturdy little user-


Larry

 

[conw]

#1 reminds me of Chad Los Banos' designs. I kinda like it, looks like a "little big knife"

 

[bikerdoc]

Pardon my ignorance, but is 1045 the blade material or the maker? If the material, what brand is that? Looks like a sturdy little user-


Larry

\

Larry,

1045 is the blade steel, The brand is Tiger Run, and it is made in China. It is a sturdy "little thing" If I had the talent to make a blade of better steel it would be a winner.

 

[millertyme]

HOnestly, it's been so long that I really don't even remember. I didn't even tell them how it broke, just that it did. It's one of the older Delicas with an AUS-8 or 6 blade. Looking at the knife you wouldn't assume it was abused. the polish on the blade was still pretty clear and the handle only showed signs of use. I'm trying to remember where I Was in life when it happened and it could have been anywhere from rigging iron on a building or selling tools and equipment. I do recall that it broke and appeared to be laminated where the break occured. I re-shaped the point and it broke again soon after. then it went into the drawer and I went looking for another knife. After Spyderco denied my request I took the blade over to a buddy's shop and reground it on the belt sander, removing all the serrations and reprofiling the blade. Not the prettiest looking thing, but it doesn't look any worse than it did with 1/2" broken off the tip.

I just remembered what initially broke the tip off. I was working a knot out of some webbing with it. I didn't drop it or throw it at something. I was using the tip to back out some webbing that someone else had tied a knot in. Nothing I would have thought to void warranty.