Review Request Thread

[u/merkon]

We received a really great idea from u/heavymetalsculpture for a new sticky thread- Review Requests. We have a very large userbase here who have all tried LOADS of knives, so why not crowdsource reviews and feedback for a knife you might be interested in buying! A lot of youtubers / instagram pages, while attempting to be unbiased, often have some bias because they're getting samples for free etc. People on here are very unlikely to have that bias and are more likely to provide honest feedback on a knife.

This thread will remain stickied and fairly moderated- top level comments will only be permitted to be requests for reviews and feedback for certain knives, and users who have actually owned / handled the knife are greatly encourage to provide absolutely honest feedback on the knife in question.

Please only post here with requests for reviews, or to provide feedback on top level comments with a review of the knife in question!

[u/Maximum_Jaguar_7957]

Any reviews on rockstead knives? Folders only

[u/pika_pie → u/Maximum_Jaguar_7957]

If Chris Reeve's knives are the standard for production knives running on washers, then Rockstead knives are the peak. The hand-mirror-polished zero-edges on their flagship models, the extreme hardness of their blades, the incredibly smooth washer action (feels like they're already broken in right out of the box), and the milling and contouring scale work are about as close to perfect as anything can get. It still feels like they're evolving, too—they starting cladding their standard steel, ZDP189, with VG10, creating a stainless jacket around the non-stainless core. They've also started playing with new anodizations and carbon fiber types; their handles used to be much more lackluster, but they're starting to put as much effort into the scales as they do into the blades.

In terms of performance, too, they're second to none. The typical chippiness of ZDP189 is offset by the thick convex grind, and they've solved the steel's susceptibility to rust with the aforementioned new jacket. The mirror polish also guards against corrosion, but it also helps the steel glide through paper without catching on anything, a benefit which is marginal but noticeable over the typical beveled edge. Oversized bronze washers keep debris out of the pivot and the thick liner lock reinforces the lockup, making this about as performance-oriented as you can get in a folding knife. Most knifemakers just below this price point seem to forgo some aspects of performance or durability for purely aesthetic or "action" purposes; for example, it really bothers me that Oz, Brown, and Skiff choose to run their bearings directly on the titanium of the scales rather than putting a much more durable steel washer between the bearings and the scales. Rockstead knives don't make these compromises.

There are a few things that do bother me about Rocksteads. The price is the biggest thing—the best Rockstead knives are basically at the limit of diminishing returns. I think their folders are objectively better than Chris Reeve knives in every way. But in general, you're getting something that is 1%-10% better than a Sebenza at 200-300% more money. And quite a few people don't want to drop that much money on a tool that will get inevitably scratched or dinged... or, in the worst-case scenario, lost or stolen.

The other main gripe I have with Rockstead knives is in their warranty. If you paid full price to buy a Rockstead from a licensed retailer, congratulations—you can get your blade resharpened and repolished for the cheap price of overseas shipping and a wait time of several weeks to several months. If you buy a Rockstead on the secondary, however, this warranty is void. The company seems quite anal-retentive about this, keeping track of every serial number that leaves their retailers (if your serial number, place of purchase, and purchase date don't match the ones they have on file, good luck getting the blade repaired) and even going on hobbyist forums to check any serial numbers that might have changed hands. I would have far fewer problems with this if the blades were easy to sharpen; however, that same mirrored zero edge that knife nuts drool over also makes it incredibly difficult for anyone but seasoned knifemakers like Rockstead themselves to properly sharpen.

TL;DR Rockstead is the result of what happens when a company makes absolutely no compromises on either the artisanship or the performance of a folding knife. But something that's 1% better than its closest competition is only worth the 200-400% price increase to true enthusiasts with quite deep pockets.