S&W knives any good?

[baccusboy]

I know nothing about knives, but I own a S&W 1911 Bobtail SC. Would this knife be a nice addition beside it? How would you say the S&W knives are quality-wise?

http://www.slickguns.com/product/smi...a=2093&k=other

[US1911]

Originally Posted by baccusboy

I know nothing about knives, but I own a S&W 1911 Bobtail SC. Would this knife be a nice addition beside it? How would you say the S&W knives are quality-wise?

My Daughter bought me an M&P knife a few years ago. While I wouldn't consider it an extremely high quality knife production knife; it's made of decent materials, quite capable of normal utility use and certainly out performs its low price tag.

[hey_poolboy]

I've carried an S&W "swat" series knife to work for probably 8 years. Certainly hold up well, I'll give them that. I have another one of their blades too. It only gets used occasionally, but it performs fine.

I think they fit their price range well. Mine were both about $30 each and I would say they work and last as well or better than other knives in that range that I've owned.

[JohnAkaB]

Daily carry and self defense, its perfect. But for surviving with your life on the line...it will be challenging. This goes with any S&W line of knives.

[LongBaller71]

Agree. Nothing wrong with my daily carry S&W. Like their small folding tanto. I would probably want to rely on a few higher quality makers when the sh*t hits the fan, but of its all I had, I could think of many far worse blades.

[Alan Block]

Its a nice folder, opens in a flash, sturdy and locks up solid. $11.99 on sale at Big5.

[zWarlord]

I've been using an S&W auto for years at work. Its a good beater knife for when i gotta use a blade for things they aint really meant to do and i dont need it to be particularly sharp.
My edc blade, however, is a kershaw.

[Jim Smyth]

I have deep roots in the knife industry. S&W may make a decent gun but there knife ethics are something to be desired. I know a few custom knife makers that have had there design work ripped off by a company that S&W contracts with. S&W has a pretty bad reputation in the knife industry. I have no respect for them at all.

[wildfire45]

i too have carried a S&W SWAT auto for many years and use it daily, i actually broke one, sent it back and they replaced it. the first one only broke because i took a really nasty fall down a mountain side with a lot of gear on and got dragged before i could get myself stopped, it ripped off the auto release tab so the knife still worked and still locked, i just lost the auto feature. anyway they replaced it with zero drama. that says something to me.

ive had the replacement for probably 5-6 years now and it is well worn finish wise, but still tight and solid, the blade is relatively easy to sharpen and holds an edge well. i end up cutting cardboard and zip ties often at work so the fact that the blade stays sharp through that impresses me. overall its a great knife, quick to deploy as a back up weapon, effortless one handed opening, good grip even with the gritty part worn off of mine, responds well to dusty dirty sweaty smokey, etc environments plus it looks good. well worth the money.

i do not have any experience with that particular model however, so if that is the only one you are considering, all the above is useless.

[Gunz]

Mine are good enough, as the above posts.

I have the awkward, heavy Extreme Ops Tanto series. Huge monsters, chunky, thick. I paid $14 for one at a Big 5. 440 titanium steel means nothing. Still, it is sharp enough for daily boxes, tape, tie wrap cutting, fruits, veggies, and general cardboard. I dig roots, cut tarp, slice various fiber ropes, and chip out nails from 2x4 wood. I can sharpen with sandpaper, stone, or diamond grit, and they make an edge quickly. They are not holding a edge like 154CM or S30V, but boy, about 10 strokes per side gets me a working edge again.

I found more on sale for $12 clearance each, and I bought another 10. Good G10 side panels, too. Bug thumb disk. I think the blade is 3.75 inches and about .175 inches thick.

I love the Kershaw JYD-2Composite, the Benchmade Lum, the Onslaught, the Spyderco Salts, the Boker knives I have. Ironically, I work that Extreme Ops tanto daily, and it serves me well. I think on an amortised basis, I spent $14 over 3 years. Cannot beat that Return On Investment.

[Valkman]

They are at the bottom end of the quality scale, but they're cheap and serve a purpose. I had one on the bench all during my knifemaking for stuff I didn't want to stick a $400 folder into, and it always did the job.

[William Sanders]

My brother had a S&W knife, and it was sturdy enough. But one time when I was using it the lock failed and it almost cut me. I then noticed that when opened if you gave the back of the blade a sharp tap it would close. So shoddy lock but pretty sturdy construction otherwise was my impression.

[RichWashbourne]

I carry an extreme ops tanto folder and its big heavy ugly but I use the heck out of it at work. I've carried it on my person continuously for the last 8 years in the fire service and its cheap enough that if I lose it, it won't break my heart.

[PolymerMan]

Originally Posted by Jim Smyth

I have deep roots in the knife industry. S&W may make a decent gun but there knife ethics are something to be desired. I know a few custom knife makers that have had there design work ripped off by a company that S&W contracts with. S&W has a pretty bad reputation in the knife industry. I have no respect for them at all.

I've bought a couple of S&W knives at local Gun and Knife shows and the quality of the knives are sub-par. Nowhere as good as CKT or Kershaws but for the price they sell them, they're Okay. Having said that, I don't believe that Smith & Wesson (at least the S&W corporation we know) has anything to do with these knives.

I believe that S&W licensed out the trademark as many companies with famous names do and let others use the name for a royalty based fee outside of the main specialty (guns in the case of Smith and Wesson). I believe that they (the real S&W) have no control over the marketing, design, or quality of the knives bearing their name. Some companies do this with clothing lines or sports goggles as well. Frankly I bought a few S&W pocket folding knives for about $15 and they were made in China and the only thing that made them S&W was the Tradename laser engraved into the blade. On top of that, they could also be blackmarket knock-offs, as it's hard to tell whether the vendors at some of the Gun and Knife shows I have attended deal with legitimate sources. Whoever the licensee of the S&W knife trademark doesn't appear to care if the product suffers a bad reputation.

[mes228]

For a not too expensive knife S&W has some good products. Some models have 440C steel in their blades. There are better stainless steels today than 440c, however most of the "better" steels are not really THAT much better. For most purposes 440c is a great steel. There are Custom Knife Smiths that still use 440c. A S&W knife with 440c is really a good bargain in most instances. Same with 1095 carbon steel. There are better carbon steels than 1095. However, 1095 is a good steel and is available in some lesser expensive knives.