17-4 PH is the type of steel the lock is made from. Did a little googling and it’s has a lot of industrial uses like turbine engine blades and caskets for spent nuclear waste. and is also very corrosion resistant.
Or if you prefer the SAE designation it's type 630 stainless steel. For Europeans out there, UNS 17400. I am going to assume that's a hardened part. Steels have too many names..
I enjoy Andrew Demko's imaginative lock designs. I wish him the very best and look forward to picking up one or two of the more affordable AD20.5 versions once available again. Thanks for the disassembly Nick!
I can attest to the down to earth and general kind attitude of John Demko. I emailed him asking where to find an AD20, he not only told who was getting the next batch, but he also took time to discuss my use for the knife and what would be the better steel choice. I came away informed and impressed. My AD 20 arrives next week.
I’m still chomping at the bit here waiting for the Banter review! I get so stoked each time I see you’ve posted a new video, and even though they’ve mostly been gems... I’m still slightly bummed lol. Anyhow, keep up the great work! Another excellent video!
Travis W Rigg I don’t believe they have plans to do that-of course I could be wrong. I remember Andrew mentioning he’s going to be doing the ad20 in house for a while on a podcast. Considering coldsteel owns the triad lock, and there are now clones of the scorpion lock on the market, I’m not sure (just a guess though) he will license his shark lock IP out just yet, if at all for the foreseeable future. It’s his baby. But again. Maybe coldsteel will do it eventually.
Demko has also gone on record saying that the whole reason he works with Cold Steel is because he wants the every-man to be able to afford his designs. I talked to Andrew for a while at Blade Show last year. He even spine whacked my AD-15 for me at the show. He is an awesome dude and one of my favorite makers. I would wager that Cold Steel will do an AD-20 within a year or so. And I will certainly buy one.
This is a Masterpiece, but I prefer the AD-15 cause of the flat spine of the handle and blade. The lock is brilliant... Very well executed... Thanks for the presentation and disassembly...
I am so glad I can dispose of both of these knives on my first impressions. However, thank you Nick for your detailed breakdown and more than enough info, from your first impressions. That was all I needed to figure out that I will never buy either of these knives and I take a certain amount of pride in saying that.
Nick when are you going to retire? My wallet needs a break! I ordered an AD20 “Gem” and you are right. The AD20 is a masterpiece of simple elegance. If I could only have one folder, this is it.
This is USA pronounced UuhSah in your English language. I wanted to thank you for a helping with the reverse engeningering as we have finally cracked the equation which is the square root of LBH = 3.274" although your hands are twice as large as our oldest factory workers so the confusion of the label took some time to understand. Also Thank you for showcasing my best work on your live videos "terrible knifes" although we are uncomfortable with the praise that our knives infact are capable of tearing anything.
I love Andrew Demko knives but I can’t afford one..I’m considering getting the Cold Steel Demko AD-15 as it looks to be pretty damn close to the custom..definitely the closest I will get to it anyway..lol
I live and work on a mountain cattle ranch and I carry a Cold Steel AD-15. I've done some stupid stuff with it (chopping small trees, prying, etc), but I would love to upgrade to this! Unfortunately, I'm heading back to college tomorrow and I'll have no need for a big honkin knife. And I'm broke! 😂 One day maybe
wow, liking the ti one. Probably not availabe in EU or double the price. Will check. Bearings seem small but the tight tolerances of pins and pivot and all, probably give it still great lateral strength.
@@mlentsch From my understanding. I grease all my Launch springs, maybe it's not necessary on this model blade? Now I'm second guessing myself, time to do some research!🤔🧐
I finally managed to snag an order for one of these USA made big boys. Ordered some skiff bearings just in case the bearings were steel. Wonder why they use steel bearings for all their knives
I’ve used an ad20 for a couple years. I’m a cabinetmaker and work in a dirty dusty environment. The bearings are not an issue. My sebenza of seven years daily use will get stiff way more than the bearing all things being dirty. Would take the bearings any day.
I bought both the custom version (AD20) and the production version (MG AD20) where MG stands for Machine Ground. There was a little lock stick in the production version that disappeared after the first day. The custom version was about 20% smoother than the production version. I won't part with either of them.
Cool knives i want one,make mine a titanium one. Realy Nick there is nothing wrong with an ocasional big knive. By the way, oil on lockface's will some times introduce lock stick.
When you have dissimilar metals and you get sticking as a locksmith I have always used graphite. Try it on one of your titanium lock knives and see how it works it will turn it into butter
Very cool little bit of engineering. Have you seen the new lock that Artisan recently released (the name escapes me)? Looks similar, but with different dexterity. I hope we see a Cold Steel iteration of this thing for masses! 😀
I would love to here your thoughts on the new snecx vision with his superlock and the oil sealed no flex pivot. I'll never be able to own one so let me live vicariously through you 😆
I immediately liked this lock the first time I saw a video explaining it. I was about to go to an online knife seller to buy myself one (at about $150), but as soon as I found out that the pivot uses bearings, I halted. I DO NOT WANT BEARINGS ON MY KNIFE PIVOTS. If they made a version of this knife with washers, I’d have one or two.
That lock is pretty similar to Cold Steel's "Ram Lock" which is used on the "Pocket Bushman". Refined, but the exactly same principle. Edit: Just did my homework: Said Ram Lock was designed by Mr. Demko, too.
Nick, I know this question doesn't pertain to this video, but I was hoping I could get an answer since it's your latest video. Of these 3, which would be your choice- Kershaw Cryo Ontario Rat 2 ESEE Zancudo
If ever a knife was screaming for Canvas/Burlap Micarta scales, it seems like this one is... With that beefy stock, it needs a full height grind as well IMO. The thumbstud seems unnecessary as well.
This looks so nice, but I am still sticking to less than 300$ for my pocket knives lmao. And I’m sure cold steel will do a cheaper version with the same locking mechanism.
Can someone PLEASE teach demko some design skills, some of the worst pocket clips I've seen at this price point, mall ninja knives don't even use those atrocious things anymore. That clip paired with the textured finish scales make this knife look like it costs no more than $15, its just so, plastic mall knife looking
Never understood the desire to take knives apart. Why not just use an air compressor and/or a toothbrush and off you go. All you're doing here is risking a major screw failure and damaging your valuable knife!
