Glad you liked the knives! I was very much looking forward to your reaction to the action of the F3 action. Ive stated in my reviews of the F3 and F3 Compact and other knives that the deployment action of the F3 knives is the best Ive ever felt.
Yes, the opening action on that F3 Compact was *phenomenal* -- the overall blend of flipper tab, detent strength and style, and blade weight and distribution means that thing pops open with such a perfect, crisp, satisfying thwack. Very, very cool. Thank you again so much for letting me experience these!
Thought I recognized that Curtis! Edit: Glad you mentioned the clip! At a glance it looks really similar to the Hinderer clip, but in reality it's one of the worst clips currently used while Hinderer's is one of the best. ...Edit2: Also glad you called out Hinderer's lockbar stabilizer for not doing any actual lockbar stabilization! it's totally pointless on current models, as there's an overtravel stop built into the lockbar insert.
Haha, yeah, the clip on the F3 is just completely incompatible with my hands (and my aesthetic). A quick search showed there might be aftermarket clips that work for some Curtis models, but overall I think it's still a bit too niche to find a lot of alternatives. But it would definitely be a deal breaker for me! Haha, I didn't realize Hinderer added the modern standard overtravel stop to the lock bar insert. Man, yeah, that really does make the side-mounted knob pretty moot.
@@KnifeNerdery A friend of mine has a Hoback clip on his Curtiss. I'm not sure if he had to modify it or not, but I know the hole spacing is really similar either way. Still not perfect, but much better. The pivot lash on this is crazy! I wouldn't be surprised If Dave shows up in the comments here. Hes pretty well known for proactively resolving possible issues with his work.
Well done and timely as the F3 and wayfarer both came into my collection over the past two months. I managed to snag the prerelease wayfarer 247 with the Bowie blade 😊
@@KnifeNerdery The Bowie caught my attention and I’m yet to see it being offered as an option yet however the F3 I managed to snag was the medium 3” wharny and get this…non flipper and in magnacut. It checked so many boxes for me, I couldn’t pass on it. Dropping you a note on IG with a link 🤓
Have (2) Wayfarer 247 , far superior to most custom high end knives, the preciseness is incredible. Recommend using the equal of blue Loctite on the screws. I also polished the lock part which has the small ceramic detente ball. The part which slides onto the back of the blade to lock the blade was rough on both knives. Polished the part with 1000 wet and dry, knife opens easier, smoother.
The Curtiss F3 was always on my short list of knives I wanted to own, mainly because I really like the aesthetics of the knife. But there are enough little fit and finish issues on the F3, that I have chosen not to add one to my collection. If Curtiss would give a little more effort to his fit and finish details (especially on his frag pattern knives), I would love to own one someday.
Great review, as always - thank you! And some very cool knives! Although, I have to say, those two holes on the scales of the Olamic that are not chamfered... To me, that just looks unfinished. That would drive me nuts if that was my knife.
