I remember 3-4 years ago when you excitedly showed us one of these on your tablet. You said something like, "most likely, we'll never have one on this channel but oh, man, would I like to!" And here we are today!
I have to agree. Being a relative noob when it comes to knife makers, my bias wasn't affected when Nick started this review. I was thinking the blade looked similar to the Kizer Kane (Matt Degnan) flipper, the Vanguard version, and I was thinking, "What is so special about this thing?" Then I saw the unique opening design and the smoothness and the small things that are really big things, and the fact that this is a hand-made folder. It is a beautiful piece. However, I would have to have a lot of disposable income to consider owning one of these.
Please steel test this bad boy. Spine whack test, baton test and pry test. I dont know, your the guy with the RU-vid channel. I can't figure it all out for you. You're the man for this job Pete. Were all counting on you.
fun fact, Stan never intended for the NFF to be dressed. He designed it to be just ss blade, ti bolsters, and cf scales. The high end collectors just went crazy on them with the materials. Also, these start around $5500 now. I suspect it'll probably go higher in the future. When I got mine, it started at $3400 and that was several years ago. There's no detent ball in there. The detent is actually from the cutout on the bottom of the blade. He realized that the cutout provided plenty of detent where as the additional ball is superfluous. Stan's work is simply incredible. I'm fortunate enough to visit Stan in his shop a few times and watch him work. He is incredibly meticulous and skilled. The only automatic machine he has in his shop is his surface grinder. Everything is manual. If anyone ask, I do use mine. Mine has plenty of carry marks and scratches from use. No sense in spending that kind of money without fully enjoying it.
draco00 ...I’m glad you were able to get one when the price was down. It’s inflation you know. The prices rarely go down, or you just find a deal somewhere. And it’s true...having payed a bit less makes it easier to use out in the world as an EDC sort of tool, that’s really what they should be, something you use on a regular basis.
And can always be refinished later. If you buy it to keep pristine..... that’s only gonna bring stress. Use as intended, send it out for spa in a few years.
Hey nick, you're right in that there is a detent ball. It's actually located on the back lock itself. If you are really interested, there were photos of thr internals of this knife on bladeforums which really show just how mich of a genius Stan Wilson is.
You should see his autos with an invisible button blade release. Jaw dropping workmanship and technical design. Stan's work in is a different class of edged art. So great to see a Shabazz review of out of reach stuff like this. Do more like this. I think most of us would dig that! 👍
I thought for sure there was some hidden flipper in the gap, because the alternative was frankly unbelievable, until you revealed it. Amazing! Thanks Nick and Stanley!
I loved this review. Nick was clearly impressed beyond belief with what is obviously the pinnacle of folding knifecrafting excellence, and I enjoy that in the same way that I enjoy listening to a well respected film critic discuss an exceptional piece of work. Call him pretentious if you want, but that's why we love him. He breaks things down piece by piece, and explains the details that too often go overlooked, and clearly enjoys doing it, so to you Mr. Nick Shabazz, I say bravo.
OUTSTANDING review and Subject Nick! LOVE your point about the matching bevel over the unsharpened section of the blade. That observation would have slid right past me. The call-out to companies not just to produce the NFF mechanism, but to do so rightfully in league with Stan, was a great move. You contextualized and justified a purchase of an NFF with its top-shelf price perfectly. Thanks to you and of course Stanley for this review! 💎💎💎💎
Hi from Germany! That's a "Grailknife"! It's a fantastic thing, to hold such a knife in your own hands! But to own it? No? Tooooo expensive! Would i buy it, when i'm rich? YEEEEEES!!!!!! :-) All the best from Germany! I love your channel! Jörg
I've seen bolster releases for automatics, very similar ... but with a very short throw to release a spring. This is the first flipper implementation of a bolster release I have seen, and I thank you, Nick, for bypassing your "no customs" policy to bring us a view of this exceptional knife.
Thanks for introducing us to this work of art. What a truly unique design with incredible craftsmanship. Interesting you would do a review on such an exclusive and highly priced knife and passed on the CKF Sencx Terra collaboration I offered to send you which had the disassembly tool incorporated into the design.
The most interesting knife on your channel ive seen! Simply amazing craftsmanship. Production wise maybe the closest would be the protech magic whiskers? Great vid!
Protech has their Magic series, and the lock systems between that series and this knife seem similar. Protech seriously needs to collaborate with Stan Wilson to do a mass produced version of this knife (or something similar). They already proved they could do manual bearing knives well with the Massdrop Mordax. That or Spyderco could work with Stan to turn this into a new permutation of their Phantom Lock. They worked with Smock to produce a different realization of the Compression lock, so this wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for them. Both would be exciting.
The grinds are GORGEOUS. The scale/bolster relationship reminds me a bit of the Microtec Lightfoot. I think the auto version was a bolster release as well. This one's just a bit out of my price range but, yeah, that's how you make a knife.
LOVE Stan Wilson and his neighbors the Fischer's, Todd Fischer Arch Angel. These knifes are the top of the top. They are asking $17,000 to $21,000 for the NFF at E Boss Hoss. 🤑🤑
What was more impressive? The seemingly mechanical excellence of this knife, or the amazing headfake of Nick about to sharpen its blade on a coffee mug? The coffee mug wins, that was amazing man. So is this knife. I would drop 3k on it if I was in that position. Thanks for the video!
Nick, the SOG Pendulum had somewhat of a similar design where the mechanism is more or less the same as far as turning the thing to close it. The knife is now discontinued, but check it out. Cheers.
Hey nick, I’m looking at getting a benchmade Bugout, but I want to put some Aimfront aftermarket scales on it, however that voids the benchmade warranty. That being said is it possible to simply put back on the original scales on it when I need to send it back to Benchmade for service?
Reminds me of a minigrip, handle shape, bolster radius, blade shape.... I don't know why it's not recognized as one of top 10 modern folders, I'm sure it carried the company for years. I've given them away as gifts
It would be amazing to see a frame lock or liner lock of this. Not saying I don’t like the way it works. I live it just the way it is lol. I’ve been a huge fan of Stan Wilson since I got into knives 3-4 years ago. His knives are amazing pocket art.
I forgive you for doing a review that is against your principal. But heck. It's a Stan Wilson!! I want to hear something more that Hell Yea. Its a beauty.
Wow, what a knife! Just went to the site and the mammoth ones are amazing! New to knives, planing to get a Feldspar (watched your review), and there's something I've noticed among you knife reviewers: everyone mentions that the reviewed knife has held very well... against opening cardboard boxes. And if you happen to have a premium knife, then you don't even dare putting it against such hard task. What's with that? I want a knife to cut whatever there is to cut, to use it as what it is: a tool.
If you pull the bolster back very slowly will the blade still come out? If it does than a leaf spring is involved and it is essentially a bolster activated automatic with a weak spring. If it doesn’t then Stan truly has a unique opening mechanism. Let us know.
I am lucky enough to get tontalkntonstan every year at blade, and have talked about nff's a bitnof that, hes a master and an absolutely incredibly nice guy!
On this, the weight vs blade-length ratio is superfluous. You go by weight vs dollars. In other words, it’s heavy because you pay $1000 per ounce. I’d pick up two in Mokuti but I work in a public school and already eat ramen noodles.
Cool knife...just amazing...I think, but since I’ve never handled a knife of this caliber, I can’t say for sure. I mean it looks like a great knife, and with that tricky flipper thing, well that’s pretty cool. But then there is that appropriately named “cost carry curve”. People collect all sorts of things...knives, guns, classic cars...etc. and never have any intention to using them in any other way than to show their friends, or the community, or the world...what they have achieved. I don’t have a trophy case just yet but when I do, I think this is a knife I need to put in it.
If anyone's interested, there is a video on Jim Skelton's YT channel where he visits Stan Wilson's workshop and shows how this knife works and you can see some of the internals and the tools used. Very very cool, check it out guys.
Beautifully made, wondrous lock/flipper mechanism, but that's really the only reason why I'd want one. The aesthetics and design, for me personally, just aren't stand out enough. Some of Stans other designs are much more wild, and I prefer them. But dang, this lock...
Shabazz power being put to the test. Production knife please! Very intriguing knife. Lots cool stuff here but just like a Lamborghini I can’t afford so why bother looking?
Hey Nick! Thanks for another video... and a big Thank you for bringing such a special knife to the table for us to enjoy. With all his shameless fuckery, I really don't like having to refer new knife people to that freshly-guilded sheister's video about this knife, so it's cool to have a new option for a decent and informative video about this almost legend-status knife. As far as the mechanism goes, I humbly and respectfully offer that this is more than a gimmicky tweak to overall flipper design. Apparently production companies (the few that have tried at least) haven't been able to pull it off which has to say something about this change in flipper mechanics. I personally find the NFF to be way more compelling of a development than either the Lee Williams' Kickstop or GTC's SLT mechanism... I'm inclined to think that if it really was just a novel change that more people including our beloved Kevin Jon out in China would have released knives with the same mechanism by now. And hey. All that smoothness and that beautiful action but it runs on on teflon washers! That's gotta count for something, right?
