- large, thin and broad-bladed
Once again, it seems I'm the first in the world. Or at least the searchable part of it. First with what, you might wonder? Well, to publish a written review of a certain knife. On YouTube, there are always people who have something to say already a few minutes after a model is released or, not so rarely, before it is available on the market.
The knife I couldn't find a written review on is the Sencut Glidestrike. Now I definitely didn't get it because there were no reviews. Rather, the reason was that it was unusually large and bold to come from Sencut. The blade particularly stood out, which combined with the price made it an interesting knife.
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| Sencut Glidestrike |
The Glidestrike is currently available in four different versions, two of which have black blades. This version is also available with a black handle in addition to the green one. The satin-bladed knives have either black handles or natural G10. Then we ran out of options.
In any case, you get a knife with a really wide blade that opens with a thumb hole, locks with a liner lock, and has G10 sides. It sounds rather generic. The question is, is there more to discover?
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| The Glidestrike surprises by being an unusually substantial knife from Sencut |
Short version: Sencut Glidestrike, a big and bold everyday companion that is surprisingly easy to carry.
Blade
In my presentation of this knife, I wrote that two things attracted interest and the blade shape was one of them. As can be seen, it's a sturdy, wide clip point.
Sturdy mainly refers to the height, which is a whopping 35 mm. It becomes especially noticeable with the handle, which is quite slim. The blade length is a hair under 95 mm. The thickness, however, is not excessive, the blade measures 2.9 mm. That stock is then thinned by a very high flat grind (around an inch or 25.4mm) to an impressive 0.4mm behind the edge. Again, Sencut/Civivi succeeds with that detail.
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| The large clip-point blade is blackened in this design |
The blade steel is 9Cr18MoV, a steel that Sencut often uses. It's a domestic Chinese steel that I actually like. It looks and feels like the 14C28N for example, although for various reasons I prefer the latter. The blade is in this case coated black, but I don't really know which method was used. It has, after a few months of usage proven durable.
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| The steel used is 9Cr18MoV |
In fairness, drop points are often more practical with slightly sturdier tips than the average clip point. But in terms of appearance, this type of blade isn't bad at all and you get a very good tip to work with. I'm still not one of those people who pry with a folding knife. If that type of work is to be performed with a knife at all, I do it with a fixed-bladed one.* Other tip-related tasks, however, the Glidestrike is very good at. The tip is thin and sharp without being brittle. Excellent for penetrating cuts, not least in plastic materials that are ubiquitous in our modern existence.
Otherwise, the knife is excellent for the type of cut where you want the extra control that a wide blade provides. The other day I used it to thin cabbage leaves for "kåldolmar" (Swedish version of dolma). I know, a very specific and non-folding knife task. But Glidestrike had to show off and did great. Otherwise, there is a lot of packaging opening at work that the knife had to work with. It is then mainly about materials such as cardboard and plastic. Then I always test knives in wood and fabric to get a more complete picture of how they behave.
In general, it can be said that Glidestrike is an excellent blue-collar worker. Something that is well in line with both the size of the knife and perhaps the price range.
Handle
If you have only seen the Glidestrike in pictures that show it from the side, you will be surprised the first time you hold it in your hand. The handle is noticeably thin. Across the back, the knife measures 12 mm. Sure, there are even thinner knives, but they rarely have handles that are thirteen centimeters long and hide a blade that approaches ten centimeters in length. The height of the handle is 25 mm.
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| The handle material is medium-coarse G10 |
Either the material or the way the knife is built is exotic. Inside the knife is a steel frame that is greatly weight reliefed. It is also made so that it rises ever so slightly above the sides. They are made of G10 with a medium coarse structure. It provides a reasonably good grip without being the roughest on the market. The sides are screwed in place with two size T8 screws along with the adjustable pivot screw of the same size.
Incidentally, it is one of the very few cardinal sins committed by Sencut. The pivot screw is not D-shaped but has two heads, which is not the best solution because it requires two torx keys if they start spinning. Now the friction is usually enough that it is only required to tighten on one side, but still.
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| The knife is open in the back and the frame is heavily milled out |
The shape of the handle is apparently very simple. Fairly straight with a slight curvature. The only deviation is a well-placed recess for the index finger. It has received a substantial chamfer, which makes it softer against the finger.
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| The balance is good and the weight is relatively low |
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| The long handle provides many grip options |
Opening and Lock
A blade hole is what is used to open this knife. That and nothing else can be added in these times of knives with multiple opening methods. Now, I don't mind, rather the opposite. Apart from the blade, that was one of the reasons why I found the Glidestrike interesting. Flipper knives in all glory but I actually prefer thumb opening.
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| The oblong blade hole used to deploy the blade is heavily chamfered at the edges |
The thumb hole is actually quite small and the edges are also bevelled. It certainly makes it comfortable to handle but also a bit more slippery. Here, however, it works well. Especially as the recess for the index finger in the handle also makes it easier to access the hole.
Once you have poked the soft parts of your finger into the hole, as that is the only thing that will fit, it is extremely easy to open the knife. The resistance in the detent ball feels so light that I first suspected that the blade would be able to be shaken out with a flick of the wrist, but this is not the case. It is just so light that it is barely felt. This in turn means that the knife can be opened slowly for those who prefer it, alternatively flicked with either thumb or forefinger for those who are in more of a hurry.
The fact that the action is so smooth is of course also because the blade runs on ball bearings.
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| The liner lock does what it's supposed to do with gusto |
The lock is as straightforward as the rest of the construction. In this case, a somewhat untrendy liner lock has been chosen. But it's good and it does what it's supposed to. It falls into place with some authority and does not slide once activated. Not even under fairly heavy pressure from the wrong direction, i.e. towards the back of the blade. It is also exceptionally easy to reach and release. No negative objections whatsoever to the lock, in other words. This is how to make a good liner lock!
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| Although not much of the lock bar is visible, the lock is easy to release |
The blade on the Glidestrike is, despite being thin, quite heavy, I might add. This causes it to slide into place when the lock bar is released and the blade has passed the detent ball. So much so that it's best to move your fingers away if you don't want to get bitten.
To Carry
Believe it or not, Glidestrike is a substantial knife. But two things distinguish it. One is that it is relatively light. The second is how it was mainly achieved, by making it thin. The last, of course, affects how it feels to carry.
But it is also very high. It's "Spyderco high" in the pocket. The Glidestrike measures 40mm in height. And since, as I said, it has a handle of thirteen centimeters, there is quite a lot of knife that needs to be tucked away in a pocket.
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| The clip is quite large and therefore fits this model |
Once there, it sits perfectly without moving or getting in the way of anything else. The knife is also very easy to pull and put away. An important detail for an EDC knife as many of the small everyday tasks involve drawing your knife, making a cut or two, and then putting it away again. Of course, that quality is not as important if you are out in the outdoors and have to build a camp, debone a couple of fishes, or cut up an animal.
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| Plenty of room for fabric |
The fact that the knife feels good in the pocket can also be attributed to the clip. Like everything else on the Glidestrike, there's nothing special about it. But one of Sencut's basic clips fulfills its function here. It is a deep-carry black spring steel clip which means that very little of the knife is visible in the pocket.
It is mounted with two T6 screws that sit in tandem, which means that the clip does not move. It is certainly not recessed in the side of the handle, there they have saved some processing time and therefore money, but the screw heads are flat, which means that the space is still enough.
The tension and the ramp are also decent. It can be added that because the handle is so long, the tip of the clip does not get in the way when working with the knife. A problem that can appear on smaller knives but also depends on the user's hand size.
To Conclude
Big and bold are two impressions that come back during this review. Having said that, the knife is not that big and not to be forgotten, it is easy to carry as it is not excessively heavy and above all thin and comes with a good clip.
The reason it feels that way is that it is larger than most other models from both Sencut and sister brand Civivi. The fact that it's something positive doesn't just come from the fact that variety is the spice. I belong to those who often use EDC knives with slightly smaller blades, around 76mm/3". But sometimes something more solid is needed, even if that is not the main argument either.
It is instead that there are actually people with very large hands. For them, the supply is drastically reduced if they are to have something that suits them. This especially applies to more budget-priced knives. But here is a very viable option!
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| As a daily companion, the Glidestrike is large and reliable |
What do you then get for your invested pennies, which then are not too many? Specifically around 50 Euros in Europe and about the same amount in dollars. Well, you get the usual Sencut build quality which means it's very high for the price range. In this case, for example, quality G10 that actually provides traction, flat screw heads, a well-functioning clip, and a really good lock.
But above all, they know how to process knife blades so that they are thin behind the edge. They dare to trust both the steel and their customers. Now only more brands will follow that example. The result is a knife that cuts damn well and is easy to work with. That also applies in this case. With its thin edge and sharp tip, the Glidestrike is good for detail work, while the large, wide blade and ergonomic handle make it a good all-round knife, even for those who need to handle heavy-duty tasks.
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| Sencut Glidestrike isn't bad as an outdoor folding knife either |
For those reasons, I can only recommend this knife. It may not be extraordinarily designed but it is well built, easy to use, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Then it was good for all kinds of hand sizes too. That's a big bonus, pun intended.
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| Sencut Knives |
Specification:
Length Open: 224 mm
Length Folded: 129 mm
Weight: 121 g (weighed by me, stated 123,3 g)
Blade Length: 95 mm
Blade Thickness: 2,9 mm
Blade Steel: 9Cr18MoV
Handle: G10
Lock: Liner lock
Produced by: Sencut, made in China
/ J -
And don't even try "what if" arguments. I never end up in a desolate place miles from civilization and have to pry open an abandoned safe I happen to find there that contains the only items necessary for survival. Nor do I have to drive the point into a tree and use my folding knife as an improvised ladder. Or some other made-up scenarios.
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