It originally appeared plenty strong and I've seen the design on plenty of other knives and not heard complaints about it. I was originally worried that the framelock would be difficult to unlock with the profile being the same on both the titanium and g10 sides, but the ridges on the lockbar where you grab to unlock provide plenty of grab. If you flick it real hard, it can be sticky, but I've never had a problem with unlocking it like I have with several other titanium framelocks (I'm looking at you Strider and hest ). I would say it started around 1/4 and is now just slightly over that, definitely not up to 1/3 yet. Lockup has stayed at about the same even though it's been flicked and used reasonably hard here and there. The only other two knives that I've ever carried that much were the Strider and Umnumzaan pictured above. It's about all I've carried since I got it, and was the ONLY knife I carried between August and November. I've had this knife for a little over 6 months. I typed it up this huge thing and lost it. Notice the screws going into the backspacer on the G10 side are absent on the titanium side The edges around these fullers are not sharp but are left aggressive. The G10 scales are completely smooth except for the 3 grooves which surprisingly offer a decent amount of texture and keeps the knife from moving around. There are also ridges along the back spacer that are much less pronounced. The ridges (jimping:barf: what a terrible word) on the spine are very aggressive and can bite into your hand but I kind of prefer them this way. The thumbstuds are bevelled nicely, they provide good purchase with bare hands or gloves. I've always prefered a spear/clip point to a drop point simply due to the very fine point that seems to come easier with this style.
It's a great blade shape, extremely usable and has a fantastic fine point. The blade, which is described as a "bayonet" style, I would have called a spearpoint, but that's really just semantics. I wish I had taken some pics of it when it was brand new so you'll have to check out the pics on their site to see it unmarred. The knife opened as smooth as any Chris Reeve or Hinderer I've ever owned or handled (it still does for that matter) and the fit and finish is phenomenal. my initial thoughts back in August left me very impressed.
The production model retains most of the features of these custom works as well as a high level of fit and finish but at a significantly lower price point. The Dauntless design has been seen before for quite a few years but always as a custom-level knife by many well known and some lesser known makers. The actual manufacturer is currently unknown but is supposedly somebody in the U.S.A. The knife is the Dauntless MK2, designed by Triple Aught Design in San Francisco.
Strider knives dauntless update#
I'll come back from time to time and add notes and pictures as well as update my impressions. This just happens to be one of my favorite knives and I don't see many reviews on this site about it, so I thought I'd throw something up and people can add to it as they see fit :thumbup: (or just a running list of rambling and notes ) I'm not really a reviewer, just a guy who likes knives This is going to be more of an overview than an all out review.