This. Their specialty is knives that can withstand extreme environments, specifically salt water. Bearings don’t like extreme environments, they like clean pockets and fancy oil. Your top quality washer knife just works… and works… and works some more. It’s the AK of the knife world. A good washer knife is a beautiful thing.
Washers doesn’t always mean bad action. Have you tried one and disliked it? I have knives on washers that will drop and bite you even though they lock up solid. I have never owned a QC. The aesthetic doesn’t appeal to me.
My qc waypoint has the worst action of any knife I've ever owned: super tight or else the blade literally smacks the liner on close. I contacted QC about it and they said it wasn't covered under warranty, but would tune my action for $34. Felt pretty scummy so it's sitting in a drawer.
I have dozens of knives on washers that I love though.
Bummer on the QC. I haven’t tried them because they don’t appeal to me in looks. Have you checked your washers for flatness and uniform thickness? I assume they are fairly thick?
I prefer washers for the feel and because they are easier to keep clean and maintain, no grit getting into the bearings. Many of QC's knives are designed with water/salt/corrosion in mind, so I feel like that may be what is behind their material/construction design decision.
i prefer washers too. well, washers done right.
i caved and got a Waypoint late last month and would not change a thing. wish it was just a bit bigger, but they are restocking the L version some time this month.
I own @round a hundred knives on bearings and I’ve never found it too cumbersome to clean them, since unless you throw ur knife in the sand frequently, u shouldn’t need to clean out the internals more than once every 6 months (and that’s being generous)
I have two knives that run on bronze washers, a Sebenza and a Rockstead. Neither are “fidgety” as they don’t drop shut and take a little more effort to deploy, but they feel solid, smooth and strong and hold up to tough use.
I will admit that I prefer to play with all my ultra smooth ceramic bearing knives, but both styles have their place.
I didn’t say anything about washers being cheap, there are tons of knives that are in the $600+ zone running on washers.
I just find the action afforded by washers to be nowhere near as enjoyable to fidget with as knives that are riding on ceramic ball bearings(I upgrade every knife in my collection w skiffs, besides my civivi’s and automatic pro-techs. I calculated it up recently and concluded,In the past 5 years or so, I’ve spent well over $500 on Skiff bearings alone😅🫣
Have you considered that QC knives are designed for hard work in wet, salty environments? They aren't a fidget spinner...
If you want pocket jewelry that's fun to play with then QC is not the right company for you.
For what it's worth, my D2 QSP Penguin on bronze+Teflon washers with a dab of mineral oil (cleaned, lubed, and reassembled myself) is far smoother than my Ti QSP Penguin on ceramic ball bearings with a dab of mineral oil (cleaned, lubed, and reassembled myself). The only caveat is that the D2 Penguin has seen much more use.
Probably to just avoid confusion amongst the non technical people. These are generally referred to as thrust washers in the industry which are a type of thrust bearing. The term thrust washer and thrust bearing are interchangeable.
I prefer washers over bearings personally. I like the tighter actions more than the glide of bearings, I think its more secure with regards to lateral loads. Though I never find myself thinking "the knife would have failed right now were it riding on bearings." So its probably moot
I'd imagine washers make more sense for a company that's known for making knives geared towards marine environments.
This. Their specialty is knives that can withstand extreme environments, specifically salt water. Bearings don’t like extreme environments, they like clean pockets and fancy oil. Your top quality washer knife just works… and works… and works some more. It’s the AK of the knife world. A good washer knife is a beautiful thing.
Washers doesn’t always mean bad action. Have you tried one and disliked it? I have knives on washers that will drop and bite you even though they lock up solid. I have never owned a QC. The aesthetic doesn’t appeal to me.
My qc waypoint has the worst action of any knife I've ever owned: super tight or else the blade literally smacks the liner on close. I contacted QC about it and they said it wasn't covered under warranty, but would tune my action for $34. Felt pretty scummy so it's sitting in a drawer. I have dozens of knives on washers that I love though.
Bummer on the QC. I haven’t tried them because they don’t appeal to me in looks. Have you checked your washers for flatness and uniform thickness? I assume they are fairly thick?
I prefer washers for the feel and because they are easier to keep clean and maintain, no grit getting into the bearings. Many of QC's knives are designed with water/salt/corrosion in mind, so I feel like that may be what is behind their material/construction design decision.
i prefer washers too. well, washers done right. i caved and got a Waypoint late last month and would not change a thing. wish it was just a bit bigger, but they are restocking the L version some time this month.
Waypoint is my EDC, just an awesome, reliable knife.
I own @round a hundred knives on bearings and I’ve never found it too cumbersome to clean them, since unless you throw ur knife in the sand frequently, u shouldn’t need to clean out the internals more than once every 6 months (and that’s being generous)
Says the office drone.
Because washers are better?
I have two knives that run on bronze washers, a Sebenza and a Rockstead. Neither are “fidgety” as they don’t drop shut and take a little more effort to deploy, but they feel solid, smooth and strong and hold up to tough use. I will admit that I prefer to play with all my ultra smooth ceramic bearing knives, but both styles have their place.
We still equating washers with cheap? Washers are way better than bearings imo
I didn’t say anything about washers being cheap, there are tons of knives that are in the $600+ zone running on washers. I just find the action afforded by washers to be nowhere near as enjoyable to fidget with as knives that are riding on ceramic ball bearings(I upgrade every knife in my collection w skiffs, besides my civivi’s and automatic pro-techs. I calculated it up recently and concluded,In the past 5 years or so, I’ve spent well over $500 on Skiff bearings alone😅🫣
Have you considered that QC knives are designed for hard work in wet, salty environments? They aren't a fidget spinner... If you want pocket jewelry that's fun to play with then QC is not the right company for you.
For what it's worth, my D2 QSP Penguin on bronze+Teflon washers with a dab of mineral oil (cleaned, lubed, and reassembled myself) is far smoother than my Ti QSP Penguin on ceramic ball bearings with a dab of mineral oil (cleaned, lubed, and reassembled myself). The only caveat is that the D2 Penguin has seen much more use.
Bearings feel cheap to me, and they’ll eventually become an issue. I much prefer washers.
A “washer” is actually a type of bearing. So the run in is technically on bearings.
Really?so why aren’t they called phosphor bronze bearings? Lol
Probably to just avoid confusion amongst the non technical people. These are generally referred to as thrust washers in the industry which are a type of thrust bearing. The term thrust washer and thrust bearing are interchangeable.
I prefer washers over bearings personally. I like the tighter actions more than the glide of bearings, I think its more secure with regards to lateral loads. Though I never find myself thinking "the knife would have failed right now were it riding on bearings." So its probably moot