Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: Ease of Opening, Lock Ease of Use
Looks Great, Needed Some Tweaking
I bought this knife for two reasons: My wife loved the look of it, and it was one of the least expensive S90V blades I had come across and I wanted to see how that steel works. Fit and finish are great, and the Hectare really is a perfect-sized EDC knife. However, there was an absolutely massive amount of spring tension on the crossbar, to the point that my wife complained that it was difficult to unlock. Also, the gripping grooves that are machine-cut into the crossbar ends were sharp, exacerbating this problem. But we talked about it and she said she'd see if she could deal with it. After a couple of weeks of her carrying and using the knife and showing it off, I found a good-sized ding in the edge where the blade had impacted the last spacer (with a corresponding nick in the spacer finish to confirm this was the cause), even though when closed, there was a good amount of space between the blade edge and the spacer. So I sharpened with a diamond plate, honed, and stropped the edge back into shape (it is now beyond razor sharp; S90V will take an incredibly fine edge!), then fully disassembled the knife (easy process; all T8 screws except the pocket clip), and adjusted both omega springs to remove some tension. This greatly improved the action of the knife and kept the blade from slamming so hard while closing. The only other complaint I have is that the Hectare should be a thumb stud opener (I believe it was originally designed that way; thumb stud models are available). The hole does not align well with the shape of the handle, and while certainly possible to do, getting a finger or thumb into the hole isn't as easy as it should be (TWSS), causing a kind of "primary extraction" of the blade from its closed position before flicking it open. But my wife can get a nail in there easy enough, and the lowered spring tension allows her to easily gravity-open the blade while unlocking the crossbar. Overall, I am happy with the knife and so is she. It just had some quirks to get used to and things to adjust. The S90V blade steel is wonderful!
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