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Friday, 12 October 2007 21:18

Sure Fire Delta EW-04 Long Term Review

Written by

My initial feelings and thoughts on the Delta knife were mixed, the knife as intended works wonderfully but I concluded that the add on features of the knife were more gimmick than something that was planned and well thought out. Some manufacturers make a product and rush it to market without fully testing the product or putting it in a real world situation to see how the tool/knife will hold up. Having carried the Delta now for six months I figure a follow-up should be in order, having since releasing the Delta model EW-O4 Sure Fire has released two new knives.

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

The Delta carries real well with its spring style wired pocket clip. Riding low in the pocket is a bonus when you want to be inconspicuous of the very large knife your carrying. The window breaker at the end of the handle was originally felt to be a nuisance to those people who felt they didn’t need such a thing. Given some time I feel it doesn’t hinder the user in any fashion and the breaker comes in handy in the event you need to get away from a wreck or perhaps for a self defense reason.

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

When holding the Delta in your hand in the closed position there are two methods for deploying the blade. You can open the blade via the thumb hole, this method is for slow opening only and should not be attempted for flicking the blade. Doing so may cause injury, I have my pivot tightened to the max so I have zero blade play and this is a protective measure. The other method is to use the flipper on the back of the blade. The flipper which also serves as a micro pry bar, can open the knife rather quickly with just a flick of your wrist. From draw to release the knife with some practice can be put in to action fairly quickly.

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

The grip or purchase on the knife is solid; your hand feels very comfortable in the grip they have engineered into the knife and it’s also ambidextrous. The great things about the blade style (modified sheep’s foot) and titanium handle are that the knife can be held and used effectively in many positions. The titanium is a great material for this knife, most knife handles when they get wet, especially metal ones tend to get a little slippery. With the titanium handles it almost seems that the handle gets more tactile when wet. The blade’s CPM S30v blade is a breeze to sharpen and holds an edge well, depending on what tasks you are using it for. Some materials have given me some trouble when cutting but it has nothing to do with the steel, the blade style and sheer thickness of the blade make it difficult to slice through some things. The thick blade almost makes the knife drag rather than slice. This was a trade off for the manufacturer, they wanted to make a knife that was robust enough to take any brutal punishment that the user could dish out, but it sacrifices some what the utility of the blade.

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

Sure Fire Delta EW-04

One of the features that I have come to like on the Delta is the webbing/ seat belt cutter. The cutter is very effective at cutting and removing anything from Para cord and seat belts, I have even gone so far as to use it to remove zip ties. When the need arises the blade can be replaced and they can be obtained from Sure Fire. The wire cutter/crimper that is incorporated into the blades spine works pretty good with heavier gauge copper wiring but anything that is steel, especially steel braided, the cutter lacks the edge to cut through them effectively. Last on the accessories list is the integral wrench. When I first reviewed this knife I thought the concept was a wonderful idea but in practice is failed and fell short of my expectations. Having tried to use this wrench, even six months down the road, I feel it still doesn’t offer much to the knife’s utility but rather reduces the weight of the handle.

Overall the knife is well thought out and has been received well by the public. Sure Fire has sold quite a number of them and they seem to have something that military and law enforcement is looking for. The only really bad thing l have with the knife, is the customer service at Sure Fire. My Delta was supposed to have a screw to replace the window breaker if the customer chose to remove it, but one was not included in the box. Numerous times I had e-mailed and called them asking for a replacement screw and they told me that any parts I need will take up to six weeks to receive. After several attempts and getting nothing in return I think the Customer Service is lacking. This has nothing to do with quality or anything against their products, but how they handle their customers makes a very large impact on how the public deals with and continue to buy from a manufacturer.

David Bowen

As Co Founder of Multitool.org David has been a multitool enthusaist since the 90's.  David has always been fascinated with the design inginuity and uselfulness of multitools.

David is always looking forward to what's new in the industry and how the humble multitool continues to evolve as it radically changes and improves the lives of users.

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