The Herman Knives Bee: Disassembly and Quick Review
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Today, we're going to take a look at the Herman Knives Bee, a knife that's great, but a bit contradictory, being their easiest knife to take apart yet, while requiring more caution, and being a more base model, while suggesting you spend more, and smaller than their norm, while working better for larger hands. So, watch the video to see me take it apart, and then wax poetic.
Haven't watched Nick in more than a year. Glad to see he finally got a different matt like I'd been asking him to do since around 2017.
This comment is going to be long winded but I wanted you and your viewers to understand possible issues they may have with Damasteel Hermans.
I currently have 18 Hermans including a Damacore Half Dress Dragonfly and Damasteel Full Dress Ishtar which came right out of the wooden boxes with bearings feeling like they were traveling over a rocky road. When the blade is slowly closed the friction reverberates through the entire handle. Upon disassembly I found that on the Dragonfly the washers were rough with the bearings tracks not smooth, but actually rough. It has been back with PCK/Herman now for a month. Today i was so excited to get my Ishtar but after first opening and a shake the the blade would not easily close and I then used my finger to close the blade and got the same “rocky road” as the Dragonfly. Needless to say, my excitement instantly turned to disgust. I disassembled the knife to try and understand what was going on and found a few issues. firstly, the pivot screw was so gummed up with thread locker that like your disassembly of this knife had me having to use force all the way out to remove the screw. Upon close inspection the screw almost looked like a pin! Next, there was a lot of grim in there that needed to be cleaned out. Why it would be so dirty is beyond me. Finally, the most glaring problem was the bearing tracks on one side of the blade. The tracks looked normal about 330° around the circle on the outside groove with the last 30° being feathered out. There was no clean groove there. 😮 inspecting the bearings revealed no visible cracks so I couldn’t tell what could have caused the uneven bearing tracks. The inside race had 2 nicks on it as well. I took very close video clips of the whole inspection to pass on to PCK and they responded with this:
“Hi ! I hope you are well. This is due to the fact that it is Damascus steel, which we etch in acid. We protect the area where the bearings and detent work from acid exposure, but despite that, there are always micro-channels along which the detent will move with slight jumps. This does not affect the knife's smooth operation, as we refine and polish it-after all, the knife opens and closes smoothly when used normally, not very slowly.
We have sold many knives with blades made from various Damascus steels, and people haven’t paid as much attention to this as you are pointing out. Honestly, the only way to make it work as smoothly as blades made from powder steels that are not acid-etched would be to mill pockets in the blade for the washers. However, there is a risk that in a half-open position, these pockets might be slightly visible under the titanium scales. The same applies to the Dragonfly with a Damacore blade, which you returned to us.
This knife operates very smoothly, and the issue really comes down to the fact that there are micro-channels created during etching that the detent follows, causing micro-jumps when you move the blade very slowly. I am not sure if Herman will be able to improve these knives to meet your slow-opening test. I think we might need to refund you for these knives unless you want us to implement those additional milled pockets in the blade. However, as I mentioned, they might be slightly visible under the titanium. Let us know what you think.
Unfortunately, this is due to the fact that Damascus steels are forged and differ in each batch. Some turn out perfectly, while others have a non-uniform structure after processing. These issues do not occur with powder steels.”
To spend $2,900 on a knife it should open and close smoothly whether opened and closed slowly or quickly. I got two identical Dragonflys at the same time and the one that I traded with Jerad Neeve for his full dress Micro was smooth as glass. The blades looked nearly identical. Why the Dragondly I kept then sent back to PCK was any different is a mystery to me.
Anyway I will be asking them to go ahead and mill out pockets in the blade to insert inner washers. I could care less about whether they could be slightly seen in the half open position. Both knives are absolutely gorgeous and I don’t want a refund.
I’ve been waiting for Herman the right size and this is the knife
I'm not a big fan of the design language (too angular) but they sure have got the size right this time.
They lend you a knife and ask you not to disassemble it and you go straight into a disassembly. Nice one, Nick!
I love listening to Nick, even knowing full well I will never buy this knife or anything at this price point
Beautiful knife, too expensive for me, but it might be worth every penny. Good review and disassembly, Nick. Thanks
Every time Nick shabazz posts a new video, an Angel gets their wings.
Life is all about risks you have the full potential of being a full time UA-camr we all love your videos it feels you have given up on UA-cam..
Love what I saw when I opened up my Ishtar. Beautifully milled on the inside including the liner lock. Herman provides extra ball bearings with the knife.
I really like the aesthetic of that knife.
I love this knife. Classy and understated.
I do love every Herman I have ever owned. But it would be amazing if he could bring very "plain Jane" variants (both handle and blade finish) down towards $600-700 (depending on model). I think it would push a lot of people who have been on the fence towards buying one, so they can discover how great they are. And there are always runs in so many different good steel, if a steel isn't for one just wait for a later run to get it in the steel one wants. Herman Knives is probably one of the High end knife company where it's fairly easy to get your hands on one.
Now that's a (subtle) looker nice to see a modest size.
800 is too rich for my blood but to those who can afford it, props to 'em
Nice blade. Reminds me of the Tangram Santa Fe, a discontinued and totally underrated knife.
I miss the days when Nick reviewed tools and not fragile guilded artwork in the shape of a knife.
Spear us from further pun nishment; it is a bit of a sword point. Love your videos as always!!!
Love just listening to you.
If you Buy the Bee It won't Sting your pocket Book 😂😂😂😂Love the video Your the best
Nicolás, I've been curious about Herman knives since you first feature them on your channel, but then again there's the price or prices. I know they might be worth yet, I haven't really gotten there. Nonetheless they are gorgeous, great size comparison and vid as usual.👌
I really like the Skiff bearings for the Herman's. Mostly because I'm not a big fan of loose bearings, and Skiff also makes some great captured bearings. So it's great Herman now uses captured bearings (or at least not bearings that just fly out without effort), so people don't need to get Skiffs
Herman has also been making in-house captured bearings for some time now.😉
@@32dzikus Oh really? I just noticed it in the description on Polish Custom Knives a while ago. Mine are a few years old.
YES. Nick
I wonder if my micro sting which I just purchased a couple of weeks ago has this same new bearing system. The knife did come with that same tool and the same warning about the thread pitch and the possibility of cracking bearings.
How are you liking it so far?
@@tyarnold4088 It’s great. The attention to detail is unlike any other knife I have ever handled.
@@ericnurko sounds very nice. Enjoy!
Hey Nick, do you know if Herman offers replacement captive bearings to replace the old loose bearings?
HEY! BUDDY! When you doin a review of the auto/full immunity from benchmade?! What the heck man... lol great video btw
23:37 I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost…
That's a good little knife for selfdefense.
For an extra $100-150 over the base model, you can get one that has an inlay and some polished sections of the scales, and IMO that makes it look much higher end without spending a fortune for a damascus blade or timascus scales.
You should do some knifes from microtech.
Jeez, CJRB Agave is making a comeback?
The edgiest content creator, I know, also good, sir, did you ever experience issues with the hardware on a Slysz Bowie?
Tried disassembling mine the other day, and the pivot screws melted beneath my bits.
As if they were butterium
I didn’t listen to the video before typing this. It’s kind of ironic that I had a very, very distinct issue for something like disassembling a knife on my own.
Didn’t have any problems with the WinterBladeCo factor, no issues with my phoenix custom from paragon…
But I was completely bamboozled by a spyderco of all things
blade lockup on mine isnt great :(
I can fold the blade without using the liner lock. that's not normal im pretty sure. I reached out to their customer service and ill update on how that process goes.
Just got my Bee today and have the same issue. The lockbar is not under tension at all and disengages at the faintest suggestion of a touch, even when just gripping the knife normally when open.
"Polish lubricant." 🤣
I'm sure there's several jokes there, use your imagination.
"Exxon Shabazz" 😂🤣
I don’t know why these high end knives manufactures don’t just write and provide a take down and reassembly procedure for there knives, especially if they’re going to provide the tools to do it.
At this ridiculous price, they should have a video
Can see the blade is touching the scale but "flips it anyways"......................but......why
I’d rather have 50-70 off and not have the screwdriver if it’s a regular torx.
How many lubricants have you smelled, Nick??? 🤣
Nice looking but the price is just stupid.
They make some amazing looking knives, but flipper knives aren't for me. I look at as good thing though because i don't need to be chasing anymore knives in this price range than i already do.
Quick review, 35 minutes 😅
Why is it that no UA-camrs actually buy their hermans. Or at least very few. Could it be that they are horribly over priced? Say what you will about there quality, but damn near all herman reviews were provided by the manufacturer. If they are so good why aren't knife tubers buying them out of pocket?
I bought my full dress Sting and a Mantis for my best friend, and I'm going to buy a Bee. Just saying...
Also UA-camrs need to ration their budget. Almost no UA-camr can buy all the knives they review, unless they stick to absolutely budget models. BTW, as far as I know MC has bought some Hermans. And yes, they are very expensive.
Same is true for 90% of the knife brands you see on the big channels... dumb comment.
I guess you are not a real collector, if you worry about the price
A Herman is not anymore overpriced than any other high-end knife. You can't say they haven't bought their own.
People are going to buy these knives regardless of reviewers being given free knives to review. It's not going to taint the market anymore than what has already happened.
Also, I'd wager guys like Nick or Metal Complex are hardcore collectors. Just a guess.
I'm sure both of them have bought their fair share of expensive high-end knives (Herman included) with their own money. Knives that you or I could never afford anyway.
You're trying to throw shade where none is needed. This is not the dig you think it is.
Ridiculously overpriced. Only a sucker trying to conspicuously consume would buy this.
It's definitely not for you; after all, you're not a sucker.