Assist Carbide Init Impressions

[dynaryder]

Finally got my hands on an Assist I w/carbide breaker. Price off eBay was $50,which I think is actually two or three bucks cheaper than what I paid for the Assist II last Spring. Handle is the same as the II,w/the addition of the breaker. Both have wire clips and whistles(the orange bit),plus cobra hoods. Blade is completely different;the II has sort of a wharncliffe,the I has a very blunt tip. There's absolutely no way you're going to poke someone w/this one.



The I's claim to fame is the carbide glass breaker. Not sure what to think on this one. It's pretty small(smaller than the ones on the Colt/United/Eickhorn knives),and doesn't stick out very far. You deploy it by squeezing down on the blade when it's closed. There are finger grooves in the spine for this. The blunt tip pushes on a ramp on the back of the breaker and it slides out a hole in the butt of the handle. It sticks out only like 1/8"(2mm). It's quite pointy,but like I said,it's tiny. I think I'd be worried about damaging the handle. I'm sure Spyderco tested it thoroughly,and it's not like you're going to use it every day,but if I were a LEO/Rescue Squad,I think I'd pack a separate breaker. Of course,if you did mess up the handle trying to get someone out of a car wreck or something,I'm sure Spyderco's customer service would fix it. After all,it's the use it was intended for.



Overall,it's a pretty nice piece. I like the wharncliffe shape of the II better,but the I's blunt tip would really be much safer in an emergency situation. The handle is way beefier than the standard/93mm Rescue. Much easier to grip and control. The cobra hood makes for fast opening and gives you a good thumb rest. With what's out there now,I think the Assist II is the ticket for rescue knives. It's got a sharp,safe VG-10 blade,lots of handle,and the breaker and whistle extras.



First pic is the II,second is the I(and 3D Native).



Edit:whoops,looks like the forum is reversing pics again. First pic is II/Native,second pic is the new II w/breaker.







Edited by - dynaryder on 10/23/2003 6:32:36 PM
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[dynaryder]

Here's pics of the breaker in and out of the handle. The silver bit inside the handle at the base is the breaker's ramp. The blade's blunt tip pushes on this to extend the breaker.

[dynaryder]

Here's the Assist II next to a standard Rescue(ATS-55 PE). Much beefier.

[Pachucko]

Excellent review! Thanks for the pics. I definitely need to get one of these.



Pachucko

[The Cool]

Thanks for the review - what do you think of the whistle?

[dialex]

Thanks for the review. When I first saw the Assist, I said "boy, what an ugly knife!".
After a while I begun to like it (the Wharncliffe bladed one) <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>

[dynaryder]

Cool: whistle's ok. About as loud as a referee's.

[Shiden]

Thank you for the pics and review.

Shiden-Kaj

[The Cool]

As loud as a ref's whistle is pretty impressive.

Thanks much.

[rorschach]

Thanks for the review and pics!
I also wondered about the carbide breaker. I have never broken a car window, so I'll put it to those that have: Is it fairly difficult? I would think you need some momentum and maybe some weight behind your swing to break that kind of glass.

-Rorschach :][: <a href= http://www.scarysharp.com>HOS</a>

[Knife Knut]

Looks like they changed that tip profile a little since Blade 2002.

Knife Knut on a shoestring budget.

[sotyakr]

There was a column in a recent issue of Car and Driver magazine questioning the effectiveness/usefulness of a rescue hammer/seat belt cutter sold at Target. The author went to an auto dismantler, hammer in hand to see if the thing actually worked. Repeated attempts to break out a car's side glass only resulted in some small pock marks and a little glass dust. This was with a full wind-up and swing. The seat belt cutter didn't fare any better. The belt simply bunched up in the blade slot.

Wonder if the Assist's glass breaker is any more effective. In any case, the Assist looks like a nice package.

[Joyce Laituri]

We sent our R&D guys to the junkyard for days at a time just to break glass. One thing we discovered is that there are different types/grades of glass. Breaking it is not always as easy as you might think. If anyone has ever broken out glass in a true emergency situation I would love to hear of your experience(s). Breaking it at or close to an edge seemed to make a difference as well.

LOL- The whistle. R&D spent months testing and perfecting emergency and survival whistles (much to the discomfort of employees in offices close to theirs). It is a high decibel and LOUD!

Joyce

[4077th]

I think Spyderco has a real winner in these two Assists. High performance tools.

[ADS]

I've taken a vehicle extrication class and during this class I used a window punch to break out the side windows (and if I remember correctly rear window) of a car. Very little effort was needed to break the window and have it shatter into many pieces (not just a few pock marks, but virtually no window left). A large amount of momentum was not needed, just a swing of the window punch as if tapping a nail into a piece of wood (I repeat tap, not hammer). The trick to using a window punch is that a large amount of force is directed to a very small area of the window. The best way to break the window is to hit the window in a corner with the punch. This should cause almost the entire window to shatter.

If you were to take a hammer, halligan, axe, baseball bat, or any other large and heavy wrecking tool and hit a window with this, it would not be as effective and would require much more force. The reason for this is because the force of the tool + the momentum provided is spread out over a large part of the window, as opposed to the very tip of the carbide breaker.

The window punch will also not work on the windshield of the car, because this is a different type of glass and has a protective film/layer throughout it. In order to get this type of window removed, you need to use a cutting tool such a an axe or saw.

[Lonehunter]

I have broken many car windows.Most recently at a 2 day NYS vehicle extrication class.

No somethimg that works fast?Windsield Wiper blade arms.Snap off arm,remove clip that holds on blade.your left with the "arm'with a 1/2 inch pin at a right angle.

Hit the window in a lower corner with the pin,a fast snap and the glass breaks into many small pieces,you need to knock these out as the breaking expands the glass and holds them in place.

I can walk up to car snap arm,remove blade and have the window out in way under 10 seconds.

[ADS]

Lonehunter, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that trick only works with the older model windshield wipers (the ones that are usually gray near the point of attachment).

[sal]

I personally broke a lot of car windows while testing the glass breaker. I would be curious as to how much actual testing was done with the other brands?

As mentioned, windshields are safety glass as opposed to tempered glass and require a saw to cut though.

We found some glass was harder to break than others, but they all shattered. close to the edge (as mentioned) works better.

sal

[Lonehunter]

ads,I don't know.I do know they have to be made of what my father used to call "white metal" in order to break off with a quick snap.

What I was trying to show was,you need to hit the window in a low corner and with a whipping or snapping motion.