Demko AD 20.5

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murphjd25
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Demko AD 20.5

#1

Post by murphjd25 »

Who’s got one? What do you think? Show them off!
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#2

Post by murphjd25 »

I find it hard to believe no one has one of these! 😂
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#3

Post by Airlsee »

Haha, I do not...I was into beefy blades before I learned to appreciate Spyderco's functionality.

I would love to hear other's experiences though, it's a very well respected model with an intriguing design.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#4

Post by JRinFL »

I thought about getting one, but I find the design to overall be a bit “meh”. I’m curious to hear from others about how they like that lock tab sticking up during hard use.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#5

Post by prndltech »

I’ve thought about it… just bought another CRK or something else instead 🤷‍♂️
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#6

Post by James Y »

I guess I'm behind the loop around here. I know who Demko is, but I didn't even know what knife you guys were talking about. So I thought this thread needed pics or a video for others who weren't aware of it.

Personally, I wouldn't be interested. It looks like a pocket shredder to me.

https://youtu.be/8GNA9BpQxUI

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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#7

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Same here. Saw it a few months back when it seemed to be on every knife sites home page. I was immediately turned off by the scales and never clicked on the knife, nor cared to check out that odd looking lock.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#8

Post by murphjd25 »

Well guess I’ll let you guys know my thoughts! Just scored one with D2, blue Jean micarta scales and skiff bearings on BladeForums for $155!!
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#9

Post by chkn »

Decent little knife, very fidgety. I never intended to get more than one but I got one of the early AUS10A ones and then the D2 version along with new RGT scales for each. If I didn't have so many favorite EDCs in rotation I'd probably carry it more.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#10

Post by Evil D »

I'm always intrigued by different lock designs, but that shark fin thing is in the worst possible place for a "hard use" knife. I'm much more interested in Cold Steel's maybe is maybe isn't a ripoff of this lock.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#11

Post by JSumm »

Evil D wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:13 am
I'm always intrigued by different lock designs, but that shark fin thing is in the worst possible place for a "hard use" knife. I'm much more interested in Cold Steel's maybe is maybe isn't a ripoff of this lock.
Andrew Demko actually designed Cold Steel's Triad Lock. I believe the Shark Lock was his way of getting the patent fully under his name. Or under his knife brand.

https://www.coldsteel.com/tri-ad-lock/
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#12

Post by Evil D »

JSumm wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:27 am
Evil D wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:13 am
I'm always intrigued by different lock designs, but that shark fin thing is in the worst possible place for a "hard use" knife. I'm much more interested in Cold Steel's maybe is maybe isn't a ripoff of this lock.
Andrew Demko actually designed Cold Steel's Triad Lock. I believe the Shark Lock was his way of getting the patent fully under his name. Or under his knife brand.

https://www.coldsteel.com/tri-ad-lock/


I was referring to the Atlas Lock that has a similar backwards pulling trigger action as the Shark Lock but doesn't have anything protruding from the spine of the handle. If Demko designed both then that would make sense as to why they're so similar, I just saw a comment that suggested that it was a ripoff.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#13

Post by JSumm »

Evil D wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:37 am
JSumm wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:27 am
Evil D wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 2:13 am
I'm always intrigued by different lock designs, but that shark fin thing is in the worst possible place for a "hard use" knife. I'm much more interested in Cold Steel's maybe is maybe isn't a ripoff of this lock.
Andrew Demko actually designed Cold Steel's Triad Lock. I believe the Shark Lock was his way of getting the patent fully under his name. Or under his knife brand.

https://www.coldsteel.com/tri-ad-lock/


I was referring to the Atlas Lock that has a similar backwards pulling trigger action as the Shark Lock but doesn't have anything protruding from the spine of the handle. If Demko designed both then that would make sense as to why they're so similar, I just saw a comment that suggested that it was a ripoff.
Oh, I did not know about the Atlas Lock.

I don't see where they have a lot of information on that one. Looks like they were filing patents up to 2020 with Demko assigned as the inventor. That is very interesting timing with the release of the Atlas Lock following the Demko Knives success.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#14

Post by RevMike »

I'm rewiring an old wwii navy vessel with plenty of the original armored cable. I've put in about 9-10 hours a day for the last couple days and I used a different knife each day.

Friday was a S30V Yojimbo 2 and today was a AUS-10A "Shark-foot" Demko AD20.5. Both got pretty equal use stripping cable, cutting back cable insulation, cutting rockwool/navy cloth insulation off steel angles, sharpening pencils, some light prying on some painted shut panel covers.

Both preformed about equally. I enjoyed working with both and I really have no preference aside from the fact that the Demko was a bit easier to touch up after the use. Both had some light chips and rolls especially at the tip.

Neither knife was designed for what I was doing with them but both were quite good to work with. Everything I hear is about how the AUS10 is a subpar steel and turns folks off of the knife. But at the end of the day there was no real difference in use but I spent less time fixing what I did to the Demko later.

I can't really say that I noticed the little hump from the lock either in regular use. I'll use it more and post more if something comes up.

Neither one is as good as my S30V PS Hollow Ground Manix that I usually use for this kind of work but I recently either misplaced it or it may have been stolen.

Here is a photo of the Demko.

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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#15

Post by Evil D »

RevMike wrote:
Sat May 21, 2022 8:19 pm


I can't really say that I noticed the little hump from the lock either in regular use. I'll use it more and post more if something comes up.


Here is a photo of the Demko.

Image


I'm sure it has a lot to do with your preferred grip. If you Filipino grip it with your thumb on the blade jimping (as it seems it may have been designed for) then your thumb probably bridges over the lock tab and you wouldn't notice it. I tend to use a hammer grip for harder cuts, I guess I could grip behind the tab but it seems like it would be really close.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#16

Post by murphjd25 »

Ok, this thing’s pretty **** cool! Extremely sharp, I can get a four finger grip on it. The shark lock doesn’t really get in the way, is as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. It is kind of wide, but all in all cool knife, it’ll be staying in my collection. The RGT micarta scales and skiff bearings take it over the top!
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#17

Post by JSumm »

Knifecenter has announced a 3V exclusive. Most exciting steel so far offered in this model IMHO.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#18

Post by JSumm »

If I was going to get one, this would be it.

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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#19

Post by sparty569 »

I am working on a fully custom AD 20.5 right now. Received an Orange Clip Point.

Have replaced:
Scales with "burnt orange" scales from Ripps Garage Tech.
Hardware with Black hardware from Screw4you on Etsy
Traded for a black DLC covered Sheepsfoot blade with someone on Reddit.
Have a generic Ti deep carry clip coming in from eBay.
Skiff bearings coming from Blade HQ.

The only things on this knife that came from the factory (technically the blade, but not to me) are the liners, stand-offs and locking mechanism. I am really liking this knife so far.
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Re: Demko AD 20.5

#20

Post by JSumm »

DLT has some new S35VN Demko AD 20.5s. Still pricey but now with G10 and S35VN.
https://www.dlttrading.com/demko-knives ... SlYlpdNPl9

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