Pros: Blade Sharpness, Lock Ease of Use, Weight, Handle Material, None
Cons: Handle Feel, Ease of Opening, Overall Quality
Fancy Letter & Box Opener
Don't get me wrong, this is a good knife, but considering what seems a somewhat high price against the background of its shortcomings & size, I'm giving a 3 instead of a 4. I would give it a 4 if it were a bit cheaper or a bit more well-made. For comparison, look at the Spyderco Persistence, Tenacious, or Resilience; you'll see what I mean. A flat bellied, drop-point/spear-point, high-hollow-grind, almost full-swedge, Sandvik 13C26 blade makes this an excellent little slicer for mundane tasks such as opening packages, opening mail, opening purchases/presents etc. A very good knife for the office if your company lawyers will let you carry it. It's not much good for much other than those mundane tasks. Arrived sharp from the manufacturer. The steel appears to be better for edges than an AUS 8, for example, but with "average" (read: not great) corrosion resistance. So, it is really a "blue-collared gentleman's blade" due to its usefulness and its construction materials. The G-10 handle is incredibly ergonomic, but also incredibly small. I have small-medium hands, and it feels small to me (!) as my hand runs off the rear end of the handle. If you have large hands, this knife is probably a no-go. It has low tactility/traction, and this is definitely not a tactical knife, although it does look like a miniature clone of one. The finger choil blends perfectly with the blade's flipper, with also perfectly redundant jimping in the choil that provides an appearance of traction only, and no jimping anywhere else on the knife (which makes sense, it doesn't need any). The handle has a steel liner only on the side of the liner lock, and is not skeletonized at all, which is a plus for easy cleaning. The handle is not strong, but this is not a strong-usage knife by any means. Torx screws are used, for easy disassembly/cleaning. The thumb-studs on the blade are so close to the handle when closed, and so small, that they are practically incapable of opening the knife without seriously hurting one's finger. They are really only blade-stops disguised as thumb studs. Very poor design on that point. The flipper does a good job opening the knife 3/4 way, and some momentum of the wrist is necessary to complete the action, which is typical across most brands/makes with flippers. The action is smooth, and there is a very very small/almost unnoticeable amount of blade play when open, which is actually normal across brands/makes. Blade centering is good with no abrasion in opening/closing. The pocket clip is good, and is about half the size of the knife, and roughly the same color/reflectivity of the blade. It is not reversible for southpaws, which is another definite design minus, as most manufacturers are becoming more adaptable to multiple carry positions these days. However, the clip is reversible between tip-down (arrives as such) or tip-up carry. The tip-up option is entirely redundant as this is no tactical knife, the blade detente (hold in handle) is uniform, and it would at best offer a negligible difference in deployment speed. The best features of this knife are its edge, its simplicity, and its size. The edge arrives sharp, and is easy to resharpen. The design, minus a couple crucial flaws, is elegantly simple. The size is perfect for carry in polite company/at work, or in environments where weak-spirited folk are likely to faint at the sight of a toothpick. As a ratio* to the entire length of the knife, the cutting edge (slightly larger than Spyderco's Manix 2!) is *quite large.* However, the narrow design makes the knife look particularly polite and tame. It is very light, very easy to use as an EDC, and you might even forget you have it with you. I would only recommend this knife in a couple circumstances. First is if you'd like to make it a "first pocketknife" gift towards a young child, boyscout or girlscout perhaps, who enjoys the outdoors, but who is not old/mature enough yet to carry a larger blade. Second is if you need a knife for use at work/in polite company for occasional usage, as this is definitely not a hard-use/workhorse knife. Othewise, save your money and buy something better. ; D
