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Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
One of the best EDC knives
This is one of my top two favorite EDC knives (compare to the Buck 040 Onset Flipper), so I will reference that knife. This knife, the Case Marilla Flipper, is a fabulous knife. The knife arrived while I was out of town for a few weeks, so my daughter carried it. I did not get the knife back until after I had been back a few weeks and demanded it back. My daughter liked the knife so much (her favorite) so we ordered her one in a different color. The knife is very similar to the Buck 040 Onset in many ways (blade shape, size, opening method, blade lock, etc). There are a few notable differences: The Case Marilla Flipper is significantly less expensive, the pocket clipp looks like it can be moved to the other side of the knife (did not try it), the knife is aluminum rather than stainless steel, which means that the knife weighs much less, and the Case is S35VN and the Buck is S45VN. For my daughter, weight wins so she chose the Case over the Buck knife. Another big plus for the Marilla is that it is available in different colors. I chose Red and my Daughter chose Blue. The Buck is black. I strongly prefer the ease of opening on the Buck Onset over the Case Marilla. With the Onset, by the time you have applied sufficient pressure to open the blade, it springs open every time. With the Marilla, the blade opens more easily, so I need to give a wrist flip as I apply pressure or the blade stops half way out. For me, this is a negative. It might be a plus for you i suppose. My Marilla had been in use for over a month before I had it in my hands so I cannot comment on how sharp it was when it arrived, but I chose to sharpen mine the moment my daughter gave it to me. I asked Case how they sharpen their knives and they told me that it is done free hand on belts. I asked Case because it seemed to me that the sharpening angle was a bit more variable with the sharpening angle than my buck knives (who i did not ask how they sharpened their knives). Both my Marilla knives seemed to have sharpening angles that ranged from 15 degrees to 17 or 18 degrees. If I free hand sharpen, this is easy to deal with, but if I use my favorite touch-up sharpener, the Spyderco tri-angle Sharpmaker, I can choose 15 degrees or 20 degrees; and I prefer 15 degrees. if I just sharpen at 20 degrees on my Spyderco (or if I use any of my Worksharp sharpeners or free hand) then this is not a problem, but it takes me longer to get the knife ready to use at 15 degrees than my Buck Onset. The Marilla and the Onset both take a really nice edge. The Buck has the BOS heat treatment so there is an expectation that it will hold that edge a bit longer. I usually take my Marilla when I care about the color or the weight; for example, when I wear my light shorts, I usually grab the Marilla because it weighs less. So, how much do I really like my Marilla? Well, it misplaced it and have not been able to find it for the last two weeks so I ordered another in a different color so that I can tell them apart. This is the Case knife that I have been waiting for and I am excited that they finally released it. I strongly prefer the price point over the Buck. Just get one.
