(
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Pocket Clip
NICE! Just be careful!
I like knives that tell a story. Sometimes the story is that the knife just doesn't look like a knife. That's how this blade is. The rear deployment, the hinge system, the clip it's all quite unique. Some might even see this as an odd-looking garden tool (it resembles a tree limb cutter/loper). So if you like quirky knives this one can go in your collection. As for how it handles, well... this is dividing line. It takes practice to deploy this with confidence. Even more practice to fold it back up. And even more practice again to figure it out single-handed. But it can be done. In fact, once learned it can deliver a rather fierce effect. With enough motion (well lubricated) this pretty much becomes a very quick flipper. Granted you might be holding it the wrong way when doing that. Because it can be flipped out easily (once learned) the danger becomes how to keep it folded because simply moving your thumb forward on the back of the hinge puts the blade in motion. In fact, there's a possibility it could extend while in your pocket when using the clip. As for the aforementioned clip, that's another issue. First off, it's not reversible. Sorry lefties. It's built into the handle and is level with the handle. deploying the clip is something that will also take practice -- though not nearly as much as the blade. Nonetheless, this is not a standard clip. One must press into the top/side of the thumb hole to move the clip outward. It's tension mounted into the handle so pushing into it creates a see-saw effect. However, because it's thin it doesn't see-saw a lot, which means if you're wearing thicker clothing like heavy jeans or so you will have to wedge it on and work at it. It's made best to clip onto thinner pants/belts, etc. You can take the clip off (3 hex nuts) and put it on a workbench to bend it, but it will lose the streamlined feel of the handle and you'll feel it in your palm. I don't recommend that. This will be my FDC (Fun Day Carry) I would *not* make this my EDC (Every Day Carry). I have the orange Grivory handle and the weight is good, the blade sharp, feels solid in the hand. The main caveat, as noted above, is that this is a tricky beast in a number of ways. Granted there are some who like to hand a knife to someone and watch the confusion in their eyes, OR, those times when you want to hand a knife to someone and know it will NOT fold on them while using it, OR, those who want the safety of knowing their knife can't be used easily without knowing the secret handshake -- which can make it uniquely theirs. If you're one of those types then this is the knife for you. Just be careful... it is easy to launch once anyone learns it.
