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Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Weight
Cons: Pocket Clip
This thing is a beast!
I wanted a folder that was heavy duty, and I don’t think I can do better than this. Joe X couldn’t destroy this thing, and that says something. It’s heavy in hand, but not so much in a pocket. I have large to XL hands and the 4-Max Scout has to be the most comfortable knife in hand that I own. It’s front blade heavy, yet it balances exactly where you think it should. The handle material feels good, and the texture doesn’t feel or look cheap for it being plastic. The full steel liners add weight, but also make it solid. It has the usual Cold Steel pocket clip that is so tight that it’s barely usable, so I just removed it and slip the knife into a pocket. I haven’t used it much yet aside from opening some clamshell packages, but that was so easy even though the tip is thick and robust. I plan on taking this knife with me hiking, so I made a paracord lanyard where I can slip a carabiner through. It was a hard color to match to paracord, though, since all FDE is slightly different depending on company. I’m very impressed with the fit and finish. It’s smooth to open, the blade is perfectly straight centered, the stonewash looks great, and the tri-ad lock is easy to disengage. Be careful, though, even using two hands to disengage the tri-ad lock. I had the knife pointed down, disengaged the lock, then watched the blade fall down right into my index finger. The blade is so sharp that I felt the impact of the blade on my finger, but didn’t feel the edge bite into my index finger. It was so clean of a cut that it healed in a day despite it bleeding a lot. So be careful. Overall I love the knife. It feels indestructible in my hand, and I’m sure it will last a lifetime. It would be good for so many tasks from general around the house stuff to hiking, camping, etc. It could be used for self defense too, but you wouldn’t even have to use the blade. You could put the 4-Max Scout in a sock and it’s 10 plus ounces would do the job.